Education Commons^™

The Influence Of Junior First Grade On Academic Ability And Self-Concept Of Academic Ability, Mary Ann Boettger

Dissertations

The educational practice of retaining students in junior first grade for a year between kindergarten and first grade was the focus of this study.

Four groups of 1983-1984 students were compared in 1990-1991: (1) those recommended for first and placed in first grade (F-F), (2) those recommended for junior first and placed in junior first grade (JF-JF), (3) those recommended for junior first and placed in first grade (JF-F), and (4) those borderline between junior first and kindergarten, but placed in first grade (B-F).

The groups were compared on gender, birth month, retention, absences, and lunch status, as well as …

A Study On Teacher Change To Developmentally Appropriate Practice In The Primary Grades Of An Urban Elementary School, Kerry Sullivan Lambert

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this research was to study the process of change from traditional teaching practices to developmentally appropriate practices (DAP), following training. The population for this study consists of kindergarten and first grade teachers, in urban elementary school comprised of student at-risk for school failure. Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies were utilized. The quantitative measures provide evidence of the degree of change made by teachers and render a context for the qualitative findings. The variables of DAP were measured pre- and post-training to determine change in teaching practices that occurred after training. Two observation instruments were utilized to measure …

Cognitive Learning Styles And Their Relation To Air Traffic Control Screening And Training, Vincent P. Galotti

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

The purpose of this study was to show a relationship between the type of cognitive learning style that an individual possesses and their subsequent success at simulated air traffic control practical exercises. Kolb's Learning Style Inventory was utilized to determine dominant learning styles of 30 college students enrolled in a laboratory-based air traffic control course. The instrument was administered during the first day of classes in the Fall of 1990. Students were placed in one of four groups for statistical purposes according to learning style. The scores of simulated micro-computer based air traffic control practical exercises given at semester's end …

Is Background Knowledge Really That Important?, Elizabeth Assaad Boustagui

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Teaching Third Grade Math : A Learning Experience, Emily Terte

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This study was based on my experience as a new teacher, teaching math to a group of third graders. The purpose was to examine my methods of planning and teaching in order to better understand how I was learning and changing my views on teaching math. I gathered information by reading educational theorists, observing the children in my group, recording anecdotes and writing about my planning process. I gained inspiration from readings of Piaget's and other cognitive theorists, I gained insights from the ways my children responded to my lessons and I discovered that using manipulatives, examples that the children …

Ua35/5 Newsletter, Vol. 1, No. 1, Wku Center For Teaching & Learning

WKU Archives Records

Newsletter created by and about WKU Center for Teaching & Learning.

1991 Regional Conference Of The Comparative And International Education Society, Center For International Education

Conference Proceedings & Collected Papers

The 1991 Northeast Regional Conference of the Comparative and International Education Society was hosted by the Center for International Education, University of Massachusetts at Amherst on November 15, 1991. The theme of the conference, "the Challenges of International Education in the 1990s: Effectiveness and Excellence," was deliberately made broad in order to encompass a wide range of problems and issues relevant to educators involved in the development of education world-wide.

More than sixty people attended the conference, and participants represented the rich institutional diversity in the northeast region of the US. Participants came from the Bunting Institute (Radcliffe Research Study …

Field Experience And Cooperative Education; Similarities And Differences, Joyce K. Fletcher

Service Learning, General

Of all of the benefits associated with experiential education, those related to student development are of the most interest to educators. Those of us who work with students do not need to be convinced of the positive impact work experience has on participants. Anecdotally we share with one another our success stories - stories of individual students who have grown, matured, gained self-confidence or a new sense of direction and purpose because of exposure to what we like to call the real world. Yet, we recognize that these outcomes are not guaranteed, and that in fact, not all students achieve …

Does Our Complex Writing Lower Test Scores On Mathematics Word Problems?, William (Bill) H. Williams, Sandra P. Clarkson

Publications and Research

ABSTRACT: In this paper, we describe one of a series of studies at Hunter College to determine whether students' reading proficiency affects their performance on mathematics "word" problems. Based on this study, we reached some specific conclusions:

1. Reading ability is a separate, quantifiable factor which impacts the performance of all students on mathematics word problems.

2. Less complex writing leads to better results on word problems for all students.

3. Less complex writing leads to even more improvement in test results for “weaker” readers [those needing reading remediation] than for “average” readers [those exempting reading remediation].

Service Learning Across The Curriculum, Betty Fowler

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this study was to develop handbooks that examine the value of service-learning as a legitimate educational practice. Based on an analyses of current literature, this study shows that participation in service-learning projects helps young people develop positive attitudes toward community participation that continue into their adult lives. The rationale and objectives of school-wide service-learning programs are discussed. Some existing community projects involving elementary and secondary students are described. Criteria for the development of service-learning programs are considered.

A Principal's Guide: Assertive Discipline And Honors Level Management; Two Separate Behavioral Management Systems Promoting A Positive School Climate, Ronald E. Gee

All Graduate Projects

This principal's guide presents two separate behavioral management systems used at the middle school level. The two systems are Lee Canter's Assertive Discipline and Budd Churchward's Honors Level Management. Canter's approach is effective in the classroom while Churchward's addresses total school environment. Methods for integration of the systems, materials needed, consequences/rewards, and suggested time lines are presented.

A Handbook For The Intervention Specialist At Meadows Elementary School: Four Program Components, Donald D. Garrick

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this study was to develop a handbook detailing four important components of the intervention specialist's program at Meadows Elementary School in the North Thurston School District, Lacey, Washington. The development of a handbook was useful due to the fact that since 1988, three different individuals had served as the intervention specialist. Such rapid turnover caused disruptions m services to Meadows students, especially those who were at-risk. The four components were Meadows' Hosts and Hostesses, Intramurals, Conflict Managers and Meadows' Helpers. Each program utilized students interacting positively with other students as a means to improve the whole school …

Parental Involvement: Using Workshops To Promote Beginning Reading, Dana Krieger Clauson

All Graduate Projects

Four workshops are designed to help parents of young children facilitate beginning reading. These workshops focus on techniques for reading aloud, using predictable materials, using environmental print, and constructing games. The workshops are aimed at parents of kindergarten children. The project includes research which provides a definition, rationale, and practical application of each topic, specific workshop designs, parent handouts, and teacher materials. Implications of the benefits of parent education and recommendations for future workshops are discussed.

Literature-Based Preschool Activities Using A Modified Whole Language Approach, Beverly M. Chandler

All Graduate Projects

A review of the literature revealed higher academic expectations by today's teachers of kindergarten children than in the past. To prepare students more completely to meet these expectations fourteen preschool activities related to children's literature and based on a modified whole language approach were developed. The varied activities were designed to be used by teachers or parents of preschool children in order to better prepare the children to enter kindergarten with an exposure to, basic understanding of, and appreciation of children's literature.

Student Motivation Augmentation Through Staff Development, Debra J. Lyons-Farley

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to design and develop an inservice trainers/ manual to guide the delivery of a teacher training session on student motivation theory and practical classroom application techniques for K-12 teachers in the West Valley School District, Yakima, WA. To accomplish this purpose, research and literature on student motivation, staff development and primarily the works of Dr. Madeline Hunter and Dr. William Glasser, in relation to student motivation, were reviewed. The manual was developed to become a part of the program of effective teaching strategies which positively affect student achievement currently offered ln the district.

Attitudes Toward Reading Held By Second Grade Students When Instructed In First And Second Grades Using The Basal Approach And The Whole Language Approach, Anne L. Kepner

All Graduate Projects

The attitudes toward reading held by second grade students when instructed using the basal approach and the whole language approach were studied. Forty surveys given to students at the end of their second grade year were analyzed. The results showed support for the hypothesis that students, taught reading by the whole language approach in first and second grades will have a more positive attitude toward reading than students taught reading by the traditional basal approach in the first and second grades.

Literature-Based Social Studies Learning Activities For First Grade Students In The Selah School District, Selah, Washington, Bonnie D. Isom

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to develop literaturebased social studies learning activities to be used with first grade students in the Selah School District. To accomplish this purpose, literature-based social studies learning activities for first grade students were gathered and developed for inclusion in a teacher resource packet. Appropriately used, children's literature can enhance learning in social studies and lead to increased teacher effectiveness.

Teaching Comprehension By Incorporating Story Grammar Into A Drta Lesson Format, Sharon Kay Neal

All Graduate Projects

This project presents a teaching procedure which should improve primarylevel reading comprehension. This procedure combines a framework of story grammar as a guide for implementing the Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) lesson format. Literature is reviewed which illustrates the effectiveness of story grammar when used to teach comprehension, and describes the effectiveness of DRTA to promote active comprehension. By combining both story grammar and DRTA, a procedure is developed and ten example lessons are produced.

The Reading And Writing Connection, Leona G. Morton

All Graduate Projects

Many children are graduating from school lacking skills in writing. This project reviews the literature in order to establish a theoretical justification for improving writing through reading. Using materials from the classroom and library, activities are presented that emphasize writing as well as reading. Some writing activities will be presented before reading and some writing activities will be presented after reading. Thus each activity will reflect the reading/writing connection, and create a basis from which writing should improve.

Cedar River Mini-School, Judy Anne Rene

All Graduate Projects

A mini-school was set up in Cedar River Elementary School in Maple Valley, Washington. The mini-school will keep the same students and teachers together for a three-year period of time. There will be a fourth, fifth, and sixth grade classroom, each with its own teacher. Research suggests that students in small schools perceive a closer, warmer relationship with their teachers, fellow students and other adults and a stronger connection with the school. This project presents a justification for and a description of the mini-school. The only conclusions reached come from the development of the mini-school, not in an evaluation of …

Improving Content Area Reading In A Middle School Core Classroom, Richard Têtu

All Graduate Projects

Many middle school students cannot adequately use content area textbooks. This project begins with a review of the research literature related to this concern. The literature review is followed by a content area reading program designed for an eighth grade core classroom. The program is composed of sequential directions and worksheets to teach diverse content area reading techniques. The relative values of different techniques are discussed, and suggestions for future studies are offered.

Literature Strands For The Enhancement Of Language In The Early Childhood Classroom, Wendy Sue White

All Graduate Projects

Literature and activities which support and enhance language learning in the early childhood classroom were examined. Seventy-six pieces of literature were selected along with thirty-two supporting activities. These were all described and matched for easy reference by the classroom teacher. A discussion of the importance of literature for the early childhood classroom, particularly that in which Engli~h is taught as a second language, has been included.

7. Implementation Decisions In Designing Computer-Based Instructional Testing Programs, John V. Noonan, Paul D. Sarvela

The Computer and the Decision-Making Process

From preschool to graduate school, computer-based instruction (CBI) has become an increasingly common event in today's education and training community. The interactive characteristics of CBI and its ability to simulate advanced concepts and operations, such as patient management simulations for medical students (Whiteside & Whiteside, 1987/88) or the maneuvering of a jet airplane (Conkright, 1982), make CBI an attractive new instructional delivery system for educators working in many different fields .

Because of these qualities , the computer has tremendous potential in educational and psychological measurement. For example, Millman & Arter (1984) describe how the computer aids in maintaining test-item …

9. Legal Issues In Computerized Psychological Testing, Donald N. Bersoff, Paul J. Hofer

The Computer and the Decision-Making Process

A decade ago a scholar writing in a legal journal asked the question, "Can/Should Computers Replace Judges?" (D'Amato, 1977). The article explored problems involved in developing computer systems capable of making the difficult assessments and judgments required in judicial decision making. In discussing these problems, the author quoted extensively from Joseph Weizenbaum, who in a well-known critique of computerized psychotherapy, sagely asserted, "Since we do not now have any ways of making computers wise, we ought not now to give computers tasks that demand wisdom" (Weizenbaum, 1976). Nevertheless, the legal scholar concluded that any humanistic misgivings about computerized decision making …

Subject Index

The Computer and the Decision-Making Process

Subject Index (4 pages)

A-Z

A

AAMD Adaptive Behavior Scale School Edition, 25
Acceptability of microcomputers, 145- 147
Access limitations, test security, 182- 183
Access to directions, 184-185
Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children, 25
Adaptive testing, 6-7,15-16, 245-247
Adjective check list, 249
American Educational Research Association.Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, 147,228-229, 240
American Psychological Association Ethical Principles of Psychologists, 147,230,257-259, 263-265
American Psychological Association General Guidelines for Providers of Psychological Services, 229, 257- 258, 263-265
American Psychological Association, Guidelines for Computer-based Tests and Interpretations, 14,43,147-148, 245-273
American Psychological Association Specialty Guidelines for the Delivery of Services, 229
American Psychological …

The Computer And The Decision Making-Process, Jane Close Conoley, Terry B. Gutkin, Steven Wise

The Computer and the Decision-Making Process

This volume in the Buros-Nebraska Series on Testing and Measurement provides state-of-the-art contributions concerning the interface between computer technology and traditional psychometrics . The volume title, Computers and the Decision-Making Process, describes both reality and potential in a field that provides a dizzying array of promises and problems to be pursued and be solved. This volume, like the previous ones in our series, reflects papers given at the annual Buros-Nebraska Symposium on Testing and Measurement and those especially commissioned for the book. Each of the contributors has a special expertise to examine the complex issues raised by the …

Engaging The Spectrum: Civic Virtue And The Protection Of Student Voice In School-Sponsored Forums, Robert R.M. Verchick

Robert R.M. Verchick

This article suggests a new justification for protecting student speech that specifically addresses the need for free expression and inquiry in school- sponsored forums. Starting with the proposition that student speech prepares one for self-government, I suggest we re-define the kind of self-government to which we ask students to aspire. By recasting our conception of democracy in a way that highlights universal participation and group transformation, we will find a theory of government much closer to the values of group discovery and social reform.

Planning For Changes: A Study Of Satellite Distance Learning Administrative Policy Development In Higher Education, H. Keith Spears

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The problem investigated was the process by which policy is formulated for satellite distance learning systems in higher education. Effects of reporting levels, areas of origination, political pressure, discipline interest administrator characteristics, and type of positions were measured on the methods used by institutions create policies for satellite delivery of courses. The influences that other variables have on the decision makers were part of the study.

The population studied was made up of all administrators of higher education satellite distance learning systems in the United States. The population was the sample. The research instrument was a nominal survey developed by …

Young Geographers: How They Explore The World And How They Map The World [4th Ed.], Lucy Sprague Mitchell

Books

"Lucy Sprague Mitchell's thesis is that through their own experiences children can learn geography, and that through geography children can learn about the human world."-- Foreward.

Teaching Language Arts In Third Grade With Hyperstudio, An Interactive Computer Program, Mark Douglas Barrett

Theses Digitization Project

Accompanied by a 3.5-inch floppy disk, kept in Pfau Library Thesis Storage.