Education Commons^™

Play Therapy With Adults, Lisa E. Heiden

Graduate Research Papers

Play therapy is a type of therapy that utilizes play as the method for communication instead of the traditional talk therapy. It is most often used with children, but it can also be used with adults regardless of age, ethnicity, or background. Play allows people to experiment with different roles, learn and try new skills, and create or recreate events from life.

Play therapy has been adapted to fit different theoretical orientations and multicultural considerations, and it can be demonstrated through a variety of mediums and formats. There is a lack of adequate information and research concerning play therapy. The.purpose …

Online Counseling : Risks, Benefits, And Future Development, Lindsey J. Kenison-Severson

Graduate Research Papers

Online counseling started becoming popular in the mid-1990's and is a popular source of debate right now. There are a number of risks and benefits that need to be evaluated by both the counselor and client when determining the appropriateness of online counseling. There seems to be a lack of research regarding how effective online counseling is, but preliminary research seems positive in supporting the argument that relationships can be formed when using online counseling. Some individuals may be more appropriate for online counseling and some problems may be helped more effectively. Clients and counselors need to be educated about …

Leadership And Education : A Reflective Essay, Erik J. Smith

Graduate Research Papers

My principle belief about education relates to the importance of students. Without the students, what we as educators are doing would not mean anything. As educators, we must do everything that we can to ensure that we keep our students engaged and learning. I believe that educators often lose sight of what is important and instead get caught up in trivial happenings (e.g., whether we should have the school buses pick the students up on the north or the east side of the school). If educators continue to stay focused on the students and do what is best for them, …

Understanding Gender Stereotypes And Their Impact On Clients, Stacey Hurt

Graduate Research Papers

Gender stereotyping has a complex and enduring history in our society, and it is an underlying factor in many issues – clients bring to counseling, including – among other things-women's and men's experience of depression (Nugent & Jones, 2005). A complicating aspect of gender stereotyping is that both males and females in our culture have been socially conditioned to fulfill many of the stereotypes imposed on them, and following stereotypical gender roles excessively can be harmful to their mental health, self-image, and interpersonal relationships (Nugent & Jones).

Counselors can use gender-role analysis and other interventions to help clients gain insight …

Reflecting For Action, Christopher J. Mccarville

Graduate Research Papers

To answer the question, "What do I believe about leadership and education?" I have to say that I believe in four main things: Hard work, passion, family and most importantly, faith. If you follow through with these four beliefs, everything else will fall into place. Work hard, have passion for the school, love your family above all, and pray. These are the keys to being successful as an administrator.

School Librarians Are Teachers Too!: University Of Northern Iowa Teacher Education Majors And Their Perceptions Of The Role Of The School Librarian, Colleen Nelson

Graduate Research Papers

The problem identified by this research is students in the University of Northern Iowa’s teacher education preparatory programs may not understand the role of the school librarian as a teacher and instructional partner. This research was a quantitative investigation into the perceptions of undergraduate students enrolled in the Teacher Education Program at the University of Northern Iowa regarding the role of the school librarian.

The Roles Of Coaches And Teachers : Fostering A Climate For Motivation In An Age Of Accountability, Jocelyn Hays

Graduate Research Papers

This paper examines the difference between how a coach motivates an athlete or fosters a climate for motivation versus how a teacher motivates a student or fosters a climate for motivation. One way to examine how coaches and teachers motivate their athletes and students is to examine the roles of coaches and teachers as motivators. Examining the roles of coaches and teachers as motivators and the subsequent discussion of how the roles of coaches as motivators could inform the roles of teachers as motivators seeks to satisfy society's call for teacher accountability.

How Poverty Affects Social Development, Behavior, And Academics Of Children : How Can School Personnel Help?, Jessica Holm-Blackburn

Graduate Research Papers

This paper discusses how poverty affects the social development, behavior, and academics of children. It also provides information to professionals who work with children to explain how children in poverty may demonstrate increased behavioral and emotional problems. Additionally, it explores what school personnel can do to help improve outcomes for students in poverty. A case example of a partnership created in Georgia is utilized to help articulate these concepts. The sources cited are all from recent published literature.

Student Led Video Production Projects In The Classroom, Slade Hovick

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to review the literature on using video production projects in educational settings, and second, to evaluate their effectiveness. Specifically, the issues of student motivation and student retention, and what effects student-led video production projects have on these areas, are considered closely.

How Teacher-Librarians Can Effectively Support Technology Integration In 21st Century Schools, Holly L. Karlen

Graduate Research Papers

Schools and the role of the teacher-librarian are rapidly changing as we begin the twenty-first century. This review examines the historical and current role of teacher-librarians, concepts of information literacy and technology integration, and how teacher-librarians can integrate these skills in twenty-first century schools. New technologies and how teacher-librarians can gain support for their new role are also examined.

Through an extensive literature review and synthesis of information, a series of five research questions are evaluated. This review shows that the teacher-librarian's role has changed dramatically in the last twenty-five years. By emphasizing information literacy and technology integration into both …

Bullying In America's Middle Schools : Identifying Factors That Affect School Environment, Marnie M. L. Leiferman

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this literature review is to explore bullying, and to examine how school environment can affect it. Bullying can (a) place a student at harm or fear of harm, (b) have a detrimental effect on a student's physical or mental health, (c) interfere with a student's academic performance, and/or (d) interfere in the student's ability to participate or benefit from activities at school. Many experts think that a positive school environment can reduce the incidences of bullying at school.

Using Web 2.0 Technology To Support Collaborative Learning In Distance Education, Sarah E. Ling

Graduate Research Papers

Distance education continues to grow in popularity with higher education institutions across the country. A shift in pedagogy towards collaborative learning activities within the online learning environments is designed to bring students together as a group. This review of research investigates how Web 2.0 technology has proven to be useful in these collaborative activities. Various issues and obstacles are addressed which may arise in the use of this social software for collaborative learning within a distance education setting. The introduction of Web 2.0 software to distance education may hold the key to creating powerful collaborative learning experience for students who …

Effective E-Learning Environments For Adult Learners, Lois A. Lindell

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this literature review is to examine the types of instructional strategies that are appropriate and effective in e-learning environments for today's adult learners. To identify the best practices among instructional strategies in e-learning environments, three specific questions were addressed. These areas include: adult learning, instructional design and future developments in e-learning.

The literature reviewed highlights the importance of learner-centered instructional strategies that use authentic learning experiences, collaboration, and real-world problem solving applications. Continued research is called for to further refine and expand on the best instructional practices. Institutions engaged in distance education need to provide for training …

The Role Of Writing: Increasing Higher Level Thinking For All Students, Caroline Elser

Graduate Research Papers

Teachers can use writing in three important ways to increase higher level thinking skills for all students. First, they must increase writing proficiency for struggling writers; second, writing can increase higher-level thinking, and third, writing can be used across content areas to increase writing fluency while fostering higher-level thinking.

Rapid Elearning : Its Impact On Instructional Design In The Corporate World, Stephen W. Acheson

Graduate Research Papers

Rapid eLearning is a present and growing phenomenon in the world of corporate training that is challenging traditional instructional design ideas. The concept of Rapid eLearning represents a class of easy-to-use eLearning development tools, methods designed to shorten course development timelines, and techniques intended to enhance learner understanding and retention. Companies are adopting Rapid eLearning as a way to reduce costs and shorten the time it takes to disseminate new information and concepts to employees in geographically diverse locations. New software tools and instructional design methods are being developed to address the goals of Rapid eLearning.

To gain a broad …

Motivation Success And Failure, Dawn D. Buol

Graduate Research Papers

My research question for this paper is: how can teachers identify the different types of unmotivated students as well as motivated students in the classroom? Moreover, what strategies could be used to motivate those unmotivated students in order to make them become successful life long learners?

Music And The Brain, Kimberly D. Madison

Graduate Research Papers

A great deal of literature focuses on the subject of music and the brain and how music can affect learning. Music stimulates brain patterns, and therefore should be considered essential in an academic setting. This review was written to provide an analysis of the published literature and studies in the area of music and cognitive development, to examine how the brain is wired for music, and to determine whether music is an effective tool in enhancing environmental and cognitive learning conditions in classrooms.

Motivating Middle Level Students : Strategies To Help Reach And Teach Middle Level Students, Lisa L. Munsey

Graduate Research Papers

This review of literature focused on the strategies educators use for motivating the young adolescent in the middle level classroom.

Anderman and Maehr (1994) found motivation could be improved through a variety of methods by focusing on specific areas: developmental changes, intrinsic versus extrinsic, middle level transformation and classroom practice. Along these same lines, Curwin (2006) found motivation can be enhanced with practices in the middle level classroom through four main areas: (1) welcoming students to school and class, (2) stressing the effort students put forth, (3) increasing homework completion, and (4) turbo charging classroom lessons.

This paper focused on …

Barriers Of Technology Integration In Kindergarten Through Fifth Grade, Theressa Northouse

Graduate Research Papers

Many teachers understand the benefits of integrating technology in K through 5th grade classrooms, however, technology is not being effectively integrated. The purpose of this review is to identify the barriers of technology integration in kindergarten through 5th grade and discuss ways in which to remove those barriers. This review includes many research articles, books, websites, a blog, and an interview.

For the purposes of this review, the barriers to integration have been divided into two categories: first and second-order barriers. First-order barriers are extrinsic to the teacher and include issues such as lack of time, money, and technical support. …

Promoting Student Success In Online Courses, Cecilia Ruhlmann

Graduate Research Papers

This review examines the factors promoting student success in online courses. The first part of the study examines how prevalent the dropout rate is in secondary education, not only in the United States but also in Asia and Europe. The second part examines how online courses differ from face-to-face courses. The third part covers skills that are essential for succeeding in an online environment. The skills discussed are self-regulation, self-efficacy, motivation, and depth of learning. The fourth part of the study discusses what can be done to strengthen online courses.

Implementing Electronic Portfolios, Courtney Rogne

Graduate Research Papers

This literature review addresses the topic of assessing students with the use of electronic portfolios. The purpose of the review is to document for educators the advantages of electronic portfolios, the media selection options, as well as implementation procedures. Electronic portfolios are an alternative authentic assessment method that invites active student learning and provides an opportunity for instructors to design assessment strategies based on desired student-learning outcomes.

The review also found that many media options are available to meet the needs of the individual courses; however the web-based options are the easiest to use and modify. The review recommends that …

Effective Homework In The Middle School, Kelly J. Simon

Graduate Research Papers

This literature review examines the studies and research of the best practices and most effective implementation of homework in the middle school classrooms. It is found that parental involvement, teacher design and proper implementation of the homework are the most important factors for homework to have the desired effect on an adolescent's success in a subject. There are significant differences of opinion on many homework related issues, especially with regard to the overall contribution of homework academic success. However, one aspect that is universally agreed upon is that students, teachers, and parents are all important in determining the degree to …

Body Image Disturbance : Cultural Differences, How It Develops, Its Impact, And Clinical Implications, Priscilla Villarreal

Graduate Research Papers

This paper is a review of literature written about women and body image. Body image is influenced by family, peers, media, and culture. Through these influences, women have learned thinness is the ideal body size. If a woman believes she does not fit a desired body shape, she can develop a negative body image. Body image disturbance can impact a woman's social life, romantic relationships, and her sexual functioning. This paper also describes interventions which could be utilized by counselors when working with clients who have a negative body image.

Application Of A Fifth Grade Group With Behavioral Adjustment Difficulties, Lindsey B. Wahl Vandrovec

Graduate Research Papers

There is a population of students that a school counselor works with based on behavioral issues in the classroom setting. Most often, these students come with labels such as Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), Emotional Disturbance Disorder, Conduct Disorder, Oppositional Defiance Disorder, etc. Also, some students may exhibit self-injurious behavior, aggression, withdrawal or avoidance of social situations and not carry a label. Ultimately, the following group is aimed at helping students that struggle with disruptive behavior in the school setting whether or not he or she carries a label.

Importance Of Teaching Reading Comprehension With Nonfiction Texts, Valeria Jo Frey

Graduate Research Papers

Can comprehension strategies be taught as a learning skill for expository text reading in content area? What strategies in combination best benefit the reading comprehension of students who struggle with reading? How can reading comprehension strategies be taught so that skills are maintained and transferred across settings? In her book Exploring the Literature of Fact, Barbara Moss (2003) suggests that the items needed to be successful in reading nonfiction include accessing quality literature, learning reading strategies, understanding the use of text structure, and responding to the literature.

The following literature review will define reading comprehension using nonfiction material. The research …

The History Of The Iowa Teen Award, Joni K. Hoing

Graduate Research Papers

The major purpose of this research paper was to document in a written form the history of the Iowa Teen Award (ITA). This purpose was accomplished through interviews and examination of IEMA Archival materials located in the University of Northern Iowa Rod Library Archives Collection. The results of this study showed a dedicated group of school librarians who organized a state-wide plan for a book award chosen by students in grades six through nine. Over a five-year period, plans were made for the award to be similar to the Iowa Children's Choice Award. The study presented the growth and development …

A Preferred Vision For Leading Schools : A Reflective Essay, Sarah E. Willenborg

Graduate Research Papers

In order to be a strong leader, one must be able to implement change effectively, link curriculum to instruction, and be called to service. These three components are vital in order to be an effective administrator. Through out my paper, I have reflected on the ways I feel I can most effectively implement each criterion, and create life long learners in my teachers and students.

An Herbal Abc Book: A Contribution To Information Available To Children And Adults, Linda Jo Kirkland

Graduate Research Papers

From Neanderthal to New Age times, plant medicine has been shown to be used by people seeking relief from ailments. There is a lack of information available for children to learn about the simple herbal remedies used by their ancestors even though herbal remedies are commonly used in this country. These plant remedies are both culturally and medically significant. People use herbal medicine to a great extent without consulting medical professionals. Therefore, a research based herbal ABC book would be a significant addition to children’s literature in this country, both as information for children and adults, and as a conversation …

A Case Study On The Effectiveness Of Kurzweil Software On Improving Participation And Comprehension With Special Education Students In The Science Classroom, Christina Glaub

Graduate Research Papers

This research project addresses using Kurzweil electronic text software as an accommodation with special education students. The research questions addressed were: Is Kurzweil an effective accommodation for special education students with reading deficits? and Will using Kurzweil improve special education students' participation and comprehension?

A review of literature provided more in-depth information about: (a) electronic text, specifically Kurzweil, (b) the benefits of integrating electronic text into the general education classrooms, and (c) the recommendations or considerations for teachers considering using electronic text. The research based on the literature review shows that the use of electronic text may lead to improved …

Technology Integration Within The Elementary Classroom Setting, Krista K. Krebsbach

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this paper is to examine technology integration in the elementary classroom setting. Technology is now considered to be an important part of a child's educational experience. Research has determined that students do not learn the same way they did years ago, thus schools are changing their methodologies on how to best serve the 21st century student. However, technology integration can not happen all at once; there are many barriers to technology integration. Some examples would be environmental barriers, curriculum issues, and the personal beliefs of the teachers.

School districts are addressing these problems to ensure that their …