Education Commons^™

Junior High School Teachers' Attitudes Toward Using The Microcomputer As An Instructional Aid, Gordon L. Cooksey

Theses and Dissertations

This study was a descriptive survey of a junior high school's teachers' attitudes toward using the microcomputer as an instructional aid. The subjects were 25 academic teachers at a Muscogee County, Georgia, junior high school. Most of the teachers had been part of a pilot program to introduce a microcomputer laboratory at the junior high level. The data gathering instrument for this study was a 20-item questionnaire devised by the researcher. The questionnaire was pretested and administered in the spring of 1984. The results revealed highly favorable attitudes among teachers in the four academic disciplines toward using the microcomputer as …

Selected Tales From Georgia Indian Tribes With Suggested Application In Junior High School English And Social Studies Curricula, M. Diane Boss

Theses and Dissertations

After finding several references which suggest that there was a need to include Native American Studies in schools, the author of this report decided to create, "Cherokee, Creek, and Yuchi tales with Suggested Activities"; a resource supplement that would be of help to teachers of junior high school English and/or social studies in Columbus.

The completed resource supplement on Georgia Indian folk-tales include tales from three tribes, Cherokee, Creek, and Yuchi, selected because of their importance and proximity to Columbus. Twenty-three tales were chosen based on criteria established by the author.

The resulting collection of stories and instructional suggestions includes …

What Georgia's Middle Graders Are Reading: An Analysis Of Selected Georgia Book Award Recipients, Mary M. Bass

Theses and Dissertations

This project is a thematic analysis of thirty books nominated for the Georgia Children's Book Award Program. Books selected for analysis include the annual winners and one other book, randomly selected, from each year since the program began in 1969. A brief history of the program and the rules for the inclusion of a title are included in the report. A one-page review-analysis of each title includes a readability level, publication date, year nominated, brief sketch of the protagonist, and a synopsis of the book. The review of the literature focuses on similar studies along thematic lines and notes the …

Computer Assisted Instructed Materials Dealing With Sound Effects In Poetry For Use In The English Tv Classroom, Peggy Y. Westbrook

Theses and Dissertations

This project includes a survey of the types of Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) available for use in secondary English classrooms, 1llustrating that the majority of such programs deal with grammar, vocabulary, and reading objectives. Muscogee County, Georgia, high schools now have Apple computers for use by teachers and students in the classroom and after school. However, most current commercial programs do not meet the specific objectives of the curriculum, especially the English IV curriculum with its emphasis on literature. This project presents a trio of programs based on a portion of the poetry-related objectives of the MCSD English IV curriculum. …

Computer Programs In Intermediate Language Arts For Use In A Rural School System, Wanda M. Stuckey

Theses and Dissertations

This project developed and field tested computer programs in language arts for use in a rural school system. A review of the literature compared the effectiveness of computer-assisted instruction(CAI) in various academic areas, specifically focusing on the English curriculum. Commercially available computer programs from Texas Instruments were reviewed for content and format. Two computer programs were then developed on a TRS-80 color computer; the programs were designed specifically to assist in remedial instruction in the intermediate grades. Two reading skills were reviewed: the concepts of literal versus figurative language and fact versus opinion. The graphics portion of a commercial computer …

An Analysis Of Twenty Books For Young Adults In Terms Of Family Characteristics, According To Selected Sociological Variables, Elaine Vann Wise

Theses and Dissertations

An analysis of the families in twenty books, five taken from each of the 1980-1983 lists of Books for Young Adults, was used to determine if the families in the books accurately portrayed the American family. Three instruments were applied to the fictional families to gather information on the family history, characteristics, and relationships.

The families in young adult literature were found to accurately reflect the American family in marital status, number of children per family, and the persons with whom children were living. An unrealistic number of the families, however, were characterized as middle class or affluent. Only two …

English Department Evaluation With Focus On National Council Of Teachers Of English And Georgia Council Of Teachers Of English Criteria, Connie H. Clark

Theses and Dissertations

This study was a descriptive investigation of English department evaluation. It emphasized characteristics of departments at the national and state level which the National Council of Teachers of English and the Georgia Council of Teachers of English have recognized. The purpose of the investigation was to determine which of these characteristics the English department of a local high school met and to establish priorities for improving that department. The subjects were an intact group of 11 secondary English teachers who constituted 14.1 percent of a population of 78 teachers. The school at which they taught had an enrollment of 1400 …

Homogeneous Versus Heterogeneous Grouping Of Low Ability First Grade Students And The Effect On Reading Achievement, Velinda O. Hickey

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of homogeneous versus heterogeneous grouping on reading achievement with low ability first grade students. Using a modification of a posttest-only control group design and applying a t-test for independent samples', it was found that the 18 students placed in the homogenous group achieved significantly. higher reading levels in the Holt Basic Reading Management Program than the 18 heterogeneously grouped students. In addition, it was also found that students' placed in the homogeneous group achieved significantly higher means on two of the 23 reading skill subtests. In contrast, it was found …

Classroom Practices In The Teaching Of Writing, Rickey A. Cotton

Theses and Dissertations

This study was a descriptive investigation of current practices in the teaching of writing. The subjects were 327 eleventh grade English students and the six English teachers who taught them. The subjects were selected from three of eight high schools operating in a system of approximately 30,000 students in the southern region of the nation. The data gathering instrument for this study was a student writing questionnaire devised by the researcher. The questionnaire was pretested and administered in the spring of 1983. The results revealed both positive and negative aspects of writing instruction. Frequency and length of writing assignments emerged …

Samoan For Missionaries, Scott C. Dunn

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a textbook designed to assist LDS missionaries studying the Samoan language both in a two-month intensive language-learning school (the Missionary Training Center) and in individual study in the Samoan Islands. The thesis is prefaced with a rationale for and explanation of the Missionary Training Center language program and the design and purposes of the text itself.

The textbook contains fifty Samoan language lessons, divided into ten units of five lessons each. At the end of each unit is a review module, or test. Except for two overview lessons (designed to introduce grammatical terms and pronunciation), each of …

An Investigation Of The Relationship Between Career Appraisal And Status Of Burnout Among Religious Educators: Within The Education System Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Keith W. Allred

Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the predictive power of items regarding career appraisal in correctly classifying the status of burnout among Church Education System educators with six to ten years of service. Also, the factors considered most effective as deterrents to burnout were determined.

It was found that those who (1) did not feel they were progressing in their careers and (2) would change careers if possible were most likely to report burnout. Feeling needed in one's assignment and being recognized and appreciated for one's accomplishments, besides having a happy marriage, enjoying life, and living Gospel …

A Comparison Of The Effect Of The Language- Experience Approach And The Basal Approach On Reading Achievement, Larry L. Copeland

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine and compare through objective literary research the effectiveness of the basal method versus the language experience method on reading achievement. The review of the literature covered a wide variety of sources including several books, journals, dissertations, and reports by professional organizations.

Five questions were formulated to help guide the probe through the vast amount of literature and to narrow the scope and breadth of the research report. The questions asked about the significant differences of reading achievement by: (1) method of instruction, (2) socio-cultural background, (3) sex, (4) intelligence levels, and (5) …

The American Public Art Museum: Formation Of Its Prevailing Attitudes, Marilyn Mars

Theses and Dissertations

The history of the art museum's growth in America is presented in this thesis to place the development of the public art museum in the proper context. The museum has absorbed its sense of worth and power from the people who shaped its policy and believed in its ability to accomplish positive feats. Its growth as a force in the art world was subtle and studied, but amazingly complete. The museum which doubts its ability to persuade, convince, educate and entertain does not long survive. Examining the people and their attitudes with whom the museums had the most contact and …

Is There A Significant Relationship Between Teacher Credibility And Teacher Effectiveness?, Blake D. Madsen

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis was designed to determine if a significant relationship exists between credibility and effectiveness in seminary teachers.
Teacher credibility was determined by an adaptation of McCroskey's semantic differential scales used for measuring teacher credibility. Teacher effectiveness was determined by a matching scripture test.
Chi square tests produced significant relationships between teacher credibility and the following: student religiosity, teacher influence and class attitude. The tests also produced significant relationships between teacher effectiveness and these variables: sex, student religiosity, teacher influence and class attitude. These relationships largely were what one would expect. The chi square test also produced a significant relationship …

Lds Church Educational Objectives And Motivational Influences For Seminary Attendance: A Comparative Analysis, Linda Brockbank

Theses and Dissertations

This study addressed itself to identifying dominant motivational influences prompting seminary attendance of ninth and eleventh grade students living along the Wasatch Front in the state of Utah and to determine if these motivational influences were related to stated objectives of the LDS seminary program. The sample consisted of twelve randomly selected cluster groups of seminary classes from the Ogden, Salt Lake City, and Provo-Orem areas. Factors relative to stated objectives and to entertainment were incorporated in the survey questionnaire, Survey of Attendance Rationale, used for data collection. Data were collected in February 1981 and submitted to factor analysis, …

The Ses And Current Seminary Student Statements: A Descriptive Study, Cory William Bangerter

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to show that the present Student Evaluation of Seminary (SES) provides the seminary teacher with an inadequate estimate of his credibility in the classroom, as perceived by his students. To accomplish this goal, a list of student responses to questions about their seminary teachers was developed and analyzed. The results indicated that not all factors of teacher credibility as perceived by the seminary students were being measured by the SES.

Thirty-one students gave a total of 339 responses to the questions asked by the researcher. A comparison of the student statements to statements in …

The Teaching Methods Of Joseph Smith, Lane D. Ward

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Baseball: The Origins And Development Of The Game To 1903, Jeffrey Lawrence Haven

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to narrate a history of baseball from its origins to the merger of the National and American Leagues in 1903. The author endeavored to produce a work that was interesting to sports enthusiasts and informative to researchers. He also attempted to relate the significance of the development of the institution of baseball to nineteenth-century American society.

Based on accepted historical research and writing procedures, a study was completed which exposed the true birth of the game, the expansion and development of the sport from amateur clubs to professional teams, the growth of professionalism under …

The Development And Evaluation Of A Children's Gospel Principles Course, Lynn R. Applegate

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is the description, defense and critique of a course developed to teach gospel principles to 7- through 9-year-old children. The development process through which the course went, its formative evaluations and summative evaluation are described. The summative evaluation employed the pretest-posttest control group design. Thirty children, ages 7 through 9, were in the evaluation. After the pretest, 15 of the children were taught the 19-lesson course by their parents during a 23-day period. A statistical comparison of the mean pretest-posttest gain scores for the experimental group could significantly more accurately identify examples and non examples of fatih, agency, …

A Comparative Study Of Academic Achievement Of Full-Blood And Mixed-Blood Indian Students, Paul J. Comeau

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Teacher Training Program Administered By The Sunday School Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Steven A. Hedquist

Theses and Dissertations

Teaching is an art based upon the carefully considered scientific principles of pedagogy; therefore, teacher training has been an established policy of the Sunday School in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A fundamental educational responsibility in the Church is the preparation of members to teach well by providing them with methods for successful instruction. To accomplish this objective, the Sunday School developed a teacher training program whereby members became more proficient teachers.

The purpose of this study was to reconstruct the historical development and present a concise history of the teacher training program administered by the Sunday …

An Examination Of The Strategies Of Instruction Employed By Prophets And Teachers In The Book Of Mormon And Their Potential Application To Current Lds Instructional Settings, Bruce A. Van Orden

Theses and Dissertations

The problems with which this study will deal are based upon three premises:
1. There is a tremendous need in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for qualified, spiritually-motivating teachers.
2. The Book of Mormon has a record of many outstanding teachers and examples of teaching.
3. Teachers in the Church today can improve their effectiveness by learning from the teachers and the instructional process as found in the Book of Mormon.

Reasons For Non-Enrollment And Low Attendance In Lds Early Morning Seminary At Minneapolis-St. Paul, Wayne P. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to determine why only about one half of the potential Latter-day Saint students in grades nine through twelve in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area enroll in early morning seminary each year, why so many students attended poorly or discontinued part way through 1973-74, and what effect the increase in the price of gasoline had on attendance. About 40 percent of the potential students and their parents, all eight of their bishops, and all thirteen seminary teachers responded to a mailed questionnaire.

The main reasons for non-enrollment were inactivity in the LDS Church, disinterest in seminary, and difficulty finding …

An Analysis Of The Problems In Obtaining And Maintaining Released Time For Seminary In The Central Idaho Seminary District, Arthur A. Bailey

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the problems encountered by Latter-day Saints in establishing released time privileges for the Central Idaho Seminary District. A careful examination of minutes of state and local school boards, of L.D.S. Church Boards of Education, and of local seminary histories plus personal interviews determined which problems had been resolved.
The major problems were 1) whether released time was constitutional; 2) whether high school credit should be given for religious instruction; 3) getting good ethical men to serve on school boards; 4) creating good working relationships between public school and the seminary; and 5) overcoming the feeling that the …

High School Students Achievement Of College Level Work Through The Phase Achievement System (Pas), Dwight D. Lassen

Theses and Dissertations

Senior high school students in a Human Biology course were given college level work through the Phase Achievement System (PAS), a biology course at Brigham Young University (BYU). Statistical analysis showed significant growth in high school student learning through the PAS. When ability to work with PAS was measured, significant differences between the high school and college groups were not evident. A high percentage of college and high school students dropped out of the PAS, probably becasue students could fail at the PAS without experiencing academic failure.

Ella Deloria: A Biographical Sketch And Literary Analysis, Janette K. Murray

Theses and Dissertations

Ella Deloria, a Dakota born on the Yankton Reservation in 1888, was a teacher, speaker, author, and researcher in linguistics and anthropology. One purpose. of this study ·was to present a description of her family background, education, and career. Most of this information was gathered by interviews with her relatives, friends, former students, and professional acquaintances. A second.purpose was to analyze her writings on the language and culture of the Dakota people and to determine her contributions to existing publications by others.

The ancestors of Ella Deloria played important roles in the history of South Dakota. Her great-grandfather, Philippe des …

A Study To Determine The Possible Influence Of Public School Curriculum Development On Course Outlines Used By The Released-Time Seminary Program Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Merrill Dean Briggs

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis was to analyze and compare the influence of secular educational philosophy upon the curriculum of the seminaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In order to do this it was necessary to review and record the development of secular educational philosophy and curriculum. This was followed by writing the development of the educational philosophy and New Testament curriculum of the seminaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Next a comparison was made of the influence of the secular philosophies and curricula upon the religious educational philosophy and the New …

Behavioral Objectives For Selected Units In Ninth Grade General Business Class, Margie A. Kelling

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Study To Determine The Understanding Of The Nature And Mission Of Jesus Christ By Third Year Seminary Graduates Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Terry R. Baker

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to determine what degree of understanding third year graduates of the SLVN Seminary District had of the nature and mission of Christ.

The study was composed of a random sample of 200 third year seminary graduates. Each participant answered a questionnaire designed to test his understanding of the nature and mission of Christ. The responses were tabulated and presented in written and illustrative form.

The students met the minimum established standard of 75% in four of the five concepts which they were questioned concerning the nature of Christ. The students met the minimum established …

A Study Of The Opinions Of Lds Athletes Concerning Excellence In Gospel Living Contributing To Excellence In Sports, Robert L. Cummings

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to show by the use of the opinions of LDS athletes who have excelled in sports whether or not excellence in gospel living contributes to excellence in sports.

Religion has played a role in sports from very early history and has continued to the present time. The degree of religious influence has been determined by the society of the time, whether it played a minor or a positive role.

The results of the study pointed out the following:
The teachings of the LDS Church had a positive influence, according to LDS athletes, on the …