Education Commons^™

Impact Of Family Process And Status Variables On Student Academic Achievement, Jennifer L. Meyer

Graduate Research Papers

Numerous studies have underscored the strong contributions families make to their children's academic achievement (e.g., Christenson & Buerkle, 1999; Conoley, 1987; Henderson & Berla, 1994). The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of parental involvement and the relationship between family-process and status variables and their impact on student academic achievement. Results indicated when parents and schools establish collaborations and work in conjunction to encourage learning, student academic achievement is enhanced. Furthermore, non-cognitive behavior such as attitudes about school, maturation, self-concept, and behavior are enhanced when parents/families are more involved. Other benefits of close family and school collaboration …

Family Literacy, Dorothy Fay Bantz

Graduate Research Papers

This is a Family Literacy Program set up for second grade students and their families. The project includes thirty-six books and activities for the students to take home every Friday of the school year. The activities include both the student and the adults in the home. The picture books are both narrative and expository and written in a variety of genres. The book reviews are included for each book to show their quality. The adults are given support from the school through newsletters, a web page, family nights, and an initial home visit. The adults are encouraged to become part …

Utilizing The Classroom Computer In A Special Education Setting To Facilitate Cooperative Learning: A Case Study Using Kidpix, Audrey Dieken

Graduate Research Papers

Collaboration and cooperative teaching methods have been researched since the late 70's. The research indicates students will learn from each other given the proper environment and tools. In this study, six elementary students were evaluated to examine the effects of teaching individual tasks to students and observing the students for collaboration between partners. Two students were placed side-by-side at one computer and observed by an undergraduate researcher.

The results of the observations report the students were engaged in the activity of KidPix 60-l 00% of the time. All of the students were able to complete the tasks over 95% of …

Group Contingencies And Classroom Applications, Eric Weichers

Graduate Research Papers

Group contingency is a method of behavior control which is usually used unknowingly on a daily basis in the classroom. And more than likely, its result was success. So why is it that so few teachers use group contingencies as a formal intervention? One possibility is a lack of understanding concerning the principles involved. Another possibility is an erroneous belief that it is a difficult intervention. It may be the lack of knowledge concerning the power of a group contingency. Whatever the reason, group contingencies are not often employed by teachers as formal interventions.

Teacher Change In Math Education, Jamie Folkers

Graduate Research Papers

This literature review addresses the process teachers go through in order to change their instructional practices in math. The purpose of this review is to compare traditional math practices with practices being advocated by reform initiatives, to look at hurdles preventing teachers from adapting these reforms, and share suggestions for removing these hurdles to allow a smoother change process for teachers.

The sources referenced come from research studies involving classroom practices and professional development programs, journal articles related to the math reform movement, and books on the same topic. They date from 1989 to 2000.

The main recommendations are as …

Distance Learning : Is It Worth The Investment?, S. Michelle Degabriele

Graduate Research Papers

As human knowledge expands at an exponential rate, learning is increasingly becoming a lifelong endeavor. Careers and lives in the twenty-first century require constant learning, new education, and retraining. Thus, the nontraditional adult population in universities is increasing. Institutions pondering how to cope with an increasing student population and an ever shrinking budget can examine distance learning as a possible solution. Costs and benefits must be carefully considered in the areas of institution finances, the learning process, students, and instructors.

Although many instructors gladly accept opportunities to teach in the distance learning environment, the majority of instructors still have concerns …

The Merits Of Kindergarten Readers' Workshop, Janet K. Hurley

Graduate Research Papers

Literacy is at the very core of our being, and as such a vital component of personal identity, creating an environment conducive to literacy development is an essential element of education. Knowing that attitudes are molded early in life, establishing a strong, meaningful literacy program in early childhood can affect children for a lifetime.

The purpose of this article is to illustrate the merits and power of Readers ' Workshop at the kindergarten level. First I will define and discuss components of the workshop format. I then will share what I see as the greatest benefits of the workshop approach …

Implementing And Sustaining Effective Online Learning In Organizational Environments, Amy S. Campbell

Graduate Research Papers

This literature review will address specific issues and concerns that are . prevalent when organizations begin to migrate training and learning activities to an online environment.

The structure of many organizations has been changing over the years to include a diverse and geographically dispersed work force. In an effort to continue to provide training and learning opportunities, while at the same time reducing travel and time away from work, more organizations are seeking to implement online learning alternatives. Online learning offers a unique learning alternative to traditional instructor-led training. However, organizations must be prepared to effectively support online learning and …

Non-Technical Issues Involved In Moving A College Course From The Traditional Classroom To Cyberspace, Dixie L. Mercer

Graduate Research Papers

Advances in communication technologies have rapidly led to interest in the development of online learning programs. The value of these programs is beginning to be accepted as a way of providing an alternative delivery system to students in higher education whose work schedules, family issues, or geographical location make it impractical to attend regularly scheduled classes on a college campus.

Despite the potential of online learning, online instruction is not simply a traditional class gone digital. The teaching and learning processes of traditional classes needs to be reexamined for online classes, as the technology becomes more widespread. Educators need to …

Moving Students Forward In Spelling, Catherine Miller

Graduate Research Papers

This article describes how one teacher integrated additional spelling instructional strategies into her current basal program. The purpose of this article is to give an overview of research about methods of spelling instruction and describe strategies that can be incorporated into an existing program to motivate students toward becoming conventional spellers. The article emphasizes the importance of purposeful writing experiences to give students ample opportunities to practice their growing knowledge of spelling.

Integrating Literature-Based Language Arts And Science : A Unit On Frogs For Kindergarten, Ruth Rysta

Graduate Research Papers

Classrooms providing a literature-base program allow children to engage in the language processes and present opportunities for children to create meaning by surrounding them with high-quality literature representative of different genres. Many of the language arts and science processes are related and can be integrated in themes or units to connect children's learning.

A unit on the life cycle of frogs offered kindergarten children a rich learning environment through quality literature and related expressive activities. The literature-base extended to science developed a sense of community, increased science knowledge and connected reading and writing to the science study.

An Overview Of The Nature Of Science For K-12 Science Teachers, William J. Soesbe Iii

Graduate Research Papers

Recent publicity has emphasized the concern of American citizens over student performance in the sciences. In an effort to evaluate one aspect of kindergarten through twelfth grade curricula that may have contributed to this situation, a comprehensive review of the literature concerning the nature of science was developed into a philosophical paper. The findings are synthesized into an analysis of the nature of science that provides a broad outline of the subject and related issues. The nature of science is a way of knowing that when balanced with scientific content and processes aids in the development of scientific literacy. Nonetheless, …

Comprehensible Input For Elementary Instruction, Comis Tang Loken

Graduate Research Papers

In the United States, more and more multi-ethnic linguistic populations will be entering school systems: The increasing need for helping these students from other cultures who know little or no English has become more and more apparent. Educators should modify their curricula and/or teaching strategies to improve English language learners (ELLs) ability in the use of English. Teachers help ELLs connect form (word) and meaning (concepts) and tie these to prior knowledge by providing understandable meaning, that is comprehensible input. Comprehensible input applies new words/sentences to old concepts. Vocabulary learning usually grows out of social interaction and talking personally to …

Computer Assisted Instruction: Successmaker™ Reading And Math, Melissa M. Haley

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this research was to determine whether the SuccessMaker™ reading and mathematics program being used at Collins-Maxwell Elementary School, Collins, Iowa, has increased the reading and mathematics scores. The elementary classroom teachers, the reading teacher, elementary principal, and two student key informants were all surveyed to obtain their opinions of the SuccessMaker™ program. Survey results indicated that while most of the teachers felt that this program had been beneficial to the students, they did not feel that computer-assisted instruction should replace classroom instruction.

Portrayal Of Character Pillars Defined By Character Counts! In Children’S Bestselling Literature 1950-1999, Stephanie J. Stocks

Graduate Research Papers

Becoming a person of character is an individual responsibility, yet society uses institutions and media to help guide future generations to obtain virtues and moral values. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the pillars of character depicted in children's literature published in the United States from 1950-1999 reflect the renewal in character education programs for schoolchildren.

A content analysis was used to analyze twenty-five best-selling children's picture books from 1950-1999 that were randomly selected to be in the sample population. This researcher looked for positive and negative instances of the six pillars, trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, …

A Preferred Vision For Administering Secondary Schools : A Reflective Essay, Elizabeth A. Wagner

Graduate Research Papers

The principalship is a collection of contradictory roles and responsibilities that requires knowledge and skills in many diverse areas. Paul Houston's (2001) description of society's expectations for a superintendent applies to the expectations for a principal as well: "The job is impossible because the expectations are unrealistic. We want one individual to be all and know all in a complex system" (p. 432). Today's principal is expected to effectively assume the roles of leader, educator, and manager (Speck, 1999), while creating "conditions that elicit the best from most students, teachers, and parents most of the time" (Barth, 1990, p. 64).

Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge And New Structures For Subject Matter Content, Corina S. Cimpoeru

Graduate Research Papers

This paper examines the concept of pedagogical content knowledge and its implications for teacher preparation and student's learning. The main part of this paper will focus on the necessity of structuring the subject matter in such a way that the content becomes teachable to students. Studies will be presented to analyze different subject matter structures that can be used to make the content accessible to students.

A Non-Authoritative Educational Metadata Ontology For Filtering And Recommending Learning Objects, Mimi Recker, David A. Wiley

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Digital libraries populated with learning objects are becoming popular tools in the creation of instructional technologies. Many current efforts to create standard metadata structures that facilitate the discovery and instructional use of learning objects recommend a single, authoritative metadata record per version of the learning object. However, as we argue in this paper, a single metadata record — particularly one with fields that emphasize knowledge management and technology, while evading instructional issues — provides information insufficient to support instructional utilization decisions. To put learning objects to instructional use, users must examine the individual objects, forfeiting the supposed benefits of the …

Determinants Of Educational Attainment Among Adolescents In Egypt: Does School Quality Make A Difference? [Arabic], Cynthia B. Lloyd, Sahar El Tawila, Wesley H. Clark, Barbara Mensch

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The paper explores empirically the relationship between school quality in Egyptian preparatory (middle) schools and the likelihood of school dropout either during preparatory school or before the completion of secondary school. Despite strong empirical evidence for the many positive social and economic returns associated with more years of schooling, there has been little research exploring how the quality of particular schools might influence grade levels attained. The authors address this research gap using detailed data on Egyptian preparatory schools (grades 6-8, the last three years of the eight years of basic schooling) that are linked with a national survey of …

Integrating Adolescent Livelihood Activities Within A Reproductive Health Program For Urban Slum Dwellers In India, Dale Huntington, Mary Philip Sebastian, Nirmala Sevlam, Barbara Mensch, Sahar Hegazi

Reproductive Health

The Population Council's Frontiers in Reproductive Health Program and the Policy and Research Division are collaborating with CARE India to conduct an operations research study to examine the feasibility and impact of adding livelihood counseling and training, savings activities, and follow-up support to the ongoing reproductive health program for adolescents. The short-term objective is to foster the development of alternative socialization processes for adolescent girls that encourage positive sexual and reproductive health behaviors. As noted in this project update, the study will produce a replicable model for CARE India and other agencies to use in adding livelihood activities to adolescent …

South Africa: Who Uses Youth Centers And Why?, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

In 2000, the Reproductive Health Research Unit in KwaZulu Natal and the Population Council conducted an assessment of 12 youth centers and 7 affiliated peer education programs. The 12 centers, located in urban, peri-urban, and rural areas, offer very different services. The two centers of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health focus on providing reproductive health (RH) information and services to adolescents. The six centers of the Youth and Adolescent Reproductive Health Project provide a broader range of youth-friendly RH services, including counseling and life skills education, as well as modest recreational activities. The four centers run by loveLife have large …

Resistance Theory And The Transculturation Hypothesis As Explanations Of College Attrition And Persistence Among Culturally Traditional American Indian Students, Terry Huffman

Faculty Publications - College of Education

This paper reports the findings of a qualitative research investigation on the educational experiences of 69 American Indian college students. Specifically, the data involving two groups of culturally traditional students (estranged students and transcultural students) are considered. Estranged students are culturally traditional American Indian students who experienced intense alienation while in college and, subsequently, fared poorly academically. Conversely, transculturated students are also culturally traditional students. However, these students overcame acute alienation and generally experienced successful college careers. After an examination of the dominant theoretical perspectives on American Indian educational achievement and attrition, the findings of the research are extended to …

Raising Us: Books With Insight Into Teens, Ken Badley, Shawna Fair, Leanne Hinz, Iain Maclean, Kelly Mottet, Tim Opperman, Stephen Shim, Linda Thomsen, Charlene Zerbin

Faculty Publications - College of Education

No abstract provided.

Front Cover

Basic Communication Course Annual

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Title Page

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Editorial Board

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Editor's Page, Deanna D. Sellnow

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Contents

Basic Communication Course Annual

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Students' Perceived Usefulness And Relevance Of Communication Skills In The Basic Course: Comparing University And Community College Students, Stephen K. Hunt, Daradirek Ekachai, Darin L. Garard, Joseph H. Rust

Basic Communication Course Annual

Communication skills training is extremely important in terms of students' career choices. However, few studies have been conducted regarding differences between community colleges and four-year universities in terms of students' perceived usefulness and relevance of the study of communication in relation to career choice. The present study extends extant research by examining students' perceptions of this issue. The participants in Study 1 were 155 community college and 291 four-year university students and participants in Study 2 were 205 community college students. The results demonstrate that students at both institutions perceive that the skills learned in basic communication courses are useful …

Antiracist Pedagogy In The Basic Course: Teaching Cultural Communication As If Whiteness Matters, Kristen P. Treinen, John T. Warren

Basic Communication Course Annual

As we have found in our experience as communication educators and scholars, there is a need for educators to understand the implications and impact of whiteness in the classroom. What we argue is typically missing in the basic course is an antiracist pedagogy. An antiracist pedagogy asks educators to understand the power and privilege inherent in whiteness, and asks educators to examine how whiteness affects their classroom, students, teaching strategies and attitudes toward students of color. In this essay, we offer four modifications to the basic course which are consistent with an antiracist pedagogy. The first modification involves re-examining the …