Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

A Descriptive Study Of The Effect Of Teacher Inservice Training On The Utilization Of Computer Based Telecommunications, Anne Harken Hansen

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study investigated the effect of teacher inservice training on their utilization of computer based telecommunications. Eight teachers from a rural sized school district participated in this case study. The teachers were divided into experimental and control groups. Four teachers were assigned to each group. The experimental group attended two 90 minute training sessions on telecommunications and its educational applications. The control group did not receive training until after the study was complete. Both groups logged their telecommunications use over a 6-week period starting immediately after the experimental group attended the first training session. Results of this study indicated a …

Principals' Perceptions About Regular Education Teachers' Attitudes Toward Integration Of Students With Handicaps, Susan Kay Posekany Sherwood

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

As the movement to integrate students with handicaps into regular education classrooms continues, regular education teachers are a critical component of the successful implementation of the integration process. Because building principals must assume responsibility for selecting the teachers who will be assigned integrated classrooms, this investigation determined the degree to which principals were able to predict the attitudes of regular education teachers toward the integration of students with handicaps.

From public school districts in a Midwestern state, 85 pairs of teachers and principals were randomly selected from three educational levels: (a) elementary, (b) middle, and (c) secondary. The data were …

A Study Of Teaching About Religions In Selected Iowa Public High Schools, Douglas W. Sprague

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study investigated public high school teachers perceptions about religions in the curriculum, and practices of public high school teachers when teaching about religions in public high school classrooms. The study used a modified version of the analytical induction model of qualitative research presented by (Bogdan & Biklen, 1982). Three pre-selected high schools in the state of Iowa were identified by the researcher for study. A common departmental structure was used to identify teachers from across the curriculum as participants in the study. The schools were of three different enrollment sizes. Thirty-four teachers who taught 79 different courses made up …

An Investigation Of The Relationship Between A Program For Teaching Thinking Skills And Science Test Scores, Craig M. Hemmen

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

There has been limited research which specifically explores the effects of science achievement when teaching thinking skills in isolation to upper elementary students. There are many components of thinking skills; however, the present study deals specifically with the student responsibility aspect of thinking skills. Subjects are fifth- and sixth-grade science students enrolled in a small rural Midwestern school district. Students were divided into classes by the principal. There was an effort to equalize both classes academically. The student responsibility section of a thinking skills program, devised by the Area Education Agency 7, was used. A 2-week period at the beginning …

Identifying Factors Related To Computer Anxiety, David J. Bohlke

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This investigation centers on the impact the computer, as an instrument, has on computer anxiety. Other variables examined were gender, age, academic experience, and computer experience. Eighty-three rural Iowa high school juniors and seniors were administered a Computer Opinion Survey {Maurer & Simonson, 1984) as a measure of computer anxiety. Subjects were randomly assigned to either a control group that completed the survey using the traditional paper and pencil method, or an experimental group which completed the survey by entering their responses at a computer terminal. It was anticipated that if the computer were a major factor in increasing computer …

A Description And Explanation Of Teacher-Talk During Kindergarten Sharing Time, Debra Louise Semm Elliott

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Teacher-talk during kindergarten Sharing Time was described and explained through a qualitative study of 3 kindergarten teachers. Transcripts of 12 teacher interviews and six Sharing Time observations formed the basis of the study. Results showed that there appears to be a mismatch between teachers' stated goals and actual practice. Teacher-talk dominated much of Sharing Time and occurred in a short discourse style. Categories of teacher-talk were developed through constant comparative analysis. Two broad categories of questions and comments were further divided. Questions fell into four categories: information-seeking, clarification, management, and off-topic. Information-seeking questions were further classified as low-level literal, high-level …

A Description And Explanation Of Teacher-Talk During Kindergarten Sharing Time, Debra Louise Semm Elliott

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Teacher-talk during kindergarten Sharing Time was described and explained through a qualitative study of 3 kindergarten teachers. Transcripts of 12 teacher interviews and six Sharing Time observations formed the basis of the study. Results showed that there appears to be a mismatch between teachers' stated goals and actual practice. Teacher-talk dominated much of Sharing Time and occurred in a short discourse style. Categories of teacher-talk were developed through constant comparative analysis. Two broad categories of questions and comments were further divided. Questions fell into four categories: information-seeking, clarification, management, and off-topic. Information-seeking questions were further classified as low-level literal, high-level …

Developmental Relationships Between Students’ Attitudes Toward Reading And Reading Achievement In Grades 1 Through 8, Nancy White

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to investigate various developmental relationships between the attitudes of students toward reading and their reading achievement with the intention of providing additional information concerning attitudes and attitude testing within school programs. The relationship between reading achievement and attitude toward reading over grade levels, and the relationship between students' attitude toward reading achievement according to gender and participation in special programs was also investigated.

The population of the study consisted of 876 students in Grades 1 through 8 from a white, middle-class rural community. The instrument used to measure the attitudes of students toward reading …

Problems Encountered With The Readability Of Social Studies Books, Peggy Drinovsky

Graduate Research Papers

Readability of social studies texts has been and continues to be a concern of teachers when choosing a new series to use in the school. Teachers using readability formulas have come away feeling dissatisfied, as there are always students who should be able to read the book but cannot, or ones who should not be able to read the book but can, according to the formulas used. Obtaining the readability of a given text is quick and easy but it diagnoses the text rather than the student, as it gives the grade level of the text not the reading level …

The Maturation Of Public Relations Degree Programs--Ten Years In Retrospect: Struggles; Experiences And Analyses Of A Communication-Based Pr Program., Jon Hall, Pamela Edwards

Faculty Publications

This paper reviews the historical experience of a new public relations program housed in a speech communication department (rather than in a journalism department; which is traditional); discusses some of the internal and external struggles experienced in the implementation and administration of the program; and reports on the placement of its graduates. The program; at the University of Northern Iowa's (UNI) department of Communication and Theatre Arts; was implemented in 1978 after five years of planning. The program received support from the administration but faced problems because of its phenomenal growth. The paper describes this support and a number of …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Main Idea Instruction, Judy Harms

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to produce a preliminary explanation of why certain types of main idea instruction exist in classrooms. Semistructured interviews were the focal point of this study. Six teachers participated in the study. Two taught third grade, 2 taught fourth grade, and 2 taught fifth grade. Each teacher was interviewed twice as the basis of this study. In the first round of interviews, open-ended questions were asked of the teachers after they had read a short vignette on teaching main idea. In the second round of interviews, the teachers were asked to elaborate on previous responses …

A Survey Of Interdisciplinary Teaming In Iowa Middle Level Public Schools, Fred A. Wills Jr.

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to analyze the concept of interdisciplinary teaming in Iowa middle level public schools grades 6-8. Of importance to the study was a comparison of desirability, implementation, teacher and administrator attitudes, level of use and student self-concept in middle level school using, and schools not using interdisciplinary teaming.

The study utilized five specific instruments for gathering data. The demographic survey and innovation configuration checklist ascertained the components of interdisciplinary teaming and determined whether a school was a user or nonuser of the concept. The Stages of Concern survey and Level of Use interview developed for …

Metacognition As A Theoretical Construct: Its Nature, Origins, And Application In The Secondary Reading Program, Karen Collinge Carroll

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Metacognition is a theoretical construct used to describe a type of cognitive ability through which an individual assesses the range and quality of his/her own knowledge and is able to gain insight and control over particular aspects of his/her own cognitive and affective processes. Metacognition appears to be an important factor in development of higher level thinking skills, in acquisition of knowledge, and in reading comprehension. Because of its role in reading and learning, metacognition may prove to be an ideal construct on which to base secondary reading instruction, an area of secondary curriculum which is in particular need of …

Relationships Among Tasks Designed To Elicit Causal Understanding In Reading, Mary Monica Cassidy

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study examined the relationship between students' performance with worksheet tasks and story questions when used to elicit understanding of causal relationships. Additionally, performance of good and poor readers on these tasks was compared. The subjects for this study were 73 fourth-grade students from two midwest public schools. Students were designated as either highor low-achieving readers by their scores on the Reading subtest of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. Descriptive statistics and instrument reliabilities using Cronbach's alpha were obtained. A Pearson product moment correlation matrix for the tasks also was computed. Subjects' performance on worksheet tasks was also compared …

Mentoring Relationships During Student Teaching, Richard G. Stahlhut

Faculty Publications

This study sought to find out if mentoring styles were used by cooperating teachers as perceived by student teachers during their clinical field experience. After a specific mentoring model was constructed; the objectives of the study were to identify leadership behaviors cooperating teachers used; to determine if any of the inferred mentoring styles that incorporated the leadership behaviors tested were dominant; and to determine if any of these leadership behaviors or mentoring styles influenced a student teacher's success as measured by a final evaluation checklist. The Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire Form XII was administered to 212 University of Northern Iowa …

Manual Training: Its Role In The Development Of The Seventh-Day Adventist Educational System, Gerald Wayne Coy

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to examine the history of manual training within the Seventh-day Adventist educational system and determine its relationship to the development of manual training in the public schools of America. Consideration was also given to the present status of manual training within the Adventist system.

The research design was historical in form, and data were gathered covering three special areas: (a) the development of manual training in American public schools; (b) the establishment of Seventh-day Adventist education; and (c) the present status of technology education (the great-grandchild to manual training) within Adventist secondary education.

Research …

Developing Reading Strategies: Teachers’ Responses To Miscues, Valori Dawn Hansen

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Research has suggested that many low-achieving readers may be receiving feedback to their miscues which is not helpful and is very different than that being provided high-achieving readers. The assumption seems to be that if teachers respond to low achieving readers in the same manner as high-achieving readers, then they would begin to see the low-achieving readers using the more effective strategies similar to those used by the high achieving readers. Yet the question remains of how we systematically develop effective feedback strategies in teachers. Specifically, this study proposed to answer the question: What is the effect of a four-part …

The Ability Of First-Grade Students To Demonstrate An Understanding Of Linear Measurement Concepts, Sherri Muhlenbruck Delp

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study investigated the ability of first-grade students to demonstrate an understanding of linear measurement concepts using the "Additive Measurement Groups" task. It also examined the relationship between that ability and sex, and between that ability and age. The subjects were 67 white children attending first grade in a small, rural cornmuni ty in south-central Iowa. All were between the ages of 6 years, 6 months and 8 years, 6 months, and wer·e members of regular, self-contained classrooms. Thirty-six were boys and 31 were girls. The subjects had completed the measurement unit as presented in their mathematicr. textbook. The students …

The Development And Initial Validation Of A Test Of Students’ Use Of Morphemic Analysis In Deriving Word Meaning, Maelou Kelly Baxter

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to develop and initially validate a test of students' use of morphemic analysis in deriving word meaning. Eight steps in test construction were followed: (a) definition of test objectives, (b) definition of target population, (c) review of related measures, (d) development of an item pool, (e) preparation of a prototype, (f) evaluation of the prototype, (g) revision of the measure, and (h) collection of data on test validity and reliability. The field testing was conducted with 15 fifth-grade and 15 sixth-grade readers who lived in a midwestern town with a population of about 35,000. …

Written Communication As A Variable In The Relationship Between Classroom Teachers And Reading Specialists, Judy Lynn Gronemeyer

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to examine communication as a variable in the relationship between classroom teachers and reading specialists. The following specific questions were addressed: (1) What is the effect of written progress notes sent by reading speciaIists to the cIassroom teachers on the classroom teachers' perceptions of the reading specialists' effectiveness, and does this effect vary by school? (2) What is the effect of written progress notes sent by the reading speciaIists to the class room teachers on the number and types of classroom teacher-initiated communications, and does this effect vary by school? Three reading specialists (al …

The Concurrent Validity Of The Concepts About Print Tests With The Metropolitan Readiness Test In Kindergarteners, Sarah Louise Anderson

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The specific purposes of this study were (1) to determine the concurrent validity of the Concepts about Print Tests, Sand, and Stones, with the Metropolitan Readiness Test, and (2) to determine the concurrent validity of the Sand and Stones. The following problematic questions were addressed: (1) What relationship exists between the readiness aspects assessed by the Metropolitan Readiness Test and the Concepts about Print Test, Sand? (2) What relationship exists between the readiness aspects assessed by the Metropolitan Readiness Test and the Concepts about Print Test, Stones? (3) What relationship exists between the Concepts about Print Test, Sand, and the …

A Survey Of Science Instruction In Elementary Learning Disability Resource Rooms In Iowa Area Education Agency # 1, Kevin M. Anderson

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Since the initiation of special resource rooms for learning disabled youngsters several years ago, many special educators have concentrated their instructional routine on the skills of reading and mathematics. A subject area such as science has been viewed as a topic suited more for the regular classroom than the resource room. When science has been moved into the resource room, research shows it has generally been on a tutorial basis, helping the child catch up to other students. This study investigated the amount and quality of science instruction present in elementary learning disability resource rooms. It involved the 53 public …

An Investigation Into The Effects Of Classroom Guidance Activities On Self-Concept And Arithmetic Achievement In Third Graders, Betty Elaine Barrick

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study was designed to investigate the effect of classroom guidance activities on the self-concept and arithmetic achievement of third graders, and to determine what relationship exists between self-concept and arithmetic achievement. Effects of the treatment were examined between experimental and control groups and between boys and girls. Forty subjects participated in the study, 20 in the experimental and 20 in the control group. Initial equivalence of math instruction and of the two groups of students was established by examining Iowa Tests of Basic Skills class composites for the previous five years for classes of the two instructors, and by …

The Effects Of Language Variables On The Reading Comprehension Of Hearing-Impaired Children, Nancy L. Robbins

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Hearing-impaired children rarely learn to read well. They suffer no apparent deficit in perceptual skill or basic intelligence. Their difficulty appears to be linguistic in origin. But research on the reading ability of the deaf is inadequate to specify the precise nature of their linguistic disability.

The deaf lack knowledge of English phonology. Current reading instruction programs for them a.re based on the assumption that this is the cause of their reading problems. Recent research indicates, however, that phoneme-grapheme correspondences contribute little to the reading process and that phonics instruction may actually impede learning to read. It is unlikely that …

The Relationship Between Reading Levels And Self-Concept Of Disabled Readers, Marilyn Ann Cox

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

It has been noted that emotional factors are an integral part of a child's success in learning to read. Research indicates that one of the most important personality factors is self-concept. Because the disabled reader has met with repeated failures his self-concept appears to be significantly affected. However, the fact that each person's self-concept is private, personal, and not directly observable makes it difficult to measure. A complication in self-concept measurement is that there have been almost as many measuring devices as there have been studies. Two types of self-concept measures are discussed in the review of literature. The purpose …

Instructional Role Of The Media Specialist, Patricia S. Adams

Graduate Research Papers

A study was made to investigate the number of elementary school media specialists part1e1pat1n.g 1n the instructional program. Additional problems of the study were to further investigate what instructional tasks were performed and what values were assigned to the instructional tasks in a total media program.

A survey instrument was distributed to one hundred fifteen Iowa elementary school media specialists in April, 1975. The instrument was used to assess the following, (1) if the recipient was an elementary media specialist employed full time in one attendance center; (2) if the recipient participated with the teaching staff in planning, designing, implementing, …

Law-Focused Education: Iowa, University Of Northern Iowa

Faculty Publications

This law-focused resource booklet is intended to help secondary level students learn about the civil law portion of Iowa's judicial system. The materials are designed to help students understand how to deal with conflict in a peaceful and orderly manner and how to cope with decision making in personal law situations as related to the family; the market place; the court of law; and the world of work. Section one; comprising about one half of the guide; contains objectives; case studies for student use; and questions for discussion on the following topics: civil law; court procedures; injury and property damage; …

The Contribution Of A Media Specialist To The Teaching And Learning Program In An Elementary School, Erma Johnson

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study is to identify factors which can be used to persuade the Oskaloosa Community School District to hire a media specialist to serve Grant Elementary School. The question is: Does a professional media specialist make a significant contribution to the teaching and learning program in an elementary school?

The hypothesis to be tested is: Previous research results and opinions of knowledgeable experts and practitioners in the field will show that students in schools which have centralized collections staffed by a trained media specialist make greater educational gains than students in schools without access to a centralized …

There's Nothing New Under The Sun, Geraldine E. Larocque

Faculty Publications

The attempt to unite theory and practice in the education of English teachers has taken many forms: courses in which theoreticians attempt to illuminate the practice of professional teachers or student teachers; situations in which teacher-education faculty cooperate with teachers; student teachers; and the community; in order to make programs more responsive to community needs; and instruction in which school-based apprenticeship is stressed. Until research can provide a firm base for the structure and content of methods courses; professionals must rely on their own judgment as to the placement of emphasis. An adaptation of Lee J. Cronbach's research paradigm; used …

The Predictive Relationship Of Tutorial Teaching Competencies On Group Instruction Performance For Prospective Special Education Teachers, Sarah Jane Frudden

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of the study was to determine if the skills acquired by trainees in the tutorial experience of the University of Northern Iowa competency-based program act as predictors in the group instruction experience.

This end was accomplished by comparing the scores obtained in the Phase I individual performance criteria against the composite score received in Phase II. A Pearson product moment correlation coefficient analysis was used to determine which individual Phase I criteria correlated significantly with the Phase II composite score. A multiple linear regression analysis was utilized to determine which criteria most highly contributed to the variance of …