Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

The Role Of Transformational Leadership In The Collaborative Development Of A Full Inclusion Program: An Action Research Study, Paul R. Hain

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This dissertation is a critical action research study on full inclusion for students with learning disabilities. The study describes how full inclusion for 16 students with learning disabilities in three regular classes was implemented in an Illinois elementary school over a one year period. The purpose of this study is to describe how transformational leadership, collaborative decision-making and action research helped in the development of full inclusion.

Action research was the method used to 1) observe and collect data about the project, 2) to analyze what was happening, and 3) help guide the inclusion teaching team in taking actions …

Vision And The Ideal Teacher: Implications For Educational Practice, Rosalind Victoria Aaron

Dissertations

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to describe how and why teachers with a vision of an ideal teacher have chosen teaching as their profession and to articulate how that vision has influenced their educational practice.

Procedure. This study was conducted in the classroom setting using qualitative methods. The qualitative techniques were informal and formal interviews, non-participant observations, and personal journal entries.

Conclusions. The findings of the study revealed that the three teachers do have visions, which they clearly articulated. Their visions resulted from their interaction with others, but specifically with some of their former teachers. As new ideas, …

Preservice Elementary Education Students’ Beliefs Regarding The Teaching And Learning Of Mathematics, Elsa L. Geskus

Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes the entering and exiting beliefs of preservice elementary education students in three domains. The domains are: (1) the nature of teaching mathematics, (2) the nature of learning mathematics, and (3) the nature of the underlying source of their success or failure in mathematics. The data collection for this study was comprised of two questionnaires. The first questionnaire with 72 items used a five point Iikert scale. The second questionnaire took 10 of the Iikert items and formatted them as an open-ended response questionnaire. Students were to respond favorably or negatively to the statements and provide support for …

Principal And Teacher Perceptions Of School Climate Related To Value-Added Assessment And Selected School Contextual Effects In The First Tennessee District, Diann B. Casteel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problem related to this study was to develop a clearer understanding of organizational climates in K-8 schools in Tennessee and the relationship that climate has to school performance, as measured through value-added assessment. The purpose of this study was to identify relationships between dimensions of school climate and student achievement as measured by mandated value-added assessment at the third grade level in Tennessee. The study attempted to determine if there was a significant difference between principal and teacher perceptions of school climate and if a relationship existed between the school climate and value-added assessment. The study also endeavored to …

Learning With Personal Computers: Issues, Observations And Perspectives, Helga A.H. Rowe, Irene Brown, Isabel Lesman

Digital learning research

The empirical study discussed in this book was conducted in the Sunrise classrooms at Coombabah State School, Queensland in 1991-92, in which each student had their own laptop computer. Part I provides a theoretical framework for learning and teaching with computers. Part II deals with issues relating to the acquisition of computer literacy. Part III describes the empirical study conducted with 115 Year 6 and Year 7 students, and Part IV deals with issues relating to the professional development of teachers who teach students with computers and with the evaluation of computer software by teachers.

An Investigation Of Elementary Teachers' Self-Perception Of Burnout While Participating In A Professional Development Change Process, Lana L. Callihan

Dissertations

Teachers are experiencing pressures from the demands of educational change required in their profession. The quality of education is reflected by the competency of the teacher. The research suggests that efforts should be directed toward identifying a process for change that will reduce the feelings of burnout which block the energy and enthusiasm needed for change.

This study investigated the question, "Does involvement in a professional development process modify a teacher's perceived feelings of burnout?" The professional development models studied were the Collaborative Curriculum and Professional Development Process (CCPDP), Instructional Theory Into Practice (ITIP), and the Michigan School Improvement Process …

A Survey Of Oral Communication Instructional Practices In The Elementary Public Schools Of Michigan, James N. Walker

Dissertations

Instruction in oral communication is critical to education. Oral communication skills are needed in the development of skills in written language, math, problem solving, and reading. Oral communication skills are important in achieving academic, vocational, and personal success. On November 1, 1978, speech education was recognized as a basic skill by United States law.

The purpose of this study was to determine the oral communication instructional practices in Michigan public elementary schools grades K-5. Eight research questions were identified:

(1) Is instruction provided? (2) What is the "basis" for instruction? (3) What materials are used? (4) What is the method …

Reprographic Media Education, Ross H. Regan

All Master's Theses

This paper presents a comparative investigation of five basic processes in the duplicating field that are readily available to teachers in British Columbia. Forty teachers from fourteen schools, kindergarten through grade twelve, were surveyed to determine present practices and needs for this method of communication. Cost, efficiency, and quality comparison are included.

Recommendations include the need for teacher in-service, guidelines for determining the most suitable means of reproducing learning materials on paper, and suggestions for additional research.

The Effect Of Circuit Training On The Physical Fitness Of Fourth Grade Boys And Girls Compared To Traditionally Accepted Calisthenics, Larry J. Mataya

All Master's Theses

It was the purpose of this study: (1) To compare the regular physical education program of the fourth grade with an experimental physical education program of the fourth grade; and (2) to compare physical fitness of boys and girls of the two groups before and after the study.

Reading Interests In Relation To Vocational, Extracurricular, And Academic Interests Of Boys In Grades Two Through Six, Diane C. Mccarty

All Master's Theses

Educators are continually seeking ways of aiding children in preparation for their adult lives. There has been much research involving the interest and aspirations of the secondary and college student, often leaving the elementary child behind. The writer felt the need to explore the possibilities of a positive relationship between reading, vocational, academic, and extracurricular interests within the elementary grades. If a correlation could be established, this would aid the teacher in developing the necessary skills in a strong foundation for future use by the student. The three-part research hypothesis would determine (1) if a significant relationship exists between the …

A Comparative Study Of The Open Court And Basal Reading Programs, Janice Kathryn Smith

All Master's Theses

The purpose was to compare the Open Court first grade reading program with a traditional Basal Method being taught at Lakeview Elementary School in the Lake Washington School District.

A Study Of The Effect The Value-Clarification Process Had On Fifth Grade Students In Auburn, Washington, Kathleen Agnes Hagen

All Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not there was any significant difference in the behavior ratings of the two groups of fifth graders between those students who received the "value-clarification" process and those students who did not. The clarification process is an approach to clarifying the values of students. The teacher asks questions, during group or private individual sessions, of the students.

A Comparison Of The Exer-Genie As A Physical Conditioning Device To Traditional Methods Of Exercise, Robert E. Parsons

All Master's Theses

This study was composed of two problems as follows 1. To compare the Exer-Genie with a traditional developmental physical education program and a typical physical education program for developing physical fitness in elementary school boys. 2. To compare the development of specific muscular strengths in a program using the Exer-Genie with the development of the same specific muscular strengths in a traditional developmental program.

An Experimental Study Of The Effect Of Specialized Reading Treatment On The Reading Achievement Of Second Grade Students, Mary Lou Ames

All Master's Theses

Many pupils do not achieve success in reading by the traditional instruction. A few can be helped by remedial classes offering individual children help for specific difficulties. In this study a method was explored that suggests a plan that can be used in a regular classroom to benefit all low-achieving students.

A Study Of The In-Service Education Programs Available To Elementary Principals In Spokane, Stevens And Whitman Counties, William Harold Bourne Jr.

All Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the availability of in-service education programs to elementary principals in a selected geographical area, to determine who planned the programs, what types of programs were available and what areas of study were included in these programs.

A Survey Of The Effectiveness Of The Various Sizes Of Elementary School Teaching Teams In The Puget Sound Area, Norman L. Standley

All Master's Theses

The purpose of the study is to discover and analyze the various sizes of teaching teams, on the elementary school level, to determine their relative effectiveness with respect to the following, as perceived by teachers: 1. What team size lends itself to the greatest number of individual teacher competencies? 2. What team size contributes the most to the professional growth of teachers? 3. What team size offers the most to the student's growth and development? The purpose of the study is to discover and analyze the various sizes of teaching teams, on the elementary school level, to determine their relative …

A Three-Year Experimental Study Of Two Methods Of Teaching Reading In The Elementary School, Merle Eugene Davis

All Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of a phonetic reading approach, namely that published by the Economy Company, with a traditional basal reading approach upon reading achievement in the primary grades of the Peter G. Schmidt Elementary School, in Tumwater, Washington. A secondary purpose of the study was to compare the effects of the two approaches on spelling achievement in the second and third grades in the Peter G. ·Schmidt Elementary School.

Aerospace Education In The Sixth Grade, Edith Marie Jackson

All Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was twofold: to formulate an aerospace education handbook providing pertinent information and material which may be woven into existing sixth grade courses in the elementary curriculum and to make a careful evaluation of one aerospace program in a sixth grade classroom. The problems were: (1) selection and organization of appropriate information and material for the handbook; (2) determining suggested teaching procedures and activities; and (3) preparation and administration of evaluative instruments for the program.