Educational Methods Commons^™

What Methods Have Been Used To Help Narrow The Achievement Gap Between African-American Students And White Students?, Cindra L. Landau

Graduate Research Papers

The research in this paper provides an overview and analysis of the problems in our nations' schools pertaining to the achievement gap between African-American students and White students, and what interventions and/or supports that have been found to start narrowing this gap. The analysis is based on educational journals, books and my own personal experiences from the stand point of teaching in a school with 60% African-American students. It will reveal some of the factors that may contribute to the achievement gap between African-American and White students, as well as teacher/student relations, classroom management and high/low teacher expectations, parent/teacher relations, …

Delivery To The Sharp End Of The Spear: Responding To The Need For Library Support To The Deployed And Downrange Military Community, Edward Murphy

Staff Works - Hunt Library

Libraries that support military patrons often face unique challenges. One of the most traumatic is the temporary transfer, or sudden deployment of members of the university community, often in the middle of an academic term, sometimes without notice or adequate preparation time. Not too long ago such an event would almost certainly have interrupted if not altogether halted students’ academic progress until they could return to the parent institution. Technology now in place has allowed many of these students to continue their education regardless of their physical locations, and libraries will have to improvise with regard to the delivery of …

Summer Youth Housing Career Camp, Carol Goodemann

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

With the recent growth of the Hispanic population in Nobles County from 0.6% in 1980 to 18.2% in 2008 and Watonwan County from 1.8% to 18.6% in 2008 (Northwest Area Foundation, 2009), a need to assist in the development of professionals within emerging markets populations was identified as a primary goal of Southern MN Emerging Markets Homeownership Initiative. The Summer Youth Housing Careers Camp was on approach to achieving the goal.

The Role Of Geospatial Thinking And Geographic Skills In Effective Problem Solving With Gis: K-16 Education, Niem Tu Huynh

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Effective use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) is hampered by the limited geospatial reasoning abilities of students. The ability to reason with spatial relations, more specifically apply geospatial concepts, including the identification of spatial patterns and spatial associations, is important to geographic problem solving in a GIS context. This dissertation examines the broad influence of three factors on GIS problem solving: 1) affection towards computers, geography, and mathematics, 2) geospatial thinking, as well as 3) geographic skills.

The research was conducted with 104 students in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Students were drawn from four educational levels: grade 9 students, 13 …

La Expresión Escrita En La Clase De Ele, David Sánchez-Jiménez

Publications and Research

En esta ponencia se presentará una definición de la expresión escrita y se tratará de reflexionar sobre los objetivos que persigue su uso y la valoración social de esta destreza, así como sobre la evolución de su tratamiento en la metodología de la enseñanza de lenguas. Se discutirán conceptos fundamentales en la composición del discurso escrito, tales como la planificación, textualización y revisión, a partir de los parámetros formales de cohesión, coherencia, adecuación y corrección gramatical. En su vertiente práctica, se presentará una tipología de actividades de expresión escrita y de estrategias que se ponen en práctica en esta destreza, …

Using The World Wide Web To Educate And Inform The Public About Risk And Agricultural Biotechnology, Douglas A. Golick, Robert D. Peterson, Leon G. Higley

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The University of Nebraska and AgBios, Inc. launched the AgBiosafety website (http://agbiosaftzy.unl.edu) with the purpose of educating the public about agricultural biotechnology risk and safezy issues through science-based content. This article discusses the creation ofthe website, its components, and data gathered from usage statistics and a web-delivered survey. Also included is a discussion of the results ofdata gathered and recommendations for future web-based educational efforts in biotechnology safety and risk assessment.

A Comparison Of Reading Interventions Based On Preference To Reading Interventions Identified By Brief Experimental Analysis, Debborah Eda Smyth

Dissertations

The available literature on children's acceptability of interventions is rather sparse and offers little support for the link between acceptability and effectiveness (e.g., Foxx & Jones, 1978; Shapiro & Goldberg, 1986; Turco & Elliot, 1990). The present study compared the effects of treatment preference to treatment effectiveness using a brief experimental analysis to select skill-based oral reading fluency interventions. The use of a brief experimental analysis (BEA) (Daly, Martens, Hamler, Dool, & Eckert, 1999) has been demonstrated to be an effective procedure for selecting oral reading interventions. However, the studies on brief experimental analysis to date have not examined student …

Catalog, 2008-2009, Anderson University - South Carolina

Catalogs

The 2008-2009 undergraduate academic catalog and introduction to the university.

Student Characteristics, Academic Self-Concept And Language Arts Literacy Performance In Traditional And Block Scheduling In Two Urban Schools, Luana Gipson-Bruce

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

The effectiveness of language arts literacy (LAL) block scheduling on student achievement atid self-efficacy is a strategy of education reform. Language arts skills in urban schools is noted in the 1983 report "A Nation at Risk", which documents the seriousness of urban school literacy difficulties. In addition, state standardized requirements have attested to poor language arts performance in many minority schools.

The purpose of this study is to describe the demographic, health, academic self concept and student achievement of a 6& grade sample of 62 students in two urban schools, one which implements a traditional scheduling language arts program and …

The Effectiveness Of Mentoring-Based Professional Development On Physical Education Teachers' Pedometer And Computer Efficacy And Anxiety, Jeffrey J. Martin, Nate Mccaughtry, Pamela Hodges Kulinna, Donetta Cothran, Roberta Faust

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

The purpose of our study was to examine the impact of mentoring-based professional development on physical education teachers' efficacy. Experienced mentor teachers were paired (n = 15) with inexperienced protégé teachers (n = 15) at the beginning of a yearlong intervention study. It was hypothesized that teachers would increase their efficacy to use pedometers and computers to enhance instruction, and reduce their computer anxiety. Repeated-measures ANOVAs for mentors and protégés revealed a variety of significant main effects. We found increases in computer and pedometer efficacy. A second set of repeated-measures ANOVAs based on mentors', protégés', and control groups' …

Prospective English-As-A-Second-Language Educators' Use Of Vygotskian Scaffolding In Mentoring Academic Writing, Ixchell Alejandra Keller

Theses Digitization Project

This study focuses on two prospective teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) who were enrolled in a master's program and were being tutored as they prepared to write a scholarly review of literature. The methodology involved videotaping four tutoring sessions, each tutor was assigned to participate in two tutoring sessions each with the same participant. The videotaped data was then transcribed and analyzed for significant scaffolding occurrences that may have promoted successful transfer of responsibility facilitating autonomy for the learner. The goal of this project was to promote autonomous learning and to help find ways for students …

Technology-Aided Participative Methods In Environmental Assessment: An International Perspective, Ainhoa Gonzalez, Alan Gilmer, Ronan Foley, John Sweeney, John Fry

Articles

Provisions for citizen involvement in the assessment of potential environmental effects of certain plans, programmes and projects are present in current legislation. An international survey revealed that public participation is common practice in European and some other countries worldwide. However, a number of issues are observed to affect public involvement in EIA/SEA processes and expert opinion differs when evaluating the effectiveness of existing participative methods. Results suggest that technology-aided methods can improve traditional participation processes. In particular, GIS has the potential to increase community knowledge and enhance involvement by communicating information more effectively. Variable accessibility to technology and data quality …

Teachers' Perspectives On The Use Of Pedometers As Instructional Technology In Physical Education: A Cautionary Tale, Nate Mccaughtry, Kimberly L. Oliver, Suzanna Rocco Dillon, Jeffrey J. Martin

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

We used cognitive developmental theory to examine teachers' perspectives on the use of pedometers in physical education. Twenty-six elementary physical education teachers participating in long-term professional development were observed and interviewed twice over 6 months as they learned to incorporate pedometers into their teaching. Data were analyzed via constant comparison. The teachers reported four significant shifts in their thinking and values regarding pedometers. First, at the beginning, the teachers predicted they would encounter few implementation challenges that they would not be able to overcome, but, after prolonged use, they voiced several limitations to implementing pedometers in physical education. Second, they …

Using 'The Autobiography Of Malcolm X' To Teach Introductory Sociology, Brent D. Harger, Tim Hallett

Sociology Faculty Publications

In this chapter, we make the case for using The Autobiography of Malcolm X to teach introductory sociology classes. While The Autobiography of Malcolm X is an autobiography and not a novel, we summarize the literature on using novels in sociology and compare this literature to our own experiences using autobiographies in the classroom. We then describe how autobiographies are particularly helpful for introducing students to the concept of the ‘‘sociological imagination’’ before highlighting this with an in-class exercise. Finally, we discuss student feedback and some of the drawbacks to using autobiographies and the extent to which these drawbacks can …

Fourth Year Evaluation Of Tennessee Charter Schools, 2006-2007, Steven M. Ross, Aaron J. Mcdonald, Linda Bol

STEMPS Faculty Publications

In 2002, Tennessee passed its first Public Charter School legislation. Four schools were successful in gaining approval to begin operating in the 2003-2004 academic year. The second cohort of three charter schools began operation during the 2004-2005 academic year, with the third cohort of five schools starting up during the 2005-2006 academic year. No new schools were added during the 2006-2007 academic year. According to the charter school law, these charter schools were granted "maximum flexibility" to achieve alternative ways for public schools to educate school children. Though the flexibility granted to these schools is considered an advantage, previous research …

Effective Teaching & Teaching Evaluation Practices: Canadian University Geography Departments, Susan Vajoczki

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In this thesis teaching evaluation practices in Canadian university geography departments are examined. The objective of this research is to identify good practices for teaching evaluation that can be applied within geography departments at Canadian universities and may be applicable to other departments and within other countries. In order to meet this goal a number of research questions were identified. These include:

1. What is effective teaching in higher education?;
2. What is effective teaching within the discipline of geography in higher education?;
3. How and why is teaching evaluated in higher education?;
4. What is the breadth of teaching evaluation practices currently used …

Undergraduate Catalog, 2007-2008, Anderson University - South Carolina

Catalogs

The 2007-2008 undergraduate academic catalog and introduction to the university.

Crime And The Sorcerer's Stone: Using Harry Potter To Teach Theories Of Crime, Julie Elizabeth Humphrey

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to take a piece of popular culture, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and use it as a pedagogical tool in a graduate criminal theory course to serve as a pilot study. Evaluation data showed that using the Sorcerer's Stone is an effective way to teach students how to apply criminological theory hypothetical examples of behavior.

These - Are - The "Breaks": A Roundtable Discussion On Teaching The Post-Soul Aesthetic, Bertram D. Ashe, Crystal Anderson, Mark Anthony Neal, Evie Shockley, Alexander Weheliye

English Faculty Publications

We met at Duke University - mid-summer, in the mid Atlantic, at mid-campus - to talk about teaching courses that focused on the post-soul aesthetic. We met outside the John Hope Franklin Center, and soon enough we five youngish black professors were walking a hallway towards a conference room near the African and African American Studies program. Not at all surprisingly, the walls of the hallway were lined with framed photographs of the esteemed John Hope Franklin at various stages throughout his long and storied career. For me, given the topic I was about to raise among these professional colleagues, …

[Introduction To] Teaching The Ethical Foundations Of Economics, Jonathan B. Wight, John S. Morton

Bookshelf

Teaching the Ethical Foundations of Economics contains 10 lessons that reintroduce an ethical dimension to economics in the tradition of Adam Smith, who believed ethical considerations were central to life. Utilizing these innovative instructional materials your students will learn about the important role ethics and character play in a market economy and how, in turn, markets influence ethical behavior.

The lessons do more than illustrate how ethical conduct improves an economy. They actively involve the students through simulations, group decision making, problem solving, classroom demonstrations and role playing. The lessons encourage students to think critically about ethical dilemmas.

Accelerating The Development Of Adaptive Thinking In United States Army Captains, Scott B. Shadrick

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The contemporary operational environment, the war on terrorism, and the Army transformation effort are requiring officers in the U.S. Army to exhibit high levels of adaptive performance. The Army recognized the need to develop adaptive leaders and developed the Think Like a Commander (Shadrick & Lussier, 2001) training program. Prior to this research no attempt has been made to establish the construct validity of the training program or to measure the levels of adaptive performance exhibited throughout an officer's career. The current research investigated the construct validity of the training program by examining the differences in adaptive thinking behaviors between …

Undergraduate Catalog, 2006-2007, Anderson University - South Carolina

Catalogs

The 2006-2007 undergraduate academic catalog and introduction to the university.

Concept Map Used In Reading English As A Foreign Language At The University Level, Li Han

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined traditional reading instruction and concept mapping reading instruction using reading and survey data collected from English as Foreign Language (EFL) students in China. Its purpose was to investigate whether there was any difference between these instructional types in three reading areas: main idea reading, subordinate idea reading and reading between the lines. Forty first-year students were randomly chosen from two universities in Southwestern China. They were equally divided into the two instructional methods. Ten sets ofreading materials were used for a six-week period of the study. Concept mapping students were taught with concept mapping techniques and assessed …

Guest Editorial: Mobile Technology In Education, Keng Siau, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Increasing And Decreasing Prompt Hierarchies With Developmentally Disabled Adults, Sophie Rubin

Masters Theses

Individuals with developmental disabilities were taught conditional discriminations in the form of an auditory visual matching to sample task using two teaching strategies: the increasing prompt hierarchy and the decreasing prompt hierarchy. A multielement design was used to compare these prompt hierarchies in terms of accuracy, rate of acquisition, number of errors, number of edible reinforcers, and number of praise statements delivered. The results indicate that the increasing prompt hierarchy consistently resulted in an increased number of steps, errors, edibles, and praise statements compared to the decreasing prompt hierarchy. However, differing results were obtained on the accuracy measure across participants. …

Montessori Education And Its Scientific Basis, Carolyn P. Edwards

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Review of: Angeline Stoll Lillard, Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius, Oxford University Press, 2005.

Montessori education is the subject of Angeline Lillard’s book. Montessori, a brilliant figure who was Italy’s first woman physician, created an approach that reflected a late 19th century vision of mental development and theoretical kinship with the great European progressive educational philosophers, Jean-Jacque Rousseau, Johann Pestalozzi and Fredrich Froebel (Edwards, 2002 and Edwards, 2003). The many parallels between her ideas and those of the American progressive, John Dewey, her contemporary, are due to the fact that their ideas grew out of shared theoretical roots …

Is The Gai A Good Short Form Of The Wisc-Iv?, Kimberly A. Scott

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

A comparison was done between the standard scores of the GAI and the FSIQ of the WISC-IV using 31 subjects. The mean difference between the GAI/ FSIQ standard score is 3.74. T tests of significance show that there is not a significant difference between the scores of the GAI and the Full Scale IQ. The Pearson r correlation (.963 @ .01 level) suggests there is a strong positive correlation between the GAI and the Full Scale IQ. In summary, the GAI is a good predictor of the FSIQ of the WISC-IV. More data is required to determine if a statistical …

Third Year Evaluation Of Tennessee Charter Schools, 2005-2006, Steven M. Ross, Aaron J. Mcdonald, Linda Bol

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The purpose of the present evaluation study was to examine the progress made in program implementation, school climate, and student achievement by Tennessee charter schools. Six evaluation questions guided the methodology for this study. Student achievement results are addressed in a separate report. The following evaluation questions are addressed in this report: (1) What is the frequency of usage of various traditional and alternative instructional strategies in the charter schools and compared to national norms? (2) What is the school climate at the charter schools and how does the climate compare to national norms? (3) To what degree and levels …

Enhancing Science Education Through Engaging Visual Content, David Kavanagh

Theses

In recent years a decline in the number of Irish students choosing to study science, at second level and on into third level, has become potentially harmful to the desired creation of a science-based knowledge economy. A primary contributing factor towards this decline is a lack of interest in the subject within the classroom, as was established by The Task Force on the Physical Sciences in 2002.

The primary aim of this Masters research is to investigate the role of visualisation in making the study of science more accessible and engaging to students to counter this decline. To this end …

Reforming Legal Education In Bangladesh, Mohammad Monirul Azam

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.