Liberal Studies Commons^™

The Effect Of The Private Classroom Blog On The Acquisition Of Formal Writing Proficiency With Spanish Iii High School Students, Olga Glymph

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examined the impact of a private classroom blog implemented as an instructional technology on student writing proficiency in a world language with the focus on formal writing. The nonequivalent control-group, pre-posttest design was used to determine if the use of the private classroom blog in teaching world language formal writing affected student writing proficiency with the specific focus on task completion, comprehensibility, level of discourse, vocabulary, and language control. This research study used a convenience sample of sophomore, junior, and senior students in a Georgia public high school. Independent raters evaluated students' writings using the Fairfax County Public …

The Impact Of Multimedia And Redundancy On The Efficiency Of History Presentations, Adam Leach

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The use of educational technology to create classroom presentations is already commonplace in American history classes. Therefore, this study focuses on how multimedia presentations can promote efficient instruction specifically, can the employment of the multimedia and redundancy principles (Mayer, 2009) improve the efficiency of student learning in high school history. The goal is to identify methods of multimedia presentation design that maximize the efficiency of instruction, as a gap in literature exists when referencing the performance of adolescents in a public high school and in the study of history. Keeping the focus on efficient learning, this study uses a quasi-experimental …

Effects Of A Developmental Boot Camp: Improving Student Performance On A College Placement Test, Heather Hill

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Nationwide, students are entering college unprepared for college-level work. Recent high school graduates are placing into developmental courses at an alarming rate. The purpose of this research study is to examine the effect of a developmental boot camp on standardized placement test scores of students enrolling at a community college in North Carolina. The study has a quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group design. Collected data will include participants' scores on the pretest and posttest placement test. A control group of eligible students who chose not to participate will be posttested for comparison. Instruments include ASSET® placement test and Computer-Adaptive Placement Assessment …

Correlation Between Academy Of Reading And Georgia End Of Course Test, Barry Brazelton

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine the correlation between students' scores on Academy of READING (AOR) and their performance on the Georgia End of Course Test (GEOCT) for Ninth Grade Literature and Composition. The participants were ninth grade students enrolled in Ninth Grade Literature and Composition during the 2009-2010 school year at a high school in Northeast Georgia. The data was compiled from the students' pretest and posttest scores on AOR and the students' EOCT scores. The researcher compared students' AOR pretest and posttest scores to the students' EOCT scores. In addition, the researcher tested for the AOR …

The Effects Of Repeated Readings On Third Grade Students' Reading Achievement And Attitudes, Tennille Kasper-Scheriff

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study investigated the effects of a reading strategy, repeated readings, on third grade students' reading achievement and attitudes. One hundred sixteen third grade students as members of six classrooms in one elementary school participated in this 10 week study. Using a quasi-experimental pretest posttest design, students' mean reading scores and mean reading attitude scores were evaluated. The Measures of Academic Progress test was used to collect data on students' reading achievement (Northwest Evaluation Association, 2009), and student attitudes toward reading were measured by the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (ERAS) (McKenna & Kear, 1990). Data was analyzed using analysis of …

The Impact Of Teacher Attitudes And Perceptions Of Direct Instruction On Student Achievement In Reading, Sharon Collum

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2004), 37% of America's fourth graders are not reading at grade level. This statistic has remained unchanged for over a decade (NCES, 2004). Findings from multiple studies indicate more research on successfully implementing reading interventions is needed (Begeny & Silber, 2006; Begeny, Krouse, Ross, & Mitchell, 2009). Barnyak and Paquette (2010) suggested that although teachers learn new methods, they return to the strategies they are most comfortable using. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to determine if teacher attitudes and perceptions of direct instruction impacted student achievement in reading. Elementary …

The Relationship Between Text Message Volume And Formal Writing Performance Among Upper Level High School Students And College Freshmen, Brian Wardyga

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to reveal whether there is a relationship between students' volume of text messaging and formal writing performance on the Scholastic Aptitude Test writing section. The study also examined gender as a contributing variable in this measure. As a supplementary correlation, student text message volume was also compared to their Writing I course final grade. The study focused solely on texting because texting has become the preferred method of telecommunication among teens and young adults (Lindley, 2008, p. 19). The design included a questionnaire that collected data to show whether any relationships exist that indicate …

The Correlation Between The Three Reading Fluency Subskills And Reading Comprehension In At-Risk Adolescent Readers, Craig Courbron

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine which of the three reading fluency subskills were most strongly correlated with reading comprehension in adolescent at-risk readers. The participants were 82 adolescent males (ages 13-19) who had been committed to a juvenile detention facility. Archival data from a two-year period was collected from a maximum security juvenile detention facility in a rural section of the Northeastern United States. The Measures of Academic Progress test was used to collect reading comprehension data; the Qualitative Reading Inventory-4 test was used to collect reading speed and reading accuracy data; the Multidimensional Fluency Scale was …

Analizando La Literatura En Español Para Niños, Tana M. Oviedo

World Languages and Cultures

For my senior project, I have partnered with another MLL major, Rebecka Runyon, to read and analyze children’s books in Spanish at Pacheco Elementary School. Marlie Schmidt, a reading specialist at Pacheco, explained to us that Pacheco has a new manner of teaching how to read. This method has been broken into six different strategies: Making Connections, Asking Questions, Mental Images, Inferring, Evaluating, and Synthesizing. Each of these strategies is a tool that helps readers comprehend what they are reading. As there are many Spanish books in their school library, but very little help provided to analyze them, our job …

The Disparate Americans: A Qualitative Analysis Of Appalachians, Character, And Character Education In Appalachia, Kevin A. Cline

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This thesis evaluates and critiques a federal research grant on character education initiatives in Appalachia. In order to do so, 1) This thesis addresses the evolution of the term “character” from Classical times to contemporary applications, while building toward the definitions, validity and current practices in character education and how it relates to Appalachians, 2) This thesis presents the challenges and upsides of developing character education curricula in Appalachia and how outside perceptions and stereotypes impact the people within, and 3) This thesis examines and interacts with original qualitative and quantitative data from the research grant.

[Introduction To] Museum Careers: A Practical Guide For Students And Novices, N. Elizabeth Schlatter

Bookshelf

This concise volume is the place to start for anyone considering a career in museums. Museum professional and author N. Elizabeth Schlatter outlines the nature of the profession as a whole, the rewards and challenges of museum work, types of museums, and jobs within museums, including salary ranges. She discusses options for education and training, and suggestions on how to secure a job and how to move up the career ladder. Interviews with museum professionals from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds demonstrate different career paths and offer unique and helpful advice . For novices in the field, students in …

Evaluation Of An Adult Education Technology Program, Iwasan D. Kejawa

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Theses and Other Student Research

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the adult education technology program at a chartered alternative adult education center in Florida. The adult education center had a low rate of students passing the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). This study examined the impact of the use of computer technology in an effort to improve student learning in mathematics, reading, and science. Computers at the institution were used by all students for tutorials to prepare them for the FCAT and to obtain a high school diploma. The research questions for this study were as follows: 1. Is the education technology …

A Study Of Attrition In A Respiratory Care Associate Degree Program In A Northeast Tennessee Community College., Donna D. Lilly

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Walters State Community College's Respiratory Care (WSCC RC) Program had a 33% attrition rate during a five-year period from 1999 through 2003. This study analyzed demographic, pre-admission, and academic variables to identify reasons for attrition within the WSCC RC program. The population size was 90 students; this was the entire population of five consecutive classes graduating during a five-year period from 1999 through 2003. The criterion variables included high school attended, gender, age, college-level GPA, college-level credit hours, and developmental requirements.

Statistical tests revealed that college-level GPA, college-level credit hours, and developmental requirements influenced persistence within the population. The …

Comparison Of Grade Point Average Of Honor Senior Students And College Of Liberal Arts Senior Students At A Florida University, Iwasan D. Kejawa

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Theses and Other Student Research

Attrition rates in theHonor College program division of Florida Atlantic University have risen in recent years. It has been determined that even though a higher high school grade point average is required for admission into the honor program of the university, many applicants to the program were under-prepared to asumme the workload demanded of the students by the Honor College. The requirements for admission into the honor program of the Florida Atlantic University is an overall high school grade point average of 3.5 and a score of 1000 points on the SAT examination while the requirement into the College of …

Who Owns Our Values? Back To School, John Strassburger

Publications

This is the sixth in a series of occasional papers about the challenges confronting students and what Ursinus is doing to help them enter adult life.

Counting Quality, John Strassburger

Publications

This is the fifth in a series of occasional papers about the challenges confronting students and what Ursinus is doing to help them enter adult life.

Tales Out Of School: Six Secrets From Successful Teachers, John Strassburger

Publications

This is the third in a series of occasional papers about the challenges confronting students and what Ursinus is doing to help them enter adult life.

Analise Quantitativa Do Currículo Escolar [Quantitative Analysis Of The School Curriclum], Karl M. Lorenz

Education Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of The Economic And Social Values Attributed To A Variety Of Occupations As Portrayed In Adolescent Literature, Ethelyn W. Riley

Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzed twenty-two novels of adolescent literature which portray occupations. The purpose of this study was to determine which category of jobs was treated most often and most favorably. The jobs were placed in one of the following categories: professional work, industrial work, housework, hustling work, and counter-cultural work. Each job was then given a prestige rating of 0 to 100. Fourteen of the twenty-two novels focused on professional work, four on industrial work, three on hustling work, one on counter-cultural work, and none on housework.

Perfil Quali-Quantitativo Dos Currículos Do Ensino Secundário Brasileiro No Século Xix [A Quali-Quantitative Profile Of The Curricula Of The Brazilian Secondary School Of The Xix Century], Karl M. Lorenz, Ariclê Vechia

Education Faculty Publications

O trabalho caracteriza a organização e os conteúdos dos currículos adotados na escola secundária brasileira de 1838 a 1900, tomando como referência o Colégio Pedro II. O estudo classifica as disciplinas em quatro conjuntos curriculares: Humanidades, Ciências, Matemáticas e Estudos Sociais. Analise, quantitativamente, as disciplinas dos conjuntos curriculares, sua frequência e distribuição nas series, e a carga horaria atribuída elas.

The paper describes the organization and contents of the curricula adopted in the Brazilian secondary school for the years 1838 to 1900, using as its reference the College Pedro II. The study classifies the curricular disciplines in four groups: Humanities, …

Differences In The. Reading And Mathematics Achievement Between Asian American And Non Asian American Children, Linda B. Price

Theses and Dissertations

Explanations for the achievement or overachievement of Asian Americans are often conflicting and subject to debate among researchers. Four major theories for this achievement are explored in the review of literature. One of these theories concerns the idea that Asian American's beliefs are the result of Confucianism and its influence on the lives of Asian Americans. Another theory examines the parent's positive attitude toward education and its influence on achievement. A third theory suggests that Asian American babies are more alert and sensitive at birth. The final theory examined proposes that the Asian American immigration to the United States is …

An Analysis Of Authors, Characters And Dependency Of Women Protagonists In The Short Stories Of Selected Literary Anthologies, Susan E. Hussey

Theses and Dissertations

This research study evaluated textbooks in terms of frequency of female authors, frequency of female protagonists, and frequency of dependency in female protagonists in selected modern American short stories. The study was limited to selections in Scott, Foresman and Company textbooks used in eleventh grade classrooms nationwide for the past twenty-five years. The samples came from four editions beginning with 1963 and ending with the current 1985 edition. The study revealed that there was no meaningful change in any of the researched categories. The findings of the study were reported in the form of synopses, tallies, charts and tables.

An Overview Of Registered Family Day Care In Muscogee County, Georgia, Rhoda Boggs

Theses and Dissertations

This research surveyed the characteristics and components of family day care in a southeastern urban area. The subjects consisted of all family day care providers who resided within the county being studied and who were registered with the state's Department of Human Resources. The questionnaire developed by the researcher consists of 20 questions which address the caregivers' personal traits, educational qualifications, and business organization. The responses were compiled, and descriptive statistics were computed in order to provide the composite characteristics and overall range of available family day care in the county. Results show that there are significant differences in the …

An Analysis Of Adolescent Literature In Terms Of Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's Stages Of Dealing With Death, Margaret Ann Cole

Theses and Dissertations

This study is an analysis of twenty young adult novels which contain the theme of death. The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent the characters experienced the five stages of the grieving process. Twenty novels were selected because they contained death as a central theme. The characters in these books were rated according to the extent to which each experienced through feelings or behavioral responses the stages in the process of dealing with death as outlined by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross in her book On Death and Dying. It was determined whether the characters did experience each stage …

Assertiveness As A Characteristic Of Females In Male-Female Relationships In Selected Adolescent Novels From 1967-1976 And 1977-1986, Wanda Hagler

Theses and Dissertations

This descriptive study dealt with the subject of female assertiveness in male-female relationships as portrayed in adolescent novels. The hypotheses were that a more contemporary attitude toward women would be reflected in the past decade's literature for adolescents by featuring women who act more assertively in dating relationships, and that there would be a difference in the behavior of females in the novels published between 1967 - 1976 and those published between 1977 and 1986 with females of the former period assuming a more passive role in male-female relationships. Fifteen representative novels of each period were analyzed, and data were …

Piagetian Concrete And Formal Cognitive Development And Ninth-Grade Achievement In Physical Science, Dale H. Joiner

Theses and Dissertations

The Purpose of this investigation was to determine if differences in achievement among ninth-grade physical science students are a function of the cognitive level of the physical science curriculum and students' stages of cognitive development.

Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development proposes that all students progress through a series of development stages but not necessarily at the same rate. The final two stages of Piaget's developmental theory are termed concrete and formal respectively and were the focal point of this study.

A series of Piagetian tasks designed to reveal evidence of concrete and formal levels of development were administered to …

An Analysis Of The Changing Roles Of Female Characters In Newbery Award-Winning Fiction Since 1964, Connie C. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Twenty-four novels were selected from the list of Newbery Medal and Honor books because they dealt with contemporary themes and settings. These books have been .analyzed by categorizing each major or supporting adult female character into one of five categories of the "Occupational Prestige Rating Scale'' (Appendix A), based mainly on salary ranges. Major or supporting female characters were categorized by the "Leadership Potential Scale'' (Appendix B), based on leadership qualities described in each of the five groups. Both instruments were developed by the researcher. Two tables of frequency counts indicate the range of major and supporting female characters for …

The Relationship Between Environmental Awareness And Academic Achievement In Elementary School Children, Earl T. Leindecker

Theses and Dissertations

One hundred and seventy two sixth grade public school students were surveyed to investigate the possibility of a relationship between the children's perception of the cleanliness of the academic environment and the students' level of academic achievement. Utilizing a Pearson product-moment coefficient, student responses on a researcher-prepared Likert-type scale were correlated with the Normal Curve Equivalency Score for the reading portion of the Stanford Achievement Test. Analysis of the statistical data revealed a negative .139 correlation. The positive directional hypotheses cannot be accepted. However, the null hypothesis must be retained because of the negative .139 correlation at the .05 level …

The Image Of Southern Americans In Selected High School Anthologies, Betty Jenkins Aiken

Theses and Dissertations

This study was a descriptive investigation of the allocation of space to Southern writers and of the image of Southern Americans in selected high school anthologies. The materials analyzed were sixteen high school anthologies used in grades nine, ten, and eleven during the 1984-1985 school year by eight high schools operating in a system of approximately 25,000 students in the southern region of the United States. The instrument used to measure allocation of space was a simple mathematical procedure. To measure the directionality of content, frequency counts were used. The results revealed both positive and negative aspects of the textbooks …

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 …