Vocational Education Commons^™

Building 21st Century Business Skills In High School Business Classrooms Using Digital Games And Simulations, Stacy Marcus

Graduate Research Papers

Digital games and simulations are often seen as fun activities to reward students but their potential is much greater. This literature review examined how integrating digital games and simulations into secondary business curriculum can help students build the skills needed for the 21st century workplace in an environment that is conducive to how they learn best. The effects of digital games and simulations on student motivation are also examined as well as how to assess student learning while using these tools. The information found came from peer-reviewed journals, books, and studies from the Web. Digital games and simulations have proven …

Face-To-Face Training Versus Web-Based Training : Which Instructional Approach Is Better?, Nichola J. Lewis

Graduate Research Papers

Training skilled employees is essential in determining the success of an organization. Determining which type of training, whether face-to-face or web-based, will best serve the needs of an organization remains an issue. This literature review will attempt to answer the questions, "How do adults learn; what is web-based training; what is face-to-face training; is web-based training more effective than face-to-face training; and can web-based training and face-to-face training be combined?"

The Corporate University : Effective Strategies Used To Create A Productive Corporate Training Program, Eduardo Calderon

Graduate Research Papers

This literature review describes the strategies utilized in creating a successful corporate training program. There has been an evolution in the corporate training sector within the past decade that has encouraged the development of the corporate university. Many of our world's top companies are teaching content that is used to motivate employees to ensure a higher level of corporate success. This review suggests that by following the components established by effective training and instructional design, other entities can produce the same prosperous outcomes.

The Transformation Of A Middle School Industrial Shop To A Modular Industrial Technology Lab And Communicating This Transformation To The Local Community, Lynn Figg

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this graduate project was to describe the transformation of a middle school industrial arts shop to a modular industrial technology lab and the subsequent public relations effort to communicate this transformation to the local community. This project facilitated a better understanding of what a modular industrial technology lab is, what it looks like, and how it meets the needs of the industrial technology curriculum.

A PowerPoint presentation was created to explain to the diverse audiences how the change from a traditional industrial arts "shop" class to a modular industrial technology lab at an intermediate school took place, …

Training : What Is Training, Identifying The Need For Training, Methods Of Training, And How Can Trainings Effectiveness Be Evaluated?, Michael Johnson Jr.

Graduate Research Papers

This review involves aspects and elements of preparing effective training programs. In this review the researcher addresses the design and development stages of training programs. This review will provide valuable information for practitioners in the field of training and staff development. Definitions, needs assessment methods, evaluating effectiveness, methods of conducting evaluations, and building a rational for training programs are the areas covered by this review.

This review is written in the perspective for novice trainers and staff developers. The information provided can assist novice trainers build a knowledge base to enhance their ability to provide effective training. This review is …

Curriculum Of The Dubuque Community School District In Relation To Industrial Technology Programs In The State Of Iowa, Boyd A. Card

Graduate Research Papers

This study was conducted to draw a comparison between the Industrial Technology course offerings available in Iowa high schools and those offered in the Dubuque Community School District (DCSD). The top twenty largest school districts grades nine to twelve in Iowa will be selected for this study. The survey will be in table format and sent to Industrial Technology teachers.

Employability Expectations And Hiring Trends Of High School Graduates By Dubuque County Manufacturers, Lisa A. Freebolin

Graduate Research Papers

Little research has been done to show skill requirements and employability trends for high school graduates in a specific local industrial sector, such as manufacturing. It was in an effort to better equip Dubuque's students with the skills they need for employability and success in the workplace, that this research has answered the question: What are the employability expectations and hiring trends of high school graduates by Dubuque County manufacturers?

The Relationship Between Female Enrollment In Ninth Grade Industrial Technology Programs And Recruiting Efforts Made In The Eighth Grade Classroom, Scott J. Garwood

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this casual-comparative study was to investigate the effect of recruitment efforts made in the eighth grade Industrial Technology classroom on female enrollment in Industrial Technology at the ninth grade level. The treatment consisted of a fifteen minute presentation designed to generate interest in Industrial Technology among female students.

It was found that female enrollment in ninth grade Industrial Technology courses was 33% higher among those who received the treatment than those who did not. It was concluded that recruitment efforts made at the eighth grade level did have an effect on enrollment at the ninth grade level.

School-To-Work : What Does This Mean For Our Schools?, Amy K. Leonhart

Graduate Research Papers

Over the course of fifty years the academic content of schools has changed dramatically. Today, employers are looking for different skills from their employees than they were in the 1950s. Therefore, schools have been given the assignment to teach young adults about surviving in the work force.

Where do these skills fit into the schools' curriculum? Is this just another item that is added to the plate of teachers? What time is the "right" time to start teaching these critical skills to youngsters? This paper examines those questions. It also focuses on the different aspects of the school-to-work initiative.

The Effect Of Peer Tutoring On The Test Scores Of Washington High School 9th Through 12th Grade Students Enrolled In Metals/Small Engines Class, Larry D. Harken

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of peer tutoring on the class-average tests scores of Metals/Small Engines students in grades 9-12 at Washington High School, Vinton, Iowa.

Computer-Based Training And Its Impact On Training And Education, Carla Gahwiler

Graduate Research Papers

Computer-based training is an area of training that is growing at a rapid pace. Although it is becoming more and more popular, we must determine the actual impact it has on training in order to assess its usefulness and relevance. This study was developed by researching and compiling available data on the subject of computer based training, and then forming an assessment of this type of training based on that information. It was found that computer based training offers many positive features as well as advantages and appropriate applications, but it does have its limitations, and is not the answer …

The World Of Work : An Intermediate Level Curriculum Model Integrating School-To-Work And Service Learning, Virginia Lavelle

Graduate Research Papers

Workers will need new and different skills for the changing economy in the 21st century. Current legislation includes school improvement and school-to-work. This project was designed to incorporate the educational reform movements of school-to-work and service learning within the school year calendar to provide educational work-related experiences for a full range of intermediate level learners in an inclusive classroom. Within this model students practice developing and applying basic skills, thinking skills, and personal qualities (SCANS) through work-based experiences which bring together school-to-work and service learning.

Listening Comprehension Analysis In A Midwestern Community College, Mary M. Conrad

Graduate Research Papers

At the post secondary level, listening comprehension is one of the most needed and least taught of the communication skills. This study compares whether a direct teaching method.is more effective than an indirect method for improving listening comprehension. Twenty-four secretarial students in two business communications classes were the subjects of the study. There were fifteen females in group 1 and eight females and one male in group 2. The Watson-Barker Listening Test was used to pre- and post-test subjects' listening comprehension.

Group 1 received listening instruction via a direct method; group 2 received instruction via an indirect method. T-test analysis …

Cooperative Learning And Its Relationship To Motivation And Achievement When Working Math Lab Problems In Principles Of Technology, Mark Edwards Rhoads

Graduate Research Papers

Working together in a dynamic group process has been shown to be highly effective in maximizing learning outcomes and helping students realize greater academic and social skills (Glasser, 1986). A great deal of research has been conducted on the relationship of cooperative, competitive, and individualistic efforts and instructional methods (Johnson, Johnson & Holubec, 1988). Johnson and his associates in 1981 (as cited by Wood, 1987) revealed that instruction focusing on cooperation and collaboration resulted in significant gains in achievement, self-esteem and social development. Many viable and successful forms and hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic adherents have realized extraordinary successes using …

A Comparison Study Of Teaching Basic Drafting Concepts Using Computer-Assisted Equipment And Traditional Methods To Beginning Drafting Students At The Secondary Level, Thomas K. Farmer

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this research was to determine if basic drafting concepts and skills can be learned by students using computer-assisted drafting equipment as well as those students who were taught using traditional drafting equipment. The two methods used in this study were a traditional style, using drafting boards with drafting machines, and the second was using computer-assisted drafting equipment (CAD).

Integrating Mildly Handicapped Students In Industrial Arts Programs In Northeastern Iowa, William Martin Leonhart

Graduate Research Papers

The field of industrial arts is in a position to contribute considerably to the education of this group. It is this field of education that can prepare them personally, emotionally, socially, and economically to meet the demands of an adult industrial society. (Sharkey, 1964, p.17) The problem of this study ls to ascertain how industrial arts teachers can assist with the education of the educable mentally handicapped student, referred to in this paper as the Educable Mentally Handicapped (E.M.H.).

Industrial Arts Education: 1976 To 1981 Follow-Up Of Graduates, Kieth M. Anderle

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of the study was to survey IAE majors who graduated from 1976 through 1981 from the ITO. Specifically, graduates were asked to indicate if they had ever held a full-time industrial arts teaching position. Those who did teach were asked to identify if they were currently teaching industrial arts. Graduates who were currently teaching and graduates who formerly taught were asked to provide information regarding their teaching environment and their perceptions of the preparation they received while at UNI. Those who were currently teaching were asked to provide more detailed information about their teaching environment and indicate if …

The Relationship Between Teacher Sex Role Models And Career Aspirations Of High School Industrial Arts Students, Janet Lynn Robb

Graduate Research Papers

Sex role stereotyping has been the focus of a number of research projects trying to determine just where stereotyping lies and ways to eliminate it. Although most of the research points toward role modeling as a major cause, little has been done to test that theory.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between teacher sex role models and the career aspirations of students enrolled in high school industrial arts courses throughout the United States. This study was limited to tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade students enrolled in industrial arts programs in high schools in the United …

Classroom Analysis Of Various Plastics, Paul D. Harrington

Graduate Research Papers

In the junior high plastics course this writer. teaches, the students display more interest in the manipulative activities of the laboratory than in the sit-down classroom activities. The results of this tend to be a once-over-lightly treatment of the technical aspects of plastics and more hands on craft type activities in the laboratory. To bring more balance to the program, an activity needs to be devised which will have more industrial relevance. Such an activity should allow the students a certain amount of freedom and still provide them with technical information and acquaint them with the properties of various plastics. …

The Use Of Decorative Plastic Parts In Wood Furniture Construction, Bradley Anderson

Graduate Research Papers

The recent but prominent use of imitation wood plastic components in wooden furniture construction intrigued this writer and encouraged him to investigate the subject. The purpose of this study is to investigate industry and literature to see what materials and procedures are used in making decorative plastic parts which resemble wood used in the construction of wooden furniture. It is the intent of the writer to create a mold and cast some parts, to determine whether or not the fabric8tion of plastic components would be a suitable activity to 5nstitute in a high school Industrial Arts program, and if so, …

Grouping Of Commonality Courses, Dan Brobst

Graduate Research Papers

This study is designed to identify contributing variables, for and against, the practice of grouping of commonality courses on a postsecondary level. More specifically, the purpose of this study is:

1. to serve as a study to determine the interest in the grouping of commonality courses.

2. to obtain current opinions from literature concerned with the grouping of commonality courses.

3. to determine attitudes toward the practice of grouping through interview and questionnaires.

4. to determine attitudes toward the practice of grouping from review of related literature.

Integrating Ecology Into The Industrial Arts Curriculum, Howard L. Craven

Graduate Research Papers

The problem was to determine how a junior high industrial arts instructor can teach about conservation and pollution without major changes in the present curriculum or without major cost.

The Use Of Hardboard And Particleboard For Composition Panels In Furniture Construction, Jerry Dean De Penning

Graduate Research Papers

This study is concerned with the investigation of lamination using particleboard and hardboard as substrates for overlays. The purpose of the research includes the following:

1. To acquire information about the history and construction processes of particleboard, hardboard, and plastic laminates.

2. To investigate the procedural application of plastic laminates and vinyl overlays to particleboard and hardboard substrates.

3. To relate to the industrial arts students the industrial use of overlays laminated to a substrate.

4. To develop an instructional unit to be used in the industrial arts program.

5. To construct a school shop project in the area of …

A Study Of Dr. Donald Maley's Theory -- "Research And Experimentation In Industrial Arts", John Edward Ferree

Graduate Research Papers

The problem of this study is to make a thorough examination of Dr. Donald Maley's theory -- "Research and Experimentation in Industrial Arts in the Junior or Senior High School."

Perhaps now in 1968, more than ever, concern for what is in store for industrial arts is, or should be, considered more "grave" than expressed in the above quote of Dr. Maley in 1959. Certainly now it could generally be agreed that all theories concerning the future path of industrial arts, of which Dr. Maley's Research and Experimentation theory is one, deserve a full measure of study and evaluation by …

Jigs And Fixtures In Wood Industries, Arno K. Grabe

Graduate Research Papers

As an integral part of most woodworking industries, jigs and fixtures are worthy of some study. There is very little evidence of written material covering the topic even though the use of many of these devices is widespread throughout industry. The fact that these devices normally result in a substantial saving in production costs can often make them an important facet of a firm's business.

This saving can be accomplished in a number of different ways: use of unskilled workers, standardization of parts, interchangeability of pieces, reduction of safety hazards, and lowering of production time. Not all points will apply …

Closed-Circuit Television In Industrial Arts, Larry L. Bradshaw

Graduate Research Papers

The major problem in this study is to find how closed circuit television can be used effectively in Industrial Arts. Several secondary problems are involved with this main problem. The most important of these is teacher presentation. The methodology and mannerisms of a television teacher need to be such that they do not take away from the subject matter to be taught. (Stashoff, 1966, p. 50). The television teacher must be careful to avoid quick distracting movements which would change viewer attention from the learning object to the teacher. This is a special problem because the viewer's attention is confined …

Industrial Arts Research Methods, Clinton E. Langstraat

Graduate Research Papers

This report has been compiled as one of the culminating activities of 33:292 Industrial Arts Research Methods. This paper can be considered as a written record of the students' and instructor's efforts in establishing further guidelines for work in 33:270, and related activities. Consequently, the report is not highly technical in nature and the number of citations is considerably less than may be found in a typical report written for graduate credit.

However, it is the opinion of the writer that some valuable information has been recorded and it is his hope that some future graduate student may find it …