Psychology Commons^™

The Use Of Curriculum-Based Measurement To Evaluate The Effects Of A Remedial Education Program, Michael D. Hixson

Dissertations

This study examined the effectiveness of two Direct Instruction programs: Corrective Reading: Decoding and Connecting Math Concepts. The effectiveness of the interventions was evaluated using a single-subject experimental design with curriculumbased measurement (CBM) probes as the main means of assessment. Other methods of assessment included standardized achievement tests, school reports, and pre- and postcurriculum- based assessment probes. The CBM probes for all students were sensitive to the effects of the interventions, although there was a great deal of variability in the CBM reading probes and little correspondence across methods of assessment. The results indicate that the two Direct Instruction programs …

Educational Affirmations For Healthy Self-Esteem- An Exploratory Factor Analysis, Kaye L. Centers

Dissertations

This investigation explored the underlying constructs of Clarke’s Educational Affirmations, a set of 54 statements designed to support the development of healthy self-esteem and the accomplishment of the developmental tasks of the psychosocial stages theorized by Erikson. The Preliminary Educational Affirmations Scale (PEAS), a transformed version of the Educational Affirmations, was devised and administered to 520 community college students. A principal components factor analysis of the results indicates the presence of two main factors that accounted for 28% of the total variance in the data, and offers partial support for the hypothesized factors of worthiness (Being) and competence (Doing).

The …

An Analysis Of Parental And Peer Attachment And Its Determinant Factors: A Test Of Attachment Theory On Malaysian Students At American Universities, Noriah Mohd. Ishak

Dissertations

This study examined the quality of parental and peer attachments among Malaysian students studying at universities in the midwestern region of the United States. The study was conducted in two phases. Two hundred and two students (106 male, 96 female) participated in the first phase of the study, and 8 students (4 male, and 4 female) participated in the second phase of the study. Phase One employed a cross-sectional quantitative design using a self-administered questionnaire [the Inventory of Parental and Peer Attachment (IPPA) developed by Armsden and Greenberg (1987)] and revised by the researcher. This instrument has 53 items that …

Responding To Problem Behaviors At School: A Psychosocial Approach, Christopher Don Wyatt

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Grade Equivalents: Accuracy And Certainty Of Interpretations Among Parents, Teachers, And School Psychologists, Eric R. Smith

Masters Theses

Scores on standardized tests (e.g., Iowa Test of Basic Skills, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children III, Wechsler Individual Achievement Test) can be represented by a number of different metrics. One of the ways scores can be represented is with grade equivalents, which tend to be popular with parents and teachers because they seem to be fairly easy to understand. However, several researchers have claimed that grade equivalents are often misinterpreted. Standard scores are viewed by many researchers as the superior type of derived score. However, standardized scores can be difficult to understand, particularly for individuals with little or no training …

An Investigation Of The Construct Validity Of The Children's Skills Test, Cynthia D. L. Ladd

Masters Theses

The Children's Skills Test (CST) is an aptitude and achievement test for children in grades Kindergarten through Nine, developed from the American School Psycho-Educational Assessment Battery (ASPAB). It is designed for home administration via the computer, and no examiner is present. At this time, no technical information has been released regarding the CST, nor has any research been published.

The Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT) is a brief measure of general intelligence with sound technical properties. It is administered by an examiner. The K-BIT has been correlated with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Third Edition (WISC-III), the most commonly …

An Investigation Of Convergent And Divergent Validity Between Asca And Basc Trs, Jennifer L. Ingles

Masters Theses

The Behavior Assessment Scale for Children - Teacher Rating Scale (BASC - TRS) and the Adjustment Scales for Children and Adolescents (ASCA) are both teacher rating scales which may be used by school psychologists to assess psychopathology. To date, these scales have not been compared in professional literature, although they assess similar social, emotional, and behavioral constructs. According to research, both scales appear to be technically superior teacher report rating scales. The current study analyzed ASCA and BASC TRS ratings which were completed on randomly selected students between the ages of 6 and 11 (n = 124). Convergent validity was …

Collaborative Versus Prescriptive School-Based Behavioral Consultation: An Analysis Of Verbal Resistance, Brandon M. Royer

Masters Theses

Audiotaped problem analysis interviews involving actual referrals from 25 elementary school teachers were examined. A Teacher Resistance Code (TRC) was developed from Patterson's (1985) Client Noncompliance Code and used to evaluate verbal resistance in both "collaborative" and "prescriptive" problem analysis interviews. The relationship between resistance, interview condition, and treatment acceptability was assessed. Results indicated no significant differences in resistance between the collaborative and prescriptive conditions. Analysis of Intervention Rating Profile-15 (IRP-15) (Martens, Witt, Elliott, & Darveaux, 1985) scores between collaborative and prescriptive cases also revealed no significant differences. Analysis of the association between resistance on the Teacher Resistance Code and …

The Effects Of Three Training Interventions On The Development Of Resilient Qualities In Adolescent Females, Lynn K. Nicoletta

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Using Responsive Evaluation To Evaluate A Professional Conference, Amy N. Spiegel, Roger H. Bruning, Lisa Giddings

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

In a statewide conference on alternative methods for assessing students’ learning, we incorporated responsive evaluation methods into the structure of the conference. The application of these interactive evaluation techniques serves as a pilot study that illustrates the possible utility of these tech-niques in evaluating conferences. This paper provides a brief review of the literature surrounding responsive evaluation, a description of the responsive evaluation methods applied to this conference, and a discussion of the results and implications of this pilot study.

Using Teacher Reflective Practice To Evaluate Professional Development In Mathematics And Science, Vicki L. Wise, Amy N. Spiegel, Roger H. Bruning

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Systemic reform has been a key element of the mathematics and science educational agenda for the past decade. Systemic reform proponents advocate emphasizing mathemat-ics and science from kindergarten through l2th grade; adopting new math and science ed-ucation standards; providing ongoing professional development for teachers (Frechtling, Sharp, Carey, & Vaden-Kiernan, 1995); and aligning policy, practice, and assessment pro-cedures. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has supported the development of sys-temic reform by funding statewide, urban, and rural systemic initiatives to improve K–12 mathematics and science education throughout the United States (Fitzsimmons & Kerpel-man, 1994).

The Reliability And Validity Of The Children's Conscientiousness And Procrastination Scale, Nicole M. Osterman

Masters Theses

The purpose of the present study was to further examine the reliability and validity of a self-report measure of procrastination and conscientiousness for elementary-aged children. The research participants were 120 male and female students in grades 3-5, drawn from two different schools. The Children's Conscientiousness and Procrastination Scales (CCAPS; Lay, Kovacs, & Danto, 1998) exhibited high internal consistencies. Procrastination and Conscientiousness were highly, negatively related, consistent with previous research with related measures and with adult samples. Teacher and parent ratings of students were moderately correlated with the student's self-reports, thereby providing support for the convergent validity of the self-report measure. …

A Comparison Of The Social Skills Rating System And The Preschool And Kindergarten Behavior Scales, Susan Hayner

Masters Theses

The Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales (PKBS) and the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS), Teacher Form, at the Preschool and Elementary Levels, are fairly new instruments that purport to evaluate children's prosocial abilities and deviant problem behavior. Little research exists comparing the two instruments. Both scales have been determined to be globally technically adequate. However, the research has been limited thus far. The purpose of the current research was to further investigate the relationship between the two scales. A sample of children (n=136) in west central Illinois public and private preschools were used to collect the data. Of these, 64 …

The Use Of Noncontingent Reinforcement In The Regular Education Classroom With Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Children, Heather A. D. Ochs

Masters Theses

A problem that exists in many regular education classrooms is excessive disruptive behavior of students. This study will examine the disruptive behavior of two children, age 8, who have been diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, in a simulated regular education classroom. Due to a renewed emphasis on linking treatment to functional analysis, noncontingent reinforcement was utilized to determine whether teacher mediated or peer mediated attention can decrease the disruptive behavior. This study used a multi-element design for the functional analysis and a reversal (ABAB) design to evaluate the effects of the noncontingent reinforcement treatment. Results indicated that peer attention was …

Mdma And Learning: Effects Of Acute And Neurotoxic Exposure, Thomas P. Byrne

Dissertations

In two experiments, the effects of MDMA were examined on the acquisition of lever-press responding by rats exposed to procedures in which water delivery was delayed by 0, 10, or 20 seconds. In the first experiment, naive, water-deprived rats received an intraperitoneal injection of MDMA (0, 1.0, 3.2, or 5.6 mg/kg) prior to one experimental session. Response acquisition was observed under all conditions at all drug doses. MDMA increased both response rates and reinforcers earned in a dose-dependent fashion, but only when reinforcement was immediate. Under conditions of delay, MDMA had no effect on the number of lever presses emitted …

Using Bibliotherapy With Selected Developmental Concerns Of Middle School Youth, Dianne Keeling

All Graduate Projects

This project investigated literature related to the developmental concerns of middle school youth and the use of bibliotherapy. The purpose of this investigation was to gain a theoretical understanding of these developmental concerns and the related use of bibliotherapy as well as to discover instructional strategies for the use of bibliotherapy in the middle school classroom. The product of this investigation is a resource guide for the use of bibliotherapy with selected developmental concerns of middle school youth. A review of selected literature revealed that some developmental concerns of students at this age are adolescent changes, anger, drug/alcohol abuse, violence …

The Effects On Student Performance Related To The Contributions Of The Multiple Intelligences Theory, Dennis Derne Perez

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Early Identification And Treatment Of The Emotionally Disturbed Adolescent Female, Danielle Côté

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Team Research On Intrinsic Motivation In Student Populations: A Continuing Project, Marian Brow Petrovick

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Relations Of Explanatory Style, Learning Orientation, And Gender With Children's Academic Performance, Jennifer Grubar

Masters Theses

Several explanations have been offered to account for sex differences in academic achievement patterns. Two in particular have been looked at extensively in past research: learned helplessness/mastery orientation theory and attribution theory (explanatory style). Most studies look at these two explanations separately, but it seems important to examine them together. The present study explored how learning orientation, explanatory style and gender relate to children's academic performance.

The hypotheses of this study were that more girls would fall into the helpless category, but would still be optimistic and would have higher grade point averages (GPA' s). More boys were expected to …

Comparison Of Ability-Achievement Discrepancies Among The Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Woodcock-Johnson-Revised Tests Of Achievement, And Wechsler Intelligence Scale For Children-Third Edition In A Sample Of Students Referred For Evaluation Of Learning Disabilities, Tracy L. Cole

Masters Theses

Under current IDEA definitions, a significant or severe discrepancy between intellectual ability and academic achievement is the primary criterion by which a student may be classified as having a specific learning disability. By recommendation of the Work Group on Measurement Issues in the Assessment of Learning Disabilities (1984), the most common method of determining such a discrepancy is to calculate the discrepancy between an individual's score on an individually administered intelligence test and his/her score on an individually administered achievement test using a regression-based formula to correct for the regression of IQ on achievement.

Because two previous studies suggested that …

Teachers' Acceptability Ratings Of Arbitrary Versus Functional Based Reinforcers, Cheryl Lungaro

Masters Theses

Whether teachers find a reinforcer based on a functional assessment more acceptable than an arbitrarily selected reinforcer was investigated. Participants consisted of 94 elementary school teachers from 11 (8 rural, 3 suburban) schools in Illinois. Teachers were asked to complete the Intervention Rating Profile-15 after reading one of the three problem vignettes that described a common behavior problem that was maintained by peer attention. In one condition the proposed treatment included peer attention as a reward; the two remaining conditions included teacher attention and tangible items as rewards. A one-way ANOVA revealed a significant preference for the treatments based on …

Graduate Bulletin, 1998-2000 (1998), Moorhead State University

Graduate Bulletins (Catalogs)

No abstract provided.

A Study Of Convergent Validity Between The Adjustment Scales For Children And Adolescents (Asca) And The Behavior Assessment System For Children-Teacher Rating Scale (Basc-Trs), Joseph M. Keusch

Masters Theses

The Adjustment Scales for Children and Adolescents (ASCA) and the Behavior Assessment System for Children-Teacher Rating Scale (BASC-TRS) are two relatively new behavior assessment devices designed to measure youth problem behavior. Both scales are designed to be completed by the child's classroom teacher and evaluated by qualified professionals. Both scales are unique in their construction and are considered to be technically adequate. Many of their syndromes/subscales and global scales/composites are similar in their name, nature, and descriptions according to their respective manuals. However, no research has been conducted establishing convergent evidence of construct validity between the two instruments. The present …

Validity Of The Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale With A Rural Sample, Julie A. Lindstrom

Masters Theses

The problem that was investigated in the current study was that the norms of the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (RADS) (Reynolds, 1987) may have had limited generalizability to students attending Paris High School and Mayo Middle School in rural Paris, Illinois because it was normed on "normal" subjects in only one urban/suburban school district in Wisconsin. The purposes of the current study were to establish Paris norms for the RADS and to fulfill Paris' need for an instrument to efficiently and inexpensively assess students suspected of having depression. This investigator hypothesized that the norms on the RADS would differ between …

Examiner Errors In Scoring The Wisc-Iii Vocabulary, Comprehension, And Similarities Subtests, Ryan L. Neitzel

Masters Theses

Examiner errors when scoring the WISC-III Vocabulary, Comprehension, and Similarities subtests were examined. Twenty-one graduate students enrolled in school psychology training programs and twenty-three certified school psychologist practitioners participated in scoring a constructed record form containing both standard responses (items clearly accounted for in the WISC-III Manual) and ambiguous responses (items not specifically accounted for in the WISC-III Manual). Descriptive Statistics demonstrated that graduate students and practitioners made errors on all subtests and item types. However, the Vocabulary, Comprehension, and Similarities ambiguous responses contained the most errors. Furthermore, Analysis of Variance demonstrated that for each subtest, ambiguous responses …

Relations Between Consultant Characteristics And Measures Of Consultation Quality And Outcome, Ian R. Macleod

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore school-based consultation effectiveness (as perceived by classroom teachers) and important indices of consultation quality and student outcome. Specifically, the research explored 1) important characteristics of school-based consultants using the Consultant Effectiveness Scale (CES), 2) the relations between quality of the consultation process and student outcome, and 3) the measurement similarities between the CES and the measure of consultation process quality. Questionnaires were completed by 85 teachers working in grades K-12 in a suburban area of Chicago. To participate, teachers must have engaged in a consultative relationship within the past 12 months. Consultants …

Student Outcomes, Educational Technology, And Assessment In Large Classrooms: Effects On Planned Behavior, Tanya Leigh Ostrogorsky

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this research was to investigate the impact of educational technology and classroom assessment on student outcomes. The research used a pretest post-test matched pairs design to test these effects. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was used as a foundation for the model tested. Differences between the model tested and the TPB include the addition of Perceived Behavioral ControlTime 2 (PBC), and the dropping of Subjective Norms from the model. Participating faculty were trained in the use of educational technology, assessment, and course design. Each faculty taught two sections of a large course: first without the enhancements; …

Abusing Deaf Immigrants And Hearing No Evil, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses the on-going abuse of deaf immigrants.

Hardball Politics, The Chinese Connection, And The Psychology Of Linkage: Some Implications Of, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

IBPP has posited some effects of globalization on individual psychologies ("Political Psychology and Globalization" (Vol. 1, No. 13)) and political tactics and structures ("Psychopolitical Effects of Globalization on Power: When Weakness Becomes Strength" (Vol. 1, No. 14.)) This article describes how new information technologies and old principles of social psychology may be combined in an era of globalization for effective information warfare during political conflict.