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1997 Dissertation Abstracts: Part 8
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ORDER NO: ABA98-01943 RETENTION OF RACIAL-ETHNIC MINORITY STUDENTS WITHIN VIRGINIA BACCALAUREATE SCHOOLS OF NURSING (NURSING EDUCATION) Author: LILLEY, LINDA LANE Degree: PH.D. Year: 1997 Corporate Source/Institution: GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY (0883) Director: HAZEL JOHNSON-BROWN Source: VOLUME 58/07-B OF DISSERTATION ABSTRACTS INTERNATIONAL. PAGE 3559. 103 PAGES Descriptors: HEALTH SCIENCES, NURSING EDUCATION, HIGHER; HEALTH SCIENCES, EDUCATION A major issue for higher education in the 20th and 21st centuries is the underrepresentation of racial-ethnic minority students. The issue of underrepresentation of racial-ethnic minority students within higher education is especially a problem within programs of nursing, where it has resulted in a lack of minority professional nurses to care for a rapidly increasing culturally and linguistically diverse patient population. Nursing research in the area of recruitment of minorities has been abundant over the last decade; however, the issue of minority student retention remains minimally emphasized. The purpose of this research study was to examine the relationship between retention strategies and retention rates of racial-ethnic minority baccalaureate nursing students attending public universities and colleges within the State of Virginia. The data provided additional insight into the trends and problems of retention for racial-ethnic minority students in baccalaureate programs of nursing in Virginia; examination of data allowed recommendations for future development of successful retention strategies and/or programs. Tinto's Model of Student Departure (1975, 1987) was used as the framework for the study. A cross-sectional one-part mailed survey design was used for this study. A descriptive methodology was used to summarize and describe the data. Qualitative comments were also analyzed for themes about retention. The population was all National League for Nursing (NLN) accredited baccalaureate programs of nursing within state-funded four-year degree-granting colleges and universities. A convenience sample included all NLN-accredited baccalaureate programs of nursing in Virginia, with the final sample including baccalaureate programs of nursing within state-funded colleges and universities that completed and returned the survey. Statistically significant findings were that racial-ethnic minority student enrollments and graduates were at 16% and 15% of total enrollments and graduates for the years 1990-94. Another significant finding was the lack of close tracking of retention of racial-ethnic minority students by the baccalaureate schools of nursing. Other findings included no statistical significance, between the variable of retention problems and the variables of tutoring for racial-ethnic minority students, minority faculty tutors, or presence of minority support services; however, fewer than 37% of the baccalaureate programs had supplemental instruction or miscellaneous support programs available at the department or school level.
ORDER NO: ABA97-38831 Psychological and educational measurement devices are commonly used to make decisions about selection of persons for jobs, college admissions, or other forms of special treatment or instruction. When multiple measures must be employed to achieve a suitable level of classification accuracy, a decision maker must decide not only which measures to choose, but also which combinatorial rules and cutting score decisions to consider. In the present study, the problem of using high-school grades and standardized test scores to predict future academic success of college students was presented. Data from the NCAA Academic Performance Study (APS) of Student-Athletes (N = 3,412) were used to examine the relative strengths and weaknesses of alternative selection models. These analyses were carried out using three different kinds of statistical models: (I) Prediction analyses based on regression; (II) Selection analyses based on iterative search strategies; and (III) Utility analyses based on decision theory methods. Results indicated that although various linear and nonlinear methods of combining selection variables were capable of producing similar levels of decision accuracy, equally weighted linear composites may be preferable for making these types of admissions decisions. Selection goals and variations in the definition of academic success were explicitly considered. Substantive results and their implications for current public policies were discussed.
ORDER NO: ABA97-38304 Clinical neuropsychologists who assess patients following mild closed head injury (CHI) are often asked to offer an opinion whether there is evidence of malingering. Factors that impact the ability of a person to intentionally portray impairment are quite important since mis-diagnosis of malingering can result in delayed treatment. In this study knowledge of the sequelae of mild CHI was provided to normal college students in an effort to change reporting of symptoms and influence the type of malingering strategy used when completing the Neuropsychological Symptom Inventory (NSI). Subjects were randomly assigned to either a prior knowledge malingering group (PK; N = 57), no prior knowledge malingering group (NPK; N = 58), or control group (CON; N = 61). The results showed that PK subjects endorsed more general and attention/concentration symptoms than NPK or CON subjects. The results also showed PK subjects were as likely to be detected by the NSI lie scale as NPK subjects. Thus, the NSI lie scale demonstrated sensitivity to malingering despite subjects having brief instruction about mild CHI. Also, having prior knowledge did not result in significantly different strategies when completing the NSI. Instead, both malingering groups reportedly used exaggeration and attempted to be consistent as frequent strategies.
ORDER NO: ABA98-03733 This study assessed the relationship between university sponsored preparation of public school elementary principals in educational administration and school effectiveness. The 1993-94 Schools and Staffing Survey, a nationally representative data base, was used to study the graduate preparation of 3,999 public school elementary principals in relation to a measure of school effectiveness as perceived by public school elementary teachers. Three research questions were used to investigate components of formal graduate preparation with school effectiveness. Independent variables represented university sponsored principal preparation and included graduate degree, major, and administrative internship preparation. The dependent variable was the School Effectiveness Index, a measure determined from the responses of 15,988 teachers in 3,999 public elementary schools regarding school effectiveness constructs as referenced in the effective schools literature. The school served as the unit of analysis. School Effectiveness Index scores were computed for each sample school from the combined mean scores of teacher responses to 25 questions regarding the instructional leadership of their principal with respect to school effectiveness. Urbanicity was used as a proxy control variable to reflect community composition. Using a factorial analysis of variance research design, the independent variables were tested for statistical significance with the dependent variable, controlling for urbanicity. Relationships were analyzed using main effect findings of mean scores, the apportionment of the sum of squares, and effect sizes. When school effectiveness was measured by teacher perception, the relationships between degree and major at the highest degree level were marginal. There was no significant relationship between internship preparation and school effectiveness. The conclusions from this study have policy and practice implications for the preparation of elementary principals as instructional leaders for improved school effectiveness among states and policymaking organizations, higher education institutions and professional associations, and local school boards and practitioners.
ORDER NO: ABA98-03730 There is no explicit theory of absences to guide empirical analysis on student absenteeism. This study fills this void by building a model of class absences based upon Becker's (1965) utility framework. The model conjectures that the student will tend to skip classes that contribute relatively little to learning or grade production across courses. The study tests this hypothesis using Chizmar's data (1986) and multi-spell discrete-time hazard analysis. The study finds absenteeism to be highest in the proximity of a test relative to any other time in the sample period. Study becomes more attractive as an exam approaches, causing the student probability to skip class to go up. This result is more likely in courses where teaching is less effective and/or students less motivated. The evidence suggests that one of the most significant steps in coping with absenteeism is to improve the quality of instruction. The student decision to skip classes was formalized in the context of the multi-spell-discrete-time hazard analysis method. Examinations, study and teaching effectiveness appeared to explain the temporal behavior of absenteeism.
ORDER NO: ABA98-03729 This descriptive case study uses authors' manuscripts and drafts to teach textuality concepts within a college literature classroom. In addition, the engagement of the readers to the reading was observed and recorded. The researcher observed four case subjects as, and after, they were presented with the pre-published drafts of authors whose works were being studied in the course. The resulting engagement patterns were noted as well as the manner in which several key textuality concepts were discovered and acquired. Using a pedagogical plan of exploration, concept invention, and application, the researcher observed the subjects recognize three key textual concepts: textuality, intertextuality, and contextuality. The levels of engagement with manuscripts and texts were observed within two broad categories: surface engagement and substantive engagement. Interviews with the subjects, student writings, and observational data were recorded as data. The results showed a consistent engagement, leading to the self-discovered realization and application of the key textual concepts of textuality, intertextuality, and contextuality.
ORDER NO: ABA98-03473 The professional development school (PDS) is a recent innovation in teacher education. The purpose of this study was to examine the preparation of student teachers at Hillcrest Professional Development School, a partnership, endeavor between Waco Independent School District and Baylor University School of Education, both located in Waco, Texas. The study took place over two years. The primary method of inquiry was the structured, open ended interview. Participants included student teachers from the 1994-95 school year, their supervising teachers, the principal of the professional development school, and university faculty who were involved in the project. Student teachers were interviewed twice, once near the end of their field experience and again after almost a full year of teaching on their own in the public schools. Findings were triangulated by comparing responses of participants. Evaluation documents were also reviewed in order to substantiate interview information. This study indicates that the PDS model as implemented at Hillcest PDS has been successful in preparing teachers in several key areas to teach in urban classrooms. The year-long field experience in an elementary school with a diverse student population tended to impact the student teachers' development of classroom management skills, developing relationships with culturally diverse students, and in the use of technology skills. The year-long field experience also seemed to positively impact student teachers' relationships with their supervising teachers and with their university supervisors. Finally, student teachers from the PDS tended not to abandon research based practices learned at the university and practiced during the field experience even though the culture of the schools in which they found jobs may not have supported such practices.
ORDER NO: ABA98-03095 Principals are faced with the challenge of building capacity in beginning teachers that enter the profession with different levels of preparation from traditional and alternative certification programs. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of the principal in building teacher capacity (knowledge, skill, disposition, and sense of self) by identifying principals' perceptions of teachers' capacities, methods of assessment/evaluation, and capacity-building strategies. Data for this study were collected through a cross-sectional survey. The instrument included fixed-choice statements and open-ended questions based upon literature from the learner-centered schools' research on administrator and teacher proficiencies conducted by the Texas Education Agency (1994) and literature on principals' capacity-building strategies. A total of 134 principals from 52 districts throughout Texas participated. These principals were serving in schools that employed alternative certification teachers from education service center, university -based, and district programs. Principals supervised teachers from traditional and alternative certification programs for a minimum of two consecutive years. The sample included principals with different campus levels, diverse student populations, and located in different geographic regions. Following cross-sectional sample study guidelines, the results of the Paired Samples t Test and the Wilcoxon Matched-pairs Signed-ranks Test revealed that most principals in this study perceived significant differences in second year beginning teachers' capacities for statements describing the components of teacher's knowledge and teacher's skill ($\geq$.05). Principals in this study perceived traditionally certified teachers as having greater capacities in exhibiting a strong working knowledge of subject matter, enabling students to understand patterns of thinking specific to the subject matter, considering subject matter from different cultural and intellectual viewpoints, selecting and organizing instruction, understanding pedagogy, guiding learners toward constructing knowledge, integrating other disciplines, and demonstrating effective classroom management. Emerging themes from principals' responses to open-ended statements supported these findings. Principals credited traditionally certified teachers' greater levels of capacity to their preservice programs. Most principals of this study perceived traditionally and alternatively certified second year teachers-of-record as having similar levels of capacity in components related to disposition, and sense of self; used similar assessment/evaluation methods; and used similar capacity-building strategies with both groups.
ORDER NO: ABA98-03065 While no shortage exists of pedagogically directed research, a universally accepted definition of "good" or "effective" teaching, including teaching in the community college, remains elusive. And when the definitions of our terms are vague, discourse which results from those terms will, by definition, also be vague. This dissertation consequently is a mindful exploration of many of the metaphors we use to describe what we are doing (or claim we are doing) in our classrooms. This study shows that a certain catalog of metaphors for teaching exists, but relatively little has been said about possibly different applications for these metaphors at different grade levels. If "teacher as coach" is the metaphor, for instance, then what will that metaphor mean for the K-12 teacher, the teacher of undergraduates at a research university, and the community college teacher? This dissertation suggests that we know little about this important question. After first examining some standard metaphors for teaching at all levels, this dissertation turns to metaphors for teaching at the undergraduate (four-year) level, and finally to metaphors for teaching in the community college as they appear in the Professional Development Collection of Austin (TX) Community College. These latter volumes are suggested readings for faculty at the college, but a detailed examination of them suggests that they present little useful information specific to community college pedagogy. Moreover, because research at the K-12 and four-year levels does not take community colleges into account, that research does not possess a demonstrable application to the community college. The problem that this study both reveals and addresses is that community college professionals greatly need useful, precise pedagogical commentary that applies specifically to the community college. Across the board, literature that addresses "teaching" either has not been shown to apply to community colleges or, when it ostensibly does apply, its actual value is often questionable. This dissertation, by semantically evaluating significant metaphors for teaching, uncovers problems of which educators need to be aware and suggests ways in which community college professionals might find a clearer focus for their own pedagogy.
ORDER NO: ABA98-03030 As mandated by state law, public universities and colleges in Texas are required to provide remediation for their undergraduate students who are deemed academically ill-prepared, as indicated by scores on the Texas Academic Skills Program (TASP) Test, in one or more of three skill areas (reading, writing, and mathematics). The focus of the research was two-fold. First, a general evaluation model to be used, with adaptation, by institutions when evaluating TASP remediation instruction was designed. The model defined appropriate variables, data collection procedures, and statistical analyses for the evaluation of key elements within five major areas of the remediation instruction. Parts of the model were applied to the remediation instruction at The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) and Austin Community College. At UT Austin, evaluation activities involved the comparison of remediation and non-remediation students on outcome indicators such as cumulative grade point averages and retention rates. The effectiveness of two types of remedial instruction were also evaluated. At Austin Community College, the average grades received in specific college -level courses were compared for non-remediation students and two groups of remediation students. In addition, comparisons between the two groups of remediation students were made in terms of grades received in remediation instruction and scores received on placement tests. The model was adapted to fit the needs of each institution. The definition of the research groups differed at each institution due to the differences in the student populations and the type of remediation instruction offered. Also, the types of student data available were different at each institution since the institutions collect different information from their students. Finally, different statistical methods were applied at each institution, even when the evaluation questions were similar, because of the different types of data available from student records. The general evaluation model was shown to be adaptable to the needs of two institutions. While only portions of the model were applied to the two institutions, the application of the model provides examples to others of how to ask evaluation questions, identify the applicable variables and subjects to include in the evaluation, and apply appropriate statistical methodology.
ORDER NO: ABA98-02999 A one-semester study designed to measure the procedural transfer effects of abstract knowledge and subgoal structures in a community college elementary algebra course is reported. The matching of abstract forms to their conditions of applicability and the use of subgoal structures in procedural transfer tasks are the focus of this analysis. Complete data are presented for a total of 37 students from two treatment groups and one comparison group at Austin Community College in Austin, Texas. Instructional treatments were provided to two courses. For each lesson on pre-transfer and transfer topics in elementary algebra, the first treatment course received instruction with comprehensive examples preceded by procedural subgoal structures and augmented by abstract principles matching each algebraic operation. The second treatment course received instruction with multiple subexamples and the same final comprehensive example as the first treatment course. These examples were each preceded by the same subgoal structures as presented to the first treatment group. Measurements were obtained from all 37 students across the three groups for two tests. Particularly, from 13 pretest items and 10 transfer items on a posttest, the number of violations involving the abstract forms and the conditions of applicability in students' procedural performances were examined. From these results the first treatment group demonstrated minimal knowledge of abstract forms for principles, but performed better on procedural transfer tasks than the second treatment group did. By contrast, the comparison group performed statistically better than both treatment groups on the transfer items and not statistically different from both treatment groups on the pretest. This comparison group received instruction similar to that of the first treatment group in that abstract principles and directing processes for algebraic operations were presented. In summary, the analysis indicates that more errors were related to the actions associated with the abstract principles than the conditions of applicability or subgoals for transfer items. Thus, weak evidence is provided here for Ohlsson's transfer theory while Anderson's ACT* theory is partially evidenced by the importance of abstract knowledge in executing correct procedural operators under appropriate conditions.
ORDER NO: ABA98-02990
This study explored the relationships between computer-based instruction and students' course grades and persistence factors in a developmental English course. In addition, the study analyzed students' attitudes toward computer use and degrees of satisfaction with technology tools related to successful outcomes in developmental education programs. Using an ex-post facto research design, the study focused specifically on the influence of four sets of factors: (a) academic histories, (b) orientation toward computer use, (c) ability and comfort with computers, and (d) preference for computer-based instruction. The criterion variables or learning outcome measures were academic success, defined as a grade of "C" or better in the developmental course, persistence, defined as the receipt of a performance grade in the developmental course, and student satisfaction, as measured by student survey responses and personal student interviews. A convenience sample of 55 developmental education students who had completed the course during the fall 1995 and spring 1996 semesters was used for the data set; the students in the set where shown to be similar to other developmental English students at the college. Multiple Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) tests were used to evaluate the research questions related to academic success and persistence. The third question, related to student satisfaction, was analyzed using a standardized open-ended interview approaches, pattern coding processes, and review of student survey responses. The major conclusions of the study were: (1) no significance was found between the four independent variables students' academic histories, ability and comfort with computers, orientation toward computer use and preference for computer-based instruction, and the outcome measure of academic success in computer-based developmental English programs; (2) no significance was found between the four independent variables students' academic histories, ability and comfort with computers, orientation toward computer use, and preference for computer-based instruction, and the outcome measure of persistence in computer-based developmental English programs; (3) the total variance explained by student's academic histories, ability and comfort with computers, orientation toward computer use, and preference for computer-based instruction in this study ranged from 3 percent to less than 1 percent making a weak case for these four independent variables and attributing a very small significance factor to the statistical research questions 1 and 2; and (4) in contrast with the quantitative outcomes, the evidence gathered from the student interviews and student survey responses demonstrate high satisfaction levels and affective benefits for students using technology in developmental English programs. The implications of these results and those of post hoc analyses were discussed in terms of their theoretical and applied contributions, the limitations of the study were detailed, and suggestions were made for future research.
ORDER NO: ABA98-02960
Increasingly, higher educational policy makers are advocating performance-based faculty compensation strategies in response to growing accountability demands and declining revenues. However, replacing a traditional promotion-based evaluation and reward system with one based on performance constitutes a major organizational change, and little research exists regarding the introduction of such change in a community college setting. This exploratory case study offers a foundational understanding of community college pay for performance through an in-depth, contextual account of Community College of Denver's experiences in initiating state-mandated performance-based faculty pay and exploration of this initiative from three analytic perspectives: (a) process, (b) organizational culture, and (c) participant analysis. This phenomenological inquiry incorporated recursive data collection and analysis using participant observations, individual and focus group interviews, open-ended surveys, and document analysis. In addition, the study involved faculty and administrators in an innovative interactive qualitative analysis method leading to a grounded theory of how faculty pay for performance works in the case institution. The pay initiative was found to follow five stages of development and implementation, to require substantial human resource investments, and to generate widespread anxiety and subcultural tensions between several college groups (faculty and administration, junior and senior faculty, and academic and vocational divisions). Nevertheless, pervasive cultural values (quality achievement, accountability, collaboration, and student success) and historical factors (ten years of comprehensive strategic planning and accountability activities) were found to support the initiative. Initial pay program derivatives included extensive participation in discourse regarding the meaning and measurement of teaching effectiveness; increased workloads, particularly for supervisors; enhanced faculty self-evaluation and participation in college activities; and greater attention to performance goals. Determination of long-term effects will require further study, but findings indicate that the degree of perceived congruity between college values and the values perceived to be associated with pay for performance will strongly influence the acceptance and outcomes of the pay program. Ultimately, this study contends that although performance-based compensation may help community colleges meet external accountability demands or internal effectiveness goals, pay for performance should be recognized as a value-laden undertaking calling for consideration of the culture as well as the goals of the organization.
ORDER NO: ABA98-02957
Traditionally, the children of migrant laborers have been at-risk to drop out of school. Federally-funded migrant programs have assisted migrant children in their pursuit of an education. Recently, migrant educators have looked toward electronic communications and distance learning to address the educational needs of migrant children. This study examined students' perceptions of, reactions to and online interactions with each other using an electronic message system. The focus of this research, which followed the principles of naturalistic inquiry, was to discover migrant students' purposes and perspectives for using computers to communicate. Seven college migrant students volunteered to correspond electronically with ten migrant middle school students. A middle school teacher and migrant education tutor also volunteered to be part of this program. Several of the college students had participated in a notebook-based penpal project and had been mentors to younger students in the community. I selected the college students because of their interest in mentoring. The middle school students were selected by the migrant education tutor because of their interest in using computers. I wanted to know how participants would perceive mentoring experiences in a computer-mediated environment. Students had access to a bulletin board system (BBS) with asynchronous private electronic mail (e-mail) and an asynchronous public conference area. The BBS also had a chat feature that permitted realtime conversations. Seven middle school students' and three college students' case studies comprise the final report, along with comparison and contrast across and among case themes. The study's findings were related to how and why students established social relationships online and their perceptions of their interactions within a computer-mediated environment. For example, all students preferred synchronous communication to e-mail and conference postings because of the realtime nature of the interaction, making the exchange more like a face-to-face dialogue than letter-writing. This research yielded insiders' views of the implementation of an electronic message system. There may be instances when findings from this study may have applications in other, similar contexts.
ORDER NO: ABA98-02944
Community college faculty were asked to respond to a survey which investigated their perceptions concerning ideal, actual, and expected levels of involvement with students in 16 activities outside the classroom. The "ideal" explored in what activities and to what degree faculty thought they ideally should be involved with students outside the classroom. The "actual" questioned the activities and the degree to which faculty actually were involved with students outside the classroom and provided a description of the topics of conversation that faculty have with students in out-of-class settings. The "expected" questioned what faculty thought their institutions expected of them in terms of involvement with students outside the classroom and explored specific types of institutional support mechanisms, rewards, or recognition for those interactions. The sample consisted of 504 full-time, contracted faculty from 12 community colleges, randomly selected and stratified upon the basis of size and national accreditation affiliation. Faculty selected the same top five activities for the ideal, the actual, and the expected categories: hallway/after-class conversations; program/course advisement; mentoring students; individualized instruction and extra help; and advising and counseling about careers. Faculty were not actually as involved with students outside the classroom as they felt they should be ideally; however, the ideal and actual levels of involvement with students in out-of-class activities were substantially higher than faculty thought their community colleges expected of them. When queried about the nature and content of actual out-of-class interactions with students in terms of primary topics of conversation, faculty selected the three areas that most closely tie to their academic role as faculty members: to discuss intellectual or course-related matters; to give information or advice about academic or vocational programs; and to discuss matters related to the student's future career. When asked if there were institutional rewards or established expectations for out-of-class contact with students at their institution, the highest percentage of faculty responded that there were no institutional elements supporting or recognizing or rewarding faculty for contact with students outside of class.
ORDER NO: ABA98-02869
The problem this study examined was what cognitive problem solving and decision making strategies do university students employ while being taught using the Dimensions of Learning Model? In particular, it was designed to isolate cognitive processes that college students use in their learning process. A qualitative study was carried out with students from the School of Communication at the Autonomous University of Coahuila, Mexico using three types of data: interviewing techniques with students and teachers, student probes, and classroom observations. Findings of the study indicated that there are four domains of students' responses. These include the domain of students' thought processes, the domain of students' discoveries from their own thinking, the domain of students' opinions about problem solving and decision making strategies, and the domain of the differences and similarities between problem solving and decision making according to students' responses. The assessment of problem solving tasks suggest that the students were able to identify obstacles and constraints and propose alternative solutions. However a significant number of students were not able to offered a clear rationale of the alternatives and final selection. In regard to students' assessment of decision making tasks, the results indicated that a high number of students accomplished identifying alternatives that represented most of the important possible alternatives in the different tasks of decision making.
ORDER NO: ABA98-02809
The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of guided-practice instruction on the weekly performance achievement of university brass students. A secondary focus of the study was to examine the relationship between practice amount and performance achievement. Twenty volunteer university brass students from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro were assigned randomly to one of four treatment groups: (a) written guided-practice instruction, (b) aural guided-practice instruction, (c) written and aural guided-practice instruction, and (d) no guided-practice instruction. Each week during a 12-week treatment period, participants performed a selected musical example following one week of independent practice according to an assigned treatment condition. A panel of five adjudicators using a brass performance rating scale developed by the investigator rated all participant performances. A pretreatment sightread performance of a selected musical example was used to establish pretreatment performance ability. Participants reported the number of days each week they practiced an assigned musical example. Weekly performance achievement scores and weekly reported practice amounts were collected for each participant. Furthermore, composite performance achievement scores and composite reported practice amounts were calculated for each participant. A one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to identify significant differences in composite performance achievement scores across treatment groups. Results of the one-way ANCOVA identified no significant differences $(p>.05)$ in composite performance achievement scores across the four treatment groups. The mean composite performance achievement score was highest for the written guided-practice instruction treatment group, next highest for the written and aural guided-practice instruction treatment group, and lowest for the aural guided-practice instruction treatment group. Pearson Product Moment correlation techniques were used to examine the relationship between practice amount and performance achievement. A moderately low, positive correlation was identified between mean composite reported practice amounts and mean composite performance achievement scores. The mean composite reported practice amount was highest for the written guided-practice instruction treatment group, next highest for the written and aural guided-practice instruction treatment group, and lowest for the aural guided-practice instruction treatment group.
ORDER NO: ABA98-02803
This study evaluates an institute conducted by faculty at Western Carolina University in 1996, designed to mentor beginning teachers in need of additional assistance. The intended outcome was to understand what functions of mentoring were most helpful in the professional development of three beginning teachers. The evaluation was formative in nature, and the findings were used to improve the 1997 institute. Evaluation questions were used to guide the study, and qualitative data were collected from the participants, their administrators, two institute leader/facilitators, and four mentors individually assigned to the participants. The findings were reported as the strengths, limitations, and worth of the institute. The strengths of the program were (a) major concerns of the participants and their administrators were addressed; (b) one-on-one mentor involvement through planning and implementing a personal plan of action assisted participants in feeling supported without the fear of judgment; (c) participants received individualized attention; (d) time was provided for assistance; (e) participants were introduced to new ideas which caused them to question current practices; (f) participants developed step-by-step plans of putting theory into practice; and (g) participants increased their awareness of the importance of the interrelationship between them and their students. The limitations were (a) not enough time was spent with the mentors; (b) mentors were not located close enough to the participants and therefore, were less available during the school year for assistance; (c) mentors were not given enough advance notice of the needs of the participants before the institute; (d) more participants were needed for the enrichment of discussions and sharing of ideas; (e) participants needed to be more closely related to each other in the grade levels they taught; and (f) more careful matching of mentors to mentees needed to be addressed. The worth of the institute was realized in its benefits to these beginning teachers. One teacher transformed her classroom management procedures from that of coercive control to more positive discipline and student voice. Another participant improved in how she dealt professionally with her assistant--communicated more effectively. The third participant improved her rapport with students and classroom climate--the institute was a major factor in her decision to remain in the profession. This program, as a function of mentoring, facilitated a positive change in the development of these three teachers.
ORDER NO: ABA98-02777
This inquiry explored the significance of and implications for a critical pedagogy in art education. Critical pedagogy may be very loosely defined as a way to get students, indeed all people, to think critically about what they believe in. It is a resistance pedagogy that supports freedom of ideas wrought through ideological introspection and explores the spaces within resistances that may hold emancipatory possibility. The inquiry began by questioning why elementary education preservice teachers enrolled in a required university art education class held such disparate levels of acceptance and resistance to critical art teaching that employed critical pedagogy. In summary, this study affirms a need to go beyond neoconservative and authoritarian pedagogies to enable students and teachers to discern: (1) the relationship between pedagogy and context and the role of the teacher to both affirm and challenge the content and form of experience even in the face of resistance; (2) the cautionary synthesis of theory and method in classroom practice that can reconstruct theory to the benefit or distort theory to the detriment of educational possibility; (3) the role of vision that promotes the necessity of a will to vision that makes possible dreams for the future of institutions as alternative public spheres; (4) the necessity of differentiating teacher authority from authoritarianism in order to break hierarchical boundaries between teacher and student for acceptance of emancipatory teaching styles; (5) the positive benefits of resistance to ideological change and the methodological finesse educators need to help students maneuver through those resistances; (6) the necessity of working toward an art enlightened world view that uses the content within critical visual and verbal interpretations of works of art as directional instruments for guiding life. Ultimately, by problematizing critical pedagogy, this research supports resistance pedagogy as a positive outcome to negative critique, and conflicting ideologies as productive categories wherein change or resolution may or may not occur as lived experience encounters resistance.
ORDER NO: ABA98-02771
The purpose of this study was to investigate how, if at all, students are using the Internet to access information for course-related research, and what accounts for such use or non-use. Since many college campuses have implemented local area networks and enabled access to the Internet from computer labs, libraries and residence halls, students can readily search the Internet for all kinds of information. The study population consisted of 73 full-time, undergraduate students from 5 small, independent, residential, liberal arts colleges in Pennsylvania which had Internet access established on campus. Student participants were divided into two groups: those who had used the Internet for course-related research, and those who had not. Data was collected during scheduled small focus group interviews in which students responded to several open-ended questions. Users of the Internet were asked a total of 11 questions in which they described use patterns, search processes, information retrieval and evaluation, and evaluation of their use of the Internet. Non-users were asked 4 questions regarding reasons for non-use, research patterns, purposes of internet use, and factors that might encourage use. Some of the study's findings are as follows. The Internet was used primarily for email, course-research, and entertainment purposes. Use was highest on the most-wired campuses. Half of the study population (36 students) reported that they currently use the Internet for course-related research. Almost all of these subsequently used Internet information in course papers and assignments. They liked the convenience and variety of information available. Non-users had no reason to use the Internet and did not know how to access or locate information. Almost all students reported difficulty with searching. No gender differences were noted regarding comfort levels using the Internet, but some differences occurred among academic levels and college campuses. Several recommendations were made for administrators, librarians, faculty and students regarding the role of the Internet on campus. These included the need for widespread computer accessibility, for instruction in Internet use and information evaluation, for faculty involvement, and for faculty-librarian collaboration in promoting responsible, informed and appropriate use of the Internet as a research option.
ORDER NO: ABA98-02738
The reflective inquiry method has been accepted as one of three unique traditions in social studies education. This tradition possesses a strong lineage that dates back to the philosophy of John Dewey. This method has been sustained by the theoretical writings and curriculum materials composed by scholars from higher education. Shirley H. Engle (1906-1994), influenced by the philosophy of Dewey, attempted to implement the teachings of the Progressive Educational movement. This study utilized an array of primary sources including private papers, curriculum documents, articles, books, and interviews to analyze Engle's educational thought to 1994. Engle's educational philosophy took shape as he grew up in Indiana and Illinois during the early part of the century. As a public school teacher Engle's pedagogy was deeply influenced by the Great Depression and the New Deal. His philosophical grounding would be strengthened with his acceptance to the University of Illinois, one of the bastions of Progressive educational thought. Engle completed his undergraduate, masters, and doctoral degrees at Illinois. In 1945, Engle began his affiliation with Indiana University where he would establish himself as one of the leading proponents of a problems-oriented curriculum currently designated as issues-centered education. The study concludes that Engle's thought based on (1) issues and problems relevant to the lives of students, (2) evidence found in the individual social sciences, the humanities, and other disciplines, (3) citizenship education, (4) social criticism and (5) decision making found support in higher education but was not considered mainstream thinking by teachers in public and private schools. Engle's dedication and persistence in communicating his beliefs made a number of inroads in the instructional strategies and curriculum theories espoused by the National Council for the Social Studies. These changes are analyzed through Engle's writings, the accomplishments of his graduate students, and his leadership in various educational organizations. The study argues that Engle and his followers laid the philosophical cornerstone for the reflective tradition but were unsuccessful in gathering the empirical data necessary to convince the practitioners of the field.
ORDER NO: ABA98-02644
The research described here was conducted during a two-week summer computer "camp" for girls held on the campus of a large North-Eastern university. During the camp, the teacher-as-researcher taught four young women how to use computer technology to represent their identities in hypermedia. They learned to digitize audio, video, and visual images and to incorporate these in Storyspace hypertexts and HTML (hypertext mark-up language). They also created a group hypertext to discuss issues of concern to high school girls--all related to the theme of gender and sexuality. The research methodology, framed within teacher-as-researcher, included elements of action research, critical ethnography, phenomenology, and feminist research methodologies. It explored the research question: What happens when I offer young women instruction in computer technology and the opportunity to create hypermedia texts to represent themselves and their high school experiences? This classroom inquiry researched pedagogy, identity, and gender, and focused on the agency and resistance expressed by the young women. This thesis thus describes how the camp was organized, how instruction was carried out, how technology was learned and used, as well as internet explorations. It also analyses how the young women represented their identities in hypermedia and other computer technologies, including the World Wide Web. Included are discussions of critical pedagogy in the forms of a language of critique and projects of possibility. Recently popular publications have focused a great deal of attention on the self-esteem of young women and their inability to resist media and other influences. My research demonstrates that the young women participants learned to use computer technology, that they enjoyed this learning and experienced a sense of self-efficacy, and that they were able to take advantage of the opportunity and technology to explore their identities and issues of interest to them in ways that are empowering--that demonstrated both agency and resistance. My analysis of their hypermedia and the pedagogical opportunities in the camp illustrate the potential for integrating computer technologies into school curricula in ways that are transformational of teaching practices as well as teacher-learner relations.
ORDER NO: AAD98-02633
To assume that students, or anyone for that matter, can recall bits of information when they have never been shown any practical application for that information is ludicrous. This study focuses on a variety of integration strategies that exist between vocational and academic subjects in Pennsylvania through an initiative called High Schools That Work. The data utilized was collected by the Educational Testing Service in 1994 and included information from 385 graduating seniors. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the perceived level of integration between science and vocational subject areas and scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The study utilized frequency distributions, descriptive statistics, correlation techniques, and regression analysis. Differences in the type of vocational program that students were enrolled in were examined as well as their gender. It is evident from this study that the use of vocational methodologies, particularly those involving student assignments on workplace problems in their classrooms, helps students consistently score higher on the NAEP. Findings also indicated that females performed better in areas which required higher level thinking skills when these methods were utilized. The usefulness of this study is broad and it has implications for those teaching, those designing curricula, those determining policy, as well as those in higher education.
ORDER NO: ABA98-02602
The purpose of this study was to determine how effectively the college preparatory curriculum in a rural Pennsylvania school district prepared its students for successful completion of college -level academics. Using nationally recognized means (SAT scores, GPA, and courses passed) to classify students into three levels of academic preparedness; competitive (SAT 1000-1600, GPA 87-100, three years college prep math, two years lab science, two years same foreign language, three years college prep English), semi-competitive (SAT 800-999, GPA 80-86, same course requirements as competitive), and non-competitive (not completing credentials associated with competitive and semi-competitive students); the researcher studied transcripts of the graduating class of 1995. In addition, the researcher conducted an extensive follow-up survey of the graduates to assess the post-high school endeavors of the class of 1995, specifically examining the endeavors of students who failed to graduate with either competitive or semi-competitive credentials. Data collected from the transcripts indicated that slightly over one-third of the class of 1995 achieved credentials that are associated with the ability to successfully perform college -level academics. Of this group, only 11% were adequately prepared (competitive), with 21% marginally prepared (semi-competitive). The remaining 68% of the population failed to complete a course of study associated with post-secondary academic success. Of the non-competitive group, 38% were enrolled in vocational education programs. Sixty-two percent of non-competitive students were enrolled in the college preparatory curriculum. Only 18% took the SAT, and scored an average of 700. Over two-thirds were enrolled in post-secondary institutions. Only 29% of non-competitive graduates achieved post-secondary sophomore status. Sixty-one percent of non-competitive students felt that they had inadequate computer skills, and 74% of the same group felt they had inadequate career direction. Sixty-seven percent of these students also wished they had worked harder during high school. The employment data reported by non-competitive students indicated that full-time employees from the class of 1995 are employed in a variety of jobs. Twenty-nine percent of students are employed in firms that are small (less than 100 employees), with 17% employed in firms that have less than 20 employees. Fifty-seven percent received informal training from a supervisor or co-worker.
ORDER NO: ABA98-02594
This study identified emergency management duties consisting of tasks/competencies necessary for successful emergency administrators or managers as perceived by emergency directors and managers. The emergency management duties and tasks used in this study were completed using "Developing a Curriculum" (DACUM) study at the Florida Resource Center, Daytona Beach Community College. In this study, the relationship between the level of importance and the level of frequency of use for each duty and each task were indicated and later compared. The data for this study were collected from emergency directors and managers at U. S. state, federal and volunteer emergency management agencies (i.e., State Emergency Management Agencies, Federal Emergency Management Agency - FEMA, The National Red Cross, and The Salvation Army). The response rate was 63%. Descriptive statistics as well as correlation coefficients were used to analyze the data. The study revealed that all of the emergency management duties and tasks/competencies used in this study, as perceived by emergency managers and directors, are necessary to emergency administration and management. Positive correlations of various magnitudes identified lower correlation relationships between the level of importance and the level of frequency of use for each duty and task.
ORDER NO: ABA98-02500
Little research has focused on uncovering the origins of teachers' personal orientations and how early childhood experiences may influence current beliefs about teaching. The purpose of this qualitative study is two-fold. The first purpose is to explore early childhood teacher education students' recollections of their own early childhood experience and to examine the possible links between these recollections and the students' notions of teaching, learning, and what it means to be a child. The second purpose of this study is to investigate the potential of autobiographical inquiry as a tool for self-understanding in the pedagogic lives of preservice teachers in early childhood teacher education. Case studies were conducted using life history methodology. The major data sources were interviews, personal documents, and artifacts. Written portraits were constructed to describe the life stories of the individuals. Links between their perceptions of their early childhood experiences were compared and contrasted to their current beliefs. Common threads emerged during cross-case data analysis and compared with the research literature. Emergent themes include the significance of: first recollections as an influence on a personal orientation to life, early family relationships in learning to care, and how we currently perceive ourselves and others; the arts and social experiences as taking precedence in school memories; perceptions of the self as a child in understanding and appreciating what it is like to be a child; and making meaning of universal theory may be a developmental issue. Autobiographical inquiry as a tool for reflective self-study may be a useful process in teacher education; reflecting on childhood experiences may help students understand how these childhood experiences may influence their interactions with children and to become receptive to what it means to be a child. It may also be a way of modeling "caring" with college students.
ORDER NO: ABA98-02481
Multiple demands facing the veterinary medical profession including social, professional, technological, and informational changes have stimulated an educational reformation in the United States veterinary medical colleges. The profession is beginning to restructure its educational processes to focus on developing and strengthening the critical thinking skills of its students. However, little is known about how veterinary medical educators define critical thinking and what teaching strategies they use to promote critical thinking skills. The purpose of this study was to determine how veterinary medical educators define critical thinking teaching strategies they use and to identify how they rate the effectiveness of these strategies in promoting critical thinking skills. Using a revised version of Baker's (1992) Critical Thinking Teaching Strategies Survey, tenured and tenure track faculty members representing 11 veterinary medical colleges in the United States were surveyed. Results indicated that although veterinary medical educators had some understanding of the concept of critical thinking, it was not a comprehensive or unified understanding. The affective dimension of critical thinking, that is, the emotive behavior that allows the learner to view and understand situations from multiple perspectives, was deficient in the veterinary medical educators' definitions. The most prevalent themes that emerged from the veterinary medical educators' definitions of critical thinking were problem solving and decision making, which were indicated by more than 51 percent of the respondents. However, the inconsistency of the emergent themes of the veterinary medical educators' definitions revealed that the faculty members fail to have a collective understanding of critical thinking. The critical thinking teaching strategies veterinary medical educators used and perceived effective were: (1) small group discussion, (2) case studies, (3) questioning, (4) group problem solving, and (5) clinical rounds. The veterinary medical educators rated lecture/discussion as an ineffective strategy in promoting critical thinking skills, yet it remained the teaching strategy most frequently used by educators surveyed in the 11 veterinary medical colleges. The findings from this study suggest that veterinary medical educators do have some level of understanding of critical thinking and are implementing various critical thinking teaching strategies in the learning environment. However, the findings also suggest the need to further develop the educators' current knowledge of critical thinking and of the teaching strategies used to promote critical thinking skills.
ORDER NO: ABA98-02431
The purpose of this study was to describe and explain the experiences, participation, and perceptions of students enrolled in basic instruction weight training classes. The study incorporated both qualitative and quantitative methodology. Interviews, observations, and documentary analysis were the qualitative methods used, and a survey was used to analyze the data quantitatively. Data were sorted and categorized according to emergent themes. Trilangulation was utilized to strengthen the study. Data were described, analyzed, and interpreted using methodology advocated by Wolcott (1994). Four themes emerged from the data. These themes were: (1) the importance of college physical education (PE), (2) it's an easy A, (3) incongruent goals, and (4) slackin' or sweatin' for a lifetime. The first three themes centered around the perceptions held by the participants, and the fourth theme described the students' participation patterns. Each of the perception themes were supported by sub-themes. Theme #1 was supported by three sub-themes which were labeled: (a) the weight room setting, (b) the comparison to other university classes, and (c) the comparison of the classes to prior physical activity experiences. The sub-themes for Theme #2 were: (a) a shot in the arm, (b) high expectations, and (c) show up and get an A. Theme #3 sub-themes were: (a) specific outcomes, (b) the fine-line of socializing, (c) for participation's sake, and (d) the need for structure. The students' participation patterns fell somewhere on a continuum between slackin' and sweatin'. The transtheoretical model for behavior modification was utilized as a means for predicting exercise adherence among the twelve participants. Within both of these categories six participation styles were identified. Four participation styles emerged in the slackin' category. These were: (a) socializers, (b) con-men, (c) underachievers, and (d) minimalists. The two styles identified in the sweatin' category were: (a) sidekicks, and (b) ex-athletes. This in-depth analysis revealed some contradiction to previous studies done on basic instruction program classes.
ORDER NO: ABA98-02420
The objective of this study was to investigate the development of introductory college chemistry students' use of atomic and molecular models to explain physical and chemical phenomena. The study was conducted during the first semester of the course at a University and College II. Public institution (Carnegie Commission of Higher Education, 1973). Students' use of models was observed during one-on-one interviews conducted over the course of the semester. The approach to introductory chemistry emphasized models. Students were exposed to over two-hundred and fifty atomic and molecular models during lectures, were assigned text readings that used over a thousand models, and worked interactively with dozens of models on the computer. These models illustrated various features of the spatial organization of valence electrons and nuclei in atoms and molecules. Despite extensive exposure to models in lectures, in textbook, and in computer-based activities, the students in the study based their explanation in large part on a simple Bohr model (electrons arranged in concentric circles around the nuclei)--a model that had not been introduced in the course. Students used visual information from their models to construct their explanation, while overlooking inter-atomic and intra-molecular forces which are not represented explicitly in the models. In addition, students often explained phenomena by adding separate information about the topic without either integrating or logically relating this information into a cohesive explanation. The results of the study demonstrate that despite the extensive use of models in chemistry instruction, students do not necessarily apply them appropriately in explaining chemical and physical phenomena. The results of this study suggest that for the power of models as aids to learning to be more fully realized, chemistry professors must give more attention to the selection, use, integration, and limitations of models in their instruction.
ORDER NO: ABA98-02390
This diachronic study of second language acquisition analyzes the effects of personal computer (PC) use upon English as a Second Language (ESL) students and their compositions. Timed first drafts of compositions were collected from two groups of graduate students enrolled for one semester in the University of Florida's Scholarly Writing Program for International Graduate Students. The first group, 76 students enrolled in 9 different classes, wrote their essays exclusively with pen and paper. The second group, 48 students enrolled in 6 different classes, wrote their essays using PCs. Three essays from each student (written at the beginning, middle, and end of the semester) were analyzed for changes in syntactic complexity using the T-Unit performance variable originally developed by first language acquisition researcher Kellogg Hunt. ANOVA established that the computer students achieved a significant level of improvement in overall essay length and complexity, especially in their use of more and longer subordinate clauses. Their error rate, however, did not show a statistically significant level of improvement, perhaps precisely because they wrote longer and more difficult sentences. The essays were also analyzed at the discourse level based on frequency and correctness of passive voice usage, which is regarded both as an important mechanism of cohesion and as an important feature of academic writing. Again, ANOVA determined a significant advantage for the PC-equipped students. However, critical (non-quantitative) analysis of the two groups' overall discoursal qualities (specifically in terms of coherence) casts doubt upon whether the PC group's essays demonstrated a significant greater rate of improvement during the course of a single semester, suggesting that the effects of PC use upon ESL writing proficiency may be more gradual and require a longer period of use. Also included throughout the study are suggestions for computer classroom management and pedagogy.
ORDER NO: ABA98-02385
This descriptive correlational study explored the patterns in the stages of concern of the faculty at the University of Florida regarding the innovation adoption of the Internet for instructional purposes. Recent technological developments in computers and telecommunications, especially in access to the storage and transfer of vast quantities of information, have included many possibilities for direct application to university classrooms. Three research questions were posed. What are the relationships of the level of Internet use for instructional purposes and the level of Internet use for all other purposes to the sequence of stages of concern? Are there significant differences in the peak stages of concern of the faculty members grouped by the extent to which they modify their instructional practices based on how or what students learn? Are there significant differences in the peak stages of concern among faculty members grouped by rank, gender, age, or national origin. The Concerns-Based Adoption Model provided the theoretical framework for the study. Made up of several dimensions, CBAM's seven stages of concern represent a developmental sequence through which an individual passes when confronted with change or innovation. The stages range from non-concern (Awareness), to self (Information, Personal), task (Management), and impact concerns (Consequence, Collaboration, and Refocusing). During Spring 1997 the Stages of Concern Questionnaire was mailed to 1,650 faculty members within ten colleges at the University of Florida. The final sample contained 540 responses, a return rate of 33%. The data were analyzed using correlational and regression techniques. Findings included significant correlations between the peak or most intense stage of concern and level of use of the Internet for instructional purposes, level of use of the Internet for all other purposes, and attention to how students learn. However, the multiple regression model produced only two significant predictors of peak stage of concern: level of use of the Internet for instructional purposes and gender.
ORDER NO: ABA98-02368
Since English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) writers face both linguistic and rhetorical problems, English language skills alone do not guarantee proficiency in EFL writing. Writing is basically a process of cognitive problem-solving. Studies comparing second- or foreign-language writing process with that of first-language writing demonstrated many similarities between first- and second- or foreign-language writing process. However, the transfer of writing skills from a first to a second or foreign language is possible only when the writer possesses an adequate level of second or foreign language skills. It was hypothesized in the present study that, if the subjects reached a certain level of English language proficiency, their writing skills would be more strongly influenced by their native language, Korean, writing skills than their English language proficiency. The results of the study supported the hypothesis. When the subjects scored 51 or more points on the Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency, while their EFL writing skills were significantly correlated with their Korean writing skills, the relationship between EFL writing skills and English language proficiency was not significant. In contrast, for those who scored less than 51 points, the relationships were reversed. In addition, the present study also showed that for the subjects whose Michigan Test Scores rated between 41 and 50 points, both the Korean writing skills and the English language proficiency were significantly correlated with the EFL writing skills. The results of the present study suggest that the focus of EFL writing instruction should vary depending on the students' English-language proficiency. For low English-language proficiency students, the focus of EFL writing instruction should be developing their English-language skills. For intermediate English learners whose English-language proficiency and native-language writing skills are significantly correlated with their EFL writing skills at the same time, the focus of the instruction should be on developing both English language and writing skills. For advanced English learners, the focus of the instruction should be on developing their writing skills rather than their English language skills. Finally, this study suggests that a task of EFL writing consists of various communicative components, and they should be carefully reviewed and included in the curriculum.
ORDER NO: ABA98-02238
In the field of second language acquisition, language learning strategies have been studied in traditional high school and college settings, where successful students report high use of metacognitive and cognitive strategies, while using few social strategies. Yet it is frequently noted that learning a second language is greatly enhanced through interaction with native speakers. This study describes learning/language learning strategies in the setting of a Two-Way Bilingual Education program, where native English-speaking 4th grade students studied content area subjects alongside native Spanish-speaking peers. These strategies were examined during Spanish instructional time through interviews, observations, and think-alouds with 6 English-speaking students (4 girls and 2 boys; 3 successful and 3 less successful in acquiring Spanish). The major question of how English-speaking students use learning strategies while acquiring Spanish led to the analysis of three major factors: (a) differences in strategy use between more and less successful students; (b) how individual differences relate to strategy use, and (c) what relationship exists between how the teacher models and facilitates strategies and how students use them. Findings show higher use of metacognitive strategies by the more successful students, as well as higher use of social strategies in the category of giving as opposed to receiving help. Case studies of each subject show the individual differences that exist. A case study of the teacher shows how she sets up a collaborative classroom in which strategies are modeled and used and Spanish speakers are trained to be peer tutors. In this environment, the three categories of metacognitive, cognitive, and social strategies are melded together under an interactive social umbrella where they become socially mediated strategies. Both teacher and peer tutors take on the role of engaging second language learners within what Vygotsky calls the "zone of proximal development," which he thinks should lead to accelerated learning outcomes. The Vygotskian model of language development within a social milieu is used as a base to build a theory of language development for students learning a second language in environments where interaction with native speakers is maximized. | ||||||||||||
