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1992-1993 Dissertation Abstracts: Part 4
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ORDER NO: ABA95-05668
THE EFFECTS OF WHOLE LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION ON COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS Author: CRAWFORD, JOYCE LORINE Degree: ED.D. Year: 1993 Corporate Source/Institution: THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA (0070) Chairman: JAMES HENSEL Source: VOLUME 55/10-A OF DISSERTATION ABSTRACTS INTERNATIONAL. PAGE 3146. 122 PAGES Descriptors: EDUCATION, READING; EDUCATION, COMMUNITY COLLEGE The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a whole language approach to improving the language skills of selected community college students. Ten hypotheses were composed to examine the effects. The control group of 200 students was randomly selected from students concurrently enrolled in a college prep reading course and a college prep writing course. The control group received traditional, isolated skills instruction for 14 weeks. The experimental group of 200 students was randomly selected from students concurrently enrolled in reading and writing classes taught by teachers using a whole language approach. The experimental group received a whole language approach to reading and writing for 14 weeks. The whole language group read literature, wrote reactions to the text, participated in selecting class assignments, and engaged in other suggested whole language activities. The instructors and students established and maintained dialogue as the teachers modeled language patterns, syntax, and mechanics. Students were encouraged to delve deeper into the reading material and daily write their reactions to the literature. The Descriptive Test of Language Skills (DTLS) Reading Comprehension and Reading Comprehension Writing Assignment subtests were used to measure achievement for both groups. Factorial analysis of variance and analysis of covariance was used to measure differences between groups. While no significant effect was found for gender and ethnicity, a significant effect was found for method of instruction. Students in the whole language group scored significantly higher on the DTLS Reading Comprehension subtest and the DTLS Reading Comprehension Writing Assignment subtest than did students in the isolated skills group. Based on the results of this study, it appears that method of instruction may be a critical factor in helping selected college students improve their language skills. Replication and additional research should explore this finding and identify other factors critical to language skills improvement.
ORDER NO: ABA94-27999
This study was designed to examine the English writing tasks assigned to undergraduate students in four-year colleges and universities in China, the students' English writing apprehension, the Chinese college EFL instructors' training in English writing, and their teaching strategies. The data collection procedure consisted of two parts: 340 questionnaires were mailed to people, who received their Bachelor's degrees in China after 1980 and mainly stayed in the University of Pittsburgh, Ohio State University, and West Virginia University, to obtain information on college English writing tasks and the respondents' English writing apprehension; and seven interviews were conducted in West Virginia University among students, who were college English instructors in China, to find out Chinese college English instructors' educational background and their teaching strategies in writing. The findings showed that over three-fourths of the respondents did controlled writing, and around 47.2% indicated that the writing task they did most in their college English class was Translation, which were consistent with the literature. The multiple regression analysis showed that 18.3% of the variance in writing apprehension can be predicted by TOEFL, Master Degree, Gender, Writing Course, and Length of Stay in the U.S., which were statistically significant ($\alpha$ = 0.05). TOEFL stands out as the most important variable in predicting writing apprehension. The finding indicated that males tended to have a lower writing apprehension score than females, which is opposite to that of studies done on American students. This difference may attribute to the differences of culture and ideology between oriental and Western societies. As China is still male-dominated, males are encouraged to make a high evaluation of their abilities. The results agreed with the literature that English instructors had some training in English writing, but they usually did not have any systematic training on education theories and teaching methodology except for those from teachers' universities. English instructors' typical approaches to teaching writing were product-oriented. Grammar accuracy has remained the predominant concern of the college English instructors. In conclusion, four recommendations were made for college English curriculum improvement, and suggestions were posed for future research.
ORDER NO: ABA94-25135
The purposes of this quasiexperimental study were to assess the effectiveness of PSI as a teaching strategy in a required course in Leadership and Management taught to senior nursing students; to determine if there was a difference in the demographic characteristics of students who preferred PSI and those who preferred it less; and to compare faculty time required to prepare and teach a course using PSI format with a course taught by the traditional lecture-discussion method. Students were randomly assigned to one of five course sections. One section (n = 34) received the experimental intervention, PSI, during the first half of the course; traditional teaching methods were used in the second half. The other four sections (with class sizes of 28, 30, 30, and 26, respectively) were taught by traditional teaching methods throughout the semester. Instrumentation involved the use of (1) a pretest, (2) a common multiple choice midterm examination, (3) a non-cumulative final examination, (4) a two-part questionnaire consisting of a demographic survey and an attitude survey and (5) a faculty time log. Repeated measures ANCOVA, using the pretest as covariate, tested differences in midterm and final examination scores of PSI and control groups. The main effects for teaching method (PSI vs. non-PSI) and time of exam (midterm vs. final) were significant: PSI students consistently outscored their non-PSI counterparts; final exam grades were consistently higher than midterm exam scores. The interaction was nonsignificant. Attitude survey did not lend themselves to inferential analyses, but results showed a large majority of students preferred PSI. Faculty time logs indicated PSI required more time for preparation and instruction. Although it is not possible to unequivocally conclude that superior performance was solely the result of PSI, alternative explanations such as pretest score differences, class size and demographic differences could be ruled out. Generalization of the results beyond the study's subjects can be done only with extreme caution. The results do support the notion that students are open to alternative instructional strategies. Faculty should be educated and encouraged to explore nontraditional, alternative instructional strategies to empower them as educators and to empower students as life long learners.
ORDER NO: ABA94-23467
The human capital theory of education claims that schooling teaches knowledge and skills that increase future productivity. Human capital theory provides little specification about what is learned and how it is acquired. This study explored what knowledge and skills were acquired by pre-graduate international students who studied at the Economics Institute during the two 1992 summer terms. Cultural adjustment and proficiency in English as a second language affected learning and achievement in business, economics, and other subjects at the Institute and during the students' first terms in graduate school. Case study evaluation methods were used to examine teaching and learning at the Institute. Data were gathered through surveys, interviews, participant observation, record searches, and personal communication. Data were analyzed according to qualitative and quantitative methods, including context matrices and statistical analyses. Findings indicate that integrated instruction in academic subjects, English as a second language, and American culture assisted these international students preparing for graduate school. Knowledge and skills were acquired in an interrelated manner. Subject matter, language proficiency, culture, and the context in which schooling took place affected these students in both the short and long term. Human capital knowledge may consist of specific cognitive and physical skills and broad based understandings.
ORDER NO: ABA94-21696
The researcher and two teachers of college developmental mathematics collaboratively planned three tasks of writing to learn in mathematics which involved instructional support and a chance for revision. Given these three tasks, the study was designed to examine students' writings for length, syntactic maturity, and cognitive operations. Teachers were interviewed and classrooms observed. Students' writings were collected and analyzed. Scores on chapter tests currently in use by the teachers were also collected. Toward the end of the study, students answered a questionnaire about the writing. Students' second drafts were longer at statistically significant levels than their first drafts. The syntactic maturity of the drafts was judged to be low. Students' revisions in the first and second tasks were made at rather "high" linguistic levels. Students used revision strategies of addition, deletion, and substitution almost exclusively. However, in the third task, the scheme employed to analyze revision was judged inadequate to capture the changes made between first and second drafts. Students' use of four cognitive operations were statistically different between tasks. Scores on chapter tests were somewhat higher for students in the two writing-aided classrooms as compared to scores of students in two non-writing aided classrooms taught by the two teachers, but these differences were not statistically significant. Both teachers perceived these tasks as unusual tasks for a college mathematics classroom but thought the tasks helped students and gave the teachers information about students' understandings of mathematics that were more detailed but of a different nature as compared to similar information they might receive from other sources. Teachers differed in their implementation of the writing tasks, their responses to students' writings, their perceptions of the three writing tasks, and in their perceptions of writing in general. Several actions on their part characterized their support in instruction for the writing, both in drafting and revising. A writing-experienced versus -inexperienced dichotomy was identified between the two teachers. Students thought that the tasks. including the chance to revise, helped them in their mathematics class in a number of ways but saw the tasks as difficult ones to carry out.
ORDER NO: ABA94-19868
The purpose of this study was to identify the methodological content and teaching delivery used by vocational teacher education faculty in University Council for Vocational Education (UCVE) institutions and other selected higher education institutions (NON-UCVE). The population for this study was defined as: full-time vocational teacher education faculty in programs at Research I, Research II, and Doctorate Granting Colleges and Universities I where comprehensive vocational education programs were offered. Administrative leaders for each institution identified the vocational teacher education faculty which established the frame for the study. A stratified-random cluster sample of vocational teacher educators from UCVE institutions and NON-UCVE institutions were the study subjects. A three-part researcher developed instrument was used for data collection. The demographic information identified institutional characteristics and vocational teacher educator characteristics. The remaining part of the instrument focused on methodological content and delivery. Two full mailings and two fol1ow-up attempts yielded a total response rate of 73.3%. Statistics used to report the data analysis included: frequencies, percentages, central tendency, and Kendall's Tau. Teaching strategies found to be most frequently modeled by vocational teacher educators included: discussion, demonstration, questioning techniques, problem solving, peer teaching, brainstorming, small group instruction, lecture, simulation, multimedia instruction, creative teaching, and case studies. Teaching strategies found to be most frequently taught by vocational teacher educators included: discussion, demonstration, questioning techniques, problem solving, small group instruction, brainstorming, simulation, peer teaching, lecture, case studies, multimedia instruction, and individualized instruction. Kendall's Tau was used to identify relationships between the most frequently modeled and taught teaching strategies and selected demographic characteristics. Significant relationships were found between the following modeled strategies and demographic characteristics: methods course enrollment and discussion; number of required methods course hours and problem solving; highest degree awarded within program and simulation; and, highest degree held by methods teacher and lecture. Significant relationships were found between the following taught strategies and demographic characteristics: highest degree held by methods teacher and lecture; professional membership status and case studies, small group instruction, and lecture.
ORDER NO: ABA94-10981
This study was designed to test seven interrelated instructional hypotheses. A one-semester nonmajors biology course was taught using the learning cycle method to a group of community college students (n = 194). A control group experienced an expository method of instruction (n = 189). The Kolb Learning Style Inventory, an attitudinal questionnaire, a reasoning test, and a test of biology concepts were administered prior to instruction. During instruction, students kept weekly journals. Students were administered posttests consisting of the Lawson Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning, an attitudinal questionnaire, and a comprehensive final examination. Results indicated that learning cycle students exhibited more positive attitudes, greater comprehension of biology concepts, and made more reasoning gains. Reasoning gains for females were significantly different between learning cycle and expository classes, but not for males. For the three racial groups studied (whites, Hispanics, and other racial minority students), the disparity in reasoning gains between learning cycle and expository classes was most marked for Hispanics and other minority students. Withdrawal rates were similar for learning cycle and expository classes. Expository students were significantly more likely to select another instructor if they had the option. Pretest results showed the majority (75.1%) of subjects as intuitive or transitional reasoners. Intuitive and transitional reasoners were more likely than reflective reasoners to withdraw from class. Reasoning level was the only variable tested that correlated with both final examination score and course grade. Therefore, prior declarative knowledge did not significantly effect final examination score or course grade. More positive pretest attitudes led to higher final examination scores and more positive post-attitudes. There was no significant interaction effect detected for any of Kolb's four learning styles and instructional method. Evidence was found that, especially at extremely high or extremely low scores, Kolb's Abstract Conceptualization minus Concrete Experience scale (AC-CE) measures the same construct as Piagetian reasoning tasks.
ORDER NO: ABA94-17924
Society has become increasingly dependent upon technologically trained professionals which has increased the demand for such individuals. Most often these are white males, but female and minority students represent a largely untapped resource from which more highly trained individuals can be realized. College calculus can present an obstacle because it is prerequisite to a scientific career. This course has a low rate of success, which has prompted many instructors to search for methods of improving the achievement of their students. Teachers of college calculus have assigned students weekly computer lab work to supplement the traditional classroom instruction. Little well-designed research has been conducted into this use of computer-assisted instruction (CAI). This study sought to explore such use of CAI in a traditional college calculus course. For this study, the experimental group consisted of four sections of Math 181: Calculus and Analytic Geometry I, at Montana State University. Students in this group were administered five weekly, highly visual, supplemental computer labs during winter quarter 1991. The control group consisted of four other sections of the same course, and was administered five corresponding supplemental homework assignments. The independent and attribute variables were treatments, and learning style, gender, and minority group membership. The dependent variables were student attitudes, anxiety and achievement. These variables were assessed through changes in pretreatment and post-treatment surveys and student scores on homework, quizzes and exams, and course grades. Results indicated little statistically significant change in student attitudes and anxiety, and no statistically significant change in achievement. Students receiving supplemental computer labs performed as well as students who received additional homework. Recommendations for future research include: continued research into the use of supplemental CAI in the form of computer labs; research into the use of graphing calculators in college calculus; research into long-term effects of CAI in college calculus; and research into college calculus courses which have been restructured to take advantage of technology in the classroom.
ORDER NO: ABA94-16867
Earlier research has been inconclusive in arguing the efficacy of using computers in composition instruction. One important and often-cited variable complicating this issue has been that of how teachers actually teach in the computer context. This dissertation reports the methodology and results of a one academic-year ethnographic case study that examines how three teaching assistants, each responsible for her own course at Illinois State University, developed their beliefs and philosophies of teaching writing in the computerized environments. Two classes were different "intensive" freshman composition courses, and the third an advanced writing course. Findings emerged from a triangulation of data including interviews, classroom observations, daily class logs, course materials, departmental literature, and student essays and evaluations. The researcher worked as a participant-observer teacher in the classes. Patterns which emerged within and across the data provided bases for thick descriptions of these three teachers at work. The analysis of these patterns raised several main issues directly related to teaching effectiveness with the computer: (1) teachers' attitudes toward and experience in teaching with the computer were reflected in their pedagogies, (2) the presence or absence of teachers' own articulation of a "writing-with-the-machine" theory may determine how successfully they operate in this environment, (3) collaborative learning is not ensured simply by the presence of computers, and (4) networked and hypertext environments may offer ways for teachers to adapt their teaching ideas or overcome reservations. The hypotheses generated from this study are (1) The computer context demands a new pedagogy, (2) Teachers need additional training for computer contexts, (3) A reflective stance toward teaching a new pedagogy is necessary, and (4) Expertise theory in writing may parallel and inform computer-integrated pedagogy.
ORDER NO: ABA94-12231
The purpose of the study was to examine what teaching methods new college teachers received and which ones they believed were important. New college faculty were asked questions on teaching methods to determine which, if any, were made available to them before they entered college teaching. The research questions under study were: (1) What type(s) of methodological preparation do/does higher education faculty receive? (2) What methodological preparation would be beneficial to new higher education faculty? (3) How do new higher education faculty learn methodological preparation? (4) What strategies could be developed to assist new higher education faculty in the development of instructional skills? (5) Are there differences between faculty who teach at institutions classified according to the Carnegie Classifications (1987) regarding the importance of methodological preparation and the amount of training received? The conclusions of the study were that new faculty were not prepared for the overall duties of the career as college teacher, except for being knowledgeable in their subject area. New college faculty also indicated a large difference between what they should know prior to beginning their college teaching and what they actually know. There were differences between faculty at two year colleges and at four year colleges, both in what was perceived as important to know and in the amount of training received. The recommendations of the study were that training programs for new college faculty should prepare these faculty in more than content; that as more non-traditional students return to college, faculty need to know more about how adults learn, different student learning styles, and how to increase student motivation; colleges should include training mechanisms for new faculty, such as how to teach, developing mentoring relationships, or creating internships; and orientation programs should be set up for newly hired faculty.
ORDER NO: ABA94-11682
This study is to investigate whether and to what extent twelve predictors account for the variations of student achievement as a result of eight-week's self-paced learning with a computer-based tutorial. The results showed that prior computer experience, exposure to AutoCAD in high school, and attitudes toward the tutorial are three significant predictors. However, prior AutoCAD experience and attitudes toward the tutorial are negatively associated with students' test scores. It was found that students would generate any questions regardless of success or failure in trying out commands. Students would act on their curiosity or encouraged by the content of the instruction to set off their exploration. Students preferred to learn in a guided-exploration environment in which they may learn by instruction or explore independently. Furthermore, students expressed their needs of instruction, in particular, in-depth content, complete procedural instruction, and specific applications. On the other hand, AutoCAD experts also suggest that the teachers lecturing and demonstrating the effects of commands and students' engagement of hands-on practice exercises and real-world applications facilitate learning. A number of guidelines for designing guided-exploration learning are derived from the study, which are (a) familiarizing students with hardware and menu structure, (b) introducing important system concepts and terminology, (c) using demonstrations to present the changes of the process, (d) providing explanations into key actions, (e) avoiding the use of vague words or command names, (f) bridging the gap between prior learning and new knowledge, (g) indirectly stimulating hands-on practice, (h) getting students involved as decision makers, (i) transforming curiosity to activities, and (j) providing three types of on-line help, procedural, conceptual, and contextual help.
ORDER NO: ABA94-14465
The purpose of the study was to assess the effectiveness of the ISR teaching method as a response to the historically high unsuccessful completion and attrition rates of a community college Principles of Marketing course. For this reason, one section of the course was restructured to incorporate the four elements of the ISR teaching method. The redesigned course was taught in the Fall of 1991. At the end of the 15 week period, subjects in the ISR class (the treatment group) and subjects in the traditional lecture/discussion class (the comparison group) were compared quantitatively on the basis of five semester exams, and on the basis of pretest and posttest scores on the Cloze Procedure and four sub-scales of LASSI. The groups were also compared holistically on the basis of their pretest and posttest writing sample scores. Results indicate that ISR treatment yielded no significant difference between the two classes' performance. This was true not only for reading comfortability and writing, which was the specific focus of the ISR treatment in this study, but also for the five semester exams and for two of the four sub-scales of LASSI. It was concluded that ISR is a deficit model that inherently ignores student differences and does nothing different from the lecture/discussion method to foster higher-order cognitive development.
ORDER NO: ABA94-14440
This study investigates whether the collaborative teaching method or a skills based method is effective for a college remedial reading population. It identifies characteristics of those students who are most and least successful with each approach. The primary purpose of this study was to find the best method for teaching students to read better and faster. Four classes of approximately thirteen students each took part. Participating students had failed the Descriptive Test of Language Skills which was the pre and post reading proficiency test used. Students were able to decode with fluency as determined by the Lovitt and Hansen criterion administered on an individual basis before course registration. During the first week of class, the Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test was administered to insure proper placement into the reading lab materials. Ten hours per semester of practice in the lab was required of each student. Two classes, one employing the collaborative and the other the teacher-led skills method were taught by each of two instructors. The two classes using the collaborative method used two novels: Down These Mean Streets and Kindred, while the skills classes used The Reading Skills Handbook. The quantitative component of this study found that one method was no more effective than the other at assisting students to pass the Descriptive Test of Language Skills. Teacher A was more successful with each method than Teacher B. Those students who scored higher using each method tended to speak English as their primary language and to be from families with higher socio-economic profiles. The qualitative component of this study addressed teacher differences. The two teachers were observed to use different classroom activities and teaching techniques. Though the implementation of this study was imperfect, the qualitative components revealed valuable information about teacher differences and insights as to how those differences might have impacted results. The findings of this study provide insight into how we can make college reading improvement programs more effective and efficient.
ORDER NO: ABA94-12295
The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of participating in an existing study skills course, developed for use with a general college population, on the study strategies and attitudes of college students with learning disabilities. This study further investigated whether there would be differential effectiveness for segregated and mainstreamed sections of the course. The sample consisted of 42 students with learning disabilities attending a southeastern university. Students were randomly assigned to either a segregated or mainstreamed section of the study skills course. In addition, a control group consisted of students with learning disabilities who received no study skills instruction. All subjects completed the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) before and after the study skills course. The subjects in the segregated group showed significant improvement on six of the 10 scales of the LASSI: Time Management, Concentration, Information Processing, Selecting Main Ideas, Study Aids, and Self Testing. Subjects in the mainstreamed section showed significant improvement on five scales: Anxiety, Selecting Main Ideas, Study Aids, Self Testing, and Test Strategies. The subjects in the control group did not significantly improve on any of the scales. This study showed that college students with learning disabilities improved their study strategies and attitudes by participating in a study skills course designed for a general student population. Further, these students benefitted whether by taking the course only with other students with learning disabilities, or by taking the course in a mixed group of students with or without learning disabilities. These results have important practical implications in that it appears that colleges can use existing study skills courses without having to develop special courses and schedules of course offerings targeted specifically for students with learning disabilities.
ORDER NO: ABA94-11493
The Art and Cultural Tour has attracted art major students, non-art major students, and adult learners who are interested in field research and art history abroad. Field research by the students includes recording information about each European country visited and follows a prescribed format utilizing DBAE principles. There existed little time for student access and retrieval of data stateside and abroad. Subsequently, management and staff expressed interest in development possibilities of a mechanized tutorial database. The purpose of this study was the development of a prototype computer-assisted-art-instruction (CAAI) model to include elements of DBAE. This mechanized tutorial model was presented to key personnel responsible for the ACT at Sacred Heart University. Recommendations were derived from and developed within the context of the need for future software acquisition. The questions which were addressed in this study represent a unique product development effort as to the criteria needed to select a computer-assisted-instruction system (CAI). The design criteria, strategies, configurations, and instructional content were then used to develop and evaluate a mechanized prototype instructional unit model. An extensive review of literature, software vendors, and professionals in the field were consulted. A storyboard was developed using a mechanized frame design construction and field testing, followed by evaluation and modification of the unit.
ORDER NO: ABA94-09790
This study examines the effect of one method of direct critical thinking instruction, "dialogical instruction", on college student critical thinking, cognitive engagement, and self-regulated learning. In three undergraduate courses (Literature, n = 81; Ecology, n = 71; Philosophy, n = 52), control subjects received lecture-discussion instruction. Experimental subjects, taught by the same instructor the following semester, received dialogical instruction where students argue various positions on course issues, including those opposing their own (Paul, 1987). Two types of critical thinking were examined: higher-order thinking (analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating) and multilogical thinking (reasoning from different perspectives). On performance measures, control-treatment means were in the directions predicted on higher-order and multilogical thinking in Literature and Ecology courses. Mean differences were statistically significant in the Literature course on higher-order thinking. On a self-report measure, control-treatment means were in the directions predicted in all three courses on higher-order thinking, and in Literature and Ecology courses on multilogical thinking. Mean differences were statistically significant on multilogical thinking when all three courses were combined. Several main effects of motivation on self-report critical thinking surfaced. Subjects who were highly motivated (reported high intrinsic motivation, task value, self efficacy, and expectancy for success) also reported higher critical thinking, regardless of control-treatment status. Two-way anovas suggested that the treatment worked primarily with highly motivated students. Treatment subjects reported significantly higher critical thinking than control subjects: among subjects who valued course tasks highly (all courses combined, Literature); among subjects who were confident they could understand course material (Literature); and among subjects who expected to do well in the course (Ecology). Among subjects with low intrinsic motivation and low expectancy for success, treatment subjects reported either significantly higher or significantly lower rehearsal than control subjects, depending on the course (higher in Literature, lower in Philosophy). The moderating effects of motivation on self-report critical thinking and rehearsal were key findings. Overall, results in the Literature course were most consistent with study hypotheses. Five contributing factors were proposed (treatment fidelity, time on treatment, instructor role modeling, instructor self-monitoring/self-regulation, and course reward structures).
ORDER NO: ABA94-10774
This pre-post comparison study was conducted at a two-year institution with a sample of 93 first year nursing students. Different group sizes were used with interactive video instruction (IVI) in a curriculum unit on nursing care of the cardiac patient. The groups used cooperative learning principles in a context-based application of the concepts learned in the classroom. The analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to examine data. In the ANCOVAs the pre-test was the covariate. Cell means on pre-tests, post-tests, gains, percent gains, time to complete the program, student preference of computers, group functioning, and student perceptions of group functioning were studied. The students in two day-sections were randomly assigned to three treatment groups since the random selection of students was not possible. Analyses of ethnicity, gender, and age were included. A significant interaction between age and treatment was identified at the.035 significance level. Results indicated when the pre-test was used as the covariate, group size did not affect the post-test. The effects of ethnicity, gender, and age did not produce significant differences with group size. Since no significant differences were found, the large group treatment is warranted in terms of achievement. In terms of satisfaction, however, students stated a preference for small groups. Group functioning when combined with cooperative learning principles for IVI provided more interactions in small groups and promoted positive student interactions in small and large groups. Students verbalized positive responses to flexible lab scheduling, presence and clarity of objectives, and knowledge concerning the amount of time it would take to complete the IVI. Recommendations for the institution, designers, and further research are provided.
ORDER NO: ABA94-13241
The purpose of this study was to survey, analyze and report a comparison of the direct departmental costs associated with the technical core curriculum of nine emergency medical technology programs in public two-year community for the academic years 1989-90, 1990-91, and 1991-92. The nine emergency medical technology programs were accredited by CAHEA and were located in states that required successful completion of the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians-Advanced Level examination prior to certification as an Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic. The Emergency Medical Technology Program Cost Questionnaire was used for data collection. The National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians provided the examination results for individual programs. Descriptive statistical analysis and the Pearson product-moment correlation procedures were used for data interpretation. Costs per student contact hour of instruction ranged from $38.12 to \$345.08. The total head count enrollment, number of didactic and clinical hours of instruction and expenditures for equipment were not correlated with the cost per hour of instruction. Costs per student contact hour of instruction were correlated with the number of laboratory hours, number of affiliated clinical instruction sites the number of faculty members and faculty salaries, the age of the program and attrition rates. The first time pass rate on the National Registry of EMTs' Advanced Level examination was not correlated with the number of didactic or laboratory hours of instruction. The pass rate was correlated with the number of clinical instructional hours, the number of faculty and faculty salaries. It is recommended that emergency medical technology program directors and educators become more knowledgeable regarding factors affecting program costs. A national study to review the technical core curriculum hours of instruction, the number of faculty positions, and the total expenditures for faculty salaries is recommended. Future studies are recommended to investigate the effect of CAHEA accreditation status on emergency medical technology programs. The effect a national credentialing examination produces on curriculum design, faculty staffing patterns and the clinical education of students should be studied.
ORDER NO: ABA94-12432
This study examines the use of the computer algebra system (CAS) Mathematica in traditional differential equations classes. One objective of the study was to determine if the use of Mathematica as a classroom demonstration tool affects achievement in solving differential equations. A second objective was to determine if the use of Mathematica in this way affects student attitudes toward computers, Mathematica, and differential equations. The last objective was to determine if students would use Mathematica for differential equations if student use were optional. The study was conducted in four sections of an elementary differential equations course, two using a CAS and two using traditional instruction. Effectiveness of instruction was determined by measuring achievement levels on examinations of relevant material. Student use of Mathematica and attitudes toward computers, Mathematica, and differential equations were measured with student questionnaires and interviews. Student use of Mathematica was not required during the treatment period. It was found that Mathematica as a demonstration tool did not improve achievement in solving differential equations. Both experimental classes' computer attitudes changed significantly, but the classes did not attribute these changes to Mathematica. Students attitudes concerning Mathematica were mixed, and few students used Mathematica outside of class when it was available to them.
ORDER NO: ABA94-10530
Studies suggest that teaching is a complex and context-bound activity. This investigation attempts to understand how teachers construct and interpret meanings of their teaching. More specifically, it examines four teachers and the implicit principles which guide their instructional practice. Six objectives directed the study: (1) to explicate the implicit principles of four university teachers, (2) to document principles' manifestation in practice, (3) to identify factors which influenced principles (including teachers' previous experience as learners), (4) to document how principles relate to one another, (5) to identify common themes, and (6) to examine principles in relation to five traditions of teaching practice as identified by Deshler & Kiely (in press): the Humanistic, Behavioristic, Social-Learning, Cognitive and Critical Reflective Traditions. Clinical interviews were conducted with four college teachers at Cornell University. Each participated in two video recalls, during which, videotapes of instruction were reviewed. Concept maps were jointly constructed by each teacher and the researcher. Data were analyzed for common themes and for integration with traditions of practice. The case studies successfully capture the personal and complex nature of college teaching. Reflection was effective in helping participants articulate why they do what they do in the classroom. Evidence of principles were manifest in each participant's observed behavior. Previous experiences as learners, both positive and negative, were found to contribute to the development of principles. Furthermore, each participant's principles were found to relate to one another, as well as to connect to form larger theoretical frameworks. Four common themes emerged among the teachers: the importance of relating material to real world issues, nurturing a respectful relationship with students, providing an integrated perspective and actively engaging students in the learning process. The data suggest that all participants adhere to assumptions contained in the humanist, social-learning and cognitive teaching traditions. Only elements of the behaviorist and critical reflective traditions could be identified. The concluding discussion addresses the importance of increasing teachers' understanding of their own practice and the implications for improving college instruction.
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