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1994-1995 Dissertation Abstracts: Part 5
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ORDER NO: ABA95-12204
SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN PERCEPTIONS OF FACULTY INVOLVEMENT IN THE ROLE OF INSTRUCTIONAL ADMINISTRATORS IN A CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE SHARED GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE Author: DARNELL, DANIEL ROE Degree: ED.D. Year: 1994 Corporate Source/Institution: UNIVERSITY OF LA VERNE (0476) Adviser: AGHOP DER KARABETIAN Source: VOLUME 55/12-A OF DISSERTATION ABSTRACTS INTERNATIONAL. PAGE 3695. 156 PAGES Descriptors: EDUCATION, ADMINISTRATION; EDUCATION, COMMUNITY COLLEGE Faculty involvement in the role of the California community college Instructional Administrator as related to shared governance was the subject of this study. Thirty-nine null hypotheses were identified to compare the perceptions of Academic Senate members, Chief Instructional Officers and Instructional Administrators for each role set and role. The study was based on descriptive research methodology. A questionnaire designed by the researcher addressed specific activities of the Instructional Administrator categorized by Mintzberg's three managerial role sets and ten managerial roles. Responses were collected using a scale of five "zones of authority" identified by the American Association of Higher Education. The total population consisted of all Instructional Administrators, Academic Senate members, and Chief Instructional Officers employed in 107 California community colleges. A sample of all subpopulations employed at fifty randomly selected community colleges was identified. Of the 752 instruments mailed to the 50 colleges in the sample 628 instruments were returned for an 83.5% return rate. The response rate was highest for Chief Instructional Officers at 100%. The response rate for Instructional Administrators was 89.9%, and the response rate for Academic Senate members was 71.4%. On all role sets and on all roles Academic Senate members scored significantly higher than did Chief Instructional Officers and Instructional Administrators indicating greater endorsement of faculty participation. The only difference between Chief Instructional Officers and Instructional Administrators were in the Leader Role and the Disturbance Handler Role. In these roles Chief Instructional Officers endorsed more faculty participation. The conclusions drawn from the findings of this study are: (1) There may be a division between administrators and faculty regarding the degree and structure of faculty involvement in decision making, (2) While faculty indicate a preference for increased participation they also indicate a willingness to limit that participation, (3) Chief Instructional Officers and Instructional Administrators appear to be aligned in their opinions about faculty involvement, and (4) Instructional Administrators may resist increased faculty participation in the administrative domain.
ORDER NO: ABA95-11634
From the population of students who take English Composition I, a sample of students at Mineral Area College, a community college in Park Hills, Missouri, was administered pre and posttests during the fall semester of 1992 in local area networked (LAN) based classes and classes utilizing a traditional approach (teacher centered lecture and discussion). The Test of Standard Written English was used as the test instrument. Using an unbalanced, two-way analysis of covariance (with the pretest serving as the covariate), the results demonstrated that of the 183 students taking the posttest (LAN = 82, Traditional = 101), the instructional methods were significantly different at alpha =.05 (instructional method and gender were the independent variables). No other variable (marital status, dependents, income, attendance status, and age were all considered) was significant. Since the findings indicate that learning in the classes utilizing the traditional approach was significantly different from learning in the classes utilizing the LAN method, the recommendations for further research would include a closer examination of relationships between teachers and students as well as the classroom practices utilized in both instructional methods. For example, further research should examine the physical arrangement of the classroom, the socialization and democratization of students, the effects of class size in both types of classes, and the longitudinal study of gender performance in each method of instruction.
ORDER NO: ABA95-11277
The wide use of student ratings has become a regular part of faculty life in institutions of higher education. The expansion of this type of rating system over the last quarter of the Twentieth Century has been coupled with an increasing reliance on student ratings as a mandatory element in instructor evaluation, and as a partial basis for granting of tenure and raises. As a result, the reliability and validity of student ratings of instruction (SRIs) has been questioned and examined from a number of perspectives. This study examines the possible association of ratings with (a) academic field, (b) whether a course is required or elective, (c) class size, and (d) the number of course prerequisites. The study is in response to a call by Cashin (1990) for institutions to examine such factors at their own institutions. Student ratings data were collected from the University of San Francisco (Schools of Business, Nursing, and the College of Arts and Sciences) for the period from Spring Semester, 1990 through Fall Semester, 1993. A total of 12,256 student ratings forms were processed for this study. The data was summarized and compared using nonparametric techniques to compare median ratings assigned by students to instructors, controlling for the variables indicated above. The findings suggest that ratings do differ based on the four types of groupings listed above. Least favorable ratings were assigned to the instructors of natural science courses, those with no prerequisites, those that were required (vs. elective courses) and those classes that had the highest student-to-instructor ratios. Conclusions were that it would be advisable to rotate instructors for purposes of establishing possible causal relationships, that SRIs be considered only a part of an overall teacher evaluation system, and that factors such as those identified in the study be taken into consideration when interpreting findings.
ORDER NO: ABA95-09764
There are relatively few comprehensive or general percussion methods books in print today. The majority of these books are either a number of years old or have been recently published. The newest method books are yet to be reviewed in recent journals, such as "Percussive Notes" from the Percussive Arts Society. This study has endeavored to discover the most popular general percussion method books in use today, as determined by a survey of the Education Committee of the Percussive Arts Society. These four books have been analyzed and critiqued according to fourteen categories from an Analysis Matrix, and compared according to their respective effectiveness in each category. Two supplemental books received enough interest from the survey to warrant inclusion in the study, although they are not method books. These have been reviewed separately. It is believed that because of the newer, less well-known books that are available, many teachers have need of a resource which familiarizes them with several method books and solutions for specific percussion performance problems. This, in turn, should allow them to choose a method book more intelligently, rather than by habit, hearsay, or chance.
ORDER NO: ABA95-09004
Andragogy has been of conceptual, theoretical, and practical importance in the field of adult education for more than 25 years. Though debate regarding the status and role of andragogy fills the pages of professional journals and periodicals, a dearth of empirical investigations document the superiority or subordination of andragogy as a methodology. The present research is set within evening introductory philosophy courses in a private liberal arts college in Mississippi during the 1993 fall and winter terms. By means of a pretest-posttest-control-group design, the researcher aims to investigate the effectiveness of andragogy as compared with traditional instruction. Instructional effectiveness is assessed by course achievement (controlling for cumulative grade point average and pretest achievement scores) and student attitudes as measured by the course evaluation instrument. The findings indicate no statistically significant difference (p =.05) between the experimental (n = 19) and control (n = 21) groups on achievement as measured by the composite posttest made up of objective and essay sections and no statistically significant difference (p =.05) between the attitudes of the students. The researcher discusses possible explanations for the outcome of the study, an analysis of the assumptions of andragogy in respect to their prescriptive nature, and the relationship between course content and andragogical views of the learner. Recommendations for future research include suggestions for studies with the same and dissimilar designs.
ORDER NO: ABA95-07937
This study divided a sample (N $>$ 200) of mainstream applied college algebra students from two-year colleges into computer and non-computer treatment groups and tested for statistically significant differential effects upon achievement and attitudes. Both groups received instruction which stressed strategy-based problem solving using three representations of function, the symbolic function rule, graph, and table of values, to solve problems. The graphical and numerical representations were integrated with the traditional approach, in order to provide students with choices while solving problems. A structured problem solving heuristic, based loosely on Polya's outline was emphasized to all subjects. Statistically significant main treatment effects upon achievement were detected through ordered multiple regression analyses using two pretests, a mathematics skills assessment, and a learning styles inventory as covariates. Quantitative assessments of achievement focused primarily on exponential functions in concrete and abstract settings. The treatments failed to exhibit any significant effects upon students' attitudes about mathematics, computers, or computers in problem solving. Attitudes in those categories were measured by subsets of the items from the Fennema-Sherman MARS instrument, and Ahl's attitudes about computers survey with researcher constructed items. Qualitative research data sources: writing assignments, observations by instructors and follow-up interviews were coupled with elementary descriptive statistics to survey students' ability to apply the strategies, preferences, and facility to translate between representations. These data indicated that students were generally proficient with each of the approaches and that they were able to effectively translate data between representations. Preferences differed in that a larger proportion of computer students indicated that they preferred an alternate non-symbolic strategy. The results supported the hypothesis that the graphic and numerical representations of functions enabled students from both treatment groups to analyze a larger variety of functions than those generally considered tenable for the level of the course. The researcher also concluded that successful implementation of the alternate strategies depends heavily on the availability of those data forms such as that provided by micro-computers and graphing calculators.
ORDER NO: ABA95-07788
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among elements of individual learning style, mode of instruction, and the achievement levels of college music appreciation students. The two modes of instruction investigated were a CD-ROM tutorial and an expository teaching method. Subjects were randomly selected from all 775 students enrolled in Spring, 1994 music appreciation classes at Kent State University. Utilizing a Solomon four-group design (30 subjects per group), subjects in two of the groups received music instruction by CD-ROM, while subjects in the other two groups learned through expository teaching methods. The achievement measure (pre/posttest) was researcher designed. The Productivity Environmental Preference Survey was used to assess the preferred learning style of the subjects. Multiple regression procedures were utilized to determine whether any learning style characteristics were significant contributors to the overall model variance (p $\leq$.01) in predicting college music appreciation students' level of cognitive musical achievement when using a CD-ROM tutorial. The independent variables in the equation were subjects' scores on the PEPS subscales. The dependent variable was the subjects' posttest achievement score. Six PEPS learning style elements (Kinesthetic Preferences, Needs Mobility, Late Morning, Evening/Morning, Afternoon, and Tactile Preferences) were found to significantly contribute (R-square =.3104) to the model. Of these variables, Late Morning, Evening/Morning, Afternoon, and Tactile Preferences had positive correlations implying that the higher the preference for these learning style elements, the higher the achievement score. Conversely, Kinesthetic Preferences and Needs Mobility resulted in a negative correlation implying that the higher the preference for these learning style elements, the lower the achievement score. Multiple regression procedures were also utilized to determine whether any learning style characteristics were significant contributors to the overall model variance (p $\leq$.01) in predicting college music appreciation students' level of cognitive musical achievement when the mode of instruction was an expository teaching approach. The independent variables in the equation were subjects' scores on the PEPS subscales. The dependent variable was the subjects' posttest achievement score. None of the independent variables were found to significantly contribute to the overall variance of the model.
01399325 ORDER NO: ABA95-07549
This ex post facto study investigated whether social work students at the University of Texas - Pan American deepened their professional foundation knowledge skills as a result of completing the field practicum. Thirty-two respondents, who were within two weeks of completing field instruction, were compared with 38 respondents who had met academic prerequisites and were approved for field instruction. The Area Concentration Achievement Test in Social Work (ACAT), which tests knowledge of the social work professional foundation, was administered to both groups. Respondents were compared with respect to the ACAT overall performance and individual content areas: policy, practice, human behavior and the social environment, and research. Relationships between the students' knowledge of the professional foundation and the variables of age, gender, cumulative undergraduate grade point average (GPA), and volunteer and paid social work experience were explored. Moreover, the researcher sought to identify demographic variables that would predict performance on the ACAT, and respondents were asked to appraise their level of competence in assessing and working with culturally diverse groups. The majority of respondents were young, Mexican American females in their mid-twenties. Respondents entering and exiting field instruction were equivalent except for one demographic variable. The group exiting field instruction completed more social work foundation courses. After using analysis of covariance to statistically control for this difference, no means score differences were found between these groups related to performance on the overall ACAT or any of the subsections. This finding suggests that knowledge of the social work foundation may not deepen as a result of field instruction. Since respondents in the field instruction group did not appear to complete foundation related assignments, this factor may explain why respondents entering and exiting field instruction had equivalent levels of foundation knowledge. Cumulative GPA predicted performance for the overall ACAT score and three content areas: policy, practice, and human behavior and the social environment. However, GPA accounted for only 16.6 percent of the variance in the overall achievement test scores. Given field instruction's significant role in social work education, continued research is needed in order to empirically demonstrate the efficacy of field internships, i.e., that knowledge of the professional foundation in Social Work deepens as a result of field instruction. Further study is needed to determine whether there is a relationship between the use of foundation curriculum assignments in field instruction and performance on the ACAT.
ORDER NO: ABA95-06612
One of the main reform efforts in teacher education today is to link universities and public schools in an attempt to link theory with practice. Growing out of this reform effort is the encouragement for the establishment of Professional Development Schools (PDS). The Holmes Group (1990) suggested that university education courses will be strengthened by making connections to good practice and problems of schooling through experiences at a PDS. The purpose of this study was to compare a field-based mathematics methods course to a traditional university-based mathematics methods course through examination of the two course's effects upon teacher education students' development of teaching concepts in elementary mathematics. The collection of data occurred in three phases. In phase one, students in both groups completed a biographical data sheet and a questionnaire at the beginning and end of the semester to determine beliefs about mathematics teaching. In addition, the instructors provided course syllabi and were interviewed at the beginning and end of semester. As part of phase two, three students from each group were interviewed at the beginning and end of the semester. These students also provided written observation reactions and narrative lesson plans. One student was selected from each group in phase two to participate in phase three. This phase of the study is classified as mini-case studies of these two students. Overall, a conclusion that can be made according to the results throughout this study is that the classroom teacher has a significant influence on teacher education students involved in field-based courses. Recommendations from this study include, (1) university personnel and classroom teachers need to develop effective collaboration, (2) field-based programs need to be less restrictive in the mathematical topics they cover, (3) university-based programs need to provide more time for reflection, and (4) effective strategies need to be used to help teacher education students make connections from what they learn in methods courses to what is happening in the classroom.
ORDER NO: ABA95-06291
Scope and method of study. During the fall of 1993, a constructed test on Accounting theory and the Conceptual Framework of Accounting requiring higher cognitive skills was administered to two control groups (Auditing and Intermediate) and one treatment group (Theory) in a pretest-posttest design. The treatment group consisted of accounting students that participated in an introductory Accounting literature and theory course concurrently with a traditional Intermediate Accounting I course. The Intermediate group consisted of all students enrolled in Intermediate I who did not take the theory course. The Auditing group consisted of all students enrolled in Auditing I. Students in the control groups were not exposed to literature and theory course. Exit interviews were also conducted with the students in the treatment group. Findings and conclusions. Students in the Theory group scored significantly higher on the posttest (using the pretest and GPA as covariates) than the Intermediate group, but not significantly higher than the Auditing group. The test questions were segregated between questions testing knowledge and comprehension and questions involving application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. There was no significant difference in the posttest scores of the three groups on the knowledge and comprehension questions. The Theory group scored significantly higher on the posttest application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation questions than the Intermediate group, but not significantly different than the Auditing group. Results of the interviews are presented in response to a broad range of questions concerning the students' perceptions about the content, format, and skills added in the course.
ORDER NO: ABA95-05329
This dissertation evaluates and develops international academic joint ventures (IAJVs) as a teaching approach to promote international education and exposure. This teaching approach targets new majority students with multiple commitments and constraints that reduce their options for international education. The Ohio State University-University of Amsterdam international academic joint venture (OSU-UvA IAJV) provides a case study of how these ventures function. The venture is designed for the purpose of (1) permitting the exchange of country-specific policy expertise, (2) better understanding the social and technical issues of conducting intellectual work among geographically and culturally distributed partners, and (3) developing a group-decision support system that supports a distributed work environment. Participants work and communicate using Internet, audioconferencing, videoconferencing and reciprocal three week visits. Systems theory is employed to determine the effects of Hofstede's (1984) four intercultural dimensions: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism-collectivism and masculinity-femininity. Difference factors related to cultural norms are examined based on participants comments. Journals, focused group discussions, one-to-one interviews and e-mail communication are content analyzed employing system theory to evaluate the concerns of participants at each of the five levels of participation. The five levels include: funders, university administration, university faculty and staff support, designers and students. Action science is the methodology employed to generate changes in the venture operation while in progress and recommendations for future venture activities. The study demonstrates that the four intercultural dimensions have value in this IAJV. However, the effect of each is situated within the context of the countries participating in the venture and the communication of plans and ideas to all participants. Age and language are the two difference factors found significant in this study. The study concludes with a system level analysis of the effect of multiple agendas on these ventures and the value of these ventures for future research in Communication.
ORDER NO: ABA95-04469
Students who begin a baccalaureate nursing program later in life have identified that their programs do not meet their learning needs. Courses and programs in nursing have been developed based on Knowles' concepts of how adults learn but little research data support these changes. A review of the literature did not reveal the degree to which students have evaluated their satisfaction with the program. The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a difference in program satisfaction between those students who graduated from high school and began their BSN program, and those students who waited before beginning their BSN program relative to their preference for andragogical or pedagogical teaching methodology. The convenience sample was comprised of 481 sophomore, junior, and senior baccalaureate nursing students. The survey instruments obtained data on preference for andragogical or pedagogical teaching methodology, program satisfaction, and demographic characteristics. Analysis of variance was used to determine if there were significant differences in Hadley's Educational Orientation Questionnaire (EOQ), and Program Satisfaction Scale (PSS) scores based on student age, gender, marital status, and year in college. Analysis of variance was also used to determine if differences existed for students who started their pre-nursing program after high school and those who waited. In general, students preferred the andragogical teaching methodology over the pedagogical teaching methodology. There was a significant difference between the EOQ mean score and age (p =.01) with the 22-24 year olds having the highest preference for the andragogical teaching method. There was a significant difference in EOQ score and year in college (p =.00) with sophomore and senior students preferring more andragogical teaching methods than junior students. The students' PSS mean score indicated satisfaction with the program, and junior students were more satisfied with the program than sophomore or senior students. Analysis of variance determined there were no differences in program satisfaction or preference for andragogical or pedagogical teaching methods between students who started their BSN program after high school and those who waited.
ORDER NO: ABA95-04351
This study involved research on the teaching methods of instructors at Marylhurst College, a nontraditional liberal arts college in Oregon. In devising the study, a framework was created from the literature search on nontraditional college teaching methods. This was formed into a Likert scale questionnaire of forty-five question statements based on documented nontraditional teaching methods at the college level. The college instructors were questioned on their teaching methods, teaching styles, and student/teacher interaction as subscale variables. Questions listed on the front page of the questionnaire asked for years of college teaching experience and discipline or departments they were teaching at Marylhurst, and were used as measurable variables. The statistical program used for this study was the MAC computer program, STATVIEW by Abacus. T statistics were developed for all forty-five items in the survey including all subscale and variable scores. The results from hypothesis one comparing college teaching experience to teaching methods showed limited significant difference between the attitudes toward teaching methods and teaching experience of the Marylhurst instructors. The results from hypothesis two compared instructors' responses from the Liberal Arts and Professional disciplines found greater differences. While those instructors in the Liberal Arts disciplines and at Marylhurst apply many of the nontraditional teaching methods documented in the literature, those instructors identified with the Professional discipline applied less of the nontraditional learning and teaching methods. Recommendations from this study include suggestions for further inquiry into instructor teaching methods used at nontraditional liberal arts colleges. Other recommendations for teaching methods include increasing instructor awareness of nontraditional teaching styles, and determining why the Professional disciplines at Marylhurst limit their application of these methods and styles of teaching.
ORDER NO: ABA95-02809
The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which reference librarians of the 28 Florida community colleges are educationally prepared to teach and promote information literacy. A survey instrument (questionnaire) was designed and distributed to 110 reference librarians in the 28 Florida community colleges; a total of 74 (76.2%) were returned and 69 (62.7%) were usable. Using the Likert-type scale, respondents indicated strength and weakness of abilities and preparedness to teach and promote information literacy. The data were tabulated using SPSS. Forty-nine (71.0%) of the respondents were females, 18 (26.1%) were males (two, 3%, did not indicate gender), and 83% of the librarians were 41 years or older. Sixty-one percent (61%) of the male librarians had 15 years or less experience, while 73% of females had 16 or more years of experience. Eighty-seven percent of the librarians had a master's degree in Library Science, 3% had an advanced master's/specialist degree, and 3% had their doctorate. Four percent (4%) had a subject master's degree only. Three percent (3%) had a subject master's degree and certification in Library Science or either a subject master's degree and a master's degree in Library Science. While 96% of the librarians use the new technology on their job, only 31% of the libraries have a computing lab within the library for student use. The findings of this study included the following: (1) Ninety percent (90%) of the librarians indicated that they were well-prepared for the skills of locating sources, using periodicals, indexes, reference sources, and performing reference queries. (2) Eighty percent (80%) of the librarians indicated that they were well-prepared to use manual and online catalogs, CD-ROM databases, knew search strategy skills, selected appropriate access points, and worked effectively with diverse patrons. (3) Seventy percent (70%) of the librarians indicated that they were well-prepared for communication, thinking and cognitive skills, and met the needs of target user groups. (4) They were least prepared to work with Internet, Interactive Video, Hypercard/Hypertext, and tape-loaded databases. (5) They perceived themselves as lacking in the skills of measurement and evaluation, teaching methodologies, budgeting and planning, management, instructional design, and the use of online databases.
ORDER NO: ABA95-02803
This study compared the improvement in English language proficiency and in confidence and willingness to use English among low-proficiency first-year Puerto Rican university students enrolled in a content-based course in English as a Second Language and similar students enrolled in a conventional structural/functional course. Results are pertinent to adult students in similar academic settings in Spanish-dominant regions or countries. A quasi-experimental study using a pretest/posttest design was carried out with 83 subjects. Instruments measuring proficiency were the Pre-Test of English as a Foreign Language (Pre-TOEFL), a timed writing test, and a self-report questionnaire. Data was analyzed using Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) to equate the groups. Adjusted means for all dependent variables were calculated, using pre-test scores as covariates, and a four-stage comparison of adjusted means of the four groups on each dependent variable was carried out. Findings showed significant and meaningful differences between groups only on the writing test, with students taught in content-based classes scoring higher on content, organization, and overall writing effectiveness. Performance on other measures was essentially the same for all groups. The researcher concludes that although long-time EFL students of low proficiency probably need quite intensive language experiences to break through to new levels of language accuracy, their academic writing can become richer, more fluent, and more cohesive when they participate in real and extensive meaning-making through talking, reading, and writing about authentic subject matter.
ORDER NO: ABA95-01928
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of cooperative learning, graphics calculator-enhanced instruction, and a combination of these approaches on students' understanding of the function concept, mathematic achievement of algebraic skills, and mathematics attitude. Transformations and the linear, quadratic, absolute value, and square root function families were topics taught from a multirepresentational perspective to college algebra students. The study was carried out for ten weeks during each of the Fall 1992 and Spring 1993 semesters. Four treatments were used each semester: a control class with the traditional lecture and discussion approach; a calculator class in which the Texas Instruments (TI-81) was used; a cooperative learning class; and a calculator and cooperative learning class, in which both strategies were used simultaneously. Johnson and Johnson's Learning Together model and Slavin's Jigsaw II model of cooperative learning were used. Instruments used included Aiken's Revised Mathematics Attitude Scale, DTMS Intermediate Algebra Skills Test, the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Test, and a researcher-designed multirepresentational function test. Results indicated that locus-of-control, the control variable and the cooperative learning treatment significantly affected students' understanding of functions and related topics, while the treatment that combined cooperative learning and calculator enhancement significantly affected students' attitudes toward mathematics.
ORDER NO: ABA94-34892
This study was designed to determine the current status of college physics and university physics, the two introductory courses. It also sought to identify any differences that exist between different types and sizes of institution. The following topics were addressed: prerequisites; advising; placement testing; enrollment patterns; student career plans; preparation of students; attrition rates; grading; instructional settings; faculty characteristics; past, present, and planned instructional strategies; coverage of topics and organization of the course; evaluation of instruction; and overall faculty satisfaction with the course. Data were collected using a 28 item questionnaire developed for the study. After pilot testing, it was sent to a 40 percent proportional strategies random sample consisting of 323 out of 813 post-secondary institutions accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Two follow-up mailings produced a usable response rate of 50.6 percent (n = 161). Institutions were stratified by highest degree granted and by size of student body. The detailed findings, conclusions, and recommendations for improved practice are included in the report. Major findings were that: (1) attrition rates are substantially lower overall than suggested by related literature, although highest among associate degree and doctoral institutions; (2) the majority of students enter introductory physics without adequate preparation; (3) there is remarkable homogeneity between all types and sizes of institution with respect to student abilities and grades received; (4) associate degree institutions have experienced the greatest gains in enrollment in the last five years, and currently enroll more engineering majors than any other type of institution; (5) doctoral institutions permit lecture classes over three times larger than any other type of institution; (6) the professoriate is eager to embrace new technologies and update existing lab equipment; (7) the current overall organization and breadth of coverage of the introductory courses is unlikely to change.
ORDER NO: ABA94-34680
This study, conducted in the spring of 1992, attempted to determine two things: (a) the motivation of teachers at Temple University to improve undergraduate instruction, and (b) the teachers' perceptions of support for teaching at the University. Two populations, full-time faculty and graduate teaching assistants, provide most of the undergraduate teaching in the University, consequently, both populations were included in the study. The two instruments used were modified versions of questionnaires used in (a) a national faculty survey, and (b) a national graduate teaching assistant/associate survey. Instruments were distributed to all full-time faculty and all teaching/graduate assistants on the main campus. Faculty responses were 17% and teaching/graduate assistants were 19%. Among the faculty, 71.4% of the respondents were females, while 73.3% of all the full-time faculty were males. The average age of respondents was 42 years, and the average age of full-time faculty was 49 years. The low response rate and the high percentage of female respondents were some of the most startling results. It is speculated that many failed to respond because of (a) complexity of the instruments, (b) lack of time, (c) apathy and/or alienation, and (d) not really caring about the subject. Respondents were younger and speculated to be those who are more cooperative and those who feel strongly about the subject and the University. Additional findings that are especially important are (a) lack of trust in administration to act for the good of the University, with only moderate trust in faculty groups; (b) greater amount of formal preparation for teaching that teaching/graduate assistants have received compared to teachers; (c) interest among over half the faculty and greater interest among teaching/graduate assistants in further preparation in skills of teaching; and (d) confusion about the faculty's effectiveness in skills of teaching. Recommendations include finding ways to recognize current programs, determine needs for additional efforts, and encourage teaching as a scholarly activity within the University.
ORDER NO: ABA94-33586
This study attempted to measure the impact required technology-mediated instruction had on community college students' attitudes and behaviors towards computers. Attitudes of students before and after they experienced an interactive, multimedia literature unit were examined to determine the effect, if any, required technology-mediated instruction had on their computer attitudes. The study also examined whether these students were more inclined to choose technology-based courses after experiencing this unit and did a qualitative analysis of student-generated data, including written papers, surveys and journals as well as results from exit interviews. The multimedia unit was funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education, FIPSE. This was an exploratory study in that both quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted in an effort to describe comprehensively the multimedia program's impact on participating students. The qualitative study indicated that students who participated in the multimedia unit were interested in taking other multimedia courses and enjoyed the unit on The Odyssey more than their peers in the control groups. It also demonstrated significantly higher factual posttest scores on The Odyssey for experimental students, as well as significantly more citations of outside sources by the experimental students than by the control students. The results of the quantitative analysis were not statistically significant and could not establish a direct relationships between the multimedia units and student attitudes towards computers. These results were not surprising, however, since other studies have shown that attitude change occurs over a lengthy period of time (Fullan, 1982). This study may be of interest to technological change agents and other educators who are involved with technology in education. Recommendations for further research include tracking student attitudes in a longitudinal study, examining factors such as instructors' influence on student attitudes, and monitoring the effect of technology-mediated courses on self-selection of other computer-based courses.
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