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Dimensions of Quality : Teachers' Beliefs and Practices in Texas Public Prekindergartens
This study explores beliefs and practices about standards of quality in Texas public prekindergartens as viewed from various perspectives, including prekindergarten teachers, administrators of prekindergarten programs, and families of prekindergarten students. These beliefs and practices are compared with widely-accepted national standards of quality for preschool programs.
The Language of Peace: A Burkeian Analysis of the Peace Rhetoric of William Sloane Coffin, Jr.
The purpose of this research was to identify the motives and use of language of William Sloane Coffin, Jr., president of SANE/FREEZE organization. The rhetorical elements of his peace speeches between the years 1978-1988 were analyzed using Kenneth Burke's dramatistic pentad as a method of analysis.
Learning Style and Leadership Style: Determinants of Instructional Strategies in Nursing Education
The problem of this study was to describe and compare the relationship of learning style and leadership style upon the selection of instructional strategies by nursing educators in associate and baccalaureate degree nursing programs. Data were collected using Kolb's Learning Style Inventory, Hersey and Blanchard's Leader Effectiveness and Adaptability Description, a researcher-developed Instructional Strategies Inventory, and the Personal Data Form. It was found that leadership style was highly correlated between the associate degree and baccalaureate degree faculty groups. More of the associate degree faculty members had basic leadership styles of Low Relationship/Low Task and High Task/Low Relationship. Most of the baccalaureate faculty members had Low Relationship/Low Task leadership styles. The following conclusions were developed: (a) Nursing faculty in associate and baccalaureate degree programs have similar learning and leadership styles; (b) nursing faculty tend to use the traditional instructional strategies such as lecture, discussion, and case studies at the same frequency of use? and (c) the selection of instructional strategies in nursing education may be affected by variables other than the instructor's learning and leadership styles. In view of the findings of this study, the following recommendations for further study appear to be warranted, (a) Further research should be conducted to determine the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of identified instructional strategies in nursing education, and (b) more research should be done to identify creativity in the selection of instructional strategies in nursing education. The following implications are suggested from an analysis of the data: (a) Although faculty characteristics are rarely a determining factor in the design of a nursing curriculum, they must be taken into account when selecting instructional strategies, and (b) the apparent lack of diversity in instructional strategies utilized in the classroom setting emphasizes the need for faculty to expand their knowledge base in this area.
Materials, Practices, and Perceptions Associated with Prior Participation in an Aerospace Education Workshop: a Case Study
This qualitative study was conducted in a large north Texas school district. The subjects were four elementary teachers who had previously attended a summer aerospace education workshop. The researcher observed in each classroom during science instruction and other areas where aerospace concepts might be taught to determine material usage, practices, and perceptions associated with teaching aerospace. The teachers' lesson planbooks, textbooks, and supplementary materials were also examined by the researcher. Interviews were conducted with each teacher's principal and the district science coordinator to determine their effects on the practices and perceptions of the subjects.
A Monte Carlo Study of the Robustness and Power Associated with Selected Tests of Variance Equality when Distributions are Non-Normal and Dissimilar in Form
When selecting a method for testing variance equality, a researcher should select a method which is robust to distribution non-normality and dissimilarity. The method should also possess sufficient power to ascertain departures from the equal variance hypothesis. This Monte Carlo study examined the robustness and power of five tests of variance equality under specific conditions. The tests examined included one procedure proposed by O'Brien (1978), two by O'Brien (1979), and two by Conover, Johnson, and Johnson (1981). Specific conditions included assorted combinations of the following factors: k=2 and k=3 groups, normal and non-normal distributional forms, similar and dissimilar distributional forms, and equal and unequal sample sizes. Under the k=2 group condition, a total of 180 combinations were examined. A total of 54 combinations were examined under the k=3 group condition. The Type I error rates and statistical power estimates were based upon 1000 replications in each combination examined. Results of this study suggest that when sample sizes are relatively large, all five procedures are robust to distribution non-normality and dissimilarity, as well as being sufficiently powerful.
The Relationship Between Piagetian Developmental Levels and the Persuasive Writing Ability of Third, Fourth, and Fifth Graders
Research questions addressed whether (1) the instruction was effective, (2) performance on persuasive tasks differed by grade level following instruction, (3) performance on persuasive tasks differed by Piagetian developmental level following instruction, and (4) whether performance differed between monolingual and bilingual subjects. Students wrote four persuasive compositions for assessment, two before instruction was administered and two after instruction. Knudson's holistic scoring rubric was used to evaluate essays for overall quality. Other measures of writing were evaluated including the number of words students used in their writing, the number of reasons included in the essay, the number of reasons per hundred words, and whether the paper had a conclusion or not. Further, the number of elaborations used in the paper was determined, as well as the number of elaborations per hundred words, and the ratio of the number of words used in elaborations compared with the total number of words in the composition.
The Utilization of Semantic Webbing as a Method of Teaching Art Criticism in the Elementary School
Art educators and classroom teachers in the elementary schools are confronted with the challenge of helping children look critically at works of art and develop written and/or verbal skills to communicate their findings. It was the purpose of this study to determine the effectiveness of the conceptual learning technique of semantic webbing in teaching art criticism in the elementary classroom. The author revealed a significant difference of opinions between two sample groups and similarities between the variables of frequency of use, and familiarity of the webbing technique and its effectiveness in the classroom. The sample groups consist of elementary classroom teachers and art specialists who work with kindergarten and first grade children.
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