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- A Descriptive Analysis of Good Readers' and Writers' Concepts of Authorship at Grades Six and Eight
- This qualitative research study examined the concepts of authorship exhibited by twelve selected good readers and writers in grades six and eight. Data were collected during pre-writing session interviews, five hour-long writing sessions, and post-composition interviews, and from written compositions and questionnaires. The following conclusions were drawn from the study. School and home reading programs that emphasized children's literature selections and regular and wide-ranged reading practices directly influenced the subjects' writing behaviors and concepts of authorship. In addition, those students who performed strongest as authors were those who found time to write privately at home or in a home-like situation. Revision occurred in traditional ways, such as movement or deletion of text, but also appeared to be related to the subjects' personal writing styles, such as verbalization, mental outlining, or reading the text out loud. Both grade levels exhibited individual writing development through integration of experiences, knowledge, and physical and social maturation. For these young writers, the key factor in perceived authorship was whether a writer had an interest in and enjoyed writing.
- An Ethnographic Study of Outstanding, Veteran Elementary Teachers
- The purpose of this study was to describe outstanding, veteran elementary teachers using an ethnographic approach. This qualitative study was conducted in a suburban independent school district in northeast Texas serving approximately 17,000 students. The data collected focused on five outstanding, veteran elementary teachers who had at least twenty years of uninterrupted teaching service. Data were collected through interviews, classroom observations, and the administration of the Mind Styles (Gregorc,1982) inventory. The findings of this research were as follows. This study found that many factors were responsible for retaining outstanding, veteran elementary teachers in the work force. These included adequate preparation, a strong personal commitment, a successful initial teaching assignment, a development of skills and abilities inside and outside the teaching field, and professional accomplishments throughout the teaching career.
- The Relationship of Selected Variables to Math Achievement in a Computer-Assisted Instructional Setting
- The purpose of this study was to explore the variables of I.Q., sex, instructional organization, classroom instructional time, and time in computer-assisted instruction (CAI) in the third and fifth grades in order to determine which of these variables or combinations of variables were the best predictors of mathematics computation and concepts achievement. The study used a one-group pretest-posttest design.
- The Use of Learning Styles in Teaching Social Studies in 7th and 8th Grade: A Case Study
- This qualitative case study examined the extent to which learning styles were used by teachers in four seventh and eighth grade social studies classrooms in a large suburban north Texas junior high school. The conclusions were as follows: 1) The environment on the junior high level did not afford the flexibility found in the elementary classroom. The changing of students, teachers, and the multi-purpose use of rooms did not afford flexibility of light, temperature, sound, and design preference. 2) The physical and the psychological categories had elements within each category that overlapped. A right brain activity closely aligned to a tactile/kinesthetic activity. A parallel between physical-mobility and psychological-global was noted, as well as a pattern between the global and the tactile/kinesthetic projects. 3) The split lunch period created problems for the global, kinesthetic, impulsive students. The academic environment was interrupted for a thirty minute period; students had to re-acclimate to a more analytic environment after lunch. 4) Each teacher alternated between primary style and secondary and tertiary styles. This mediation ability enabled each teacher to use all styles in lessons the researcher observed. 5) Abstract random and concrete random teachers did more group and team teaching than concrete sequential and abstract sequential teachers. Further, dominant sequential ordering in a teacher limited random activities. Whereas, dominant random ordering in a teacher limited sequential ordering activities. Both groups of teachers experienced teacher burnout when forced out of their primary style. 6) It was easier for those teachers whose primary and secondary ordering were opposite (CS/CR or AS/AR), as opposed to those whose primary and secondary ordering were the same (CS/AS or CR/AR), to align to a different environment. 7) These results suggest that teachers should not be required to stay in any one style. The flexibility of being able to alternate between …
- Usage of Whole-Language Instruction in Elementary-School Classrooms: a Case Study
- This qualitative research study examined the usage of whole-language instruction in the classrooms of four self-professed whole-language teachers. Data were collected from the following sources: classroom observations; interviews with the teachers and their principals; and a study of lesson plans, student work, textbooks, and curriculum guides. The following conclusions were drawn from the study. The teachers' pre-existing philosophical views regarding language instruction influenced the effectiveness with which they implemented whole-language instruction more than any other single factor. These philosophical bases also determined, to a large extent, the kinds of whole-language practices and strategies the teachers used in their instruction. The skills-oriented teachers most often stated that they used whole-language instruction in order to review or reinforce skills. The more holistic teachers most often stressed language development, language appreciation, and self expression. The data collected in this study led to the conclusion that teachers must become knowledgeable of whole-language principles and make a personal commitment to the whole-language philosophy in order to develop integrated, coherent whole-language instructional programs. The data also led the researcher to conclude that assessment of whole-language instruction was an area of ambiguity and uncertainty for the teachers involved in the study. The following recommendations were made from the study. Teachers should make conscious efforts to become cognizant of their basic philosophies and beliefs regarding how children learn and develop. Teachers should then ensure that their practices are consistent with their beliefs. Increased emphasis should be placed on developing appropriate means for assessing the effectiveness of whole-language instruction. School districts should provide adequate in-service opportunities and support services and receive the commitment of the teachers before initiating district-wide whole-language programs. Further research should be conducted on how teachers are affected when they are required to teach in ways which are inconsistent with their basic philosophies and/or teaching styles.
- The Effects of English Immersion Mathematics Classes on the Mathematics Achievement and Aspiration of Eighth-Grade Spanish-Speaking LEP Students
- This research grew from concerns relative to the mathematical performance of Spanish-speaking limited English proficient (LEP) public school students. This investigation studied the effects of the sheltered mathematics class on eighth-grade Spanish-speaking LEP students with regard to mathematical achievement, attitudes toward mathematics, the dropout rate, and the number of math credits earned in high school. The enrollment of a sheltered mathematics class was limited to LEP students. The purpose was to compare Spanish-speaking LEP students enrolled in sheltered mathematics classes with Spanish-speaking LEP students enrolled in regular mathematics classes. The research hypotheses were that achievement, mathematical attitudes, the dropout rate, and high school math credits earned would favor enrollment in sheltered mathematics classes. The data for achievement, dropout information, and mathematics course work completed were drawn from student records in the school district data bank. A mathematics attitude survey was given to a sample from the 1995-96 eighth-grade advanced level Spanish-speaking LEP students. The research hypotheses were not accepted. All of the populations did show an academic deficit. However, they did have more positive attitudes than negative attitudes toward mathematics. To improve achievement, staying in school, and a higher rate of inclusion in mathematics related careers the following recommendations were made: 1. Research should be done to write standardized mathematics tests that would be accurate and fair for Spanish-speaking LEP students. 2. Further research should be done into teaching strategies and classroom management particularly suited to Spanish-speaking LEP students. 3. Attitude measures should be used as pretest and posttest to study the effect of sheltered mathematics classes on LEP students in relation to attitudes toward mathematics and motivation to continue schooling. 4. Recruit and train qualified mathematics teachers to teach English as a second language (ESL) mathematics.
- Teachers' Perceptions of Computer Use in Elementary and Secondary Classrooms in Thailand
- The purpose of this study was to create a base of descriptive information about computer applications in the elementary and secondary classrooms of Thailand. To accomplish this task, two forms of questionnaires were developed and administered to a randomly selected sample of 527 school teachers and 94 college instructors throughout the Northeastern area of Thailand. Data were analyzed using a chi-square test, a £-test, and a one-way analysis of variance procedure.