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open access

Intentions and Implementation of the Professional Development and Appraisal System in Texas

Description: The purpose of this study was to describe the intentions of the designers of the Professional Development and Appraisal System (PDAS) in Texas and the perceptions of teachers regarding its implementation. Information for the study was gathered in two phases using two methodologies. The first was a semi-structured interview with four expert informants instrumental in the design and implementation of the PDAS at the state level. The second component of the study was conducted with teachers using … more
Date: December 2000
Creator: Davis-Frost, Diane
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation

A meta-analysis of service learning research in middle and high schools.

Description: This study examines the relationship between service learning innovations and improved academics, self-concept, and social or personal growth in middle and high school students. Meta-Analysis is employed to arrive at effect-size estimates for each construct. A historical overview of service learning is presented and a detailed description of the study selection process is provided. The data revealed a moderate relationship between service learning participation and academics, self-concept and s… more
Access: Restricted to UNT Community Members. Login required if off-campus.
Date: December 2001
Creator: White, Amy E.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

Preservice teachers' attitudes toward and knowledge about cooperative learning in Kuwait: A quasi-experimental study

Description: The issue of developing effective teacher preparation and professional programs by providing effective teaching and learning strategies to prepare teachers to teach in more challenging ways and change their old ways of teaching to more powerful ones has gained great attention around the world. Cooperative learning was one of the astonishing strategies introduced by many researchers to prepare effective teachers and to solve many educational problems. Teacher educators have taken different appro… more
Date: December 2001
Creator: Al-Dawoud, Afeefa
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

Social and Economic Characteristics Related to the Immediate College Transition of Recent High School Graduates: A Study of Southwest Region TRIO Participants' College Continuation

Description: The purpose of this study was to determine whether: 1) Southwest Region TRIO high school students between the years 1991 - 2001 continued to college immediately after high school at rates significantly different than similar population students on national and state levels; and 2) immediate college continuation for this group was a function of social and economic characteristics including race, gender, parental education, and home-care environment. The sample included 414 TRIO program participa… more
Date: December 2002
Creator: Cowan, Charisse L.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

Assessing the Effect of Inquiry-Based Professional Development on Science Achievement Tests Scores.

Description: This study analyzed student test scores to determine if teacher participation in an inquiry-based professional development was able to make a statistically significant difference in student achievement levels. Test scores for objectives that assessed the critical thinking skills and problem-solving strategies modeled in a science inquiry institute were studied. Inquiry-based experiences are the cornerstones for meeting the science standards for scientific literacy. State mandated assessment tes… more
Date: December 2002
Creator: Dickson, Teresa K.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

Students' and Teachers' Perceptions of Culturally Responsive Teaching: A Case Study of an Urban Middle School

Description: This was a qualitative study that used the procedures of case study design while incorporating ethnographic techniques of interviewing and non-participant observation in classrooms with six selected students, six teachers, and eight interviews of selected administrators and staff members in one middle school in a large Texas urban school district. The purpose of this study was to understand the educational experiences and perceptions of selected immigrant students and their mainstream teachers.… more
Date: December 2002
Creator: Curtin, Ellen Mary
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

Staff Development Methods for Planning Lessons with Integrated Technology

Description: This study compared cooperative and individual staff development methods for planning lessons with integrated technology. Twenty-three teachers from one elementary school participated in the study. The sample was the entire population. Nine participants were assigned to the control group, and fourteen participants were assigned to the experimental group. Names of participants were randomly drawn to determine group assignment. Participants in the control group worked individually in all three st… more
Date: December 2002
Creator: Heine, Jennifer Miers
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

A model for developing and disseminating multimedia materials for teacher educators.

Description: The purpose of this study was to develop a model that would enhance the development, dissemination, and adoption of educational multimedia materials. The grounded theory definition of open coding was used to analyze data collected from the 3-year Technology Leadership Web Library Project at the University of North Texas. Weekly meeting minutes, email communication, reports, notes, questionnaires, and surveys were examined to determine major factors involved in the process of product development… more
Date: December 2002
Creator: Hodges, Linda S.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

The Effects of a Kindergarten-First Grade Looping Program on Academic Achievement and Self-Esteem

Description: The purpose of this study was to determine if academic achievement and academic self-esteem can be linked to the non-traditional organizational pattern of looping in kindergarten and first grade classes. Looping is defined as one teacher remaining with the same students for two or more years. Using a control group-experimental group design where the experimental group participated in the looping program and the control group did not, and applying the statistical procedure of multivariate analys… more
Date: December 2002
Creator: Murphy, Doris Jo
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

Effects of Technology-Enhanced Language Learning on Second Language Composition of University-Level Intermediate Spanish Students

Description: Today's global culture makes communication through writing in a foreign language a most desirable tool to expand personal and professional relations. However, teaching writing is a complex, time-consuming endeavor in any language. Foreign language teachers at every level struggle to fit writing into an already full curriculum and need the most effective methods and tools with which to teach. Technology may provide a viable scaffold to support writing instruction for teachers and students. The … more
Date: December 2004
Creator: Oxford, Raquel Malia Nitta
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation

Religiousness, current substance use, and early risk indicators for substance abuse and dependence among nursing students.

Description: The purposes of this study were to examine the prevalence of current substance use and early risk indicators for substance abuse and dependence, and to investigate the relationships among religiousness, current substance use, and early risk indicators among nursing students at seven Seventh-day Adventist colleges. Data for this descriptive study were collected through Efinger's Alcohol Risk Survey (EARS) (Efinger, 1984), the CAGE Questionnaire ( Ewing , 1984), and the Intrinsic/Extrinsic-Revi… more
Access: Restricted to UNT Community Members. Login required if off-campus.
Date: December 2004
Creator: Gnadt, Bonnie
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

The Effect of Parent English Literacy Training on Student Achievement.

Description: When the Bush administration set out to revolutionize public education through the requirements commanded by No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), framers of the legislation chose language that appeared inclusive of all students in U.S. schools. The law demands that English language learners take the mandated exams early in their academic careers in the United States even though research indicates most will fail due to lack of time to acquire sufficient language proficiently to demonstrate … more
Date: December 2005
Creator: Clayton, Christina Dick
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

Students As Historians: The Historical Narrative Inquiry Model's Impact on Historical Thinking and Historical Empathy

Description: The dissertation explores middle-school students' abilities to engage in historical thinking. I dispute the Hallam-Piaget model, which discourages analytical thinking through the assumption that children lack skills to think critically about history. My historical narrative inquiry model (1) teaches procedural knowledge (the process of "doing" history); (2) enhances interpretative skills; (3) cultivates historical perspectives based upon evidentiary history; and (4) encourages student authorshi… more
Date: December 2007
Creator: Colby, Sherri Rae
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

A Chronological Study of Experiential Education in the American History Museum

Description: This study traced the evolution of experiential education in American history museums from 1787 to 2007. Because of a decline in attendance, museum educators need to identify best practices to draw and retain audiences. I used 16 museology and history journals, books, and archives of museums prominent for using the method. I also interviewed 15 museum educators who employ experiential learning, one master interpreter of the National Park Service, and an independent museum exhibit developer. Exp… more
Date: December 2007
Creator: Cook, Bettye Alexander
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

Perceptions of preparedness and practices: A survey of teachers of English language learners.

Description: Mainstream teachers who obtained their English as a second language (ESL) certification by exam only are faced with increasing numbers of English language learners (ELLs) in their classrooms. Decreasing standards for teacher ESL certification and increasing accountability for ELLs has made teachers' role in effectively increasing the language and academic skills of ELLs an area of major concern. This study used a survey and focus group interviews to obtain information regarding ESL-certified fo… more
Date: December 2007
Creator: Matson, Jill Lynn
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

The Impact of Language Planning and Policy on High School Long-term English Language Learners in a Selected North Texas Urban District

Description: Language policy reform movements have increased accountability in order for schools to improve student achievement and measure the progress of English language learners. The number of English language learners (ELLs) has grown significantly in the school population, yet the level of academic achievement for this population continues to lag. Language planning and policy provide critical decisions about how to measure what students know in all subjects. In 1999, the 76th Texas Legislature approve… more
Date: December 2007
Creator: Piña-Hinojosa, Isabella
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

The Effects of Using Children's Literature with Adolescents in the English As a Foreign Language Classroom.

Description: This study provides quantitative and qualitative data about the effects of using children's literature with adolescents in a language classroom and the role of children's literature in students' second/foreign language development, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. The study presents qualitative data about the role of children's literature in developing more positive attitudes toward reading in the second/foreign language and toward reading in general. With literatur… more
Date: December 2006
Creator: Belsky, Stella
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

Theatre teachers' attitudes toward the University Interscholastic League One-Act Play contest.

Description: The focus of aesthetic education is reflected in an arts curriculum designed for students to learn skills that make it possible for them to experience the world in a satisfying and meaningful manner. Incorporating aesthetics into school curriculum can be approached through the use of coordinated programs. In the state of Texas, over 1100 schools participate annually in the One-Act Play contest (OAP). The contest is governed by the University Interscholastic League (UIL), which has designed and … more
Date: December 2006
Creator: Gotuaco, Jennifer E.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

A multi-state political process analysis of the anti-testing movement.

Description: I applied McAdam's political process model for social movement analysis to examine the level of collective resistance to high stakes testing in California, Massachusetts, New York, South Carolina, and Texas from 1985 to 2005. Data on protest occurrences in those states were gathered from online news reports, anti-testing organization websites, and electronic interviews from individuals associated with the anti-testing movement. Variables used in the analysis included each state's key educationa… more
Date: December 2006
Creator: DeMerle, Carol
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

A value-added approach to determine the relationships of mentoring to novice teacher classroom effectiveness.

Description: The purpose of the study was to determine the relationship between scores of the new teachers' classroom effectiveness with numerical indexes of mentor support, mentor infrastructure, and workplace ecology. In addition, this study sought to determine the effect of various demographics (i.e., gender, age, race, degree, teaching level, and certification route) on the Classroom Effectiveness Index (CEI) scores of first-year teachers, and to determine the differences, if any, between the Classroom … more
Date: December 2008
Creator: Harris, Shelley B.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

The role of federal district courts on desegregation: A logistic regression analysis of the factors that influence prodesegregation outcomes.

Description: In this study I analyzed the 1089 desegregation outcomes in federal district courts that occurred between 1994 and 2004 in order to identify a) the legal and non-legal factors in the litigation process that predict pro-desegregation outcomes and b) the judicial patterns that impact the future of desegregation policy. Twenty-one legal and non-legal variables were analyzed via logistic regression analysis to identify factors that predict pro-desegregation outcomes. Only three predictor variable… more
Date: December 2008
Creator: Lane, Ginny G.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

A Phenomenological Inquiry of Media Literacy of Middle School Students Enrolled in a North Texas Middle School.

Description: This dissertation investigated the media literacy experiences of middle school students enrolled in a Texas school. The literature review suggested that middle school students may be overlooked as a distinct population in media literacy research. The primary guiding questions for this inquiry were (1) How is media literacy exhibited by middle school students within a formal school context? (2) How does an elective film and media class impact middle school students' media literacy? And (3) How d… more
Date: December 2008
Creator: Payne, Sara M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

The perception of English language arts teachers about instructional changes following the implementation of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test.

Description: Accountability in education has been expanding for the past twenty years. As standards for curricular areas continued to develop, educational shareholders desired a way to measure student achievement contextualized by the established standards. Since 1964, policies expanded federal involvement with education, and with the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, high-stakes testing became a significant part of public education. In Texas, testing transitioned in 2003 to the Texas Assessment of Knowledg… more
Date: December 2009
Creator: Horn, Brian K.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

Teacher change: The effect of a professional development intervention on middle school mainstream teachers of English language learners.

Description: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a professional development intervention conducted with mainstream middle school teachers of English language learners (ELLs) in a North Texas school district. Teacher change was examined in the context of this intervention. Three groups of teachers participated in this study. Group 1 (n= 4) consisted of teachers returning to the intervention for a second year. Group 2 (n= 12) consisted of teachers new to the intervention. Group 3 (n = 1… more
Date: December 2009
Creator: Anderson, Elsa Maria
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
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