Browsing by Subject "Teacher-student relationships"
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Item A comparison of the classroom behavior of teachers with high, average and low referral rates for hyperkinesis(Texas Tech University, 1979-05) Hughes, Robert BryanNot availableItem A contrast of college teachers' influence and student peer pressure in a nonacademic situation(1987-05) Johnson, James A.; Roberts, Dayton; Ainsworth, Len; Cornett, Joe; Ludewig, Larry; Stewart, RobertThis study examines the legitimate power which a college teacher has over his students. Most of the current research deals with the power that a teacher exhibits within the classroom pedagogical process; this study deals with the power that the teacher has over the student in a nonacademic circumstance. This study reports the results of an experiment conducted with 160 college undergraduates. The experiment contrasted the influence of college teachers with that of student peers. Results of the study indicated that the legitimate power (influence) of the college teacher is stronger than that of student peers in nonacademic situations. The experiment involved two test groups of 80, randomly selected members. Both groups were divided into 16 small groups of 5 members. Each small group also consisted of a confederate. The confederate in one half of the small groups was one of six respected college teachers. The confederate in the other half of the small groups was one of several randomly selected student peers. Each group was shown the same 10-second video. The video was a dramatization of a college teacher being shot in class. After viewing the video, each group was given the instructions to discuss the video and work toward getting a description of the shootist. The confederates in each group gave their groups the same pieces of false information. They said they saw a round patch on the left sleeve and a flash of jewelry on the back of the gunman's hand. After a short discussion period of about 5 minutes, each member was given a questionnaire asking the member to "Describe the shootist as you saw him/her." Results of the study show that the teachers had stronger influence over the students than the student peers. The teachers exhibited influence over 95% of the students. Student peers influenced 76% of the students. Four independent variables were included in the study. Age, sex, grade point average, and marital status of the student were each tested using the chi-square technique. Tested at the .05 level, no significance was found for any of the independent variables.Item Achievement adaptations to operationally defined teacher relationships: Affect formulations(1970-08) McDonald, James L.; Mattson, Bruce D.; Cobb, Beatrix A.; Wallace, Morris S.Not AvailableItem Addressing the social nature of how students learn and teachers teach : promoting healthy socioemotional development and academic success in the classroom(2009-08) Ice, Charlotte Lee; Schallert, Diane L.; Svinicki, MarillaThis report will illustrate the positive and negative aspects of the social nature of learning through a review of sociocultural related research. In consideration of the billion dollar issues associated with the current state of students’ mental health, and the poor educational experiences of low income students, it seems the current focus on academic achievement in isolation, isn’t working. Socioemotional elements underlie the cognitive processes involved in all higher levels of thinking and problems solving. From a sociocultural perspective, for optimal learning to occur, teachers and students must establish positive affective relationships. Through greater understanding of effective teaching practices that consider the socioemotional elements involved learning, and universal interventions promoting positive child and youth development, schools can promote children’s social and emotional wellbeing while simultaneously improving academic achievement.Item An experiment to determine the effect of instructor cognitive and affective verbal interaction on achievement in a public community college(Texas Tech University, 1975-01) Masters, Mitchell MauriceThe interest in the individual development of the student, and the recent decline in academic achievement in Economic Analysis I at South Plains College, Levelland, Texas, was a primary reason for conducting the study. Student achievement data from instructor files in the Department of Business Administration at South Plains College indicated a decline in mean academic achievement scores in Economic Analysis I from 1969 through 1973 (14). The apparent inadequacy of conventional teaching methods in producing greater academic performance suggested a need for investigating alternative teaching strategies (45: 6-12).Item An exploratory study of the use of interaction analysis in a college home economics education course(Texas Tech University, 1969-08) Ham, Juanita RobertsonNot availableItem An investigation of verbal interaction in relation to the development of a specific science concept by kindergarten pupils(Texas Tech University, 1969-08) Stanford, Mary JaneNot availableItem Development and evaluation of a home economics competency-based instructional guide on school-community interpersonal relationships in teaching(Texas Tech University, 1977-05) Haggard, Jeri Lyn RiekenNot availableItem Examining the relationship between communicator style and immediacy in the college classroom(Texas Tech University, 1999-08) Anderson, Karen A.Numerous factors influence a student's individual learning. It is the responsibility of educators to guide students in the best way possible. Educational research has often focused on three stages of instruction: preoperational, process, and product. Staton-Spicer and Marty-White (1981) clarify that the preoperational stage focuses on teacher characteristics, the process stage assesses the teacher's actual classroom behaviors, and the product stage examines student outcomes. A great deal of emphasis has been placed on the process-product paradigm in instructional and educational research (Sallinen-Kuparinen, 1992). Anderson, Evertson, and Brophy (1979) explain the basic goal of the process-product paradigm is "to defime relationships between what teachers do in the classroom (the process of teaching) and what happens to their students (the product of learning)" (p. 193). Although it is not feasible to account for all of the factors that may influence a student's education, instructors have the ability to impact students through their actions. Specifically, by examining our behaviors both in and out of the classroom, and exploring the influence those behaviors have on students, we are on our way to achieving the goal of guidmg our students in their educational endeavors. If we know what instructor behaviors impact students, then we will be better prepared to connect with them in a meaningful way. Therefore, this study seeks to explore educators' behaviors through examining the relationship between communicator style and immediacy in the college classroom. As the examination of literature on both subjects will illustrate, a great deal of knowledge has been accumulated, but this knowledge has been slow to influence the actual training of instructors. The goal of this study is to further define the relationship between the constructs of communicator style and immediacy in an attempt to establish a training program. Thus, this study is the first step in a long-term plan of developing a training program centered on improving instructors' communicator style through verbal and nonverbal immediacy behavior training.Item Factors affecting school connectedness among agricultural education students: A mixed methods study(2012-05) Witt, Christy; Doerfert, David; Ulmer, Jonathan; Burris, Scott; Lan, WilliamEach year, approximately 1.3 million students fail to graduate from high school. One of the reasons cited for dropping out is a lack of connection to the school environment. One way students can connect to their school is through programs and organizations at their school. While there are a large variety of programs in schools that have the potential to promote school connectedness among its students, the parallels to the school connectedness promotion factors present in the foundational principles of agricultural education evoke further investigation. This purpose of this study was to examine the influence that school connectedness promotion factors (i.e. adult support, peer group, commitment to education, and environment) in agricultural education programs have on students’ sense of school connectedness. This study utilized a two-phase sequential mixed methods design in which the qualitative data helped explain or build upon the initial quantitative results. The quantitative phase revealed approximately 45% of the variance of the school connectedness scale in the sample can be accounted for by the linear combination of promotion factor measures. Even when controlling for the other predictors, adult support (r = .32, p < .05) and commitment to education (r = .24, p < .05) were significantly correlated with school connectedness. At first glance, the themes from the qualitative phase closely aligned to the school connectedness promotion factors discussed in the quantitative phase. However, a few additions and modifications were recommended in future research based on the findings from the qualitative phase.Item High school English learners and college-going : three stories of success(2011-05) Moon, Daniel Louis; Callahan, Rebecca M.; Sardegna, Veronica G.Recent research suggests that the college-going trajectories of English language learners (ELLs) may be improved by focusing on their academic abilities rather than their English limitations; that ELLs are capable of high-track, college preparatory coursework. Most research draws on feedback or observations of current high school students. This qualitative study uses semi-structured interviews to elicit retrospective perspectives of three Latina college students placed in English as a second language (ESL) during high school. These three former ELLs were able to navigate from ESL courses to higher-track, advanced placement (AP) courses, which prepared them for college. Results suggest that relatively short times spent in ESL may positively influence ELLs’ access to college preparatory coursework and integration with native English speaking (NES) peers who possess college-going social capital. Results also suggest that ELLs’ perceptions of teachers’ high expectations and college-going assistance may provide important social capital facilitating ELLs’ access to higher-tracks and college.Item Interactional classroom behaviors of teachers and perceived-hyperactive students(Texas Tech University, 1982-12) Delligatti, Andrea MariaNot availableItem Interactions between teachers and students with learning disabilities in general education classrooms(2004) Boardman, Alison Gould; Schallert, Diane L.Traditionally, research on students with disabilities has focused on an individual difference model. More recently however, to elucidate the conditions and contexts under which students develop academically and socially, researchers have begun to call for models of study that employ a sociocultural theory perspective. Sociocultural theory is based on the notion that children learn through participation in social contexts. Accordingly, the type and amount of contact - most importantly the “talk” - that takes place between the teacher and the student seems to have strong implications for academic and social success at school. This relationship is particularly important for students with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to contribute to an understanding of the interactions between general education teachers and students with learning disabilities as they relate to participation in the learning community of the general education classroom. Qualitative methods were used to guide the observations and analyses of four fifth-grade teachers and three target students in each classroom, one student with a learning disability, one low-achieving student, and one average-achieving student, over a two-month period. Data collection included discourse analysis of interactions between teachers and target students, interviews with teachers, and teachers’ selfreflections throughout the study. Results indicated that teachers had a higher rate of interactions with students with LD than with other target student groups. However, despite the amount of time that teachers spent talking to students with LD, the quality of most interactions, in terms of their ability to increase learning, was judged to be low. In addition, while teachers reported that they learned more about the target students and became more attuned to their individual needs during a trial intervention, classroom observations and analysis of classroom talk demonstrated that teachers did not change either the quantity or quality of interactions with students with LD. A model for understanding the teacher negotiation of LD students’ integration into the learning environment was developed and supported by the following themes: teacher beliefs, classroom practice, student response, and teacher perception of student success. The value of teacher-student interactions in terms of both student outcomes and teacher motivation to work with students who struggle to succeed are discussed.Item Junior high school teachers and the meaning perspectives they hold regarding their Mexican American students: an ethnographic case study(Texas Tech University, 1995-12) Herrera, Socorro GuadalupeThe major findings of this case study emerged from the qualitative research question: What meaning perspectives are indicated by teachers' discourse regarding their day-to-day interactions with their Mexican American junior high school students? These findings surround five meaning perspectives teachers hold in these daily interactions with these students. Two of these meaning perspectives are epistemic, one is psychological, and two are sociocultural. According to transformation theory, which served as the substantive theoretical framework for the study, a meaning perspective functions as a structure of assumptions and a belief system through which we interpret and evaluate experience. The two epistemic meaning perspectives identified in this study involve the ways in which teachers come to know what they know and the uses they make of that knowledge. These two epistemic meaning perspectives, reification and reductionistic prescriptivism were identified according to five different meaning schemes indicated in teachers discourse. A psychological meaning perspective of colorblind nonaccommodative denial was also indicated by teachers discourse in this case study. Psychological meaning perspectives involve the influences of such phenomena as self-concept, locus of control, and defense mechanisms. Additionally, two sociocultural meaning perspectives were identified. These sociocultural meaning perspectives are best described as ideologies; specifically the ideology of the benevolent autocrat and the ideology of the manana conflict. According to the transformation theoretical conceptualization of the term, distorted (that is based on or in limited, contradictory, and/or impermeable premises), four of the five (two epistemic and two sociocultural) meaning perspectives identified in this study are distorted. Therefore, these findings indicate that teachers' relationships with their Mexican American students are subject to interpretations which may be personally constraining and interactively self-defeating. That their students suffered the culture clash of the consequent interpretations is evident in teachers' own discourse. That teachers suffered as well is evident in the frustration and perpetual negativity notable in the same discourse. These findings point to the need for preservice education and inservice teacher education, grounded in critical reflection on premises and assumptions in prior learning and socialization, especially for those mostly White, monocultural educators who teach in cross-cultural learning environments.Item Millennial students' and faculty's perceptions of a new generation of learning classrooms(2007-12) García, Linda Lorraine, 1979-; Roueche, John E.Today's higher education institutions are experiencing a different type of student population from previous years. They are known as gadget fanatics, social networkers, Internet enthusiasts, optimists, multitaskers, and inductive learners. Their viewpoints and aptitudes about technology and the Internet differ from others who rarely use it (Oblinger, 2003; Frand 2000). This population will present many challenges to American postsecondary institutions. Facilities, faculty, and curriculum will not be prepared to address their habits and expectations. They are called the Millennials. In an effort to start addressing the educational needs of the Millennial student population, postsecondary institutions must transition from the "old generation of learning" to the "new generation of learning" (Milliron, 2006). The purpose of the study is to explore the Millennial students' and faculty's perceptions of a new generation of learning classrooms. There were five research questions for this study: (1) What are the perceptions of a new generation of learning classrooms by Millennial students? (2) How do Millennial students relate to a new generation of learning classrooms? (3) What are the perceptions of a new generation of learning classrooms by faculty? (4) How do faculty relate to a new generation of learning classrooms? and (5) How Millennial students' and faculty's perceptions on the new generational of learning classrooms compare? Since this was a qualitative study, the Interactive Qualitative Analysis (Northcutt & McCoy, 2004) was the research design utilized to collect and analyze data that answered the research questions. A purposive sample for this study included a total of 47 participants: 26 Millennial students and 21 faculty members. One component of the research design involved focus groups for the Millennial students and faculty. Both groups identified the following themes, which were used to create an interview protocol: technology, appearance, teaching style, learning environment, writing/work space, classroom mood, climate, emotions, group assignments, and social networking. Analysis of the interview text included axial and theoretical coding. This contributed to the development of a mind map for the Millennial students and faculty. Comparisons of these two composite mindmaps reveal their perceptions of the new generation of learning classrooms.Item The nature of negotiation of meaning between teacher and student in the second language classroom(2003-12) Shim, Young-sook, 1973-; Schallert, Diane L.Negotiation of meaning refers to interactional work executed by interlocutors to achieve a mutual understanding when a communication problem occurs. This type of interaction has drawn considerable attention in second language acquisition (SLA) research because it gives language learners opportunities to receive comprehensible input and produce comprehensible output. This dissertation describes an investigation of negotiation-of-meaning processes between the teacher and students in an English-as-asecond-language (ESL) classroom. The purpose is to describe (1) the negotiation process through a careful examination of classroom discourse and (2) the relationship between linguistic meanings and the social contexts in which interactions take place. A qualitative approach was employed for data collection and data analysis. Data were obtained from nine students and a teacher in an intermediate listening/speaking ESL classroom. Major data sources included classroom observations, interviews, and stimulated recall interviews. For a more focused data analysis, four distinct components of the negotiation of meaning process were identified: (1) trouble sources that caused communication difficulty, (2) the participants’ perception of communication problems, (3) the decision-making process about whether to pursue negotiation, and (4) the resolution process of communication problems. The findings of this study revealed that trouble sources are not restricted to language problems but extend to non-linguistic factors and other context-specific factors. In addition, it was found that the types of trouble sources are associated with the participants’ decision-making processes and their ways of resolving communication problems. With regard to the participants’ perception of comprehension difficulties, the data revealed a complex process influenced by the types of problem and the agents who are perceiving. In addition, the way and degree that a participant verbalizes a perception of understanding and non-understanding affects subsequent perceptions and negotiations. Regarding the decision-making process, six factors that affect the participants’ decisions are discussed in particular: institutional, situational, affective, cultural, and physical factors and receptivity. The results also showed that the nature of the classroom environment, such as the teacher’s scaffolding and the collaborative efforts of the whole class, enables negotiation processes to be constructive and productive. Taken together, the findings suggest that the teacher-student negotiation process in the ESL classroom is an enormously complex process involving both cognitive and social practices.Item The nature of teacher-student interactions during communication intervention for young children with developmental disabilities including severe/multiple developmental disabilities(2008-08) Chen, Ying-Shu, 1963-; O'Reilly, Mark F.; García, Shernaz B.Teachers’ responses as well as the children’s types of disabilities have a great impact on how often and in what ways the children will communicate with the teachers. (Lee, 2001; Wu, 2003). Limited research on teacher-student interactions in special education classroom settings raises a series of questions regarding the teachers’ perspectives, teacher training, children’s communication behaviors and their learning of social communication skills. The purpose of this study was to explore the nature of interactions between teachers and young children with developmental disabilities including severe/multiple developmental disabilities (SMDD) during communication interventions and how both were mutually influenced by such interactions. Specifically, the guiding questions were: (a) How did teachers interact with young children with developmental disabilities during interventions? (b) Why did the teachers choose certain types of responses and strategies/techniques during interventions? and (c) What were the outcomes of the communication interventions for young children with developmental disabilities including SMDD? Using naturalistic inquiry as the research method, and drawing on sociocultural theory, this research constructed a case study of teacher-student interactions during communication intervention in one classroom in south Taiwan. Participants included three special educators and four students with developmental disabilities. Data sources included classroom observations, interviews with teachers, and document analysis. Data were analyzed using the constant-comparative method and discourse analysis. The findings revealed that the three teacher participants made efforts to shape the young children’s learning attitudes and behaviors. Yet, how they responded to the individual child was varied in terms of the young children’s disabilities, their capabilities for communication, and their specific challenging behaviors. The communication interventions resulted in some positive outcomes of the children’s social communication skills. However, the teachers’ lack of knowledge and training of implementing assistive technologies limited their ability to carry out effective communication interventions for the child with SMDD. Further, the teachers’ concerns for the children’s utilization of appropriate social communication manners were influenced greatly by their own their professional training and perspectives which might be influenced by Chinese culture and Confusion’s philosophy. These findings have implications for further research, classroom practice, and teacher education.Item Perceptual attitudes regarding smoking behavior of teachers(Texas Tech University, 1978-08) Bowermon, Katheryn McDanielNot availableItem Person-based response: a postmodern alternative to text-based teacher comments(Texas Tech University, 1998-05) Bellah, Michael DeanThis dissertation offers a theory of teacher response that privileges persons over text. It is based on the finding that there are two major trends in current teacher response: one text-based, a legacy of modernism and founded on the principles of New Criticism, which locates meaning in the text, and the other, person-based, founded on postmodem thought, which locates meaning in the writer and the reader. During the last 25 years, composition scholars have unearthed a number of problems with text-based response, including the following: an overemphasis on formal error, the teacher's inability to function as a real reader, a corresponding lack of "humanness" in teacher voice, a lack of clarity, including illegible handwriting and undefined proofreading marks, a failure to gear comments to specific audiences including basic writers and ESL students, a lack of positive reinforcement with some teachers displaying overt hostility toward their student writers, a tendency for teachers to appropriate student writing so that the student's own voice is lost, and comments showing a product-centered rather than process-centered approach to writing, which discounts the role of rhetorical invention. After documenting these deficiencies in teacher response strategies, this study presents a solution in the form of four tenets of person-based response. Phrased in the imperative, they are (1) respond first as a genuine (human) reader; (2) emphasize student successes not errors; (3) empower student writers; don't silence their voices or appropriate their work; and (4) emphasize student process (successful writers in-the-making) not product ("finished" and flawed papers). In a descriptive quantitative analysis involving 303 beginning college composition students, this study goes on to show how all four tenets of person-based response correlate with positive student motivation, a condition which writing apprehension theory says is cmcial for effective writing. In addition, this study analyzes some confounds to person-based response, presents the stories of eight students who react to the methodology, and suggests further study of the theory, especially a project linking the tenets of person-based response empirically to the Daly and Miller Writing Apprehension Scale. Finally, the dissertation emphasizes the need for what Burke calls consubstanciality, the act of really connecting with one's audience, including teachers with students and students with each other.Item Relevance and motivation: student reports of effective teacher strategies(Texas Tech University, 2000-12) Walters, Jamie LynneEvery teacher faces unmotivated students at some point in his or her career. Teachers must effectively communicate to not only ensure student comprehension, but to motivate students to participate in class and want to learn. Scholars report a positive relationship between teacher use of relevance and teacher clarity behaviors, immediacy behaviors, and student motivation. However, scholars fail to provide student reports of what teachers say and do to make information relevant. Researchers need to examine what strategies students perceive as making information relevant and how the use of these strategies influences student motivation. These were the objectives of this study. Data were collected through qualitative methods of open-ended questionnaires and focusgroup interviews. Findings were analyzed inductively to discover recurring themes across student reports.