Browsing by Subject "Teaching"
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Item A comparison of the effectiveness of prompting procedures for increasing a visual-motor response within a functional life skill in students who have cortical visual impairment(Texas Tech University, 1998-05) Farrenkopf, Carol ElizabethCortical visual impairment (CVI) is the result of damage to the posterior visual pathways. As a resuh, the visual cortex has difficulty interpreting what the eyes perceive. Years ago, it was believed that children with CVI were blind and that little could be done to improve their vision. The present study demonstrated that adolescents with CVI were able to improve their ability to perform a visual-motor response within a functional skill. A single subject alternating treatments design across two settings (school and home) was used to examine the effectiveness of verbal and physical prompting procedures on the visual-motor responses of four adolescents with CVI. This study consisted of three phases: baseline, intervention (divided into two sub-phases) and maintenance. Each of the subjects received a specific intervention that was relevant to his/her life, included the use of a functional object, took place during an appropriate time of day, and was based on the principles of CVI. All four subjects demonstrated an improvement in their ability to perform a visual-motor response. When compared, the effectiveness of the physical and verbal prompting techniques varied for each subject. Two subjects displayed better visualmotor responses to a functional object when the verbal prompting technique was used, while the physical prompt was more effective for the other two subjects. Subjects 1, 3, and 4 showed a dramatic improvement in visual-motor responses in both the school and in the home, while Subject 2 showed dramatic improvement at home and only marginal improvement at school. The results of this study showed that adolescents with CVI can learn how to see a functional object and then respond to it motorically when the environment and task are designed to meet the unique visual needs of individuals with CVI. Further replication of this study is necessary to increase the generalizability of the results. Replication of this study with a larger sample, older individuals with CVI, younger children with CVI, different prompting procedures, different target behaviors, or within different settings will likely yield interesting results.Item A comparison of theory and practice in the use of the educational film(Texas Tech University, 1959-08) Morlan, John ENot availableItem A state-wide organizational, structural and support pattern for the provision of professional laboratory experiences in teacher education programs in Texas(Texas Tech University, 1964-08) Cunningham, Fred J.The problem of the study was to determine a State-wide organizational, structural, and support pattern for the provision of professional laboratory experiences in teacher education programs in Texas.Item A survey of the problems of beginning teachers(Texas Tech University, 1951-08) Milam, Evelyn LouiseNot availableItem A teacher's perceptions of the library media specialist as instructional consultant(Texas Tech University, 1998-08) Cate, Gwendolyn LandrumLibrary media literature has recommended that library media specialists provide instructional consultation to classroom teachers in public schools. This study investigates the perceptions of a fifth grade teacher concerning instructional consultation as she worked with a library media specialist. The research design and implementation are grounded in the theory of cognitive development and learning developed by Lev Semenovich Vygotsky. The study draws on Vygotsky's theory to inform existing literature on consultation. Three models of consultation as found in library media literature are discussed and applied to the naturalistic site of a public elementary school. The site for the research was an elementary school set in the southwestern United States in an agricultural community. The research spanned an entire school year with a social studies teacher as she worked with three sections of the fifth grade and the library media specialist. Data were collected through participant observation, interviews and documents. The constant comparative method of analysis was utilized to compare participant observations fieldnotes, video recordings of classroom and library media center instruction, and audiotaped interviews. One core category, growth, emerged from the analysis along with three complementary categories: growth of a relationship, growth of an environment and growth of persons. These three categories are discussed as framed by the literature, particularly the library media specialist literature and Vygotsky's learning theory. These findings have both practical and theoretical significance for the library media community. Primarily, they serve as a guide for library media professionals in the field. Also, they provide the library media community with a theoretical framework for instructional consultation. This study has also extended the work of Vygotsky as it adds to the knowledge base on adult learning theory.Item 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 Analysis of Factors Affecting Choice Patterns Within Informal Teaching Groups(Texas Tech University, 1961-08) Dederick, Donald LNot Available.Item An experimental study to analyze alternate versions of overhead transparency projectuals designed to teach selected concepts(Texas Tech University, 1969-08) Pearce, Galen LeeThe problem of this study v:as to obtain information on the effect of teaching conceptual information using three alternate variations of overhead transparency projectuals. The problem had tv aspects: (1) to determine which of three alternate variations of overhead transparency projectuals accomplished the most learning of conceptual information, and (2) to determine whether color or non-color (black or white) images and positive (white) or negative (black) backgrounds in transparencies most influenced the learning of conceptual information.Item Beliefs of selected teacher representatives about professional consultation(Texas Tech University, 1968-06) Evans, Bruce MaxNot availableItem Beyond books : interactive lessons for the college biology classroom(2011-12) Londeore, Cynthia Fay; Jansen, Robert K., 1954-; Fischer, JaniceCollege level science is frequently taught as a recitation of facts in a lecture hall, and the students are expected to gain understanding and insight with their own study. Interactive learning is more effective than lecture based learning and more memorable for the students. Teaching with hands on models has been shown to specifically be beneficial in a college level molecular biology context. Included here is a guide for the instructor leading her through topic selection, activity development, and presentation to the class, as well as five complete and tested lesson plans with notes on alteration made and the reasons for them.Item A case study revealing how preservice art educators develop awareness of the role of language during field work in art education for pupils who are blind or visually impaired(2013-08) Keating, Jannette; Bain, ChristinaWorking collaboratively with the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) and Dr. Kara Hallmark's art education students at the University of Texas at Austin (UT), this qualitative case study documented how preservice art teachers' awareness of how to implement language as a teaching tool developed during a participatory observational experience in the segregated special needs art class at TSBVI. My research reveals how the field experience at TSBVI, which included hands-on interaction with pupils who are blind or visually impaired and the role modeling of an experienced special needs art educator, enhanced awareness for preservice teachers about how language can be used effectively in teaching art. This awareness is useful for all educators who include students experiencing vision impairment in the art classroom.Item Central office data use : a focus on district and school goals(2009-05) Moll, Kerry Ann; Wayman, Jeffrey C.This study examined the data use of central office administrators working in the Curriculum and Instruction Department of a school district. The purpose of this work was to broaden the knowledge base of data use and of the integral role the central office plays in the district-wide use of data to improve teaching and learning. Two research questions guided the study: (a) How do central office personnel involved in curriculum and instruction use data to support district goals of improved student achievement, and (b) how do central office personnel involved in curriculum and instruction use data to support campus goals of improved student achievement? A qualitative and quantitative data collection process with a single-case study approach included focus groups, individual interviews, and a survey instrument. The data from these components were coded, analyzed, and translated into themes and findings using a 9-step constant-comparative process. This process provided rich description and a comprehensive evaluation of findings to answer the research questions. Findings regarding the use of data within the department of curriculum and instruction at the central office revealed that administrators most often took on the role of data provider. The central office provided reports both to campuses and to comply with federal and state regulations and funding requirements; provided professional development to principals, teachers, and instructional specialists; provided information about student achievement to parents and the greater community; and encouraged the use of data and highlighted the value of data use to inform instructional choices. Further analysis of the data revealed barriers that inhibit the systemic use of data and the ability of school districts to become truly data informed: lack of a common vision for data use, creation of data silos that reduce the ability to collaborate and make cooperative data-based decisions, too much data for consideration, and fragmented implementation of the goal-setting process. These findings contribute to the current literature by demonstrating the importance of the central office in data use. In conclusion, what central office administrators do with data matters, and how the central office uses data to support teacher and principal quality is critical in a district focused on improving teaching and student learning.Item Cognitive behavior and active engaged time: The impact of the CASE curriculum(2012-05) Witt, Phillip; Ulmer, Jonathan; Burris, Scott; Brashears, Michael T.; Burley, Hansel E.Teacher and student behavior in the classroom have both been linked to student achievement. The hands on, real world experiences which students are offered through career and technical education courses provide an opportunity for agricultural education to make contributions to student achievement. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact the CASE curriculum has on the academic engagement of students enrolled in animal science courses and the cognitive behavior of agriculture teachers. The target population for this study consisted of secondary agriculture teachers who teach animal science courses and the students enrolled in those courses. The study employed a quasi-experimental, static-group comparison design. Nine CASE certified teachers represented the treatment group, which were matched with nine traditional agriculture teachers on selected criteria. Teachers’ cognitive behavior was measured using the Florida Taxonomy of Cognitive Behavior while student engagement was measured using the Behavioral Observation of Students in Schools. Matched-pairs t tests were used to compare the CASE group and the traditional group on cognitive behavior and student engagement. Students in the CASE group were found to spend significantly more time actively engaged that those in traditional agriculture courses. This difference represents a large practical difference as well. No significant differences were found between the two groups on the measures of teachers’ cognitive behavior. From the findings it was concluded that the CASE curriculum and professional development can impact the active engagement of students in the classroom and potentially affect student achievement.Item Comic art in the classroom : making the classroom relevant to students' lives(2012-05) Paul, Rebecca Michelle; Bolin, Paul Erik, 1954-; Mayer, Melinda M.The boundaries of art education are growing and encompassing new artistic practices and contemporary discourses. Many art educators are advocating for the inclusion of popular visual culture into the school curriculums. This study investigates what might be learned from the effects of adding a unit of instruction on popular visual culture, in the form of comic book art, into a beginning level high school art curriculum.Item Complex systems as lenses on learning and teaching(2007) Hurford, Andrew Charles; Stroup, Walter M.From metaphors to mathematized models, the complexity sciences are changing the ways disciplines view their worlds, and ideas borrowed from complexity are increasingly being used to structure conversations and guide research on teaching and learning. The purpose of this corpus of research is to further those conversations and to extend complex systems ideas, theories, and modeling to curricula and to research on learning and teaching. A review of the literatures of learning and of complexity science and a discussion of the intersections between those disciplines are provided. The work reported represents an evolving model of learning qua complex system and that evolution is the result of iterative cycles of design research. One of the signatures of complex systems is the presence of scale invariance and this line of research furnishes empirical evidence of scale invariant behaviors in the activity of learners engaged in participatory simulations. The offered discussion of possible causes for these behaviors and chaotic phase transitions in human learning favors real-time optimization of decision-making as the means for producing such behaviors. Beyond theoretical development and modeling, this work includes the development of teaching activities intended to introduce pre-service mathematics and science teachers to complex systems. While some of the learning goals for this activity focused on the introduction of complex systems as a content area, we also used complex systems to frame perspectives on learning. Results of scoring rubrics and interview responses from students illustrate attributes of the proposed model of complex systems learning and also how these preservice teachers made sense of the ideas. Correlations between established theories of learning and a complex adaptive systems model of learning are established and made explicit, and a means for using complex systems ideas for designing instruction is offered. It is a fundamental assumption of this research and researcher that complex systems ideas and understandings can be appropriated from more complexity-developed disciplines and put to use modeling and building increasingly productive understandings of learning and teaching.Item Comprehension instruction in second grade classrooms : investigating pedagogical practices that support comprehension acquisition(2012-05) Beutel, Denise Duncan; Maloch, Beth; Worthy, Jo; Shallert, Diane; Fairbanks, Colleen; Field, SherryThe purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the ways in which teachers scaffold students’ acquisition of reading comprehension skills. This semester-long study employed ethnographic methods of data collection, including classroom observations, teacher interviews, and video and audio recordings of classroom events. Data was analyzed using the constant comparative method as described by Strauss and Corbin (1990) and discourse analysis, informed by Mercer (1987). Two case studies offer detailed portraits of the nature of comprehension instruction in second grade classrooms. Findings indicate that teacher directed scaffolding of comprehension strategies and a classroom environment that supported engagement and understanding of text afforded young readers opportunities to acquire strategies that assist in making meaning from text. Study findings also suggest that a continuum of support within teacher-led lessons provided the students occasions to observe and to participate in comprehension strategy use in a supportive context. This study offers insight on pedagogical practices that support young readers in acquiring comprehension skills and strategies.Item Conversation with an Apple : play development as movement-building against mass incarceration(2015-05) Goodnow, Natalie Marlena; Gutierrez, Laura G., 1968-; Alrutz, Megan; Jones, Omi Osun Joni L.This reflective practitioner research project explores if and how viewing and responding to drafts of my original solo play in development, "Conversation with an Apple," contributes to efforts to build a movement against mass incarceration, with a particular focus on dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline. I draw upon Michelle Alexander's theorization of mass incarceration in the United States, social movement theory elaborated and archived by contemporary activists, and theories in performance and affect studies to contextualize my investigation. I describe how I utilized Liz Lerman's Critical Response Process to elicit audience responses to staged readings of "Conversation with an Apple," and also how I employed modified grounded theory techniques to analyze those responses. I then explain how insights gained through these methodologies informed revisions of the "Conversation with an Apple" script and my plans for future post-show workshops. I conclude with an evaluation of the usefulness of these play development and research methodologies in my artistic practice. I find that both Liz Lerman's Critical Response Process and the modified grounded theory analysis I utilized, along with a return to my guiding theoretical frameworks, contributed meaningfully to my reflective practice, yielding several key insights. First, I discovered that the play does seem to have the potential to raise consciousness among audience members regarding multiple manifestations of mass incarceration as it affects young people, although I decided that a few key mechanisms of mass incarceration might be more fully elaborated through script revisions. Second, I found that when audiences responded to the play, the shared experience of viewing the performance functioned as a springboard for conversation about other shared experiences in their lives, thus building a sense of community in at least a small way. I also theorize that the act of transmitting heightened affect together while viewing this play built community. Finally, my analyses revealed that although some audience members felt outraged at the realities of mass incarceration and inspired to make a change, many felt hopeless after viewing the play. These analyses informed my most significant revisions to the "Conversation with an Apple" script and plans for post-show workshops.Item Development and Testing of Simulation (Game) to Illustrate Basic Principles of Integrated Project Delivery and Target Value Design: A First Run Study(2012-12-07) Munankami, Manish 1972-This research is focused on developing a simulation (game) that will help explain the basic principles of Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) and Target Value Design (TVD). The transfer of knowledge about Lean principles is currently limited and there is a need for teaching materials in this field. The Lean Construction community believes that teaching lean principles through games or simulations is very effective. This study is focused on developing a simulation that explains the basic principles of IPD and TVD. After study of current literature related to IPD, TVD and Lean simulations, this game was developed and then tested on construction professionals and students. Test results from a first run study showed that the simulation helps to explain some principles of IPD and TVD. However further study is needed to ensure that those who engage this simulation confidently understand key principles of IPD and TVD.Item Distributive Leadership and Student Achievement: A Case Study(2011-12) Baiza, Randy D.; Klinker, JoAnn F.; Duemer, Lee S.; Valle, FernandoThe purpose of this case study was to investigate the interactions between leaders who practice distributive leadership and followers within a school which leads to the development of routines and tools that reinforce student achievement. Education is widely held to be essential for the survival and success of individuals and countries in the emerging global market. National leaders of all stripes place education at the center of their policy agendas. Agreement is also evident about the contributions of leadership in the implementation of virtually all initiatives aimed at improving student learning and school quality. It is therefore difficult to imagine a focus for research with greater social justification than educational leadership. Although distributive leadership is widely thought to be a powerful force for school effectiveness, this belief needs to be justified by empirical evidence. This qualitative study focused on one Texas public secondary school with a majority minority student composition,which received a Blue Ribbon designation. Principal leadership behaviors, campus improvement team perceptions with regard to distributed leadership ideals served as a primary focus. More specifically, the purpose of this case study was to explore in depth relationships exhibited in an exemplary, Blue Ribbon school as identified by the Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS), that enable or constrain distributed leadership ideals central to this study. Capturing essential features such as the character of the leader, leadership styles,followers and values that define curricular goals and the contextual rituals or processes used to communicate continuous improvement towards student success provided additional understanding. Multiple sources of information provided a detailed in-depth picture, including observations, interviews, documents and reports which served as criteria for data collection. The implications of this study's findings are significant. This case study adds further evidence to support research on distributive leadership and its relationship to student achievement. The research participants in particular the school district superintendent, and the school principal did not simply delegate tasks but practiced governance over the school's social and situational contexts. Through the sharing of intellect and opinion, acknowledging and maximizing expertise, teachers were called on to share their expertise in instruction as well as utilize opportunities or time, to dialogue, to share insights regarding students and the curriculum. Working together to improve instruction created shared roles pulling their expertise and initiative directed toward increasing student achievement.Item Effects of divergent teaching techniques upon creative thinking abilities of collegiate students in agricultural systems management courses(Texas Tech University, 2006-05) Norton, Matthew B.; Baker, Matt; Davis, Chad S.; Lawver, DavidJ.P. Guilford (1950) asked in his inaugural address to the American Psychological Association why schools were not producing more creative students. It has been this researchers experience that courses at institutions of higher education are geared to teaching knowledge, themes, concepts, or measures, and do not allow time for the students to develop original ideas. While current practice transfers a great deal of information to students, it hinders the ability of students to be creative in the disciplines. In agricultural education teacher certification programs, this method of teaching is not only hindering the ability of future teachers to think creatively, but their future students ability to think creatively. Baker, Rudd, and Pomeroy (2001) purported that educators must prepare a specific curriculum to increase students creative thinking ability. In a critique of Baker, Rudd, and Pomeroy (2002), Wingenbach (2002) asks, What is the best approach for including the creative thinking process in agricultural education courses? (p. 1)Ž The purpose of this study was to increase the creative problem solving skills of undergraduate students at Texas Tech University in a mechanized agriculture classroom by utilizing divergent teaching techniques. The researcher utilized the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking for the data collection tool in this repeated measures design. The following constructs were addressed in the raw data: (1) fluency- the ability to develop substantial amounts of ideas and drawings; (2) originality- the quality of newness that exists in something not done before; (3) abstractness- the ability to create good titles and to fully capture the events of what the information is dealing with; (4) elaboration- thought out or organized with thoroughness and careful attention to detail and; (5) resistance to premature closure- the ability to keep an idea open long enough to build upon each idea. A measure of the students overall creativity based on the subjects grade level and gender has also been assessed. The population consisted of undergraduate student at Texas Tech University whose major course of study requires a course in welding and metalworking and/or students who have a special interest in welding and metalworking. A convenience sample (n= 18) was utilized for this qusi-experimental design. The researcher has described in detail the data collection schedule, and has laid out step-by-step instructions for administering three treatments designed to increase a persons ability to think in a divergent manner. These treatments consisted of The Sensory Connection, Brainwriting, and Brainsketching. Following the data analysis the researcher concluded that the results from this study showed a wide spectrum of results when looking at the examined constructs and three teaching techniques. Three of the examined constructs showed significant difference between the baseline measurement and the intervening treatments. It is recommended that alternate divergent teaching techniques be studied to determine their affects upon creative thinking, student satisfaction, and cognitive performance.
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