Teaching, Learning, Policy & Leadership Theses and Dissertations
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Item PREDICTIVE ACCURACY OF THIRD AND FIFTH GRADERS ON LINGUISTIC AND NON-LINGUISTIC COMPREHENSION MEASURES: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERFORMANCE ON GRADUATED PASSAGE QUESTIONS UNDER LISTENING AND READING CONDITIONS AND THE STANDARD PROGRESSIVE MATRICES(1981) Alexander, Patricia; Garner, Ruth; Teaching, Learning, Policy & Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)This study, as an investigation of predictive accuracy, examined the relationship of subjects' performance on a non-linguistic measure of comprehension, the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices, to their performance on linguistic measures of comprehension, graduated passages and questions from the Barnell-Loft Specific Skills Drawing Conclusions Series. These linguistic passages and questions were presented under silent reading and listening conditions. All third graders and fifth graders at a suburban Maryland parochial school served as the study population from which twenty subjects at each grade level were randomly selected. This sample was comprised of eighteen males and twenty-two females. All subjects received all treatment levels which consisted of four tasks administered in two sessions. Session I included the administration of the Raven's, with the added verbalization of item C-9, and passages and questions presented in a silent reading mode. In Session II all subjects completed passages and questions presented in a listening mode and the Slosson Intelligence Test. The graduated passages and question were contained in Comprehension Inventory I and II which were administered in counterbalanced format. Half of the subjects received Inventory I as the listening task and II as the silent reading task, while half received Inventory I as the silent reading task and II as the listening task. The first question under research in this study was whether there was a relationship between linguistic and non-linguistic predictive accuracy. A multiple correlation technique was used to ascertain the relationship between the Raven's and the listening and silent reading linguistic comprehension measures. A correlation coefficient significantly different from zero was achieved in the comparison of subjects' performance data for these tasks. The second question addressed by this study was whether the relationship between the non-linguistic and the listening linguistic measure of predictive accuracy would be stronger than the relationship between the non-linguistic and the reading linguistic measure of predictive accuracy. Through the use of a partial correlation technique it was determined that the relationship between the Raven's and the listening task was not statistically stronger than the relationship between the Raven's and the silent reading task. Both partial correlations, however, were determined to be significantly different from zero. The third question investigated by this study was whether there was a significant relationship between the Raven's, as a non-linguistic measure of predictive accuracy, and the Slosson, as a linguistic measure of intellig ence. The coefficient produced by the Pearson Product-Moment technique was assessed to be significantly different from zero. Finally, the study sought to ascertain if there were developmental differences in predictive accuracy. At test for related samples produced significant differences for all outcome measures in the direction of the fifth-grade subjects. These findings confirmed the hypothesis that older students would perform the specified tasks at a higher level of predictive accuracy than younger students. Possible explanations of the outcomes of this investigation, and their relationship to research in the areas of language/thought, analogous reasoning, intelligence/cognition, reading/listening and comprehension/prediction were discussed, along with implications for theory, research, classroom and diagnostic practices.Item A Comparison of the Effectiveness of Demonstrations, Verbal Statements, and Hands-on Experiences on Correcting a Misconception of First-Graders Regarding Magnets(1987) Benbow, Ann E.; Lockard, J. David; Teaching, Learning, Policy & Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)The purpose of this study was to compare the relative effectiveness of five instructional interventions which were designed to correct a size-related science misconception in a group of first graders. The particular misconception chosen for the study is the belief that larger magnets are always of greater strength than smaller magnets. These interventions consisted of: a. a demonstration lesson, b. a hands-on lesson, c. a verbal statements lesson, d. a demonstration-plus-verbal statements lesson, and e. a hands-on-plus-verbal statements lesson. At the beginning of each magnet lesson, students were first exposed to evidence contradicting the size-related magnet misconception. This was followed by the introduction of cognitive conflict via the use of a small weak rectangular magnet and a larger strong rectangular magnet to pick up paper clips. Finally, students interacted with two (apparently) identical rectangular magnets of clearly differing strengths. The second major component of each intervention was the use of iron filings and a magnet to "show" lines of force. The purpose of this last activity was to give the students some information about magnets that would assist them in accommodating the events witnessed in the first part of the intervention. Subjects were tested three days before the treatment, one day after treatment to determine change of knowledge effect, then six weeks after treatment as a check for knowledge retention. Six subjects were randomly chosen from each treatment group to be interviewed using a format based upon Novak's Interview-about-Instances (1984) prior to the instruction, and on two occasions (one day, and six weeks) after the instruction. It was hypothesized that a demonstration treatment would result in the highest frequency of students who received a score of 100% on four misconception-related items on the post-test. It was also hypothesized that the demonstration treatment would result in the greatest retention. Analysis of both test scores and interview data indicates that, although there is strong support for the corrective properties of a demonstration which directly confronts the misconception that a necessary direct relation ship exists between magnetic strength and magnet size, a demonstration alone is not more effective than all of the remaining treatments in achieving change of knowledge or retention. Therefore, there is a lack of support for both research hypotheses. Both treatments containing demonstrations, however, were more effective in achieving correction of the size-related misconception than the treatments consisting of a hands-on treatment alone and verbal statements alone.Item The Effects of Instruction in Sentence Combining and Revision on Ninth and Tenth Graders' Explanatory Writing(1989) Horstman, Franklin; Slater, Wayne H.; Teaching, Learning, Policy & Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)In this study, I examined the effects of instruction in sentence combining on three measures of student writing : 1.) syntactic fluency; 2.) overall writing quality; and 3.) sentence -combining ability. Sentence combining is a method of writing instruction in which students rewrite a series of sentences into one syntactically more complex sentence. Two teachers instructed experimental group one (37 students) in sentence combining applied to revision. The same two teachers also instructed experimental group two (37 students) in sentence combining alone. A third teacher instructed the control students (38 students) in the standard ninth-grade English curriculum. To examine syntactic fluency, I analyzed students' writing for words per T-unit, clauses per T-unit, and words per clause. To examine overall writing quality, two trained raters assessed students' writing using forced choice holistic scoring. I also assessed students' sentence-combining ability. On syntactic fluency, the control group demonstrated statistically significant gains for mean number of words per clause. On overall writing quality, the control group also demonstrated statistically significant gains. On sentence-combining ability, both experimental group one and experimental group two demonstrated statistically significant gains. While the results do not support the first two research questions, on sentence-combining ability, the results suggest that ninth-grade writers can be taught sentence combining in a four-week, intensive instructional unit. Additionally, results suggest links between rhetorical and psychological theories and writing. However, the limitations of the results also suggest further sentence-combining research.Item Learning Newton's Second Law Using a Microcomputer Based Laboratory Curriculum(1995) Morse, Robert Alan; Layman, John W.; Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)This study investigated the effect of theory-based Microcomputer Based Laboratory instruction on high school students' understanding of Newton's second law in a high school physics course taught by the teacher-researcher. The study focused on 1) the effect of the theory-based MBL instructional design on student understanding of Newton's second law, 2) on the changes in conceptual understanding that occurred, and 3) on the effect of student learning beliefs on conceptual change. Data sources included pretest and posttest measures of conceptual understanding, audiotape debriefings of students during a seven day unit, and pretest and posttest measures of students' motivational and self-regulated learning beliefs. The design of the instructional unit was based on prior research and theory. It is important to specify the characteristics as well as the content of the knowledge we would like students to construct. Desirable characteristics of physics knowledge are that it be accurate, extendable, integrated with other knowledge, recognized as knowledge, related to experience and experiment, strategic, and available in multiple representations including verbal, graphical, algebraic, pictorial, and story representations. Proponents argue that appropriately designed Microcomputer Based Laboratory instruction can promote construction of such knowledge. The theory-based instructional unit employed real-time computer graphing of force and motion variables in a novel "iconographic" experiment which enabled students to determine the relationship between force and motion variables by simple recognition. The study found that the nature of students' conceptual change was consistent with the mechanisms postulated for MBL instruction, that the short chain of reasoning in the iconographic force and motion experiment allowed students to readily identify and focus on the goals of the experiment rather than be distracted by a profusion of sub-goals, that this instruction is more effective than some traditional instruction and as effective as some other theory-based instruction in Newton's second law, based on Force Concept Inventory (Hestenes, Wells, & Swackhamer, 1992) and Force and Motion Concept test (Thornton, 1992a) scores. The study failed to achieve the goal of relating motivational, cognitive and performance measures using the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (Pintrich & DeGroot, 1990).Item TEACHERS' PEDACOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE OF RECURSION(1995) Neagoy, Monica M. M.; Fey, James T.; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)"Pedagogical Content Knowledge" (PCK) consists of topic-level knowledge of learners, of learning, and of the most useful forms of representation of ideas, the most powerful analogies, illustrations, examples, explanations, and demonstrations --in a word, the ways of representing and formulating the subject that makes it comprehensible to others" (Shulman, 1986). Recursion is a process that permeates many aspects of the real world-both natural and man-made. In discrete mathernatics, recursion is a powerful idea, a problem solving strategy that enables us to describe or predict future results as a function of past results. The purpose of this study was to explore the nature of high school teachers' PCK of recursion prior to, and as a result of, their participation in a carefully designed summer institute that focused on the important emerging concept of discrete dynamical systems. The study also explored how teachers plan to use this knowledge in teaching recursion. The framework for studying teachers' PCK was one inspired by Shulman's model ( 1987), but modified in its connectedness among components and its dynamics of change. The in-service program that served this study was the 1991 Summer Institute in Mathematics Modeling with Discrete Mathematics, (SIMM) offered at Georgetown University and partially funded by NSF. Forty high school math teachers from Washington metropolitan area schools, who attended the SIMM were the subjects of this research. The instruments that helped assess the nature and growth of teachers' PCK as a result of the SIMM intervention were: A personal data questionnaire, a pretest, and a post-test; follow-up, one-on-one interviews were conducted with a random sample of nine teachers. The test results and interview transcripts were analyzed in terms of teachers' subject matter and pedagogical knowledge (knowledge of teaching and learning) of recursion: For that purpose, this study developed an original model of six categories of knowledge for each domain. Overall, teachers' PCK of recursion, as exhibited by their performance on the totality of the test items, grew as a result of the in-service intervention. The only category in which teachers' knowledge showed no growth was Student Errors.Item THE EFFECTS OF AN EXEMPLARY FOURTH-GRADE TEACHER'S EXPECTATIONS AND A SATISFACTORY FOURTH-GRADE TEACHER'S EXPECTATIONS ON THE READING INSTRUCTION PROVIDED TO HIGHAND LOW-ACHIEVING STUDENTS: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY(1989) McCallum, Peter Littleton; Hebeler, Jean R.; Teaching, Learning, Policy & Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)Item An Exploratory Case Study of the Formal and Informal Discipline Policies Used in Selected Elementary School Classrooms(1999) Taylor-Cox, Jennifer; Andrews, J. Edward; Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)The broad aim of this study was to examine the dynamics of classroom discipline policy through the use of the micropolitical model of interaction. While this study explored classroom di scipline policies utilizing the micropolitical perspective, it was classroom discipline that was the center of interest in this research. The template that framed and guided the exploration of classroom discipline included enactment, conveyance, realization, and evaluation as the particular phases of policy development. A distinctive feature of this study was the focus on the explicit, stated policies and the more subtle but equally important "dominant patterns of practice" in the classroom. This exploratory case study of the formal and informal discipline policies used in selected elementary school classrooms was a qualitative research endeavor. The data sources included in-depth guided interviews and semi-structured classroom observations, supplemented by informal interviews and pertinent printed material. The methods of data analysis involved categorizing, distilling themes, and arraying chains of evidence. The findings of this case study involved the ways in which teachers and students assert power and control; conflicts are manifest; compromises are used; protection is fundamental; and the classroom context affects, hinders, and constructs social order in the classroom. The views, behaviors, and verbal exchanges of the teachers and students concerning discipline were paramount to the analyses of the discipline policies used in the selected elementary school classrooms. The conclusions of this case study were that the micropolitical model of interaction is a productive, yet unrefined conceptual framework for the study of classroom discipline; discipline policies are teacher-centered, noise-related, and community-focused; the dominant mechanisms for teacher-based control are rewards and punishments; the dominant outcome of conflict and assertions of power is the brokering of policies; compromises are used to reduce conflicts and produce student compliance; intentions and realities pose a paradox; and the influence from parents is an important factor.Item Plans, Targets, and Trends in Ethiopian Education(1970) Bjerkan, Ole-Christian; van Zwoll, James A.; Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)The purpose of this study was to trace the progressive recognition of educational needs as expressed in targets and objectives in educational and development plans in Ethiopia from 1944 to 1968, and to discover the relationship between the needs and the actual attainment of the goals and targets. A study was also made of the contribution of the non-government schools to the fulfillment of presentday educational needs. By reviewing the literature pertaining to the development of the educational system in Ethiopia, some of the forces which have and are influencing educational policies and plans were discussed. An analysis of the educational and development p lans revealed clues to the progressive identification of educational needs as expressed in the different plans. After crystallizing the educational needs as expressed in educational objectives and targets, an attempt was made to find to what extent these needs have been fulfilled. The needs in Ethiopia were found to be similar to those in many of the African nations in spite of a different cultural background and political history of the country. The differences in problems were rather in degree than in kind. The educational plans for Ethiopia have, with the exception of the Addis Ababa Plan of 1961, been made without any relation or comparison with other African nations. In most cases the targets and goals of the local plans were surpassed, but when related to educational "desired averages" for the African countries taking part in the Addis Ababa conference, the educational development in Ethiopia proved to be seriously lagging. compared with the "desired averages" of the Addis Ababa Plan, of an age-group population enrollment of 100 per cent for the first level, 23 per cent for the second level and 2 per cent for the third level to be reached within the year 1982, a projected enrollment in keeping with the historical trend for the last ten years in Ethiopia indicates that these targets would not be reached within the target date.Item INTENDED AND INCIDENTAL LEARNING OUTCOMES RESULTING FROM THE USE OF LEARNING OBJECTIVES WITH A SELECTED AUDIOVISUAL PRESENTATION(1978) Main, Robert Gail; Berman, Louise M.; Administration, Supervision, and Curriculum; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)Problem: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the use of learning objectives with an audiovisual presentation on the intended (objective relevant) and incidental (non-objective relevant) learning outcomes. This study was conducted to provide evidence regarding the facilitative effects of using learning objectives as an organizer with a fixed-pace, fixed-format, non-print medium. The investigation was based on one phase of David P. Ausubel's theory of meaningful verbal learning: the advance organizer, Ausubel hypothesized that organizers facilitate learning when presented to students in advance of a learning passage. In this investigation, the organizer consisted of the learning objectives for the students, and the curriculum material was an audiovisual slide-tape presentation. The organizer was presented prior to the presentation, following the presentation, and interspersed within the presentation immediately preceding the objective relevant content. Procedure : An experiment was conducted to determine the effect and interaction of five independent variables with an audiovisual slidetape program: presence of learning objectives, location of learning objectives, type of knowledge, sex of learner, and retention of learning. A factorial design replicated for retention of learning was selected for the analysis. Student learning of intended knowledge and incidental knowledge, as measured by paper and pencil tests, were the dependent variables. A commercially produced educational slide-tape presentation concerning advances in communication technology was used as the stimulus. The participants were 108 college students enrolled in an introductory mass communications course at a California State University. Students in the class were stratified by sex and randomly assigned to four groups. Each experimental group viewed the slide-tape presentation either without learning objectives (control group), with learning objectives grouped at the beginning of the presentation (advance organizers), grouped at the end of the presentation (post organizers), or located throughout the presentation immediately preceding the relevant content (adjunct organizers ). Viewing and listening factors were carefully controlled for each of the four groups. Students completed an immediate posttest measuring intended and incidental knowledge as well as their feelings toward the subject and the manner of presentation. They were tested again two weeks later for intended and incidental knowledge only. The data were subjected to analysis of variance and other selected statistical procedures for testing differences between the experimental groups. Results : Although all three treatment groups had higher intended learning scores, only the performance of the group receiving the learning objectives before the slide-tape presentation achieved significance at the .05 level. The comparison of the immediate and delayed posttest analyses indicated that the relative effects of the experimental treatment did not change over time for the intended learning. No significant differences were found between experimental groups in the learning outcomes of incidental knowledge. No interactions were found between treatment and the grade point average or sex of the student. Significant differences did occur in the participants' evaluation of the slide-tape presentation. While there was no significant difference between the treatment groups and the control group, the group receiving the learning objectives before the presentation gave a significantly higher evaluation rating to the slide-tape program than did the group where the learning objectives were interspersed during the presentation. Conclusions: As a result of this experiment, the author concluded that the use of learning objectives facilitated the learning of objective relevant knowledge from a slide-tape presentation when the learning objectives were presented at the beginning of the program. Learning objectives used in this manner as "advance organizers" do not inhibit the acquisition of incidental (non-objective relevant) information contained in the instructional program. Furthermore, the use of learning objectives with a slide-tape instructional program does not detract from the students' evaluation of the program. Recommendation : Learning objectives can be developed by instructors for the audiovisual materials they use. The insertion of the learning objectives prior to the presentation of the audiovisual program can be accomplished rather easily. If the primary concern of the user of audiovisual materials is to increase intended learning, the insertion of learning objectives prior to the presentation is recommended.Item History of Public Education in Baltimore from 1860-1890(1943) Krausse, Harry W.; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)Several studies of public education have been made in Maryland and Baltimore; among them being "History of Education in Maryland," "Secondary Education in Maryland before 1800," "Public Educational Work in Baltimore," "Baltimore, 1870 to 1900: Studies in Social History." However, there is no detailed account of the development of the Baltimore City school system covering the period of the Civil War and the years following this war. During this time significant educational hlstory was made as events of great educational importance took place, which events were to affect the future of the Baltimore public schools as well as the future of children attending these schools.