Session Numbers: 15.1, 15.2, 15.3, 15.4, 16.1, 16.2, 17.1, 17.2, 173, 17.4, 17.5, 18.1, 18.2, 18.3, 18.4, 18.5
 

Session 15.1

8:00 A.M. – 8:50 A.M.           MATH EDUCATION ........................................................................................ Gardenview A

 

Presider:                                  Dana Thames, University of Southern Mississippi

 

Lost in Problem Solving: A Case Study of a Child's Difficulties in Solving Word Problems and Measures Found to be Effective in Addressing Them

 

Ji-Eun Lee, Auburn University, Montgomery

                         This case study explored a third grader’s difficulties solving word problems and pedagogical measures taken to address them.  The child’s performance in computation was excellent in terms of accuracy and speed.  However, he had a hard time in solving multi-step word problems that required more systemic analysis.  He could produce some partial results but frequently “got lost” as to why these results were needed and how these partial results were related to the entire problem.  His biggest difficulties came from an inability to comprehend and interpret the problem and a failure to form an outline plan of solving the problem.  As a result, he frequently had trouble in rephrasing the context of the problem and lost sequence in the solution steps.  These difficulties caused him to use several non-systemic problem solving strategies as follows: (1) focused on the given numerical data as a guide and gave little or no attention to the context of the problem, (2) combined the numerical data in the problem using randomly selected operations and could not justify his choice of operation, and (3) tried to make all possible answers using the given numerical data.  To help this child, the author tried several approaches.  Used was a translation strategy.  That was effective to check if the child’s solution steps were correctly matched with the given problem.  Second, the author substituted the numerical data in the problem with letters or single digit numbers in order to check if he had comprehended the whole structure of the problem.  He worked comparatively well with letters and single digit numbers.  Especially, when letter data was used, he focused more on the context of the problem rather than the final answer.  In other words, by eliminating the pressure of “speedy calculation,” his ability to recognize the problem was significantly improved. 

Teaching a Unit on Graphing Linear Functions and Equations Using Graphing Calculators

 

Keisha L. Burney, Marilyn Larmon, Renee Falconer, and Dana Thames,

University of Southern Mississippi

                         The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand graphing calculator usage among the mathematics teachers in a secondary school in Georgia and to explore the achievement and attitudes of students who used graphing calculators for instruction during a unit on graphing equations and functions. The central question explored was, “How do teachers at a secondary school in Georgia use graphing calculators in their mathematics classes, and what are the attitudes and achievements of the students using them?” Subquestions that developed were: (1) How many teachers are using graphing calculators in their classrooms? (2) What is each teacher's calculator policy? (3) In which courses do teachers recommend students use graphing calculators? and (4) How do students who use graphing calculators for instruction perform compared to students who do not use graphing calculators on five specific objectives? The participants were nine mathematics teachers and 24 Algebra I students in a Georgia high school. Data were collected through the administration of surveys, questionnaires, pre- and posttests, and interviews. The researcher used simple descriptive statistics to discuss the analyses of data. The pre- and posttests were administered to a graphing and a non-graphing calculator group. At the end of the unit of instruction, the graphing calculator group scored higher and had more positive attitudes about the unit than did the non-graphing calculator group.

Mathematics Self Efficacy and College Level Mathematics Performance

 

J. Jones and Diane W. Blansett, Delta State University

                         While some research has investigated mathematics anxiety as a predictive factor for mathematics performance, far less attention has been directed toward the more inclusive construct of mathematics self efficacy.  Self efficacy was defined as a person's beliefs about their ability to produce behaviors that will influence outcomes in their life.  Bandura (1994) has argued that self-efficacy beliefs achieve their effects through affective, motivational, and cognitive processes.  Mathematics anxiety may be an affective process, but it bears only an indirect relationship to motivational and cognitive processes.  The present research studied how all three of these processes impact college-level mathematics performance.  One hundred undergraduates at a regional university in the southeast earned extra credit for allowing access to their academic records and for completing surveys on mathematics anxiety, mathematics motivation, and mathematics self-efficacy beliefs.  Grades in their required college mathematics course and ACT-Mathematics score served as performance variables.  As expected, all three survey results were significantly (p < .05) intercorrelated (r's ranging from .42 to .84).  Grades in the required college mathematics course were more strongly associated with self efficacy (r=.56; p < .01) and motivation (r=.50; p < .01) than they were with anxiety measures (r=.23; p < .05).  Using the three survey results as independent variables in a fixed model regression to predict mathematics grades was successful (R=.56; F[3,71]=10.90; p < .01).  Only the self-efficacy score made a significant (p < .01) contribution to regression. Regression results for ACT-Mathematics were mixed.  If these results are replicated, they appear to indicate that self-efficacy is a better predictor of college-level mathematics performance than are the more traditional measures of anxiety or motivation.

Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Ability to Identify Computational and Conceptual

Errors in a Division Story Problem

 

Rebecca R. Robichaux, Southeastern Louisiana University, and J. Guarino, Auburn University

                         Research indicates that many preservice teachers have difficulty performing division word problems (Ball, 1990; Stacey, Helme, Steinle, Baturo, Irwin, & Bana, 2001; Tirosh & Graeber,1990; Thomas, 2000). These studies suggest that because preservice teachers lack the conceptual understanding, they are then unable to perform the correct calculations. This study investigated preservice teachers’ ability to accurately identify and correct common conceptual and calculation errors in simulated written student solutions to division story problems. Two hundred fifteen preservice teachers enrolled in an elementary mathematics methods course were participants. These participants were randomly assigned to one of four simulated solutions and were instructed to identify and correct all mistakes in the solution. In analyzing the responses, the investigators determined the percent of Type I errors (identifying correct responses as incorrect) and Type II errors (failing to identify incorrect responses). They also determined the percentage of each Type II conceptual error and each Type II computational error. Results indicated that:  (1) the group given the computationally incorrect solution made more Type I errors than those given a completely correct solution; (2) the group given the computationally and conceptually incorrect solutions made more Type II conceptual errors than the group assessing the conceptually incorrect simulated solutions; and (3) the groups given the computationally and conceptually incorrect solution and the computationally only incorrect solution were more likely to commit Type II calculation errors involving basic facts, regrouping, and remainders. Results of this study indicated that preservice teachers have difficulty identifying errors made in solutions to division problems. The majority was unable to identify conceptual mistakes or mistakes involving place value, regrouping, or remainders.  Particularly bothersome are the proportions of Type I errors made that indicate that many of these teachers were not able to recognize the correct solution.

Session 15.2

8:00 A.M. – 9:50 A.M.           EFFECTIVENESS OF ACADEMIC INTERVENTIONS IMPLEMENTED IN A

                                                   BRIEF SUMMER ACADEMIC CLINIC (Symposium)  ............................... Gardenview B

                                                                                          

Organizer:                               Carlen Henington, Mississippi State University

 

Overview

                         The purpose of this symposium was to present a series of brief case studies of academic interventions in mathematics, reading, and writing with elementary school-age children.  The interventions were conducted for children identified with delays in one or more of these subject areas using time-series analyses and curriculum-based assessment. 

The Effects of Changes in Mathematics Achievement on Students’ Attitude about Mathematics

Michael Mong, Mississippi State University

                         Tocci and Engelhard (1991) concluded that students who obtained higher scores on mathematics achievement tests tended to have more favorable perceptions of mathematics.  Conversely, another study by Quinn and Jaday (1987) demonstrated no causal relationship between student attitude and mathematics achievement.  The present study examined the relationship between student attitudes about mathematics and their mathematics achievement before and following several empirically validated interventions.  The participants included three to six elementary school-age children from a summer academic clinic.  This study employed a between series, multiple baseline across participants.  Data were visually analyzed for trend, level, and variability.

A Comparison of the Effectiveness and Acceptability of Three Math Interventions

Amy Bodkin, Mississippi State University

                         Given the popularity of Cover, Copy, and Compare; Explicit Timing; and Power Testing as common instructional and intervention techniques in mathematics education, it is interesting that few comparative studies have been reported in the literature. This study compared the effectiveness of these three interventions with children in grades two through five enrolled in a summer academic skills clinic. Researchers utilized a multiple-baseline, crossover design to examine interventions for math skills (addition and subtraction, no regrouping and regrouping) as appropriate for individual children. Data were analyzed visually for trend, level, and variability.  Acceptability data were also presented. 

The Effectiveness of Self-Monitoring and Goal Setting on Mathematics Skill

Masanori Ota, Mississippi State University

                         Although a plethora of studies have shown self-monitoring to be effective in improving academic performance across a variety of subjects, a combination of self-monitoring and goal setting may promote further academic gains. In this study, a comparison of the effects of self-monitoring, goal setting, and a combination of those techniques on mathematics performance was made using a multiple baseline, changing criterion design.  Participants included three students enrolled in a five-week summer academic clinic. The effects for on-task behavior were examined. Future research on the use of self-monitoring and goal setting in academic interventions is proposed.

Using Self-Monitoring to Enhance Written Expression Fluency and Quality in Elementary Students

Laura Kuhn, Mississippi State University

                         Few empirical studies exist that examine the effectiveness of writing interventions.  The current study used a multiple-baseline design to examine the effectiveness of Monitoring Comprehension (a self-management procedure using revisions).  Participants included second- to fifth-grade elementary students enrolled in a four-week summer academic clinic.  The students completed three-minute written expression probes daily using a problem detection rate (number of problems found and revised) following one of the two interventions.  Generalization probes were used to assess progress in written expression using T units (subject/verb measurement) and number of words written in each T unit (syntactic maturity).  

An Analysis of Monitoring Comprehension on Written Expression

Christie Jones, Mississippi State University

 

                   Few empirical studies exist that examine the effectiveness of writing interventions.  The current study used a multiple-baseline design to examine the effectiveness of Monitoring Comprehension (a self management procedure using revisions).  Participants included second- to fifth-grade elementary students enrolled in a four-week summer academic clinic.  The students completed three-minute written expression probes daily using a problem detection rate (number of problems found and revised) following one of the two interventions.  Generalization probes were used to assess progress in written expression using T units (subject/verb measurement) and number of words written in each T unit (syntactic maturity).

 

 

A Comparison of Assisted Reading and Repeated Readings on Fluency and Comprehension

Stacy Smith, Mississippi State University

                         Learning to read is arguably the most important aspect of a child’s education. It is little wonder that reading interventions are considered a critical component for special education services.  This study used a multiple baseline, crossover design to examine two interventions (assisted reading and repeated readings) with three groups of children in grades two through five referred to a five-week summer academic clinic.  The interventions were administered individually using reading materials from their grade level.  Generalization probes were also administered to track reading comprehension.  A questionnaire was used to evaluate children’s preference for the two interventions.

Session 15.3

8:00 A.M. – 8:50 A.M.           EARLY EDUCATION ....................................................................................... Gardenview D

 

Presider:                                  Gahan Bailey, University of South Alabama

 

A Comparison of First-Grade Academic Achievement and Student Attitudes toward Learning Using

the Direct Instruction Approach and the Student Teams Achievement Divisions Approach

 

Stacey J. Dickson, Daphne (AL) Elementary School, and Gahan Bailey, University of South Alabama

                         Over the past two decades, education has seen an increase in the use of cooperative learning strategies. Research on this topic has indicated that when given the opportunity, students can learn from one another in a variety of ways. New research findings suggest that using cooperative groups effectively can increase both academic understanding and positive attitudes toward learning. The purpose of this study was to determine if the use of the Student Teams Achievement Divisions (STAD) cooperative learning approach would positively affect academic achievement and student attitudes toward learning over the Direct Instruction (DI) approach. The subjects of this study consisted of 18 mixed ability first-graders at a suburban elementary school in the south. Four assessment instruments were used: (1) Direct Instruction Attitude Thermometer (DIA-T), (2) STAD Instruction Attitude Thermometer (SIA-T), (3) Direct Instruction Assessment (DIA), and (4) STAD Instruction Assessment (SIA). Additionally, individual quiz scores were recorded and analyzed to determine levels of mastery, and teacher observations were noted in the form of anecdotal records. Data from the DIA-T and the SIA-T of each subject were analyzed to determine if positive or negative changes in attitude occurred over the research period. The DIA and the SIA data were analyzed to determine the subjects’ attitudes concerning working alone, working with others, and other attributes of DI and STAD. The data revealed that there was an increase in mastery learning after the first STAD implementation. In the subsequent STAD and DI lessons, students consistently reached mastery. Analysis of the DIA-T and the SIA-T revealed positive attitudes toward both approaches throughout all research periods with a more positive trend in the direction of STAD. The anecdotal records revealed an increase in students ‘ enthusiasm for learning, an increase in self-directed learning, and an increase in positive classroom management skills.

The Measurement of the Effect of Error-based Grammar Instruction in Elementary Language Arts

 

Shoudong Feng and Kathy Powers, Conway (AR) Public Schools

                         More and more researchers and educators seem to be in favor of teaching grammar in the context of reading and writing (Cox, 1999; Cramer, 2004; Patterson, 2001; Weaver, McNally & Moerman, 2001; Tompkins, 2002). What seems to be missing in the debate, however, is the evidence that this kind of instruction is in fact effective. The current research, which is a collaborative effort of a public school teacher and college faculty, was intended to measure the result of this kind of instruction. It was comprised of three phases, i.e., analysis of grammar errors in student writing, mini-lessons that target those errors, and reanalysis of errors in follow-up writing. Conclusions were drawn on the effect of this method of instruction. The participants were a group of fifth graders in an elementary school. The data of this study were student writing samples collected at three different times in the school year. The first batch of samples was collected at the beginning of the school year. Grammar errors were identified and categorized. Mini-lessons followed to correct them. One week after the mini-lessons were completed, the second batch of samples was collected to assess the immediate effect. At the end of the school year, a third batch of samples was analyzed to determine the long-term effect. The study found that in areas such as apostrophe, subject-verb agreement, pronouns, and prepositions, students seemed to have improved. In some mechanical skills, such as punctuation and spelling, there was no improvement. It seems that error-based instruction is effective only in short-term measurement. The authors recommended a model that begins with analyzing student writing, teaching mini-lessons to correct errors and then reanalyzing writing to measure progress.  For long-term effect, the model should cycle by identifying new errors for new instruction.

The Effect of Computers on Peer Learning and Peer Interactions: A Case Study of Preschool Students

 

Srilata Bhattacharyya, New York Institute of Technology, New York

                         The purpose of this research was to determine if peer learning occurs during computer activities by preschool children. Peer learning has been investigated as a function of self-regulation of learning from the social cognitive point of view. Researchers have indicated that peer dialogue helps students to clarify problems and gain insight that may not be possible on one’s own. In this study, preschool children working on individual computers in the classroom were investigated to find out the type of peer interactions and peer learning that occur during these interactions. Seven kindergarten students in a preschool affiliated to a large urban university in the midsouth United States were investigated. Using the triangulation approach, this qualitative study used three different methods of student observation, and interviews of the student and the teacher, which were taped and then transcribed for analysis. Themes that emerged were that the students do help their peers at the computer center; however, students are not always aware that they are helping their peers, and they are rarely aware that they receive help from their peers. Peer interactions are dependent upon who is seated next to that student. The researcher concluded that, when used properly, the classroom computer center is an excellent vehicle for peer interaction and peer learning among students. This is a unique form of peer interaction where computers give students something in common to talk about, while at the same time keeping them focused on their schoolwork, which results in peer learning. The findings of this study imply that in addition to enhancing the use of technology in the classroom, computers can be used to foster peer interaction and create new friendships.

Attitudes of Preservice Teachers Toward Character Education

 

Linda H. Thornton and Amanda White, Harding University

                         This study was a replication of a study of education students toward character education conducted at Arkansas State University and was presented at MSERA in 2003 by Irina Khramtsova.   In this replication, attitudes of 53 student teachers at Harding University, a private church-affiliated university in central Arkansas, were explored, along with their beliefs about the role of teachers as moral examples.  The same survey instrument was used to examine the extent to which these college students agreed that traits identified as virtues by Seligman and Peterson in their positive psychology studies should be taught in schools and possessed by teachers.  Results were surprisingly similar to Khramtsova’s 2003 findings.  They indicated a consistent agreement about the importance of all examined character strengths.  Participants rated all strengths as at least somewhat important as characteristics that should be possessed by teachers and taught to students.  The similarity of results from a state university to those from a private, Christian university support Seligman and Peterson’s idea of consensus about character principles that transcends religious differences.

Session 15.4

8:00 A.M. – 9:50 A.M.           GETTING YOUR FIRST ACADEMIC JOB (Symposium)  ........................ Gardenview E

 

Organizer:                               Gail H. Weems, University of Arkansas, Little Rock

 

The Application

Gail H. Weems, University of Arkansas, Little Rock

 

The Interview

Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie, University of South Florida

 

The Offer

Larry Daniel, University of North Florida

                         Securing a first job in academia can be a daunting task.  Therefore, the purpose of this training session was to serve as a mentoring session by offering basic advice to graduate students who are undertaking this mission.  Advice was offered for the application, the interview, and the offer.  Areas for each topic are as follows.  The Application:  (1) have a member of the faculty unfamiliar your work review your credentials, (2) request a mock interview with your department, (3) prepare a teaching portfolio, and (4) have copies of publications available.  The Interview:  (1) review university catalogs, (2) request a copy of the interview itinerary, (3) anticipate questions from interviewers, (4) prepare questions for interviewers, (5) anticipate interviews with the vice president of academic affairs, the department chair, and department faculty, (6) anticipate a teaching and/or research presentation, (7) request interviews with the director of Human Affairs to discuss benefits, and (8) clarify who is covering travel expenses.  The Offer:  (1) prepare a list of items that you may need to negotiate such as: salary, graduate assistants, travel money, reduced teaching load for the first year, seed money for grants, computer needs, and moving expenses, and (2) do not accept an offer over the phone – request it in writing.  The training session was presented as a panel discussion with each member sharing 10-12 minutes on one of the above areas.  The remainder of the two-hour session was reserved for participant questions.

Session 16.1

9:00 A.M. – 9:50 A.M.           OUTSTANDING PAPERS .............................................................................. Gardenview A

 

Presider:                                  Jane Nell Luster, National Center for Special Education Accountability Monitoring

 

 

Session 16.2

9:00 A.M. – 9:50 A.M.           EDUCATION REFORM ................................................................................... Gardenview D

 

Presider:                                  Joyce C. Nichols, University of West Florida

 

A Challenge to Awareness

 

Karen L. McDonald-Currence, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

                         This position paper challenged public awareness toward educational reform that moves away from federal mandates to true intrinsic valuing and student-centered learning.  The shift should be through Multicultural Education, Educational Agency, Cultural Wealth, Critical Awareness, and Aesthetic Literacy.

                         Multicultural Education seeks to educate students intellectually through developing cultural sensitivity.  Education should reduce tensions and subjugation.  This points to the need for effective leadership in the schools and new educational strategies in pedagogy programs and in classrooms. Educational reforms take place through restructuring professional development and preservice programs.  In turn, social justice issues and intrinsic motivation emerge through the pedagogical reforms.  Educational Agency is the mode of transmitting power through knowledge, skills, habits, values, or attitudes.   Cultural Wealth expands the notion of educational agency.  Society is a process of transmission with the school as the major social focus for many students.  America’s students arrive at school with many unmet social needs that today’s schools are expected to meet. The passage of PL 94-142 [Education for All Handicapped Children Act] and PL 99-457 [Individuals with Disabilities Education Act] brought into existence a unique learning format, the Inclusive Classroom.  This creates a state of hegemony when the dynamic of class size and ratio of abilities are not balanced.  Critical Awareness leads to judgements or the formation of opinion, estimates, or conclusions, a far cry from memorization and regurgitation.  It shifts educational strategies toward higher levels of cognitive functioning.  Cognitive accountability plays into the notion of self-correction and intellectual empowerment.  Aesthetic literacy builds onto the development of critical thinkers.  It focuses on the following types of activities: participatory encounters, reflection, personal desires, embracing harmonies, questioning, making meaning, constructing and reconstructing realities, and communication.  Education should affirm the richness of our cultural heritage and build toward tomorrow.

Gender Generalization: Female Integration into Industrial Technology and Factors Contributing to Their

Recruitment and Retention

 

W. C. Johnson and Jessica L. Buck, Mississippi State University

                         The purpose of this study was to analyze efforts by the two NAIT (National Association of Industrial Technology) accredited Industrial Technology programs toward recruitment and retention of females.  The researchers wanted to determine whether the learning environment promoted male/female equity, and whether gender generalizations existed within programs. Also, this study analyzed the efforts made to convey the opportunities (e.g. careers, salaries, advanced study, and professional appointments) in Industrial Technology regardless of gender.   What practices are used to recruit and retain females in IT?  What influences help to integrate females into IT?  What barriers females perceive they encounter while studying IT?  What recommendations can the faculty and students make for integration of female students in IT?  The population included 45 female undergraduates and 12 faculty members from Alcorn State University, and 80 female undergraduates and nine faculty members from Jackson State University.  The faculty questionnaire had sections:  Section A, Recruitment; Section B, Retention; and Section C, Suggestions and Recommendations. The student questionnaire had six sections:  Section A, Knowledge of Industrial Technology and Influences; Section B, Career and Salary Opportunities; Section C, Perceptions of Barriers; Section D, Recruitment and Retention; Section E, Demographics; and Section F, Suggestions and Recommendations. Descriptive statistics and cross tabulation (test of chi-square) were used in data analysis. IT professionals can create more gender friendly environments. The role of other school professionals can be more clearly defined. Articulating ideas is very important to female integration into IT. IT departments must be more sensitive to this segment of the potential workforce.

How the 50 States are Meeting the “Highly Qualified Teacher” Requirement of NCLB

 

Jean L. Pinney, University of New Orleans

                         As part of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act the federal government has added the requirement that all schools receiving Title I funds must have “highly qualified teachers” in every classroom. The term “highly qualified teacher” comes from the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. What exactly is a “highly qualified” teacher? This part of the law is widely debated throughout the 50 states, but most agree that a teacher’s subject-matter knowledge and experience result in increased student achievement (Ansell & McCase, 2003). Some states have made progress in meeting the “highly qualified” requirement of NCLB. However, most states have merely set up the criteria for determining if a teacher is highly qualified (Keller, 2003). The Education Trust has called for clarification from the Department of Education on the guidelines for the teacher quality provision of the law. Ten states have put into law all the requirements of the federal law, 22 have done some work toward that goal, and 18 states still have a long way to go (Keller). With so many states still grappling with compliance to the law, this study may well give policy makers in those states options that are being used in other states to consider. In addition, the study focused on middle school and the possible impact these requirements will have on staffing of middle schools. Policy makers would do well to look at this aspect closely since middle school is often where education “loses” the students. Also, the middle school is where the greatest number of non-certified teachers are working and where the greatest percentage (44%) of teachers are teaching without even a minor in the subject they teach (Ingersoll, 2002).

The Influence of Demographic Factors in Accountability Effect Sizes for Student Versus School Levels

 

Stephen K. Miller, Beverly D. Moore, and Joseph M. Petrosko, University of Louisville

                         Central to the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) is a high-stakes, value-added accountability system. The primary premise is that pressure will motivate educators to higher levels of productivity.  Schools failing to make adequate progress are presumed to need better leadership, better teaching, or better effort.  But what if demographic factors impede adequate progress?  In Kentucky, schools are the unit of accountability.  Accordingly, the differential effect of socio-demographic factors on student-level versus school-level outcomes must be known if policy-makers are to make rational decisions regarding whether accountability systems are fair and equitable.  Theoretically, it is to be expected that school-level effects will be more pronounced than student-level results.  Wilson (1987) notes that concentration produces deleterious effects when the same factor spread evenly throughout a population has minimal impact.  This paper compared the influences of seven socio-demographic factors for student-level versus composite school-level effects. The study was a secondary analysis by forward multiple regression using SPSS 11.5 of state and district data for 2002 for all the students and schools in a large urban district.   The achievement measurements were the reading and mathematics tests of the KCCT and the CTBS/5 Survey Edition. The demographic variables at the individual level were gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, mobility, family structure, giftedness, and disability.  At the school-level demographic variables were parallel representing the percentages of students in each category. Elementary, and middle and high schools were analyzed independently.  The effects at the aggregate school level (56 to .91) were much greater than at the student level (.15 to .36). The effects were greater at middle and high school than at elementary. With the influence of socio-demographic factors accounting for up to 91% of school-to-school differences, it is not likely that current performance gaps are likely to be closed quickly under current conditions.

Session 17.1

10:00 A.M. – 10:50 A.M.      EDUCATION REFORM ................................................................................... Gardenview A

 

Presider:                                  C. W. Franklin, University of Alabama, Birmingham

 

The Effects of Demographic Factors on Student Performance Assessment: Variation

by Subject Content and Type of Test

 

Beverly D. Moore and Stephen K. Miller, University of Louisville

  

                       The Kentucky assessment system includes testing of students with the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS, norm-referenced test) and various Kentucky Core Content Tests (KCCT, criterion-referenced tests).  Although there have been demonstrable improvements in student achievement, the persistence of achievement gaps raises questions about the effects of demographic factors on those tests.  The correlation of background with achievement is extensively documented, including poverty, ethnicity, gender, family structure, student mobility, home atmosphere, and language experiences. Recent Kentucky results indicate that poverty has a substantial negative effect on students’ test scores.  Black students score lower than other students.  Gender has a significant effect, and mobility and disability are frequently negatively correlated with achievement. This study was a secondary analysis of Department of Education (KDE) and district data by forward multiple regression using SPSS 11.5.   The achievement measurements were the reading and mathematics tests of the KCCT and the CTBS/5 Survey Edition. The demographic variables were gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, mobility, family structure, giftedness, and disability.  Subjects were all third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade elementary students from a large urban district.  Socioeconomic status was a major influence on both the KCCT and the CTBS. However, black was only a substantial influence on the CTBS tests.  Female had a minor positive influence only on the KCCT Reading test. Giftedness was a stronger influence on the KCCT tests than on the CTBS tests.  ECE was a stronger influence on the CTBS than on the KCCT.  The differential effects on KCCT than on CTBS test scores could be crucial to decision making on the choice and use of different kinds of tests, as well as on instructional issues.  These findings challenge the equity of using a test on which race and gender have a significant impact.

 

 

Relationships Among Economic Contexts and Interpretations of Moral Education

 

Thomas A. Lucey, University of Memphis

                         This society pursues economic-based social reasoning. According to Bobbitt (2002), security, welfare, and multiculturalism issues contribute to development of a market-state societal identity-basis that relies largely on financial exchange among cultural groups and on global business relationships. This new framework involves costs. Ruiz & Mínguez (2001) observed that such environments prompt immoralities such as “poverty, inequality, and exclusion” (p. 159), exasperating economic dependencies and poverty of south hemispheric populations. If education is to address these economic-based decision processes, it must develop understandings of how children develop conceptualizations of both social convention and morality and understand how economic influences relate to this development. Financial education represents an emerging area of research providing opportunity for exploring this issue. As commonly interpreted, financial education involves four areas (income, money management, spending and credit, and savings and investments). To affect a sound moral education process that addresses patterns of economic bias, a holistic financial education process should not only teach acquisition and management of resources, but respect for others who either own different amounts and/or manage their resources differently. The author began by providing an overview of research and theory related to social cognition and its economic influences and provided literature to argue these patterns occur in education systems and impair academic freedom through standardization efforts. He then presented findings of a recent survey involving nearly 180 educators in grades K-4 from three mid-southern school districts (1 urban, and 2 rural). The survey measured educators’ agreement with a proposed character education component to financial education for grades K-4. Regression analysis found, in the presence of other variables, no relationship between income and interpretations of the character education items. The survey findings appear to challenge patterns found in literature. The author invited attendees to share their ideas about reasons for these differences.

The 95% Solution: Endangering Educational Reform in Mississippi

 

Lauren R. Wells, University of West Alabama, and Jack Blendinger, Mississippi State University

                         Over two decades ago, Governor William F. Winter envisioned public education as the key to moving Mississippi to a better future: a future away from systemic poverty. From the beginning of his tenure as governor, Winter's major goal was to improve K-12 education through a three-fold educational reform strategy: state-funded kindergartens, compulsory school attendance, and appointment of interested citizens to a state board of education. In 1982, Winter's landmark educational legislation was passed by the state legislature. From 1982 to 2004, educational reform in Mississippi made steady, but albeit slow, progress. Unfortunately, the state's current governor and 2004 legislature did not keep pace. Educational reform in Mississippi took no steps forward and at least one step back. Using artifact and document analysis as data sources, this paper focused on the recent action of the governor and legislature, which endangered reform by not funding education. Neither the governor not the legislature identified education as a budget priority. Attempts to fund education were slapped together and did not gain approval. In an ill-conceived attempt to do something about the problem, Mississippi's governor encouraged the legislature to pass a state budget funding education at 95 percent of the level for the 2003-04 school year. As a result of the reduction in funding, thousands of Mississippi teachers were informed they would not have jobs for the coming school year. This paper explored the impact that a funding strategy such as the “95% solution” has on educational reform in Mississippi.

The Influence of Teachers' Instructional Strategies on Student Self-Efficacy for Seventh-Grade Science

Accountability in Kentucky: Individual and School Level Results

 

Stephen Miller, University of Louisville; Larry S. Ennis, Lindsey Wilson College;

and D. Clayton Smith, Western Kentucky University

                         Student self-efficacy (SSE) has a strong effect on achievement (Brookover et al., 1978) but instructional antecedents are seldom examined. Other issues included the impact of high stakes assessment, subject studied, age, specific operational definition, and level of measurement. These issues came together here: under Kentucky’s accountability model, to what extent do students’ perceptions of teachers’ instructional strategies influence student self-efficacy:  (1) self-concept of science ability, and (2) effort in science, measured for the student and composite school levels? Brookover and Erickson (1975) and Bandura (1978) provide a theoretical framework for understanding how the norms, beliefs, values, and attitudes of different role groups influence students’ own agency, internalized as self-efficacy, that mediates various student outcomes. Measures of SSE represent proxies for how students mediate these forces. This is a secondary analysis of seventh-grade data from the Kentucky Department of Education (N  8776; 22,000). The independent variables are students’ perceptions of seven different teachers’ instructional strategies (IS) collected with the KIRIS science assessment:  (1) texts and worksheets, (2) small groups, (3) computer, (4) ordinary objects from everyday life, (5) math science demonstration, (6) hands-on activity, and (7) do science experiment. The seven strategies were combined into three factors: traditional, computer, and action. Dependent variables were two self-efficacy constructs:  student self-concept of science ability and student effort. Multiple regressions were performed for two levels of analysis:  individual students, and composite school aggregates. At the student level, all three factors were significant for both SSE constructs, but the effects were very small. In contrast, both regressions for the composite school level produced higher effect sizes, but computer was not significant. These results represented new information about self-efficacy. The contrast in explanatory power in the two levels was discussed in terms of Wilson’s (1987) concentration effects and the narrow, test-focused definition of SSE.

Session 17.2

10:00 A.M. – 10:50 A.M.      PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT .............................................................. Gardenview B

 

Presider:                                  David Hall, University of South Alabama

 

Do Educators Use Healthy Computing Practices?

 

Dorothy P. Bethea, Winston-Salem State University

 

                         Computers are viewed as an essential tool in education. Schools have incorporated technology by outfitting classrooms with the latest technological equipment, computer labs, laptops, and personal data assistance devices for both students and teachers. In education, the primary emphasis of computer use has been on teaching and student learning. However, the medical community and researchers have identified some adverse health concerns such as muscle discomfort and eyestrain, attributed in part to using various pieces of equipment like computers repeatedly. The literature indicates that students show increased incidence of computer-related muscle discomfort, but these problems are often preventable with the use of good ergonomics and appropriate body mechanics. With emphasis on learning environments and its impact on performance, this study focused on identifying educators’ level of awareness and knowledge about safe “healthy” computing practices, and determines to what extent they apply these practices with students and other users. Using a questionnaire, a descriptive research study was conducted with 40 educators at four universities in higher education. Descriptive statistical analysis was employed to detail the frequency and means of questionnaire items. The results showed that educators in this study were knowledgeable about some physical symptoms associated with computer use. On a personal basis they apply healthy computing strategies frequently, but share information about health risks or implement during class instructions minimally. Using Pearson correlations, the results indicated statistical significance for the amount of information educators received on appropriate set-up of computers and actual use of healthy computing practices at the 0.01 level. Conclusions indicated that teachers may need more information on the physical impact of computers and that “healthy computing strategies” should become a part of computer professional training.

 

 

The Benefits of an Online Environment in Promoting Learner-Centered

Professional Development for Teachers

 

Eamonn Walsh, Jr., University of Montevallo, and Lisa Beckham, Shelby County (TN) Schools

                         The online course, “Professional Development for Alabama Teachers,” utilizes contemporary staff development practices to train P-12 teachers to identify and implement the appropriate, data-driven staff development steps necessary to impact their own teaching and their students’ learning. In contrast to the “one shot, hit or miss” training most often associated with teacher professional development, the online environment used in this course was intended to remove participants from the traditional workshop or staff development settings and place them in an extended, content-rich, online learning community with opportunities to read and discuss current research, communicate with peers from within and outside of their own school systems, consult with staff development experts, and implement and report site-based action research. Within the context of staff development for practicing teachers, the implications and benefits of utilizing an online environment were discussed.

Does Technology Training Influence Teaching Practices in the Classroom?

 

April Di Benedetto, University of Southern Mississippi

                         This paper was an overview of a doctoral dissertation defended in the summer of 2004. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether a state-supported Integrate Technology (In-Tech) training influenced teachers to use student-centered learning practices in their classrooms. Two hundred In-Tech  trained elementary teachers and 200 elementary teachers who were not trained were invited to participate in the study. Results of the MANOVA between the two groups were statistically significant with regard to: student-centered learning, use of a variety of technology skills, teaching pedagogy, and attitudes toward technology use in the classroom. The follow-up univariate tests produced interesting results in that student-centered learning and use of technology were not statistically significant while teaching pedagogy and attitudes toward technology were statistically significant. The results suggested that In-Tech trained teachers believed student-centered learning was most appropriate for technology integration, but the application of student-centered learning was not evidenced in their teaching practices. The paper and presentation included an overview of related literature, the research design of the study, the results, and implications for the field.

An Evaluation of Peer Coaching in Terms of Teacher Retention and Teacher Collaboration

 

Therese Reddekopp, Northgate High School

                         The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of peer coaching on teacher retention and perceived teacher collaboration.  Questions considered in this study included:  (1) Do teachers who participate in the peer coaching program as peer coaches have a higher teacher retention rate than teachers who do not participate in the program? and (2) Do teachers perceive that they experience a higher level of teacher collaboration because they participate in the peer coaching program?  The peer coaching retention rate in the high school was measured through chi-square and compared to the non-peer coaching retention rate.  In addition, a survey was prepared in order to measure perceptions of teacher collaboration in relation to peer coaching.  This survey was given to all teachers in the suburban high school who participated in the peer coaching program.  Therefore, qualitative and quantitative data were used for this study.  Among the findings were: (1) teachers who participated in the peer coaching program as peer coaches had a higher teacher retention rate than teachers who did not participate in the program, as indicated through chi-square calculations; and (2) teachers perceived that they experienced a higher level of teacher collaboration because they participated in the peer coaching program, as indicated through Likert-scale responses.  In addition, responses to the open-ended questions in the study were supportive of the chi-square and Likert-scale results.

 

Session 17.3

10:00 A.M. – 10:50 A.M.      SCIENCE EDUCATION ................................................................................... Gardenview C

 

Presider:                                  Gahan Bailey, University of South Alabama

 

Preliminary Evaluation of the AMSTI Summer Training Institute

 

Scott W. Snyder, University of Alabama, Birmingham; Philip Feldman, University of South Alabama;

and Steve Ricks, Alabama Department of Education

                         This presentation provided an overview of the Alabama Math and Science Teaching Initiative (AMSTI) funded through the Department of Education and summarized preliminary results of the first summer institute conducted in June 2004. Approximately 150 math and science teachers and administrators from two large school districts in south Alabama participated in the institute. This AMSTI summer institute was designed to provide intensive and high quality professional development in inquiry-focused math and science instruction for teachers and administrators in grades K-8. Participating teachers received two weeks of grade-specific training in the subject matter and pedagogy. Teachers who complete the institute will have access to AMSTI instructional materials (module-based) to support math and science instruction in their classrooms.  Teachers data collection included pretest/posttest subject matter knowledge (tied to the content of the workshop, not-to-deep subject matter understanding), descriptions of current practices and attitudes of participating teachers, and an evaluation of the workshop and its anticipated impact on practices. The evaluation of the institute is one aspect of a comprehensive multi-year evaluation of a large-scale grant intended to reform math and science teaching in Alabama. The presenters described the AMSTI and the summer institute, summarized results of the preliminary evaluation of the institute, and outlined subsequent evaluation plans. Feedback and discussion regarding evaluation of Math and Science Partnerships were solicited from the audience.

Comparison of Civic Education in America and Hungary

 

Kaye Pepper, University of Mississippi

                         According to a current report published by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) and the Carnegie Corporation (2003), in recent decades increasing numbers of Americans have disengaged from civic and political institutions, and it appears that young people are following this trend. The need to understand and effectively practice the rights and responsibilities of citizenship is important for citizens of countries that have recently overthrown the repressive governments of the Soviet Union and its Central and Eastern European satellites. Education is one of few means at our disposal to inspire voluntary participation of citizens. The ability to maintain democracy rests upon the success of education for democratic citizenship in schools and in our education of teachers (Patrick and Leming, 2001). This study investigated civic education in America, a country based on democratic principles over 250 years ago, and Hungary, a European country presently making the transition to a government based on democratic principles. The purpose was to compare obstacles faced by these two countries as they seek ways to provide their young citizens with the training and experiences necessary to be responsible, effective citizens and to closely examine the similar obstacles faced by these two countries that have such varied backgrounds. In addition, the need for intensive teacher training in civic education was emphasized. Because of the trends revealing that Americans' participation in the democratic processes is declining and because of the difficulties Hungary has faced in establishing a new form of government, it is imperative that our young citizens are provided the opportunity to fully understand the democratic principles and participate effectively in the democratic process. Teacher training institutions and classroom teachers must play a major role in providing the training these young citizens need. By taking a look at the obstacles these two countries face and closely examining the similarities in these obstacles, some societal issues may be revealed that, once understood, can be used to provide educators with a better understanding of the issues that negatively effect participation in civic life. Comparative analysis was used to investigate the problem presented in this study. In “Teaching Democracy in an Unpopular Democracy” (1995), János Setényi, director of Civitas Association-Hungary, outlined three levels of democracy to consider when describing the challenges Hungary faces in teaching civic education. These were:  (1) social and political concepts, (2) institutions, and (3) the knowledge, attitude, and skills that operate a democracy. A thorough analysis of the obstacles faced by America and Hungary was conducted on these three levels. Results revealed that both America and Hungary face obstacles on these three levels. A partial explanation of results was included. On the first level, social and political concepts, it was revealed that American youth score only moderately well on standardized tests about civic education. Hungarian youth have a great deal of difficulty with social and political concepts partly because their experiential background has been with a different form of government. Often the teachers there do not know the democratic concepts themselves and it is very difficult for them to grasp the true meaning of those concepts in order to convey them to the students. On the second level, institutions, it was found that in both countries corrupt politicians and organizations such as Enron in America and public utilities in Hungary have caused much skepticism in the people about the democratic concepts. And on the third level, knowledge, attitudes, and skills, one of the major problems in both countries, is the method of instruction used in the classrooms. In the brief explanation of the results provided here it is interesting to see the parallels that can be drawn between civic education in America and Hungary. It appears that the educational system in both countries must be altered to better train our youth about the democratic concepts.

Social Studies and Science: The Second Class Citizen

 

Gahan Bailey, Edward L. Shaw, Jr. and Donna Holifield, University of South Alabama

                         The purposes of this study were to determine the actual amount of instructional time spent on social studies and science, and to determine the variety of instructional strategies used and the amount of technology usage with the addition of a paraprofessional in the classroom. As part of addressing the No Child Left Behind legislation, a university in the southeast partnered with the local school system and placed 57 university preservice teachers in Title One schools to serve as paraprofessionals. The paraprofessionals’ university social studies and science methods instructors designed a simple instrument for collecting data in three areas:  (1) the number of actual minutes a day spent on teaching social studies and science, (2) the instructional strategies used, and (3) the inclusion of technology in the classroom. The data were collected over a two-semester period. The data analyses revealed that the amount of time spent on social studies and science on average was far less than the amount of time allocated by the county and represented only a small percentage of the state mandated instructional time. When technology was used in the classroom, it was developed and utilized by the university paraprofessionals rather than the classroom teacher. The data also revealed that the variety of teaching strategies was limited primarily to “read the book and answer questions” or “define vocabulary words.” Concerns were raised about meeting state and national content standards, students not having the background knowledge to be successful in middle and high school grades, and the ability to pass the state high school exit examination.

Session 17.4

10:00 A.M. – 10:50 A.M.      MULTICULTURAL ........................................................................................... Gardenview D

 

Presider:                                  Srilata Bhattacharyya, New York Institute of Technology, New York

 

Effective Multicultural Teaching Strategies for Diverse Classrooms

 

Indranie Dharmadasa, Chicago State University

                         The present study examined the effects of multicultural teaching strategies in a diverse classroom. In an effective diverse classroom, instructor and students work together to create and sustain an environment in which everyone feels comfortable, supported, and encouraged to express views and concerns. Creating this kind of an environment is a challenge for most educators. Research indicates effective teaching strategies that can be used to address issues in diverse classrooms. However, studies that tested the effectiveness of such strategies are scarce.  The author used the experimental and control group research design to examine the degree of effectiveness of multicultural teaching strategies on early childhood preservice teachers’ knowledge, skills and attitudes. A total of 36 preservice teachers participated in the study:  18 in the experimental group, and 18 in the control group. A modified version of Infusing Multicultural Perspectives Across the Curriculum (Mount St. Mary's College, 1993) was used to collect data for the pretest and the posttest. Two classes of the same course taught by the same instructor in an early childhood program in one semester were selected for the study.  The experimental group was exposed to a series of multicultural teaching strategies while the control group was taught in the regular way without exposing to the experimental activities. A pretest was administered to both groups on the first day of class, and the posttest was administered at the end of the term.  The t-tests indicated that the effect was statistically significant at t (13)=2.85,p=.02 in the experimental group compared to the control group. In the experimental group, posttest mean scores of the three components: knowledge, skills, and attitudes recorded higher than the pretest scores. In control group posttest mean scores, only the knowledge component showed higher than the pretest scores. The findings of the study have important implications for teachers and teacher educators.

Culturally Responsive Constructivist Teaching in the College Classroom: A New Pedagogical Approach

 

Joyce C. Nichols, University of West Florida

                         In the fall of 1998, the author began teaching the course Teaching Diverse Populations, to preservice teachers.  After using traditional methods of teaching that included primarily lecture format, the author realized that this format was not the best for teaching such delicate topics. The purpose of this paper was to provide instructors who teach diversity with alternatives to traditional pedagogical approaches. These alternatives may lead to more effective teaching of diversity in the college classroom.  In this paper, the author proposed a new pedagogical approach to teaching diversity in the college classroom---Culturally Responsive Constructivist Teaching.  As an African-American junior faculty member, the author experienced some difficulty connecting with some of the students. Some of the topics discussed in the course include race, gender, language, socioeconomic status, prejudice and students with special needs.  The students in my course are predominately white females who are in their freshmen or sophomore year in college.  The author reviewed feedback from my students after the first experience teaching the course.  The comments were as follows: “the instructor is biased, racist, and prejudiced,” “the course is anti-American,” “and “the course includes too much lecturing.”  Because of this feedback, the author wanted to find a new way to connect to the students.  Somehow, the author needed to find a pedagogical avenue that would create an environment in which students could learn about diversity and be prepared to work with culturally diverse students in their classroom.  The author found that avenue when a colleague introduced the author to pedagogical approaches designed to get students actively involved in the process of learning.   As this was researched further, the author discovered the research on progressive education, active learning, constructivist teaching methods, and culturally responsive pedagogy.  The presentation introduced Culturally Responsive Constructivist teaching.

Tolerance for Ambiguity and the “Passions of Pluralism”: Examining Hypothesized Linkages

 

Louis A. Franceschini III, M. Sharon Herbers, and Linda H. Wesson, University of Memphis

                         For educational philosopher Maxine Greene, a high tolerance for ambiguity is the prerequisite not only to good teaching in general (quoted in Ernst, Miletta, & Reilly, 1998) but also in particular to teaching issues linked to “the passions of pluralism.” (Greene, 1995). With the Quick Discrimination Index or “QDI” (Ponterotto et al., 1995) employed as an outcome measure, empirical support for the second of Greene’s propositions was sought in the context of a larger study involving the anti-discrimination program Facing History and Ourselves (FHAO). As pretest measures, a battery of instruments that included Budner’s (1962) Intolerance of Ambiguity Questionnaire and Phinney’s (1992) Other Group Orientation Scale was web-administered to 60 undergraduate and 18 graduate students, all of whom were enrolled in educational leadership courses dealing with diversity issues.  When an initial block of four demographic characteristics was regressed on students’ total QDI scores, only their “cultural identification” [1 = non-dominant, 2 = dominant] was observed to be a significant predictor variable (61506; = -.370, t = 3.22, p = .001). Signaled by a significant change in R2, however, the proportion of variance explained increased substantially (to 42%) when a second block of attitudinal measures was added. In this full model, both students’ self-assessed orientation towards other ethnic groups (B = .372, t = 3.522, p = .001) and their self-assessed tolerance for ambiguity (B = -.303, p = 2.914, p = .005) proved to be robust predictors of their attitudes about women’s equality, matters of race, and multicultural issues in general.  Congruent with the results of a recent meta-analysis concerning intergroup contact and prejudice reduction (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2000), this study’s findings would also seem to lend empirical support to Greene’s (1995) intuition that indeed “our ability to tolerate the unexpected relates to our tolerance for multiculturalism” (p. 157).

Session 17.5

10:00 A.M. – 10:50 A.M.      USING MICROSOFT EXCEL TO CONDUCT THE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

                                                   - PART TWO (Training Session)   ................................................................ Gardenview E

 

Feng Sun and Jeff Anderson, University of Alabama, Birmingham

                         This one-hour, free, hands-on training session kept introducing this add-on feature of Excel to attendees as a continuous training session that was presented at last year’s MSERA conference. The training session used a specific statistical problem as an example to demonstrate each statistical function for data analysis. The content covered ANOVA: single factor two-sample F-test for variance, Multiple Regression, Hypothesis test, and Moving average, etc.  There are lots of different statistical software packages for data analysis, such as SPSS, SAS, S-Plus etc. Most of these are not cost effective for individual students and faculty to purchase to be used at home for their classes and research when they are away from school computer labs. Right now, few statistical programs are free for people to use. Many people in need of statistical analysis overlook a powerful tool they already own.   Microsoft Excel has one add-on component called Data Analysis that can conduct many of the statistical analyses. Often, Excel (MS Office) is included with the computer at the time of purchase.

Session 18.1

11:00 A.M. – 11:50 A.M.      MATH EDUCATION ........................................................................................ Gardenview A

 

Presider:                                  Gail Weems, University of Arkansas, Little Rock

 

Conceptualizing Mathematics: A Professional Development Opportunity

 

Marian Parker, Diane Porter, and Linda Ussery, Troy State University

                         Conceptualizing Math is a professional development program of sequenced instruction for inservice and preservice teachers in grades 5-6. Based upon research that points to evidence of increased mathematics achievement among young learners who are introduced to manipulatives as a means of increasing understanding, Conceptualizing Math provides teachers and teacher candidates with the tools and skills required to implement manipulative-based mathematics instruction. Assessment results for students in the target area indicate that scores on the mathematics portion of the SAT10 begin to fall significantly at the fifth grade, when problem solving and procedures become more complex. The use of concrete objects to transfer understanding to the abstract level has been shown to be effective for middle grades students, but teacher training in their use is critical. Focused instruction in the use of manipulatives as a teaching tool, and not just a remedial or reteaching strategy, reinforces teachers’ knowledge of concepts, enhances their confidence in using the materials, and subsequently helps students understand concepts from the start, eliminating confusion and “unlearning” of erroneous practice. The professional development sessions were conducted by an expert and recognized mathematics teacher skilled in both classroom instruction and training. Content for the sessions were developed by university instructors from the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Education, with support from preservice teacher candidates in elementary education and secondary mathematics education. Community members representing business, industry, and farming also contributed to the project, developing real-world mathematics applications that illustrate the concepts included in the fifth- and sixth-grade Alabama Courses of Study for mathematics.

Spreadsheets Can Enhance Higher Level Thinking in Mathematics Classrooms

 

Mary Kay Bacallao, Mercer University

                         Before 1970, mathematics curricula in schools focused on hand calculations.  But, from 1971-1974, as the modern calculator began to emerge as an affordable device for students, changes in the mathematics curricula were inevitable.  Some teachers and parents alike resisted the changes that were bound to come, but others chose to embrace them.  Debates emerged concerning the place of these new devices in mathematics classrooms.  Do calculators allow students to “cheat?”   Why should students be trained as calculators when such devices had become so inexpensive?  If teachers are to decrease emphasis on rote computations, what are they to do during class time?  As some adjustments were made to focus on problem solving and mathematical applications, others wondered what had happened to the traditional mathematics curricula.  Many expressed their exasperation as they watched modern students struggle to make change when the cash register was not working.  Mathematics instruction began to change.  Widespread teaching practices involving an overemphasis on computation drill and practice were challenged.  If calculators could do the computations, what would the students do that a calculator could not?  Then, beyond calculators, spreadsheets were introduced.  An improvement over basic calculators, formulas could be programmed, and many numbers could be viewed at the same time.  The possibilities for greater creativity in teaching methods were now limitless as real-world and real-time data could be accessed and viewed.  However, the vast majority of mathematics teachers continue to teach math the way they were taught.  There is a gap between the technology available and the knowledge of teaching methods that utilize spreadsheet technology.  Teachers need the resources and skills to effectively teach math using spreadsheets.  This position paper addressed how this need could be met through the development of spreadsheet templates that teachers can use in their mathematics classrooms.

Urban Sixth-Grade Students’ Performance on Piagetian Conservation Tasks

 

Leslie G. Marra, Claudia Melear, and Leslie Suters, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

                         Elementary and middle school students are capable of reaching higher levels of scientific reasoning than school assessments and standardized tests show.  Passive textbook learning teaches students to approach science as information unrelated to their lives (Carey, et al., 1989; Sandoval & Morrison, 2000; Songer & Linn, 1991).  Carefully structured guided inquiries transform scientific reasoning ability (Smith, et al., 2000; Tytler & Peterson, 2004).  Elementary school children are more “ready” to engage with higher level issues than assumed (Smith, et al., 2000).  In this study some students were provided a concept and inquiry-rich environment prior to testing, while others received more traditional science instruction.  Standardized mathematics scores were correlated to randomly select a sample of 52 students, without reference to name, gender, culture, or “team of residence” within the school.  The final, stratified cross-section of 10 students (five boys and five girls, one of each gender per level of math score continuum) was surveyed using six Piagetian conservation tasks.  Students were videotaped during tasks and videotapes were transcribed.  Watson (2002) described a neo-Piagetian model of cognitive functioning used to describe three response levels in this study.  Math scores did not correlate consistently with developmental levels.  However, results indicated a somewhat recognizable developmental pattern.  The relationship that emerged was more definite than expected, though still there are questions about gaps in schema at any given developmental level. Concept confusion and/or lack of background knowledge appeared to be occurring at times, shown by varying degrees of sequential understanding among participants.  There is an apparent need for scaffolding of reasoning processes within science content beginning in elementary school years and continuing through middle and high school education.

Concept Mapping: To Use or Not to Use, That is the Question

 

Donald Snead and Barbara Young, Middle Tennessee State University

 

                        Given the data regarding concept mapping and science achievement, the question remains as to why researchers have not been able to document consistently statistically significant effects.  These research findings suggested that concept mapping is most effective when:  (1) used with lower ability students over long time periods, (2) students are required to invest in map construction, and (3) alternate assessment is used.  Research data were presented to support the findings.

 

 

Session 18.2

11:00 A.M. – 11:50 A.M.      READING ........................................................................................................... Gardenview B

 

Presider:                                  Dana Thames, University of Southern Mississippi

 

Metacomprehension Awareness and Application in a Literacy Education Course

 

Kathleen C. York and Renee Falconer, University of Southern Mississippi

                         Metacomprehension is described as consciously engaging in strategic behaviors in order to monitor and control one's own comprehension.  The literature provided empirical evidence that good readers have strong metacomprehension abilities, and poor readers do not.  Moreover, research provided empirical evidence that strategic behavior before, during, and after reading can be learned and taught.  Clearly, literacy courses in education should include strong metacomprehension components aimed at preparing future teachers to help their students become strategic readers. This qualitative study focused on two research questions:  (1) What are preservice teachers' understandings of metacomprehension? and (2) How do preservice teachers use metacomprehension knowledge and experiences to cultivate learning and reading acheivement in their students?  This study chronicled 10 preservice teachers and their understandings and applications of metacomprehension. Each participant tutored one elementary school-aged reader for one hour each week over a 10-week period.  Three sources of data were produced:  (1) individualized lesson plans, (2) reflective journals, and (3) comprehensive case studies.  Each of these sources was examined separately for significant statements.  Categories were created and patterns identified by comparing the statements from the three sources of data.  Results of the study indicated the preservice teachers' understandings of metacomprehension were shaped and depended on the tutoring experience, reflective journals, and case study analyses.  Also, the preservice teachers' uses of metacomprehension knowledge and experiences to inform their instructional practices were guided by the individual reading needs of their young readers.  The implications for educators have been identified.

Reading Performance of African-American Students Receiving Direct Reading Instruction

Over a Three-year Period

 

Dana G. Thames, Richard Kazelskis, and Carolyn Reeves-Kazelskis, University of Southern Mississippi

                         The reading performance of 124 African-American students who had received scientifically-based, sequential, systematic direct reading instruction program from first through third grades was examined.  Reading comprehension was measured using the Cloze procedure, and general reading performance was measured using scale scores from the Mississippi Curriculum Test (MCT), which was administered at the end of grades two and three.  Data were analyzed using two Gender-by-Year repeated measures analyses of variance. Prior to analysis missing data was imputed using the multiple imputation techniques of program NORM (Schafer, 1997). For the Cloze scores a statistically significant Year effect was found [F(2, 240) = 69.90, p < .001, Eta2 = .368]. The Gender effects nor the Gender-by-Year interaction were statistically significant. A follow-up trend analysis indicated a statistically significant quadratic trend for Year [F(1, 120) = 98.22, p < .001, Eta2 = .450]. The trend indicated that Cloze performance notably increased from the end of grade one to the end of grade two with a leveling off in performance from grade two to grade three. For the reading scale scores, statistically significant Year effects [F(1, 120) = 9.48, p < .005, Eta2 = .073] and a statistically significant Gender-by-Year interaction [F(1, 120) = 10.57, p < .002, Eta2 = .081] were found. The Gender effects were not statistically significant. The Gender-by-Year interaction was such that the female students’ performance remained constant from grade two to grade three, whereas the male students’ performance improved from grade two to grade three with males performing at approximately the same level as the females at grade three. Implications of the results relative to direct reading instruction were discussed in light of the related literature.

The Utilization of a Paired-Reading and Assisted-Reading Intervention to Increase Fluency and Accuracy

 

Daniel L. Fudge and Christopher H. Skinner, University of Tennessee

                         The development of reading skills is one of the primary goals of education, and increasingly educators are being asked to provide support in the implementation and evaluation of reading interventions. The key to early identification and remediation of student reading deficits is to preventing future achievement problems. Two interventions that have been demonstrated to increase reading accuracy and fluency include paired-reading and assisted-reading interventions. Assisted-reading and paired-reading interventions have been researched and used by a number of professionals. Moreover, researchers have also shown that using this type of intervention can increase fluency, accuracy, and comprehension in both learning disabled students and students who spoke English as a second language. The participant was a child in third grade and he was reading at an early second-grade level. The student’s baseline fluency score was 59 words correct per minute (WCPM), placing the child at an instructional level for second grade. To increase the student’s accuracy and rate of reading, the combination of a paired-reading and assisted-reading intervention was implemented. Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) procedures were used with second-grade probes and were administered two times a week to evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions on both reading accuracy and fluency. Results showed that the intervention increased the child’s reading fluency to 75 WCPM, commensurate with a late second-grade level. Four-month follow-up showed the student continued to read at the late second-grade level. This study demonstrated the combined use of two interventions to increase a child’s reading fluency, and how CBM can be used to evaluate student progress.

Memories of Learning to Read: A Personal Experience

 

Janet S. Boyce and Renee Falconer, University of Southern Mississippi; and Leslie G. Marra,

Claudia Melear, and Leslie Suters, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

                         Reading is an experience unique to each individual.  Small children, learning to read, are unable to articulate their experience of learning.  Although research addresses the philosophy, methods, and data about the learning process, it is strictly the researcher’s point of view.  The child’s voice is left unheard.  To reach the core information about the learners’ perspective, one must ask adults what the experience of learning to read was like for them. Now more than ever, education is influenced by accountability, and a drive to teach more material at an earlier age.  Under these pressures, the sensitivity of children is more likely to be overlooked.  The purpose of this research was to increase awareness that learning to read is first a childhood experience and that government mandates must come second to that. Now more than ever, teachers, administrators, and legislatures need to hear the voice of the child. What does learning to read mean to a child?  Three participants described their experience as long, sad, frustrating times in their lives that left indelible marks on their memory.  Two major themes were evident:  (1) although all three participants verbalized having problems and claimed that they have overcome them, one cried while telling her story, one reported the inability to remember anything of second grade, and one was noticeably nervous and uncomfortable during the interview; and (2) although all three participants are very successful adults, each made remarks indicating that as a child, and even now, they believe there was something wrong with them because they struggled with learning to read. Can this information bring about change in the way that the authors approach the teaching of literacy?  Perhaps, but a greater awareness of the child’s perspective must be part of the conversation and may help bring balance into the educational practices of the future.

Session 18.3

11:00 A.M. – 11:50 A.M.      EVALUATION ................................................................................................... Gardenview C

 

Presider:                                  Stephen Miller, University of Louisville

 

Using Rubrics to Increase the Reliability of Assessments in Health Classes

 

Jeffrey Oescher and Lynette Silvestri, University of New Orleans

Teachers are being encouraged to use alternative assessments, but their training often leaves them apprehensive about the subjective nature of the scoring process and the potential lack of reliability associated with the results.  Scoring rubrics can address this concern.  The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of using a rubric on the reliability of scores on an assessment of students' knowledge of health-related needs.  The researchers developed four sample responses to specific questions about these needs.  Each response reflected incorrect information or common misconceptions about the needs.  A rubric was developed around appropriate criteria and scoring scales.  Sixteen preservice teachers scored the four responses twice.  On the first occasion scores were assigned using only a five-point scale for each section of the response.  Prior to scoring the paper again, the rubric was discussed thoroughly with the subjects.  The criteria were explained as well as the descriptions of each point on the scoring scales.  Subjects rescored the papers using the rubric to guide their efforts.  Analyses of the data described the scores and determined the extent to which the mean scores differed from the “true” scores for each paper.  The data for scores developed without rubrics inflated the scores for all papers.  The comparison of these scores to the respective “true” score indicated a non-significance difference for Paper 1 (t15 = 1.43, p = .173) and significant differences for Papers 2-4 (t15 = 11.09, p = .000; t15 = 12.00, p = .000; and t15 = 4.34, p = .001).  Scores resulting from the use of the rubrics tended to be close to the “true” scores for all papers.  Inferential analysis indicted non-significant results for Papers 1-4 (t15 = -0.89, p = .386; t15 = -0.47, p = .643; t15 = 1.98, p = .067; and t15 = 1.15, p = .270).  The results of this study confirm the need to address issues of score reliability, particularly when using alternative assessments requiring significant levels of subjectivity.

The Relationship Between Eighth-Grade Students' NAEP Mathematics Scores and Their Mothers' Educational Attainment

 

Beverly M. Klecker, Morehead State University

                         Educational researchers have long been aware of the pitfalls of correlational studies; still, the methodology continues to be popular and useful. The No Child Left Behind Act requires the disaggregation of accountability test data by socioeconomic status (SES). This SES variable has been found to be moderately to highly correlated with the educational attainment of students' mothers. This paper presented secondary analyses of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data for the years 1990, 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2003. The analyses explored the relationship between students' eighth-grade mathematics scores and their mothers' educational attainment. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has, since 1969, been the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know in various subject areas. Demographic and questionnaire data were collected as the NAEP was administered. Considerable research literature was found on the relationship between maternal educational level and (1) student achievement (e.g., Campbell, 1991; Chao, 1994; Chao, 1996; Flannagan & Perese, 1998; Khazzom, 1997; Voelkl, 1993; Wolfer & Moen, 1996; Zill, 1992); and (2) student mathematical achievement (e.g., Chen & Stevenson, 1995; Illinois Mathematics & Science Academy, 2001). NAEP eighth-grade mathematics average scale scores were examined through secondary data analyses. Students' responses to the question, “How far in school did your mother go?” were in five categories: “Did not finish H.S.,” “Graduated H.S.,” “Some education after H.S.,” “Graduated college,” and “I don't know.”  The percentage of students responding “I don't know” ranged from 12% (1992) to 16% (2000). The students' average scale scores on the NAEP consistently increased as mothers' educational level increased. The statistical significance of the differences (alpha set a priori to .01) was consistent across years (measured by ANOVAs). This presentation included a discussion of the calculation (and reporting) of effect size with NAEP data.

An Examination of Congruence of Literacy Instruction from Middle Schools to High Schools

 

Beverly M. Klecker and Mary Anne Pollock, Morehead State University

                         This research study examined the extent to which classroom teachers used research-based practices to facilitate reading across content areas in grades eight through ten. Comparisons were made between teacher practices in high scoring and low scoring schools. The research also examined the congruency of teacher practices from middle school to high school. The research question was, “Do teaching practices in schools with high reading achievement scores differ from teaching practices in schools with low reading achievement scores?” The population for the study was all eighth- through tenth-grade teachers in Western and Eastern Kentucky. Stratified (by state-wide reading achievement test scores aggregated at the school level, and region of the state) random sampling was used to select participating high schools (N=20; 5 from each strata). Feeder schools for the high schools comprised the middle-school sample (N=19; one school was a K-12 school). A survey instrument was developed using research-based practices as the content for the questions. Validity and reliability were addressed (Cronbach's alpha reliability was .83). Data were collected during regular faculty meetings in spring 2003 from all eighth-, ninth-, and tenth-grade teachers in all 39 schools in the sample. In fall 2003 and spring 2004, teachers randomly selected from those who completed surveys were observed and interviewed about their teaching practices. Each Kentucky school must generate a Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP) to guide all aspects of school instruction and management.  Each school's CSIP was examined to determine its literacy focus. Resulting qualitative and quantitative data were triangulated. Statistically significant (p.<.05) differences were found on some items of the survey and some variables on the observation and interview instruments. Complete results of the study were presented. Discussion consisted of implications for classroom reading instruction.

Results of a Pilot Test of a Senior Project Certification Process

 

Art Hood, SERVE

                         Senior Project is a culminating assessment for 12th graders consisting of a research paper on an approved topic of student choice, a related product and portfolio, and a presentation before community members. Senior Project (SP) attempts to address some of the current concerns about the degree to which high school prepares students for post-graduation life (Boyer, 1985; Sizer, 1992; Ancess & Darling-Hammond, 1993; National Commission on the High School Senior Year, 2001). As SP implementation has spread though, its definition has become blurred (Egelson, Robertson, & Smith, 2002; Taafe, 2001), and it has become increasingly important to ensure that programs are being implemented faithfully. The researchers developed a certification process that employs a 24-item “Yes Test.” The researchers pilot tested the process in four eastern high schools with established SP programs. Staff made site visits to each school and conducted full-day process trial runs. Each school was then assigned to a staff member who assumed responsibility for analyzing data and writing the report. Data came from stakeholder (SP coordinator(s), principal, faculty, and randomly selected 12th graders interviews; the selected students’ portfolios and papers; and the SP student handbook and related SP materials. The pilot test produced two kinds of results: school results (certified or not and why), and process results (how well it worked and what changes were needed). No school met all 24 certification requirements. The process results confirmed that the process was fundamentally sound but needed several changes. Implications include certification can establish a minimum standard for programs that can raise the level of SP nationally and enrich the experience of the students involved, can make a student’s participation an important consideration in college admissions or job applications, and can help direct state rewards, such as NC’s awards program for best Senior Project programs, to deserving schools. 

Session 18.4

11:00 A.M. – 11:50 A.M.      ATTITUDES ....................................................................................................... Gardenview D

 

Presider:                                  Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie, University of South Florida

 

Selected High School Teachers' Perspectives Concerning Academic Dishonesty

 

Beverly C. Culley and William A. Person, Mississippi State University

                         The purpose of this study was to investigate perspectives of academic dishonesty among selected high school teachers. The specific problem in this study was to determine whether high school teachers of various school classifications, gender, highest level of educational attainment, and years of teaching experience differ in their beliefs, concerns, and attitudes regarding academic dishonesty. The moral climate of a school influences the level of academic cheating. The literature on cheating among high school students has shown that it is widespread and growing (McCabe, 1999; McCabe & Trevino, 1996; Schab, 1991). Students have readily offered a variety of rationalizations for academic dishonesty (Evans & Craig, 1990a; McCabe, 1999).

An Analysis of Educator Attitudes about the Significance of Multiple Intelligences

 

Pat Hawley and Lucrecia Hawley, Alabama A&M University

                         This research project examined preservice and inservice teacher attitudes about the importance of Multiple Intelligence learning within their classroom milieu. Teachers and potential teachers examined their own attitudes toward specific Multiple Intelligences. The independent variable was the preservice and inservice teacher attitudes about the importance of multiple intelligence learning within respective classroom settings. The dependent variable was how the teacher attitudes reflect Gardner's analysis of the multiple intelligences. Additionally, the researchers examined a specific teaching activity that posited all the multiple intelligences within a mini-unit. This can easily be expanded into an outstanding thematic unit that encompasses any time limitations.

Educational Beliefs: Can They Be Influenced?

 

Naomi C. Coyle and Norma Jean Paris, Centenary College of Louisiana

                         The purpose of this study was to replicate and expand a previous study by Minor (2002) that addressed the question—Does instruction have the potential to change teacher candidates’ educational beliefs? In Minor’s study, trends in teacher candidates’ educational beliefs were examined over time. Participants were enrolled in an introductory-level education course and were administered the Witcher-Travers Survey of Educational Beliefs (WTSEB) on the first day of class and at the end of the semester. Results from the WTSEB indicate proclivity toward transmissivism, progressivism, or an eclectic viewpoint as defined by Doll. Minor’s study indicated that a significant proportion of students changed from an eclectic viewpoint to a progressive one, and a large proportion of teacher candidates changed from a transmissive orientation to an eclectic one. By the end of the course, teacher candidates tended to shift toward progressivism. Minor, however, recommended that further research be conducted after teacher candidates become more aware of a multitude of teaching philosophies through their educational courses and their field experiences. Therefore, participants in this study were teacher candidates who had successfully completed the introductory-level education course and educational psychology and were enrolled in their first methods course.  The scores from the WTSEB were analyzed using a paired-samples t-test, and a chi-square analysis test was conducted to determine if the proportion of teacher candidates falling into the three categories changed. Results from this study supported the original findings. Teacher candidates by the end of the semester of their methods course demonstrated a shift from their pretest results.

Using Positive Psychology: The Influence of Protective Factors on Well-Being in Cancer Patients

 

Linda Morse, Carolyn E. Adams-Price, Elisabeth Wells-Parker, Marsha Williams,

and Patricia Dill, Mississippi State University

                         Considerable evidence exists that suggests that social support, activities, religious affiliation, and other positive factors mitigate the effects of physical illness on the psychological well-being of individuals.  The current study examined the relationship between protective factors and well-being in female breast cancer patients and in women who have had other medical problems involving general anesthesia.  The study employed a scale designed to measure individual differences in the quantity of protective factors available, the Positive Psychology Protective Profile (PPPP) developed.  The scale has three factors, positive outlook, negative symptoms, and creativity and problem solving, and has been shown previously to differentiate between college students who have had chronic illnesses, and those who have not. Participants in the current study were women aged 35-75 who received chemotherapy for breast cancer six months to three years ago, and a comparison group of women who had had general anesthesia for a medical illness in the last six months to three years.  Participants completed the PPPP and the Geriatric Depression Scale that is often used as a well-being measure. The cancer patients and controls scored similarly on the three factors of the PPPP, but cancer patients had lower scores on the Geriatric Depression Scale.  Among the cancer patients, well-being scores correlated strongly with positive outlook and negatively with negative symptoms, but the relationship between creativity/problem solving and well-being was only marginally significant.  By contrast, there was no relationship between positive outlook and well-being or negative symptoms and well-being in the control group, but there was an extremely high correlation between problem solving/creativity and well-being in that group.  This suggested that the cancer patients' mood is more closely related to attitudes toward their illness than the mood of the control subjects, which has implications for positive psychology as it relates to well-being and resilience across the life span.

                        

Session 18.5

11:00 A.M. – 11:50 A.M.      THE ROLE OF AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT IN HIRING FIRST-YEAR

                                                   TEACHERS (Symposium)   .............................................................................. Gardenview E

 

Nancy C. Boling, Lee Kem, and Jeffery Dukes, Murray State University

                         Education majors are required to complete authentic assessment portfolios for graduation. Concerns expressed by student teachers are that portfolios are time-consuming and often cause high levels of stress. The question is, “Do those involved in the hiring process (administrators and other personnel) perceive that the portfolios are vitally important in the hiring process?”