Mathematics achievement of Japanese students : 6th and 9th grade students /

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School of Nursing Class of 1997, Second Career Students

Top Row: Caroline Vander Kuy, Dannielle Van Dommelen, Diane Fox, Catherine Winnell, Catherine Orsor, Alicia Hughes

Row 2: Catharine Whorton, Lea Bell, Paula Durecki, Jennifer Jorissen, Marie Lewis, Sarah Bellestri, Margaret Van Bolt

The development and analysis of a field project model curriculum and its impact on achievement and attitude toward science and the environment with at-risk eleventh and twelfth grade students

This study was an evaluation of a Field Project Model Curriculum and its impact on achievement, attitude toward science, attitude toward the environment, self-concept, and academic self-concept with at-risk eleventh and twelfth grade students. One hundred eight students were pretested and posttested on the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale, PHCSC (1985); the Self-Concept as a Learner Scale, SCAL (1978); the Marine Science Test, MST (1987); the Science Attitude Inventory, SAI (1970); and the Environmental Attitude Scale, EAS (1972). Using a stratified random design, three groups of students were randomly assigned according to sex and stanine level, to three treatment groups. Group one received the field project method, group two received the field study method, and group three received the field trip method. All three groups followed the marine biology course content as specified by Florida Student Performance Objectives and Frameworks. The intervention occurred for ten months with each group participating in outside-of-classroom activities on a trimonthly basis. Analysis of covariance procedures were used to determine treatment effects. F-ratios, p-levels and t-tests at p $<$.0062 (.05/8) indicated that a significant difference existed among the three treatment groups. Findings indicated that groups one and two were significantly different from group three with group one displaying significantly higher results than group two. There were no significant differences between males and females in performance on the five dependent variables. The tenets underlying environmental education are congruent with the recommendations toward the reform of science education. These include a value analysis approach, inquiry methods, and critical thinking strategies that are applied to environmental issues. ^

The effect of direct instruction in story grammar using deep processing on the reading and writing achievement of second-graders

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of direct instruction in story grammar on the reading and writing achievement of second graders. Three aspects of story grammar (character, setting, and plot) were taught with direct instruction using the concept development technique of deep processing. Deep processing which included (a) visualization (the drawing of pictures), (b) verbalization (the writing of sentences), (c) the attachment of physical sensations, and (d) the attachment of emotions to concepts was used to help students make mental connections necessary for recall and application of character, setting, and plot when constructing meaning in reading and writing.^ Four existing classrooms consisting of seventy-seven second-grade students were randomly assigned to two treatments, experimental and comparison. Both groups were pretested and posttested for reading achievement using the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests. Pretest and posttest writing samples were collected and evaluated. Writing achievement was measured using (a) a primary trait scoring scale (an adapted version of the Glazer Narrative Composition Scale) and (b) an holistic scoring scale by R. J. Pritchard. ANCOVAs were performed on the posttests adjusted for the pretests to determine whether or not the methods differed. There was no significant improvement in reading after the eleven-day experimental period for either group; nor did the two groups differ. There was significant improvement in writing for the experimental group over the comparison group. Pretreatment and posttreatment interviews were selectively collected to evaluate qualitatively if the students were able to identify and manipulate elements of story grammar and to determine patterns in metacognitive processing. Interviews provided evidence that most students in the experimental group gained while most students in the comparison group did not gain in their ability to manipulate, with understanding, the concepts of character, setting, and plot. ^

Entering an academic discourse community: A case study of the coping strategies of eleven English as a Second Language students

This case study follows eleven non-English speaking students as they adapt to community college, content courses. The three classes examined are required freshman classes--Humanities, Social Environment, and Individual in Transition. In order to cope with the demands of these classes, students must penetrate the academic discourse community and have effective relationships with their instructors and their peers. The results of the study are based on interviews with eleven non-native speaking (NNS) students and their instructors and on an analysis of student writing assignments, course syllabi, and exams. Three general areas are examined: (a) students' first-language (L$\sb1$) education, (b) the requirements of their content classes, and (c) the affective factors which influence their adaptation process.^ The case of these students reveals that: (1) Students draw on their L$\sb1$ education, especially in terms of content, as they cope with the demands of these content classes. (2) In some areas L$\sb1$ educational experiences interfere with students' ability to adapt. (3) The content classes require students to have well developed reading, writing, oral, and aural skills. (4) Students must use higher level cognitive skills to be successful in content classes. (5) Affective factors play a role in students' success in content classes. The discussion section includes possible implications of this data for college level English as a Second Language courses. ^

An investigation into the comparable effectiveness of two tests of writing administered to college-level English as a Second Language students: The Computerized Placement Test and holistically scored essay exams

This dissertation describes the findings and implications of a correlational analysis. Scores earned on the Computerized Placement Test (CPT), sentence skills, were compared to essay scores of advanced English as a Second Language (ESL) students. As the CPT is designed for native speakers of English, it was hypothesized that it could be an invalid or unreliable instrument for non-native speakers. Florida community college students are mandated to take the CPT to determine preparedness, as are students at many other U.S. and Canadian colleges. If incoming students score low on the CPT, they may be required to take up to three semesters of remedial coursework. It is essential that scores earned by non-native speakers of English accurately reflect their ability level. They constitute a large and growing body of non-traditional students enrolled at community colleges.^ The study was conducted at Miami-Dade Community College, Wolfson Campus, fall 1997. Participants included 106 advanced ESL students who took both the CPT sentence skills test and wrote final essay exams. The essay exams were holistically scored by trained readers. Also, the participants took the Placement Articulation Software Service (PASS) exam, an alternative form of the CPT. Scores on the CPT and essays were compared by means of a Pearson product-moment correlation to validate the CPT. Scores on the CPT and the PASS exam were compared in the same manner to verify reliability. A percentage of appropriate placements was determined by comparing essay scores to CPT cutoff score ranges. Finally, the instruments were evaluated by means of independent-samples t-tests for performance differences between gender, age, and first language groups.^ The results indicate that the CPT sentence skills test is a valid and reliable placement instrument for advanced- level ESL students who intend to pursue community college degrees. The correlations demonstrated a substantial relationship between CPT and essay scores and a marked relationship between CPT and PASS scores. Appropriate placements were made in 86% of the cases. Furthermore, the CPT was found to discriminate equally among the gender, age, and first language groups included in this study. ^

The effect of basketball sport aerobics on basketball skill development for fifth-grade students

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an experimental teaching method, Sport Aerobics, on the basketball skill acquisition of fifth grade students. This study investigated the differences in the shooting, dribbling, and passing scores of students taught with Sport Aerobics instruction compared to those taught with a traditional method, Practice Style. Sport Aerobics is an instructional method based on a theoretical framework developed by the researcher to enhance skill acquisition. This framework leads to teaching strategies such as using immediate feedback and specific cueing; arranging for students to engage in object free movement; arranging lessons, according to the framework's concept of movement progression, into lessons staged according to skill and sub-skill complexity; and instructing based on whole group organization. Sport Aerobic instructional strategies were designed to facilitate process learning that is recognized as important in today's development learning approach for age related curriculums. In contrast, the traditional Practice Style uses product-oriented strategies. ^ Four classrooms, consisting of seventy-nine fifth grade students from two physical education programs, at different locations, were randomly assigned to two treatments; Sport Aerobics and Practice Style for instruction over a 15 period curriculum. Using the American Alliance Physical Education Recreation & Dance tests, both groups were pretested and posttested for skill achievement of shooting, dribbling, and passing. Pretest and posttest skill score samples were collected and evaluated. ANCOVAs were performed on the posttests adjusted for the pretests to determine whether or not there would be greater achievement of skills with the Sport Aerobics method. Results failed to establish significant scoring differences between the two methods. Based on the literature and study findings a recommendation is made that longer lesson units will assist in the investigation of the effectiveness of both the instructional model and the individual elements that facilitate skill acquisition. ^

The impact of looping of fourth grade students on their reading achievement

This study examines the effects of looping (staying with the same teacher for two grade levels) on the reading achievement of fourth graders within a large, urban, multicultural school. Looping was expected to have a positive effect on reading achievement and reading qualities. Additional benefits, such as its effect on anxiety levels and self-concept were also assumed to accrue from looping. ^ A causal-comparative design was employed. Four existing classrooms consisting of eighty-one fourth grade students comprised the treatment and comparison groups. The two “looping” treatment groups consisted of students who had the same teacher for their third and fourth grade school years. The remaining two classes comprised the comparison groups. Pre- and post-tests for reading achievement total scores and subscores for main idea and comparisons were obtained using the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). Assessments were also obtained from the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children, modified to reflect reading, and the Self-Perception Profile for Children. The difference in pre- and post-test FCAT scores were analyzed via a four group simple ANOVA to examine the effects of the looping model on reading achievement and reading qualities. Similar simple ANOVAs were performed to investigate the relationship of looping to anxiety and self-concept. ^ The findings led to the conclusion that looping was significantly related to improvement in reading achievement and reading qualities. In addition, the hypothesized relationship of lower anxiety in the looping group compared to the comparison group was supported. There were no significant effects on self-concept for any of the comparisons. ^ The study clearly demonstrated the positive effects of looping, on total reading achievement scores, on reading qualities of fourth grade students who participated in looping classes and on differences in students' anxiety. Looping did not have an effect on general self-concept. ^ The results demonstrate the effects of looping on teaching methods. In looping practice teachers have the advantage of knowing their students and the students' readiness and can make adaptations of teaching methods accordingly. From the students' perspective, the looped students do not have to adapt to a new teacher and thus, experience lower anxiety. ^

The effects of cross -age peer tutoring on writing and reading comprehension skills and attitudes and self -perceptions as writers of third and fourth grade students

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of cross-age peer writing response groups on the writing and reading achievement of third and fourth grade students. Students' attitudes about writing and their perceptions of themselves as writers were also measured at the end of the study. ^ One hundred and twenty-two third and fourth grade students enrolled in a public school in a middle-class, multi-cultural neighborhood participated in the study. Four existing classes of students were randomly assigned to either the experimental condition (EC) or the control condition (CC). Both groups were pretested and posttested for writing and reading achievement. The intervention, cross-age peer writing groups, met for eleven weeks. ^ Three hypotheses were examined in this study: (a) writing improvement score, (b) reading comprehension improvement score, and (c) students' attitudes toward writing and their perception of themselves as writers based on the five scales measured on the Writer Self-Perception Scale. ^ ANOVAs were done on the pretests and posttests for writing and the Stanford Achievement Test reading comprehension subtest scores for the year of the study and the previous year. ANOVAs were also done for the five areas of the Writer Self-Perception Scale. Cross-tabulations were also used to compare improvement level verses treatment group, and grade level. ^ Analysis of the data revealed that there was no evidence that the tutoring (EC) groups made more progress than the non-tutoring (CC) groups in writing and reading. There was evidence of growth in writing, especially by the fourth graders. Most importantly, the fourth grade tutors, the experimental group, had the most positive feelings about writing and themselves as writers. ^

The performance of high -ability Black upper elementary grade students in an International Baccalaureate program

The purpose of this study was to investigate the common factors and experiences that contribute to the success of high ability Black students enrolled in Frank C. Martin Elementary School, the first school in Florida authorized to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP). The study further sought to determine ways in which educators and stakeholders assisted in maintaining and in increasing Black students' achievement that motivated and encouraged them to pursue similar programs at the middle and high school levels. ^ Three sources of data were used: (a) individual interviews with fourth and fifth grade high ability Black students using a semi-structured format elicited discussion of their perceptions of the PYP and factors contributing to their success; (b) individual interviews with their fourth and fifth grade teachers elicited discussion of teacher expectations and effective instructional strategies; and (c) a questionnaire asked parents of the participating students their reasons for choosing the PYP, their perceptions of the program, and their own level of involvement in their child's learning. Three separate focus groups gathered further data. ^ The results revealed that the factors contributing to the success of high ability Black elementary school students are consistent with those of students in other racial groups. These are a challenging program, high teacher and parental expectations, strong parental involvement and support, a celebration of culture and diversity in a caring and nurturing environment, and the development and internalization of positive attitudes. ^ Implications for future studies might include a longitudinal study conducted over seven years to trace the achievements of Black students throughout the entire IB Program. ^

Factors affecting the alignment of *grades and reading scores for third-grade students on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test

The purpose of this study was to aid in understanding the relationship between current Reading report card grading practices and standards-based state standardized testing results in Reading and factors associated with the alignment of this relationship. Report card and Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FLAT) data for 2004 were collected for 1064 third grade students in nine schools of one feeder pattern in Florida's Miami-Dade County Public Schools. A Third Grade Teacher Questionnaire was administered to 48 Reading teachers. The questionnaire contained items relating to teachers' education, teaching experience, grading practices, and beliefs about the FCAT, instructional Reading activities, methods, and materials. ^ Findings of this study support a strong relationship between report card grades and FCAT Reading achievement levels. However, individual school correlational analysis showed significant differences among schools' alignment measures. Higher teacher alignment between grades and FCAT levels was associated with teachers spending more time on individualized methods of Reading instruction and to teachers feeling there was not enough time to teach and help individual students. Lower teacher alignment of grades and achievement levels was associated with teachers taking homework into account in the final Reading grade. Teacher alignment of grades and achievement levels was not associated with teacher beliefs concerning the FCAT, instructional activities in Reading and Language Arts, the Reading program used, the model of delivery of the Reading program, instruction or type of instructional planning done by the teachers. ^ This study highlights the need for further investigations related to determining additional teacher factors that may affect the alignment relationship between report card grades and standards-based state standardized testing results. ^

Predicting the in-term persistence of community college English-as-a-second-language students

The English-as-a-second-language (ESL) community college student population has increased notably in the past decade, but a decreasing number of these students are completing courses, programs, or degrees (Erisman & Looney, 2008). These students come to college with unique background experiences, and once in college, deal with challenging linguistic, academic, and social integration issues. Though they are not linguistically homogenous, and they do not have a common purpose, ESL students share the common goal of attending community college to learn to speak English (Szelényi & Chang, 2002). Course completion is a primary measure of progress toward that goal, and is therefore an issue of concern for both ESL students and community colleges, which continue to be the access point for language-minority students progressing into higher education (Laden, 2004).^ The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that predict in-term persistence of community college ESL students. A mixed methods research design consisting of two phases was utilized, and participants in this study were ESL students enrolled in a large community college in south Florida. Phase 1 students completed the Community College ESL Student Questionnaire (CCSEQ), which collected demographic data and data on entry characteristics, academic integration, and social integration. Discriminant and descriptive analyses were used to report the data collected in Phase I. Phase 2 students were a matching cohort of completing and non-completing students who participated in semi-structured interviews at the end of the term. Data collected in the interviews were analyzed thematically, using a constant comparative method as described by Glaser and Strauss (1967).^ Students’ self reported demographic data, background characteristics, goal commitment, and integration factors on the CCSEQ showed no significance between the students who completed the term and the students who did not complete the term. However, several differentiating themes emerged from the interview data, which indicated differences in goal commitment and integration between the two groups. The focus of non-completers on getting good grades rather than completing the course, and the commitment of completers to the goal of finishing the class in order to go forward, both raise questions for future research studies.^

The effect of reciprocal mapping on high-risk sixth-grade students' social studies achievement

Reading deficits in students in Grades 4 to 12 are evident in American schools. Informational text is particularly difficult for students. This quasi-experimental study (N=138) investigated sixth-grade students' achievement in social studies using the Reciprocal Mapping instructional routine, compared to sixth-grade students' achievement taught with a traditional approach. The Reciprocal Mapping instructional routine incorporated explicit instruction in text structure using graphic organizers. Students created their own graphic organizers and used them to write about social studies content. The comparison group used a traditional approach, students' reading the textbook and answering questions. Students for this study included sixth-graders in the seven sixth-grade classrooms in two public schools in a small, rural south Florida school district. A focus of this study was to determine the helpfulness of the intervention for at-risk readers. To determine students considered to be at-risk, the researcher used data from the reading portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT), 2011-2012, that considers Level 1 and 2 as at-risk readers. The quasi-experimental study used a pretest-posttest control group design, with students assigned to treatment groups by class. Two teachers at the two rural sites were trained on the Reciprocal Mapping instructional routine and taught students in both the experimental and control groups for an equivalent amount of time over a 5-week period. Results of the 3 x 2 factorial ANCOVA found a significant positive difference favoring the experimental group's social studies achievement as compared to that of the comparison group as measured by the pre/post unit test from the social studies series (McGraw-Hill, 2013), when controlling for initial differences in students' reading FCAT scores. Interactions for high-risk struggling readers were investigated using the significance level p < .05. Due to no significant interaction the main effects of treatment were interpreted. The pretest was used as a covariate and the multivariate analysis was found to be significant. Therefore, analysis of covariance was run on each of the dependent variable as a follow-up. Reciprocal Mapping was found to be significant in posttest scores, independent of gender and level of risk, and while holding the pretest scores constant. Findings showed there was a significant difference in the performance of the high-risk reading students taught with the Reciprocal Mapping intervention who scored statistically better than students in the control group. Further study findings showed that teacher fidelity of implementation of the treatment had a statistically significant relationship in predicting posttest scores when controlling for pretest scores. Study results indicated that improving students' use of text structure through the Reciprocal Mapping instructional routine positively supported sixth-grade students' social studies achievement.

The relationship between scaffolding metacognitive strategies identified through dialogue journals and second graders' reading comprehension, science achievement, and metacognition using expository text

Poor informational reading and writing skills in early grades and the need to provide students more experience with informational text have been identified by research as areas of concern. Wilkinson and Son (2011) support future research in dialogic approaches to investigate the impact dialogic teaching has on comprehension. This study (N = 39) examined the gains in reading comprehension, science achievement, and metacognitive functioning of individual second grade students interacting with instructors using dialogue journals alongside their textbook. The 38 week study consisted of two instructional phases, and three assessment points. After a period of oral metacognitive strategies, one class formed the treatment group (n=17), consisting of two teachers following the co-teaching method, and two classes formed the comparison group ( n=22). The dialogue journal intervention for the treatment group embraced the transactional theory of instruction through the use of dialogic interaction between teachers and students. Students took notes on the assigned lesson after an oral discussion. Teachers responded to students' entries with scaffolding using reading strategies (prior knowledge, skim, slow down, mental integration, and diagrams) modeled after Schraw's (1998) strategy evaluation matrix, to enhance students' comprehension. The comparison group utilized text-based, teacher-led whole group discussion. Data were collected using different measures: (a) Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading (FAIR) Broad Diagnostic Inventory; (b) Scott Foresman end of chapter tests; (c) Metacomprehension Strategy Index (Schmitt, 1990); and (d) researcher-made metacognitive scaffolding rubric. Statistical analyses were performed using paired sample t-tests, regression analysis of covariance, and two way analysis of covariance. Findings from the study revealed that experimental participants performed significantly better on the linear combination of reading comprehension, science achievement, and metacognitive function, than their comparison group counterparts while controlling for pretest scores. Overall, results from the study established that teacher scaffolding using metacognitive strategies can potentially develop students' reading comprehension, science achievement, and metacognitive awareness. This suggests that early childhood students gain from the integration of reading and writing when using authentic materials (science textbooks) in science classrooms. A replication of this study with more students across more schools, and different grade levels would improve the generalizability of these results.