Reading researchers agree that content literacy strategies are beneficial in helping students learn. However, teachers remain resistant to teaching the strategies. Additionally, many students, even at the college level, lack the learning strategies necessary to experience academic success. This study sought to gain a deeper understanding of the complexities of content literacy strategy instruction. The research questions that guided the study addressed the benefits, obstacles, and support and experiences needed to sustain the use of the strategies over time. Multiple data sources were used to investigate teachers' and students' perceptions of the research questions. The main benefit found was increased student understanding and learning of content; additional benefits included increased instructional repertoire, increased student engagement in class, and improved learner independence. Most of the obstacles documented in the literature were supported in the study; however, the obstacle of time was noted most frequently. Teacher confidence was observed by the researcher as an obstacle. The majority of participants indicated they would continue using the strategies learned during the study in the future. Students noted the support needed to sustain content literacy strategy use depended on teachers providing direct instruction, practice using the strategies, and personal success with the strategies. Teachers also …

he purpose of this study was to determine the effects of one approach to vocabulary instruction on the reading and writing vocabulary of fourth grade students in an individualized reading program. The vocabulary instructional approach used student-selected vocabulary words as well as instruction in vocabulary strategies such as context clues, structural analysis, and definition strategies. The twelve week study exposed one fourth grade classroom to vocabulary instruction in a Reading Workshop setting. Major components of the program were mini-lessons, which often involved vocabulary strategies, the silent reading of self-selected books, one-on-one researcher/student interactions, and the self-selection of vocabulary words. The research design is descriptive in nature and used both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Qualitative data included student interviews, teacher interviews, student writing samples, and field note observations. Quantitative data included vocabulary test scores from two groups of students, Group A and Group B. Group A participated in the self-selected vocabulary approach and received vocabulary instruction from the researcher acting as participant observer. Group B received some vocabulary instruction from their classroom teacher, but did not participate in the same program. The test was constructed weekly from a class (Group A) generated list of ten words. Results from vocabulary tests …

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of three different levels of skill training in musical timbre discrimination on alphabet sound discrimination in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children. The findings of prior investigations indicated similarities between aural music and language perception. Psychoacoustic and neurological findings have reported the discrimination of alphabet quality and musical timbre to be similar perceptual functions and have provided, through imaging technology, physical evidence of music learning simultaneously stimulating non-musical areas of the brain. This investigator hypothesized that timbre discrimination, the process of differentiating the characteristic quality of one complex sound from another of identical pitch and loudness, may have been a common factor between music and alphabet sound discrimination. Existing studies had not explored this relationship or the effects of directly teaching for transfer on learning generalization between skills used for the discrimination of musical timbre and alphabet sounds. Variables identified as similar from the literature were the discrimination of same- different musical and alphabet sounds, visual recognition of musical and alphabet pictures as sound sources, and association of alphabet and musical sounds with matching symbols. A randomized pre-post test design with intermittent measures was used to implement the study. There were 5 …

Weekly newspaper from Mercedes, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Dublin, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

A performance review of the Austin Independent School District (ISD) to assess the use of state funds in different areas of the school system.

This report describes program goals, activities, processes, benefits for the profession of engineering and for the project participants, coordination, and impact of NHBEP throughout the three years of implementation.

The purpose of this study was to describe the intentions of the designers of the Professional Development and Appraisal System (PDAS) in Texas and the perceptions of teachers regarding its implementation. Information for the study was gathered in two phases using two methodologies. The first was a semi-structured interview with four expert informants instrumental in the design and implementation of the PDAS at the state level. The second component of the study was conducted with teachers using a 37-item Likert survey. The population for this phase of the study was 150 elementary and 150 secondary teachers chosen randomly from three school districts in North Central Texas. The districts were selected to represent a variety of sizes in regard to student population and represent diverse student population characteristics and socioeconomic levels. Data from the semi-structured interviews and the returned surveys were analyzed to determine the designers' intentions and areas of emphasis and to describe the alignment the teachers' perceptions and the designers' intentions. Quantitative data gathered from the surveys were analyzed using descriptive statistics as well as a correlation and function analysis and analysis based on a Cronbach alpha coefficient. The analysis of data revealed the following: 1. Teachers perceived that …

This study addressed the current status of early childhood curriculum design and implementation in the Texas Education Service Centers Seven and Eight. No Previous research about the characteristics of the preschool programs had been completed in those areas. This research established if preschool programs were receiving priority status in East Texas. The results yielded evidence regarding the characteristics of administrators, teachers, curriculum implementation, plus parent and community involvement. The information also provided insight regarding short-term and longitudinal effects on children who have attended preschool programs. Data were collected from a search of educational literature, regional service preschool directors, administrators, and teachers. The procedure used in designing the survey and interview documents was Michael Scriven's goal-free strategy. The main sources for the questions were the National Association for the Education of Young Children and Head Start. The study first directs attention to the common characteristics of national programs/standards, then discusses the level of implementation in local rural prekindergartens. The fifteen open-ended interviews yielded concise information relevant to the population of students served and administrative beliefs on current practices. Surveys were sent to a total of all preschool administrators in the Education Service Center Regions of Seven and Eight. A 51 percent …

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

Undergraduate catalog describes the governance, history, academic programs, course descriptions, and campus life of Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas. Index begins on page 227.

Catalog describes the history, governance, admission requirements, course offerings, and campus life of Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Texas (http://www.hputx.edu).

This study examines pre-service teachers' attitudes toward language diversity and linguistically diverse students. Two hundred seventy-one teacher education students were surveyed to determine relative effects of demographic, mediating variables and psychosocial variables on language attitude as measured by the Language Attitudes of Teachers Scale (LATS). Independent variables include gender, age, race/ethnicity, teacher certification sought, region, psychological insecurity, cognitive sophistication, and helpfulness viewpoint. Research questions are established and methodology is outlined. A review of related literature places the study in the context of research with a broad interdisciplinary perspective and then links the study to other research relevant to the field of education. The findings of the study indicate that gender, race/ethnicity, teacher certification sought, political ideology, psychological insecurity, and cognitive sophistication contribute significantly to the variation found in attitude toward language diversity. The paper concludes with analyses and discussions of the significant variables and suggestions for application in teacher preparation.

A detailed document unveiling the meticulous Campus Educational Improvement Plan for North Hi Mount Elementary School, offering a comprehensive roadmap towards educational excellence.

A comprehensive memorandum providing strategic insights into the Site Visit Reports conducted by the Westat Team.

The UNT Graduate Bulletin includes information about class offerings as well as general information about the university (academic calendar, admissions and degree requirements, financial information, etc.) about research, and about the colleges and schools on campus. Index starts on page 439.

Newsletter of the Texas Youth Commission discussing information about the Commission as well as news, events, and other relevant information.

An in-depth Mentor Review tailored for a dedicated teacher at Oakhurst School. It offers a nuanced evaluation of the teacher's achievements, professional evolution, and impact within the school community.

This study employed a pretest/posttest control group design to investigate the achievement of second grade Hispanic students from a predominantly low socio-economic school in a large metropolitan city. The thirty Hispanic students with the lowest scores on the Gates MacGinitie Reading Test were randomly assigned to the experimental group (n =15) or the control group (n=15). The treatment consisted of 16, 30-minute sessions of play intervention--2 times per week for 8 weeks. The providers of play therapy were school personnel trained in the principles of child-centered play therapy including tracking, reflecting feelings, and setting limits. Instruments were administered to all subjects prior to the 8 week treatment period and in the two-week period following treatment and included the GMRT, the Joseph Pre-School Primary Self-Concept Test (JPPSCST) and the Child Behavior Checklist Teacher Report Form (CBCTRF). Statistical analyses included a (t-test; 2 tail; p > .05), discriminant analysis, and cross validation. The results indicated that children who received play therapy did not achieve notably higher mean scores in reading. However, play therapy did improve the experimental group's self-concept scores and their internal behavior scores, though not significantly. All differences between the experimental and the control groups were within 1 point except …

The Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) Project supports the Hanford Site Mission to cleanup the Site by providing safe, economic, environmentally sound management of Site spent nuclear fuel in a manner that reduces hazards by staging it to interim onsite storage and deactivates the 100 K Area facilities.

The Office of River Protection (ORP) is implementing the River Protection Project (RPP) using two prime contractors. CH2M Hill Hanford Group, Inc. (CHG) is responsible for operating the existing tank system, delivering the waste feed to the waste treatment plant, and managing the resulting low- and high-level glass waste ''product'' through a performance-based fee type contract. A separate prime contractor will be responsible for designing, constructing and commissioning of a new Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP), and preparing the waste for ultimate disposal. In addition to the prime contractors and their interfaces, the River Protection Project is being conducted on the Hanford Site, which is under the management of another DOE organization, DOE Richland Field Office (DOE-RL). The infrastructure and utilities are provided by DOE-RL, for example. In addition, there are multiple other technical interfaces with federal, state and other regulatory agencies that influence the management of the activities. This paper provides an overview of the approach employed by ORP to identify, coordinate, and manage the technical interfaces of RPP. In addition, this paper describes the approach and methodologies used to: Establish an overall framework for interface management. Establish the requirements for defining and managing interfaces for the prime …

A documented semi-annual report, meticulously detailing the strategic progress of the TETAC initiative as of March 2000.

Daily newspaper from Baytown, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

The Howard Payne alumni newsletter includes information regarding events at the school and news about the college's students, staff, and alumni.