Behavior Management Techniques Used by Teachers of Emotionally/behaviorally Disordered Students in Various Educational Settings (open access)

Behavior Management Techniques Used by Teachers of Emotionally/behaviorally Disordered Students in Various Educational Settings

The purpose of this study was to delineate the differences between the types of behavioral management techniques used by teachers of students with emotional/behavioral disorders.
Date: December 1998
Creator: Elizondo, Leigh A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Digitally Curious: A Qualitative Case Study of Students’ Demonstrations of Curiosity in a Technology-Rich Learning Environment (open access)

Digitally Curious: A Qualitative Case Study of Students’ Demonstrations of Curiosity in a Technology-Rich Learning Environment

Curiosity is an important construct for educators as it is connected with knowledge and higher-order thinking, goal-oriented behavior, motivation, and persistence. It is also negatively correlated with boredom and anxiety. While research documents this strong connection between learning and curiosity, no studies existed exploring curiosity in a technology-rich learning environment. The purpose of this study is to identify and examine whether students demonstrate curiosity in a sixth grade mathematics classroom with technology-integrated learning and if so, how and why. Technology-rich work was designed for students and included in the study to examine students’ demonstrations of curiosity while learning mathematical procedural knowledge, conceptual knowledge and problem solving knowledge. A case study methodology was used with 13 students purposefully selected from a Title I sixth grade class to participate. Data were collected from interviews using a semi-structured interview protocol and triangulated with observations and students’ reflective writings. Interviews were transcribed and coded. A total of 60 codes and four categories were identified. Three themes emerged: 1) digital play; 2) welcome and unwelcome scaffolds; and 3) action is power; power follows ideas. These themes identified ways in which students demonstrated curiosity in the sixth grade mathematics classroom and thus can inform educators.
Date: August 2011
Creator: McLeod, Julie Kiser
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Two Semester Life Science Syllabus for Use in Texas Public Schools with Seventh Grade Students (open access)

A Two Semester Life Science Syllabus for Use in Texas Public Schools with Seventh Grade Students

The problem of using a state adopted textbook written to apply to a large body of students with varying interests and needs was overcome by using a detailed syllabus that arranged course content in a meaningful sequence that appealed to student interest. The outlined syllabus prepared a two semester life science curriculum to be used by the teacher to guide lesson planning. Both semesters were divided into three units each. Materials included in the syllabus were given to actual student groups in real classroom settings. Since hands on learning was an important part of classroom instruction, two laboratory sections were included in the appendices to be used with the syllabus.
Date: May 1995
Creator: Edwards, Gail G. (Gail Graham)
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effect of the Use of Laser Video Disc on Achievement, Attitude, and Confidence of High School Biology Students (open access)

The Effect of the Use of Laser Video Disc on Achievement, Attitude, and Confidence of High School Biology Students

The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of level III video disc instruction on high school biology students. There were three areas studied: students' achievement in biology, students' attitude toward biology, and confidence. The experimental group consisted of 70 biology students. The control group also consisted of 70 biology students. The teacher of the experimental group used level in video disc instruction to teach about invertebrates, vertebrates, human systems, and plants throughout the semester. The teachers of the control group taught the same topics during the same period using the traditional lecture method and without level III video disc instruction. Students took the Biology Achievement Test, the Purdue Master Attitude Scale, and the Confidence in Learning Inventory before and after the treatment period. A t-test on the pretest scores of the experimental group and the control group showed no significant difference between the two groups. The experimental group also took the Technology Preference Survey after the treatment period.
Date: August 1994
Creator: Garza, Federico (Federico Angel)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Ninth-grade Students’ Negotiation Of Aesthetic, Efferent, And Critical Stances In Response To A Novel Set In Afghanistan (open access)

Ninth-grade Students’ Negotiation Of Aesthetic, Efferent, And Critical Stances In Response To A Novel Set In Afghanistan

This qualitative, action research study was guided by two primary research questions. First, how do students negotiate aesthetic, efferent, and critical stances when reading a novel set in Afghanistan? Second, how do aesthetic and efferent stances contribute to or hinder the adoption of a critical stance? A large body of research exists that examines student responses to literature, and much of that research is based on the transactional theory of reading. However, it remains unclear how critical literacy fits into this theory. This study describes how one group of high school students’ aesthetic and efferent responses to a novel set in Afghanistan supported their development of critical stances. Six students enrolled in a ninth-grade English course participated in this study. Data were collected for 13 weeks. Data included two individual interviews with each student, student writing assignments in the form of 6 assigned journal entries and 7 assigned essays, transcriptions of 12 class discussions, field notes, lesson plans, a teacher researcher journal, and research memos. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Three major findings emerged from this study. First, class discussions provided a context for students to adopt stances that were not evident in their individual written responses …
Date: December 2011
Creator: Taliaferro, Cheryl
System: The UNT Digital Library
Non-Academic Institutional Variables Related to Degree Completion of Non-Traditional Age Undergraduate Students (open access)

Non-Academic Institutional Variables Related to Degree Completion of Non-Traditional Age Undergraduate Students

A study was conducted at The University of Texas at Arlington to obtain measurements of non-traditional age undergraduate students using the Mattering Scales for Adult Students in Higher Education (MHE). The MHE is designed to assess the perceptions of adult students on how much they matter to the institution they are attending. The study also sought to determine if "mattering" and other selected nonacademic variables associated with the university environment are perceived by nontraditional age students to effect their likelihood of completing their baccalaureate degree. Of the five subscales surveyed by the MHE, significant statistical differences were found to exist in the Administration, Interaction With Peers, Multiple Roles, and Faculty subscales denoting an interaction between gender and minority status. Significant statistical differences were also found by gender on the Advising subscale and by minority status on the Faculty subscale.
Date: August 1998
Creator: Walts, Rebecca Ann.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Background Characteristics and Matriculation Rationale of Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Students in Selected Two-Year Colleges (open access)

Background Characteristics and Matriculation Rationale of Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Students in Selected Two-Year Colleges

The research was designed to test the hypothesis that significant differences exist between Hispanic and non-Hispanic students respecting background characteristics and reasons for enrollment in selected two-year colleges. The findings led to firm conclusions regarding the need for educational institutions to provide remedial and tutorial services, liberal financial aid, culturally sensitive institutional ambience, diversity in faculty, counselors, and staff, and instructional and student development programs responsive to the cultural diversity of all students.
Date: May 1992
Creator: Dexter, R. Parker (Rawlins Parker)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Exploratory User Research for a Website that Provides Resources for Educators of American Indian Students in Higher Education (open access)

Exploratory User Research for a Website that Provides Resources for Educators of American Indian Students in Higher Education

Several studies have indicated that American Indian students in the United States higher education system confront unique challenges that derive from a legacy of colonialism and assimilationist policies (Huff 1997). Several scholars, American Indian and non-Native alike, have explored the effects of this history upon students in higher education (Brayboy 2004; Guillory and Wolverton 2008; Waterman and Lindley 2013). Very few, however, have explored the role of the educators of American Indian students, and most of the literature focuses on K-12 educational settings (McCarty and Lee 2014; Yong and Hoffman 2014). This thesis examines exploratory user research conducted to generate a foundational understanding of educators of American Indian students in higher education. Utilizing methods from design anthropology and user experience, semi-structured interviews and think-aloud sessions were conducted, almost exclusively virtually, for 17 participants. This research was conducted for a client, Fire & Associates, as part of the applied thesis process. Findings revealed a complex web of needs for educators of American Indian students in higher education related to teaching diverse students, the use of media and technology in the classroom, and the process of networking among other educators. The research culminated in content and design implications for the Fire & …
Date: December 2016
Creator: Roth, Heather S.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Student and Family Perspectives on Gifted and Advanced Academics Participation for African American High School Students (open access)

Student and Family Perspectives on Gifted and Advanced Academics Participation for African American High School Students

Many students and their families do not understand the impact of students’ involvement in gifted or advanced academics educational programs and their potentially positive effects and challenges. Nationally African American students are underrepresented in gifted and advanced academics courses in high schools; however, African American students and families often do not advocate for their inclusion in these educational pathways. A survey of literature supporting this study of voices of African American families concerning gifted and advanced academics participation focused on (1) the historical underpinnings for equity and excellence for African American and for gifted and advanced academics learners, (2) how the lack of an agreed upon definition of gifted and advanced academics by the professional field might contribute to the problem, and (3) how African American parents made educational decisions for and with their children, especially concerning college. Employing semi-structured interviews and a focus group, this qualitative case study examined how four students from each of three groups, gifted and talented, advanced academics, and neither, and a representative group of their parents perceived these programs and their children’s involvement in them within the framework provided by a single school district. African American families in this study asked for a partnership …
Date: August 2015
Creator: Zeske, Karen Marie
System: The UNT Digital Library
Changes in Social Distance Among American Undergraduate Students Participating in a Study Abroad Program in China (open access)

Changes in Social Distance Among American Undergraduate Students Participating in a Study Abroad Program in China

As the world becomes increasingly interdependent, mutual understanding becomes increasingly important. Therefore, it is essential that people strive for reductions in social distance on an international level. Study abroad is one of the ways to approach internationalization and promote understanding among different peoples and cultures. Prior research has been done on the degrees of social distance between people from different cultures; however, little research has been done regarding changes that cultural immersion produces among those who reside in different cultures. Studies about study abroad programs have focused on cultural sensitivity and adaptability, yet few have combined the study abroad experience with the perceptions of self and other cultural groups. This study presents a framework for understanding people through intercultural activities. It studied social distance and attitude changes brought about in social distance as an artifact of cultural immersion. The study took place both in China and in the United States. It focused on the social distance among American undergraduate students who participated in a China Study Abroad program sponsored by the University of North Texas. The study measured before and after social distance of a group of American students who studied abroad in China. The study abroad program itself was …
Date: December 2007
Creator: Chen, Danxia
System: The UNT Digital Library
Effects of Three Interventions with International College Students Referred for Adjustment and Language Difficulties: A Preliminary Study (open access)

Effects of Three Interventions with International College Students Referred for Adjustment and Language Difficulties: A Preliminary Study

This quasi-experimental study examined the effects of three interventions with international college students referred for adjustment and language difficulties. Fifty-four international students were assigned to treatment groups including expressive group counseling (n = 14), group speech therapy (n = 14), interdisciplinary counseling/speech intervention (n = 13), and the no treatment control (n = 13). Three null hypotheses were analyzed using a two factor repeated measures analysis of variance to determine whether the four treatment groups behaved differently across time according to pre- and posttest results of the ASR Total and Internalizing Problems scales and the CCSR total scores. Two null hypotheses were rejected at the alpha .05 level of statistical significance with large treatment effects. Post hoc analyses were conducted when a statistically significant interaction effect was found. The no treatment control group was established as a baseline to examine how each intervention group performed over time when compared to the no treatment control group. Results of the post hoc analysis for Total Problems indicated that international students in all three treatment groups demonstrated statistically significant improvements in total behavior problems at the alpha .025 level (Expressive counseling: p = .002, Speech: p = .01, and Interdisciplinary: p = .003) …
Date: May 2007
Creator: Lee, Eunah Kim
System: The UNT Digital Library
Two Strategies for Improving the Retention Rate of the High-Risk Students in an Instructional Television History Course (open access)

Two Strategies for Improving the Retention Rate of the High-Risk Students in an Instructional Television History Course

The problem of this study was to test and compare the impact of two alternative educational treatments on the rate of success among high-risk students enrolled in the United States History telecourse at Richland College, DCCCD during the Spring Semester of 1980. The purposes of the study were to determine whether 1. The rate of success, that is, the proportion of students completing the course with a grade of "C" or higher, would increase among high-risk students in either experimental group; 2. The rate of success would increase among high-risk students with poor reading skills in either experimental group; 3. The rate of success would increase among high-risk students with poor academic motivation for telecourses in either experimental group; 4. The rate of success would increase among high-risk students when related to the demographic variables used as predictors and collected for the students who were in either experimental group; 5. There would be a difference in the effects of experimental treatment I and experimental treatment II in helping students with poor reading skills to complete the course with a grade of "C" or higher; 6. There would be a difference in the effects of experimental treatment I and experimental treatment …
Date: August 1980
Creator: Trickel, John A. (John Andrew)
System: The UNT Digital Library

Effectiveness of Filial/Play Therapy Training on High School Students' Empathic Behavior with Young Children

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of a filial/play therapy training model with high school juniors and seniors enrolled in a Peer Assistance and Leadership program (PALs). Filial/play therapy is an intervention that focuses on strengthening and enhancing adult-child relationships. The high students are trained to be a therapeutic change agent for primary school children identified as having adjustment difficulties by utilizing basic child-centered play therapy skills in weekly play sessions with young children. Specifically, this study is designed to determine the effectiveness of filial therapy in increasing: 1) the high school students' observed empathic behavior with young children, 2) the high school students' observed attitude of acceptance toward young children, 3) the high school students' observed ability to allow self-direction in young children, and 4) the high school students' observed level of involvement with young children. The experimental group, consisting of 16 volunteer high school students enrolled in a PALs class for high school credit, received a total of 24 weeks of filial/play therapy didactic training, application, and supervision for the playtimes they conducted with pre-kindergarten/kindergarten students identified with adjustment difficulties. The comparison group consisted of 15 volunteer high school students enrolled in a PALs class for …
Date: May 2001
Creator: Jones, Leslie D.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Result of Differential Seating Arrangements upon Students' Anxiety Level, Acquaintance Volume, and Perceived Social Distance (open access)

The Result of Differential Seating Arrangements upon Students' Anxiety Level, Acquaintance Volume, and Perceived Social Distance

The study was conducted to investigate the result of three differential seating arrangements in college classrooms on anxiety level, acquaintance volume, and perceived social distance among students.
Date: August 1972
Creator: Wang, Yu Tsun
System: The UNT Digital Library
Development of a Workbook for Business Mathematics Based on the Needs of Students of Business at North Texas State Teachers College (open access)

Development of a Workbook for Business Mathematics Based on the Needs of Students of Business at North Texas State Teachers College

The problem of this study is to determine the needs of students who are majoring in business and to design a workbook that will best prepare these students for the business courses offered at North Texas State Teachers College and for the problems of everyday life.
Date: 1947
Creator: Williams, Walter Maxey
System: The UNT Digital Library
Using Baroque Vocal Music to Introduce Horn Students to the Musical Concepts of Expression, Articulation, Phrasing, and Tempo (open access)

Using Baroque Vocal Music to Introduce Horn Students to the Musical Concepts of Expression, Articulation, Phrasing, and Tempo

Baroque music is an area largely neglected in the music education of young horn students and wind players in general. Baroque horn repertoire is very demanding primarily due to the range. Baroque composers wrote for horn using the uppermost register of the instrument. In this range the partials are closer together, allowing for more melodic writing. This music requires an advanced level of technique, endurance, and ability. Often this repertoire is not suitable for students until they are well into their collegiate years of study. Frequently this music is performed on descant horns. Since only a small number of middle school and high school horn students continue to play after they leave their school band programs, they many never get first hand experience performing Baroque music. Vocal students are often introduced to Baroque arias early in their training. Purcell’s songs and arias are an excellent example of the literature that young voice students use. These arias and songs can be the perfect portal to Baroque music for horn students as well. Here I have created an edition of Henry Purcell’s songs and arias for young horn students. Each aria used the text as a guide for the “affect” and its …
Date: May 2014
Creator: Winter, Angela K.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Study of the Generalization of the Effects of Group Systematic Desensitization of Test Anxiety on Co-Existent Anxiety in College Students (open access)

A Study of the Generalization of the Effects of Group Systematic Desensitization of Test Anxiety on Co-Existent Anxiety in College Students

The problem of this study was to measure the generalization of the effects of group systematic desensitization of test anxiety on certain coexistent anxieties in college students.
Date: December 1971
Creator: Leffingwell, R. Jon
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Longitudinal Study Describing the Career Identity Development of Low Income and First Generation College Bound Students (open access)

A Longitudinal Study Describing the Career Identity Development of Low Income and First Generation College Bound Students

This mixed methods study investigated the influence of a career development program attended by low income, first generation, college bound students. Phase I took place in 2006 and 2007 when the students participated in the Upward Bound summer Bridge program. During Phase II in 2009, follow up interviews were conducted. Phase III was completed in 2014 and also included follow-up interviews. Career Identity (CI) scores from My Vocational Situation and Holland codes from the Self Directed Search were obtained during each phase. Changes in measured career identity scores and codes were interpreted by taking into account the students’ experiences. Interviews examined common themes demonstrating the career development of the participants.
Date: May 2014
Creator: Estrada-Hamby, Lisa S.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Effects of Technology-Enhanced Language Learning on Second Language Composition of University-Level Intermediate Spanish Students (open access)

Effects of Technology-Enhanced Language Learning on Second Language Composition of University-Level Intermediate Spanish Students

Today's global culture makes communication through writing in a foreign language a most desirable tool to expand personal and professional relations. However, teaching writing is a complex, time-consuming endeavor in any language. Foreign language teachers at every level struggle to fit writing into an already full curriculum and need the most effective methods and tools with which to teach. Technology may provide a viable scaffold to support writing instruction for teachers and students. The purpose of this research was to determine any benefits of weekly/structured, in-class, computer-assisted grammar drill and practice on the composition quality and quantity of intermediate university Spanish learners. A related purpose was to determine whether students who participated in such practice would access a computer-based writing assistant differently during writing than students without the treatment. The research design was a nonequivalent groups pretest-posttest design. Fifty-two subjects' compositions were graded with both holistic and analytic criteria to analyze composition quality and quantity, and statistical analyses assessed interactions of treatment and effects. The computer-based Atajo writing assistant, which could be accessed during composition, had a logging feature which provided unobtrusive observation of specific databases accessed by each student. There were no statistically significant differences found between the two …
Date: December 2004
Creator: Oxford, Raquel Malia Nitta
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Comparison of the Relative Effectiveness of Mainstream Versus Pullout Treatment Programs in Addressing the Needs of At-Risk Students (open access)

A Comparison of the Relative Effectiveness of Mainstream Versus Pullout Treatment Programs in Addressing the Needs of At-Risk Students

The purpose of the study was to compare the relative benefits of treating at-risk students, those considered to be potential dropouts, by separating them into special classes at a separate facility—a pullout program—versus having them remain in regular classes with periodic supplemental counseling based upon individual needs—a mainstream program. To carry out the purpose of the study, students enrolled in the two types of treatment programs were compared in respect to retention in school, attendance, academic achievement based upon pretest and posttest scores, report card grades, and attitude toward school.
Date: December 1993
Creator: Harrison, Robert S. (Robert Seidel)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Highly Motivated, High-Achieving, Economically Disadvantaged Middle School Students: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective (open access)

Highly Motivated, High-Achieving, Economically Disadvantaged Middle School Students: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective

To conduct this qualitative dissertation study, a phenomenological approach was utilized. The purpose of the study was to examine the perspectives of highly motivated, economically disadvantaged, middle school students to discover the factors that they identified as integral to their overall development and their intrinsic motivation, over time, to learn. A key component of this study was to give voice to the students who participated in this study and utilize their perspectives as a primary data source. Participants in this study included six middle school students, identified as economically disadvantaged, two from fifth grade and four from the seventh grade. Self-determination theory was used as a theoretical framework to guide and inform the analysis of students' perspectives, obtained through individual, semi-structured interviews with each student and classroom observations. Six themes, related to students' intrinsic motivation to learn and succeed in school, were identified. Extrinsic factors were also prominent. Although students expressed a true love of learning, they also acknowledged that external factors such as grades and testing influenced their motivation to learn. Autonomy, competence, and relatedness were major factors at play in the school, classrooms, and homes of these students. Recommendation for practice suggest that teachers, administrators, and parents shift …
Date: December 2019
Creator: Minyard, Michael
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Impact of Digital Games on High School Students' Academic Achievement in Mathematics Education: A Meta-Analytic Investigation (open access)

The Impact of Digital Games on High School Students' Academic Achievement in Mathematics Education: A Meta-Analytic Investigation

The focus of this study was to conduct a meta-analytic investigation to combine the results obtained in independent studies aimed at determining the effectiveness of using digital games, as opposed to traditional methods, as a strategy for improving students' performance in high school mathematics. The major question of this study is: "Does the research on the use of games in high school mathematics support the use of games as a teaching strategy for improving student achievement?" To answer this question, meta-analysis was employed. Meta-analysis synthesizes and analyzes the quantitative data collected in independent and multiple empirical studies carried out on similar topics, situations, and hypotheses in order to reach a general judgment regarding the results of these studies. To determine which studies to use, specific criteria including articles published in refereed journals, thesis, and dissertation studies with experimental and control groups, research with effect size, sample size, standard deviation, and means. Based on these criteria, it was decided to include six experimental studies in the meta-analysis. The result showed that there was no significant differences between the use of digital games and traditional methods to teach mathematics in high school. The weighting factor of the two variables, standard deviation and …
Date: August 2016
Creator: Okeke, Godwin Nnaemeka
System: The UNT Digital Library
Student characteristics and self-concept of secondary career and technical education students in a north central Texas region (open access)

Student characteristics and self-concept of secondary career and technical education students in a north central Texas region

Self-concept, discussed as a scholarly topic since the time of Socrates and Plato, is an important theoretical construct in education because self-concept is considered to be a desirable trait and a facilitator of positive future behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the characteristics of students enrolled in career and technical education (CTE) programs and students' self-concept scores as measured by specific subscales from the Self-Description Questionnaire (SDQ). A total of 196 male and 89 female secondary students (Grades 9-12) enrolled in arts, audio/video technology and communications cluster courses in North Central Texas school districts participated in the study. Student characteristic variables of interest were age, gender, CTE program enrollment, and participation in CTE. The self-concept subscales analyzed were General, Academic, Verbal, Math, and Problem Solving. A canonical correlation analysis was conducted using the four student characteristic variables as predictors of the five self-concept variables to evaluate the multivariate shared relationship between the two variable sets. The full model across all functions explained about 23% of the variance between the variable sets. Function 1 explained 15% of the shared variance and Function 2 explained 7% of the variance that remained. This study detected a relationship …
Date: May 2010
Creator: Cox, Nancy Lynne
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effects of Pre-Kindergarten on Spanish-Speaking Bilingual Students Taking the Third Grade TAKS Reading Test (open access)

The Effects of Pre-Kindergarten on Spanish-Speaking Bilingual Students Taking the Third Grade TAKS Reading Test

The purpose of this dissertation is to provide research and data examining the impact of pre-kindergarten on Spanish-speaking ESL students on the third grade TAKS Reading test scores. The two questions that guided this study are: (1) As measured by the third grade TAKS reading test, what is the relationship between those limited english proficient (LEP) Spanish-speaking children who attended a pre-kindergarten program and those who did not attend a pre-kindergarten program? and (2) As measured by the third grade TAKS Reading test, how do the test scores of those LEP Spanish-speaking third graders who attended the district's pre-k program in 2000-2001 and testing in 2005, differ from those who attended the district's pre-k program in 2001-2002 and testing in 2006? The research study used a quantitative methodology designed as causal-comparative analysis. Independent t-tests were used to determine if there were any significant differences in test scores of third graders between the two groups of students. Although the results of the statistical analysis revealed some isolated statistically significant differences between those Spanish-speaking bilingual students who attended pre-kindergarten and those who did not, the data showed no real differences in the test scores of those students.
Date: December 2008
Creator: Ringhauser, John T.
System: The UNT Digital Library