The Relationship of Fifth-Grade Students' Self-Concepts and Attitudes toward Mathematics to Academic Achievement in Arithmetical Computation, Concepts, and Application (open access)

The Relationship of Fifth-Grade Students' Self-Concepts and Attitudes toward Mathematics to Academic Achievement in Arithmetical Computation, Concepts, and Application

The purpose of this study was to determine the interrelationship of self-concept and attitude toward mathematics to academic achievement in the areas of arithmetical computation, concepts, and application.
Date: August 1971
Creator: Moore, Bobbie Dean
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effects of English Immersion Mathematics Classes on the Mathematics Achievement and Aspiration of Eighth-Grade Spanish-Speaking LEP Students (open access)

The Effects of English Immersion Mathematics Classes on the Mathematics Achievement and Aspiration of Eighth-Grade Spanish-Speaking LEP Students

This research grew from concerns relative to the mathematical performance of Spanish-speaking limited English proficient (LEP) public school students. This investigation studied the effects of the sheltered mathematics class on eighth-grade Spanish-speaking LEP students with regard to mathematical achievement, attitudes toward mathematics, the dropout rate, and the number of math credits earned in high school. The enrollment of a sheltered mathematics class was limited to LEP students. The purpose was to compare Spanish-speaking LEP students enrolled in sheltered mathematics classes with Spanish-speaking LEP students enrolled in regular mathematics classes. The research hypotheses were that achievement, mathematical attitudes, the dropout rate, and high school math credits earned would favor enrollment in sheltered mathematics classes. The data for achievement, dropout information, and mathematics course work completed were drawn from student records in the school district data bank. A mathematics attitude survey was given to a sample from the 1995-96 eighth-grade advanced level Spanish-speaking LEP students. The research hypotheses were not accepted. All of the populations did show an academic deficit. However, they did have more positive attitudes than negative attitudes toward mathematics. To improve achievement, staying in school, and a higher rate of inclusion in mathematics related careers the following recommendations were …
Date: December 1996
Creator: Hunt, Beverly Thornhill
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Study of Relationships Between Teachers' Knowledge of and Attitude Toward Selected Teaching Strategies and Their Implementation in the Elementary Classroom (open access)

A Study of Relationships Between Teachers' Knowledge of and Attitude Toward Selected Teaching Strategies and Their Implementation in the Elementary Classroom

The purpose of this study was to explore the variables of content knowledge, individual attitude, and span of time from initial training with regard to implementation of selected teaching practices in the elementary classroom. The sample consisted of thirty-two elementary classroom teachers who teach reading or mathematics in a large suburban school district in the Dallas Metropolitan Area. After completion of the second day's training in an inservice program on teaching strategies, the teachers were given a test to measure content knowledge of and attitude toward the teaching strategies. The test results were used in determining four groups for follow-up classroom observations four weeks and eight weeks after the in-service sessions. Using three-way analysis of variance, the data were analyzed. Results indicated that teachers with high content knowledge of the teaching strategies implemented these strategies to a greater degree than did teachers with low content knowledge. No significant relationship with regard to implementation was found for the variables of attitude or span of time. It can be concluded that teachers who know the content of inservice training are able to and do implement the training in their classrooms. Of equal significance is the conclusion that teachers who do not know …
Date: August 1987
Creator: Speak, Lynda Overton
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effects of Illustrations on a Context Method of Learning Reading Vocabulary for Fourth-Grade Students (open access)

The Effects of Illustrations on a Context Method of Learning Reading Vocabulary for Fourth-Grade Students

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of a context approach to learning reading vocabulary with the effectiveness of the context approach accompanied by illustrations. Subjects were 152 fourth graders from 19 reading classes in 8 elementary schools. Materials included illustrated and nonillustrated vocabulary cards, a researcher-made multiple-choice instrument, and a widely used achievement test, which was used to identify the subjects as good or poor readers. The researcher made instrument was administered as a pretest during the first week of the study. Forty-eight vocabulary words were taught during the second through fifth weeks. The instrument was given again as a posttest during week six and as a delayed posttest during week twelve. Results were analyzed with the analysis of covariance procedure.
Date: August 1983
Creator: Nease, Charles
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effects of Computer Assisted Instruction as a Supplement to Classroom Instruction in Reading Comprehension and Arithmetic (open access)

The Effects of Computer Assisted Instruction as a Supplement to Classroom Instruction in Reading Comprehension and Arithmetic

The present research was an investigation of the effects of computer assisted instruction as a supplement to classroom instruction in reading and arithmetic. The purposes of this study were to determine the effectiveness of microcomputer usage in supplemental reading comprehension and math instruction. Utilizing an elaboration of the pre-test, posttest control group design, 66 fifth graders completed the 4-month study. One-way analysis of covariance was used to analyze the data.
Date: August 1982
Creator: Easterling, Barbara Ann
System: The UNT Digital Library
Effects of Computer-Assisted Instruction on Attitudes and Achievement of Fourth Grade Students in Reading and Mathematics (open access)

Effects of Computer-Assisted Instruction on Attitudes and Achievement of Fourth Grade Students in Reading and Mathematics

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of participation in a Computer-Assisted instructional program (CAI) on fourth grade student attitudes and achievement in reading and mathematics. This study, based on Campbell and Stanley's quasiexperimental design 10, utilized Diascriptive Reading software for the CAI mathematics group and Milliken Math Sequences software for the CAI mathematics group and was completed by 242 students. The time span between pretests and posttests was seven months. Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, Level 10, Form 7/8 was used for achievement testing and Estes Attitude Scale was used for attitude testing. Analysis of covariance was used to determine significance at the .05 level. The findings for this study were: 1. Reading Comprehension posttest scores were significantly higher for the control group than for the reading experimental group; 2. Reading Comprehension posttest scores were not significantly higher for boys than for girls within the reading experimental group; 3. Total math posttest scores were significantly higher for the mathematics experimental group than for the control group; 4. Concepts and Computation math subsets posttest scores were significantly higher for the mathematics experimental group than for the control group. There were no significant differences between the posttest scores …
Date: August 1985
Creator: Todd, Wilma Elizabeth
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Study of the Changes Over Time in State Anxiety in a Computer-Assisted Instructional Program (open access)

A Study of the Changes Over Time in State Anxiety in a Computer-Assisted Instructional Program

The purposes of this study were to analyze (1) the changes over time in the state anxiety level of children in a computer-assisted program of reading instruction and in classroom reading instruction, (2) the changes in state anxiety patterns as related to gender, achievement level, and ethnicity, and (3) the difference in anxiety levels of the students while in computer-assisted reading instruction and classroom reading instruction.
Date: December 1985
Creator: Spence, M. Janet (Martha Janet)
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Study of the Relationship of Selected Variables to Reading Achievement in a Computer-Assisted Instructional Setting (open access)

A Study of the Relationship of Selected Variables to Reading Achievement in a Computer-Assisted Instructional Setting

The focus of this study was to determine the unique contribution of I.Q., gender, instructional organization, time on the computer, classroom instructional time, ethnicity and total instructional time to the predictability of achievement gain in a computer-assisted instructional setting in reading. The sample consisted of 2,000 students in grades three and five from a large suburban school district in the Dallas - Fort Worth area. The students were given the Iowa Test of Basic Skills to determine reading achievement gains and the Cognitive Abilities Test to determine I.Q. levels. The study was conducted over a five month period during the 1984 - 1985 school year. Using multiple regression, the data were analyzed.
Date: December 1985
Creator: Schneider, Judith K. (Judith Kahan)
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Relationship of Sex and Age at Entrance to School to Second Grade Achievement (open access)

The Relationship of Sex and Age at Entrance to School to Second Grade Achievement

This investigation compared achievement of boys and girls in second grade who were seven years old in June, July, and August of 1983 to the boys and girls in second grade who were eight years old in September, October, and November of 1983. The students were tested using the Iowa Test of Basic Skills using the following areas: reading, total math, and composite scores. The study also looked at the correlation of sex and age of students who had been retained in first grade. A comparison of teacher grades to standardized test scores and ability grouping was also presented. One way analysis of variance was applied to the test results. A chi square test of independence was conducted on students retained in the first grade to determine if interaction between sex and age was indicated. Older children scored higher in all three areas measured, while girls scored higher in reading. This may seem contradictory, but is not. Age was significant beyond the .05 level, while sex was significant beyond the .001 level. This difference is explained by the extremes in means for younger boys and older girls. Since first grade curriculum emphasizes reading, this gave girls a definite advantage over …
Date: December 1986
Creator: Jernigan, Sharon Reynolds
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Impact of Role Playing on Selected Values Claims Held by Third- and Fifth-Grade Students (open access)

The Impact of Role Playing on Selected Values Claims Held by Third- and Fifth-Grade Students

The problem with which this investigation was concerned was that of determining whether role playing could be used successfully to help elementary school children clarify selected values claims. The changes in children's values claims were measured by using the Semantic Differential developed by Osgood and others. This study had a threefold purpose. The first was to determine if children's values claims in the third grade could be changed by a concentrated program of role playing. The second was to determine whether children's values claims in the fifth grade could be changed by a concentrated program of role playing. The third was to determine if there was a difference in the amount of change in third- and fifth-grade children's values claims after both grades had experienced a concentrated program of role playing. The following conclusions were reached: (1) Role playing experiences can be used successfully to change third-grade children's values claims in respect to the concepts of honesty and consideration of others. (2) Whether role playing can be used successfully with third-grade children to change their values claims in regard to respect for property is open to question. (3) Whether role playing can be used successfully with fifth-grade children to change …
Date: August 1976
Creator: Marquess, Alma Louise Robinson
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Use of Learning Styles in Teaching Social Studies in 7th and 8th Grade: A Case Study (open access)

The Use of Learning Styles in Teaching Social Studies in 7th and 8th Grade: A Case Study

This qualitative case study examined the extent to which learning styles were used by teachers in four seventh and eighth grade social studies classrooms in a large suburban north Texas junior high school. The conclusions were as follows: 1) The environment on the junior high level did not afford the flexibility found in the elementary classroom. The changing of students, teachers, and the multi-purpose use of rooms did not afford flexibility of light, temperature, sound, and design preference. 2) The physical and the psychological categories had elements within each category that overlapped. A right brain activity closely aligned to a tactile/kinesthetic activity. A parallel between physical-mobility and psychological-global was noted, as well as a pattern between the global and the tactile/kinesthetic projects. 3) The split lunch period created problems for the global, kinesthetic, impulsive students. The academic environment was interrupted for a thirty minute period; students had to re-acclimate to a more analytic environment after lunch. 4) Each teacher alternated between primary style and secondary and tertiary styles. This mediation ability enabled each teacher to use all styles in lessons the researcher observed. 5) Abstract random and concrete random teachers did more group and team teaching than concrete sequential and …
Date: August 1990
Creator: Woodring, Betty Gregory
System: The UNT Digital Library
Affecting Children's Value Claims by Using High-Level Questioning Focused on Selected Poetry (open access)

Affecting Children's Value Claims by Using High-Level Questioning Focused on Selected Poetry

This study was to determine the extent to which the use of high-level questioning, through eliciting responses to selected poems, affects children's value claims. Twenty-seven seventh-grade boys comprised the control group, and twenty-seven eighth-grade boys comprised the experimental group. The experimental group took part in values-clarification experiences for sixteen weeks. The control group received no value instruction. The Values Inventory was administered to both groups at the beginning and at the end of the sixteen weeks. Testing of the hypotheses resulted in eight of the hypotheses being significant at the .01 level, indicating that values-clarification experiences using high-level questioning and selected poems did affect children's value claims.
Date: August 1976
Creator: Sheppard, Ronnie L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Norma and Mel Gabler: The Development and Causes of Their Involvement Concerning the Curricular Appropriateness of School Textbook Content (open access)

Norma and Mel Gabler: The Development and Causes of Their Involvement Concerning the Curricular Appropriateness of School Textbook Content

The problem of this study was to trace through available sources the history of Norma and Mel Gablers' work concerning the curricular appropriateness of textbooks and interpret in terms of motivation, scope, and effectiveness the identified impact of their work. The purpose of this study was to present a comprehensive report documenting specifically that which the Gablers have done, said, and represent. A chronology of events of the Gablers' textbook involvement from 1961 through 1981 has been recorded. Material written and/or distributed by the Gablers through their organization, Educational Research Analysts, has been reviewed and summarized with extensive documentation to convey the philosophy and intentions of the Gablers since their work in this area began. Specific passages of textbook content petitioned against by Norma Gabler before the Texas State Textbook Adoption Committee have been presented as organized around the Gabler outline, "Textbook Reviewing by Categories." Media presentations featuring the Gablers have been reviewed for the purpose of informing others about what types of information have been presented to the American public about this issue and to offer a glimpse into the human nature characteristics of the Gablers as personalities. Professional educator reaction into this probe of textbook content is offered …
Date: August 1982
Creator: Piasecki, Frank Edward
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Influence of Rhyming Verses on Young Children's Ability to Repeat Rhythmic Phrases (open access)

The Influence of Rhyming Verses on Young Children's Ability to Repeat Rhythmic Phrases

The purpose of this study was to determine if the teaching of rhyming verses containing rhythmic phrases facilitates young children's learning of the rhythmic phrases. The study utilized a pre-test/post-test/control group design. The students were randomly selected and assigned to either experimental group A, experimental group B, or a control group. Students in experimental group A were taught the rhyming verses and given practice repeating the rhythmic phrases contained in the rhyming verses. Students in experimental group B were only given practice repeating the rhythmic phrases. The control group was taught seasonal songs and activities. No rhythmic instruction was given to the control group.
Date: December 1983
Creator: Alexander, Mary Jane
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Understanding and Attitudes of Elementary Teachers Toward Economic Education (open access)

The Understanding and Attitudes of Elementary Teachers Toward Economic Education

The purposes of this study are to determine the understanding of economic concepts and attitudes toward economic education of selected elementary teachers, to determine which variables relate to the understanding of economic concepts and attitudes toward economic education, to determine the interaction of selected variables, and to determine if there is a positive correlation between the understanding of economic concepts and attitudes toward economic education. The analysis of data reveals the following: 1. Completion of a recent college level social studies methods course does not appear to have a significant relation to the teachers' understanding of economic concepts. The methods course does appear to have some positive significant relation to teachers' attitudes toward economic education, although not significant at the .05 level. 2. Completion of two or more college level courses in economics does not appear to have a significant relation to the teachers' understanding of economic concepts or their attitudes toward economic education. 3. Participation in a Developmental Economic Education Program (DEEP) workshop appears to have a significant relation to the teachers' understanding of economic concepts, but does not appear to have a significant relation to their attitudes toward economic education. 4. Teaching assignment (classroom organization) does not appear …
Date: August 1976
Creator: Vines, Carolyn Wadkins
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effects of Specialized Skill Instruction on the Ability of Six-Grade Students to Solve Mathematical Word Problems (open access)

The Effects of Specialized Skill Instruction on the Ability of Six-Grade Students to Solve Mathematical Word Problems

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of specialized skill instruction on the ability of sixth-grade students to solve mathematics word problems. Subjects were 578 sixth graders from eight elementary schools. Researcher-developed materials were used based on seven identified content strands. Specific sections of a widely used achievement test were used to identify ability groups in both reading and mathematics and served as the pretest and posttest measures.
Date: May 1984
Creator: Kuzminski, Pamela Plunkett
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Qualitative Analysis of the Computer Programming Abilities and Thought Processes of Five-Year-Old Children (open access)

A Qualitative Analysis of the Computer Programming Abilities and Thought Processes of Five-Year-Old Children

The problem of this study was to describe and analyze the computer programming abilities and thought processes of five-year-old children using a conventional microcomputer and the Apple LOGO language. This dissertation reports on the behavior of five kindergarten children and the counts they made as they learned to program in LOGO on an Apple XI Plus microcomputer. The five participants were randomly selected from a group of ten five-year-olds who passed a screening test of numeral and capital letter recognition. The sample included three girls and two boys, all of whom were white. The students met individually with the researcher and the computer for about twenty minutes every day during a ten-week period.
Date: August 1984
Creator: Hines, Sandra N. (Sandra Ninemire)
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Status of Transitional First Grade Programs in Regions 10 and 11 in North Central Texas (open access)

The Status of Transitional First Grade Programs in Regions 10 and 11 in North Central Texas

The purposes of this study were to identify public school districts that currently offer, or are planning to offer, transitional first-grade programs, to describe existing transitional programs, to describe the genesis of transitional first-grade classes in the North Texas area, and to assist in the establishment of a networking system for schools in the North Central Texas area that currently have, or are planning to have, transitional first-grade classes. The 158 school districts in Regions 10 and 11 were surveyed. The findings of the study indicate that about one-third of the districts offered transitional first-grade programs during the 1988-89 school year, and two-thirds of the districts saw a need for transitional first-grade classes. These transitional programs were implemented to meet the needs of children who had completed kindergarten but were not ready for regular first grade. Transitional first-grade programs focus primarily on language arts and math skills for kindergarten and early first grade. While curriculum materials vary from district to district, language arts is likely to be based on a whole-language approach, and math is likely to focus on manipulatives.. Kindergarten teacher observation is used in the screening procedures in the majority of the districts. A number of instruments are …
Date: December 1989
Creator: Angove, Dawn A. (Dawn Annyce)
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Role of a Developmental Screening in Kindergarten - First Grade Placement (open access)

The Role of a Developmental Screening in Kindergarten - First Grade Placement

The purposes of this study were to determine if a kindergartener's developmental stage correlates with subsequent scholastic achievement, to determine whether developmentally younger children who repeat kindergarten attain higher academic achievement than developmental 1y younger children who do not repeat kindergarten, and to investigate the relationship between head circumference, developmental age, and achievement. Ninety-seven kindergartners of various ethnicity and socio-economic status were administered the Gesell School Readiness Screening Test to determine developmental age and were followed academically for three years. Head circumference was noted periodically to measure brain growth. The hypotheses predicted significant positive correlations between developmental age in kindergarten and scores on later achievement tests. Further, it was predicted that children below 5.3 years in developmental age who delayed entrance to first grade would score significantly higher on first grade achievement tests than match-paired promoted students. It was hypothesized that there would be significant correlations between head circumference growth and (a) gains in achievement test scores and (b) developmental age at kindergarten. The first hypothesis, tested by Pearson Product Moment Correlations, established the existence of significant correlations between developmental ages of test subjects and their scores on four academic achievement tests. The results indicated that developmental age was a …
Date: December 1986
Creator: Sanders, Karen Nordberg
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Analysis of Factors Affecting the Creation, Implementation, and Retention or Rejection of Curriculum Change: Three Objective-Based Skills Systems in Reading (open access)

An Analysis of Factors Affecting the Creation, Implementation, and Retention or Rejection of Curriculum Change: Three Objective-Based Skills Systems in Reading

The problem with which this study dealt was an identification of the positive or negative factors affecting the creation, implementation, and retention or rejection of curriculum change efforts. As examples, the Fountain Valley, PEGASUS-PACE, and Wisconsin Design skills management systems (SMS) for reading were studied as each was an example of successful curriculum change efforts, in two different settings,
Date: May 1981
Creator: Cutler, K. Don (Kenny Don), 1945-
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effects of Learning to Program a Computer in BASIC or LOGO on the Problem-Solving Abilities of Fifth Grade Students (open access)

The Effects of Learning to Program a Computer in BASIC or LOGO on the Problem-Solving Abilities of Fifth Grade Students

The purposes of this study were (1) to determine if learning to program a computer in either BASIC or Logo improves the problem-solving skills of fifth grade students when compared to a control group that receives no programming instruction, and (2) to determine if learning to program a computer in Logo is more effective than learning to program in BASIC for improving problem-solving skills in fifth grade students. Subjects were 132 fifth graders from two suburban elementary schools. The materials used in the study were the Computer Challenge Guide for the BASIC group and Logo in the Classroom for the Logo group. The New Jersey Test of Reasoning Skills was used as the pretest and posttest measure.
Date: August 1984
Creator: Shaw, Donna Gail
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Impact of Transitional First Grade on Students' Readiness and School Attitude (open access)

The Impact of Transitional First Grade on Students' Readiness and School Attitude

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a transitional first grade program on the attitude and readiness scores of a group of regular first grade students who qualified for the transitional program but attended regular first grade (control group) and a group of transitional first grade students (experimental group). The study utilized a pretest/posttest design. The regular first grade students received formal instruction in all academic areas. The experimental group received no formal instruction.
Date: August 1987
Creator: Reed, Jewel Ann
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Cognitive Development Sequence of Music Skills in Elementary School Aged Children (open access)

The Cognitive Development Sequence of Music Skills in Elementary School Aged Children

The problem of this study was to determine the cognitive development sequence of music skills. This sequence was determined by finding the music skills level, the Piagetian developmental level, and the developmental art level for twelve students differing in reading ability and in the first through fourth grades.The students were individually tested, using Piaget's semi-clinical interview technique. The students were tested on seven Piagetian tasks, ten music tasks, and one art task. The validity was determined through the interview process. The examiner redirected questions until he was certain the subjects were responding from conviction. The reliability of the study was achieved through a test-retest procedure and impartial expert evaluation of the test sessions.
Date: August 1983
Creator: Christ, George M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
First-Year Teacher Usage of Manipulatives in Mathematics Instruction: A Case Study (open access)

First-Year Teacher Usage of Manipulatives in Mathematics Instruction: A Case Study

This qualitative case study examined the use of manipulatives in mathematics instruction by six first-year intermediate teachers in a north Texas school district. Their preparation for, access to, and perceptions about manipulatives were examined. Specific content associated with manipulative usage was identified.
Date: December 1989
Creator: Sylvester, Barbara N. (Barbara Nelson)
System: The UNT Digital Library