Educators are challenged with meeting the academic needs of students, particularly in the subject area of reading. School districts purchase tools such as Achieve3000 to help students improve their proficiency in reading; however, implementation of such interventions has not been explored from the educators' perspective. This study explored 3rd grade reading teachers' views on Achieve3000 as a tool for improving reading proficiency and preparedness for the Florida State Standards English Language Arts assessment. The conceptual framework included the theory of social validity and current research as it related to differentiated instruction. This study utilized a basic qualitative approach to answer these key research questions. The participants included 6 3rd grade reading teachers from 3 Florida schools. Individual face-to-face interviews and a focus group interview session were conducted to answer the research questions. Data were analyzed via open, axial, and selective coding to generate the themes. The findings revealed the 3rd grade reading teachers believed that Achieve3000 can be considered a reliable method for improving reading and preparing students for the reading portion of the Florida Standards Assessment. The findings of this study can positively affect social change by providing educators with an increased repertoire of instructional tools to assist them in meeting the needs of all learners, as well as to prepare students for a technology driven world.

The purpose of this study is to determine factors which are contributing to the educational retardation of each child in a primary group in the Bloutstown Elementary School and to evaluate the results of a program inaugurated for the purpose of correcting these factors with recommendations for improvement. / Typescript. / "June, 1949." / "Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for a Master of Arts Degree." / Advisor: R. L. Eyman, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf [78]).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of aligning supplemental reading instruction with core classroom reading instruction on struggling second-grade students’ proficiency in phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Alignment was defined as core classroom and supplemental instruction that are congruent in philosophy, goals, instructional materials, instructional methods, student activities, and reading strategies that follow the same scope and sequence. This study employed a two-group, pre-post true experimental design. Second-grade students (N = 153) scoring in the lowest quartile on the fall Dynamic Indicators of Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Oral Reading Fluency assessment were randomly assigned to either an aligned or nonaligned supplemental reading instructional condition received instruction over a 20-week period. Reading specialists in 11 schools provided the supplemental instruction. iv The DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) and the Woodcock Reading Mastery-Revised (WRMT-R III) assessments were used to assess student reading growth in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and vocabulary. Each student received one score from the DIBELS ORF and six scores from the WRMT-R III. Seven separate nested analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) were conducted to examine differences in group means at posttest while accounting for nesting of reading specialists within schools. Pretest measures for each of the dependent variables were used as covariates to adjust posttest scores at the end of the study. After controlling for pretest score differences and accounting for the variance associated with reading specialists nested within schools, statistically significant differences were found favoring the aligned supplemental condition for posttest scores on all measures. Effect sizes ranged from small to moderate, with largest effect sizes being found for vocabulary and comprehension. The results of the study suggest that at-risk second-grade students benefitted from supplemental instruction that is aligned to the classroom core reading program.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between career education and the career maturity of eighth-grade students as measured by the Attitude Scale and the Competence Test of the Career Maturity Inventory. A posttest only experimental design was used for the study. The subjects were selected from a population of eighth-grade students in a suburban school district in north central Texas and randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. The treatment group had a career education class for forty-five minutes each day for eighteen weeks. The control group selected an additional elective. Multiple t tests were used to test the hypotheses of the study. The hypotheses were grouped into the areas of maturity of career attitudes, maturity of career competencies, sex and career maturity, school and career maturity, and teacher and career maturity.

During the past 80 years, similar descriptions of a hyperactive behavior pattern in children have appeared in medical, educational, and psychological literature. Hyperactivity has been conceptualized as a character disorder, an organic disorder, and, most recently, as a behavior disorder. In this study, hyperactivity was explained in interactional terms, using Rotter's social learning theory of personality. Little consideration has been given in research to the influence of an abnormally high activity level upon personality development during childhood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the general influence of negative interactions associated with hyperactivity upon the organization of four personality constructs: locus of control, self-esteem, trait anxiety, and state anxiety.

This study attempted to investigate and describe the implementation and evaluation of meta-cognitive reading comprehension strategies taught in the context of the Success For All Reading Wings program. Five teachers of fourth and fifth grade classrooms, with limited experience in a Success For All Reading Wings program at a Northern California elementary school, were sampled on a Literacy Orientation Survey (LOS), a survey of their beliefs and practices in their teaching of reading, individually interviewed about reading instruction and practices, and observed instructing students in reading comprehension using two reading strategies: clarification and summarization. The findings of the study revealed that teaching style, beliefs and practices are determined through the Literacy Orientation Survey (LOS), as well as through teacher interviews and classroom observations. Direct instruction, modeling, cooperative learning, and reciprocal teaching were used. Students were observed using meta-cognitive reading strategies, particularly clarification and summarization. Also, students improved during the ten week study in the quality of their discussions of expository text, used more questions at a higher critical level of thinking, based on Bloom's taxonomy, and achieved higher comprehension test scores on reading selections as determined by district norm-referenced tests. Implications for teaching and research are presented.

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This study examines primary grade retention as it is utilized in one suburban school district as an intervention for low achievement. Since as early as the late 1800's, educators have been struggling with the solution for students who do not demonstrate readiness for grade promotion. Grade retention is one of the practices that has been utilized in an effort to give students added time to prepare for the next grade level. This researcher collected and analyzed data on the experiences of a sample of six kindergarten, first, and second grade students who are repeating their respective grade level. The data for this qualitative study have been presented through classroom observations, parent and teacher interviews, and document review. The patterns that resulted from the data collection and analysis have provided insight into the factors that influence a student's experience with grade retention. This study explored the influential components of a primary grade retention program with recommendations for practical application in the field and future research in this area. / Educational Administration

The first objective of this thesis was to determine the material properties of grade 270 and grade 300 prestressing strand of various sizes. Tension tests were performed on each type of strand. The data from these tests was used to determine modulus of elasticity, yield stress, ultimate stress, and ultimate elongation for each strand. The yield stresses and ultimate stresses for many of the strands did not meet the requirements found in ASTM A416. The ultimate elongation results far exceeded the requirements and the measured elastic moduli were near the modulus recommended by AASHTO LRFD. A secondary objective from the tension tests was to evaluate a gripping method which used aluminum tubing to cushion the strands against notching. The grips performed very well. Most of the strand breaks did not occur in the grips and when a strand did break in the grips, the failure occurred after significant post-yield elongation. The second objective was to evaluate the bond properties of grade 270 and grade 300 prestressing strands. The North American Strand Producers (NASP) Bond Test and Large Block Pullout Test (LBPT) were performed on six different strand grade and strand size combinations. Both of the tests are simple pullout tests on untensioned strand. The results for each strand type were compared to one another as well as to measured transfer and development lengths from beams using the strand from the same reel. All of the strands showed sufficient bond in the beams, but one strand type did fail both the NASP Test and the LBPT. Both pullout tests were acceptable methods to evaluate strand surface condition and the benchmarks set for 0.5 in. diameter regular strand were conservative for the strands used in this thesis. Little difference was evident in the bond performance of grade 270 and grade 300 prestressing strand. / Master of Science

Orientador: Eduardo Norberto Codaro / Resumo: O presente trabalho tem por objetivo avaliar o efeito da corrosão atmosférica marinha sobre os aços ASTM Grau 80, Grau 100 e Grau 120, que são utilizados na montagem de lingas de corrente destinadas à movimentação de cargas. Os problemas atribuídos à deterioração desses materiais são comuns e frequentes, pois basicamente em todos os ramos da atividade econômica há materiais que necessitam ser transportados. E para analisar o comportamento destes aços frente à corrosão, foram realizados ensaios eletroquímicos e ensaios de imersão por perda de massa utilizando uma solução contendo NaCl a 3,56% (em massa) que simula a atmosfera marinha em ambientes laboratoriais. Os resultados dos ensaios de OCP (Potencial em Circuito Aberto) e de Polarização de Tafel revelaram que o processo de corrosão é controlado pela difusão de O2 dissolvido neste meio. Pode-se concluir que os valores de OCP e de Ecorr (potencial de corrosão) obtidos foram muito similares entre si para todas as regiões do elo analisadas (solda, corpo e deformação). A região do corpo demonstrou maior resistência à corrosão, obtendo os maiores valores médios de resistência de polarização (Grau 80: 10,14 kΩ; Grau 100: 12,61 kΩ; e Grau 120: 11,74 kΩ). As densidades de corrente de corrosão (Icorr) observadas são baixas e da mesma ordem de magnitude (abaixo de 7µA/cm2). Nos ensaios de imersão, observou-se que a perda de massa relativa das amostras, após os 10 dias de permanência na solução, foi mínima (entre 0,05 e 0,08 %/cm2), i... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Mestre