Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1992.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1993.

Thesis (M.A.)--West Virginia University, 2000. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 110 p. : ill. (some col.). Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 72-76).

Major paper (M.U.R.P.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1992. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 64-69). Also available via the Internet.

This study describes the findings of a qualitative study examining the understanding about the beliefs and practices about assessment of faculty who teach English as a foreign language. I analyzed the beliefs and practices of EFL faculty members as described in their responses upon the instructional process of the target language following a three-part approach proposed by Miles, Huberman and Saldana (2014), which is a concurrent flow of three activities: (a) data condensation, (b) data display, and (c) conclusion drawing/ verification. For the collection of data, I used two instruments: qualitative interviews, and documents. The following research questions guided this study: 1) what are the beliefs of faculty members about the role of assessment in the teaching of English as a foreign language in undergraduate programs in a higher educational institution in Colombia? 2) How do EFL faculty members describe the practice of assessment in a Colombian higher educational institution, both in terms of their teaching EFL pre service teachers and in their interactions with departmental colleagues? 3) How do EFL faculty members interpret the implications of the guiding principles about assessment of a Colombian university, contained in its undergraduate student manual, for their instructional practice of English as Foreign Language?

A surge of interest has emerged across the US in high-quality early childhood education programs that prepare children for success in school and later years. In particular, attention has been focused on the kindergarten year as having important consequences for a child’s acquisition of knowledge and skills that determine later school success. However, children begin kindergarten with a diverse array of skills and experiences, including many who have not been enrolled in any preschool programs outside the home environment. State kindergarten entry assessments can provide baseline information to help teachers target instruction and assist in meeting child learning benchmarks. In fall of 2013, school districts in Oregon began administering the Oregon Kindergarten Assessment (OKA) to all entering kindergarten students. Administered within the first six weeks of school, the OKA includes measures in early literacy, early math, and approaches to learning. This study explored student performance on the OKA as well as its utility as perceived by Oregon kindergarten teachers. Specifically, the following questions were asked: (1) Are there significant differences in children’s performance on the OKA based on demographic characteristics? (2) What is the performance of children previously receiving Early Childhood Special Education on the OKA? and (3) What is the utility of the OKA, as evaluated by kindergarten teachers? Data collected by the Oregon Department of Education were used, as well as data from kindergarten teacher interviews. Results of the study reinforce what is known about the opportunity gap among young children prior to entering kindergarten, as well as provide insight on how the intended purposes of the OKA are being met. Findings may assist administrators, teachers, parents, and policy makers in understanding current use of the OKA as well as assisting with future steps to modify curriculum, instructional methodology, teacher training, and transition practices.

Peer review is used as an effective quality assurance measure in many contexts, including science, business, programming or education. In education, several studies confirmed the positive effects of peer reviewing on student learning. Based on recent research concerning the role of media in the peer review process this study investigates how students perceive the process, content and effects of peer reviews. We also analyze students' opinions on different modes of peer reviewing activities, e.g. online vs. face-to-face reviewing. In the context of a computer science course on scientific writing, these research questions were addressed by administering an online questionnaire (n=38) and analysis using quantitative and qualitative methods. Results indicate that students value the peer review activity, take peer reviews seriously and provide comprehensive and constructive reviews. Findings also show that students prefer written online reviews with the possibility of oral follow-up questions to reviewers.

Abstract The aim of this study was to assess a series of caries risk indicators to find a suitable model for screening adolescents for risk cases, and to evaluate the long-term efficacy and cost-effectiveness of an one-year intervention programme provided for the resulting risk groups. To reduce the spread of infectious diseases at 20 day-care centres, risk factors for the occurrence of salivary mutans streptococci were surveyed in 345 children before and after 8 months of intervention, i.e. withdrawal of tooth brushing in 10 centres. Dental health habits were evaluated by means of questionnaires. Four clinical and six salivary tests were related to 11-month caries increment in 181 adolescents. The 109 high-risk subjects presenting four or more risk factors were provided either with chlorhexidine or fluoride treatment, the low-risk group receiving basic prevention. An age and sex-matched control group was chosen. Life-long data on all 390 subjects were collected from their dental records. Survival analysis was applied, taking as the starting point the time of tooth eruption and as the event the first filling due to caries. The costs of the intervention and the number of fillings were compared between the groups. The dental health of the risk groups tended to approach the average level for the control group. One tooth surface per subject was saved from filling. The costs of fillings for the control group were twice as great as those for the risk groups at the end of the intervention, but only slightly more after the five-year follow-up period. The model (DFS, Candida and sucrase) offers additive information for finding adolescents at risk of caries, and for targeting preventive measures at the individual level and for the motivation of patients. The results stress the importance of dental age and of providing preventive procedures at the time of tooth eruption. The present risk-based strategy proved to be of moderate benefit to dental health by comparison with the costs of normal preventive and restorative care and cannot be recommended as such for a target population with a high risk of caries.

At Mississippi State University, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, a standardized multiple-choice departmental final examination (SMCDF) was administered at the end of the Calculus I mathematics course. This practice was abolished at the end of the spring 1997 semester. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a difference in students¡¯ success in subsequent calculus courses as measured by a student¡¯s grade. If there was a difference, was it consistent along varying levels of students¡¯ ACT mathematics scores. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was run on the data. The variables were the five student ACT Mathematics Standards for Transition ranges, and the two groups of students, those required to take a SMCDF examination and those required to take a teacher generated final examination. The results showed there was a significant difference in the mean grades at the Calculus II level (p=.006), suggesting the SMCDF examination in Calculus I improved their level of success in Calculus II. In the Calculus III and IV courses no significant differences were found. When descriptive statistics were analyzed, an unusual number of F grades were found in one group due to a university audit policy that was abolished in the fall of 1997. When F grades were excluded from the data, no significant differences were found for Calculus II, III, or IV. Further investigation along ACT-Mathematics Standards for Transition ranges showed, at an alpha level of .01 for Calculus II and IV, the data set was too small at each of these ranges to determine any significant differences. Although conflicting results did not clearly indicate whether a SMCDF examination made a difference, indications seem to be at least at the Calculus II level there was a significant effect in the original data set. Descriptive statistics showed inconsistencies within the Calculus III data as compared to Calculus II and IV. Further investigation was recommended for this area of research. Incorporating teaching styles into this study and changing the format of the examination were suggested.

Functional behavioral assessment (FBA) is defined as a range of behavior assessment procedures that are used to identify or clarify functional relationships between behavior and environmental events. A variety of methods and instruments are used within a FBA (e.g., record reviews, interviews, rating scales, direct observations, experimental analysis conditions) and the increased awareness of this methodology has created interest in properly investigating the psychometric properties (e.g., reliability, validity) of the measures. Preliminary convergent validity has been demonstrated across some of the measures used to identify functional relationships; however, further evaluation is needed to establish the psychometric properties as well as the utility of functional assessment measures. The primary purpose of the current research was to evaluate psychometric properties of a newly developed informant record (e.g., Functional Assessment Informant Record for Parents-Checklist; FAIR-P-CL). Specifically, the reliability of the measure (i.e., test-retest and inter-scorer reliability), validity of the measures (i.e., convergence with the Functional Assessment Screening Tool-Revised; FAST-R and convergence across phases of FBA), and socially validity (i.e., use of acceptability rating scales) were assessed. Results of the study suggested appropriate test-retest reliability of the FAIR-P-CL. Convergent validity was obtained across all phases of FBA with the majority of participants. The FAIR-P-CL identified the target behavior noncompliance as a multiple function behavior for 4 out of 5 participants suggesting the use of a treatment package in contrast to a specific function-based intervention. Appropriate social validity was obtained across the FAIR-P-CL, assessment and intervention phases of the study. Overall results of the study provided preliminary support for the psychometric properties of the FAIR-P-CL and extended the utility of functional assessment instruments to typically developing children in a clinic-based setting.