In developing a curriculum for the Beehive Collective's "Plan Colombia" campaign, I examine how multiple narratives offering different points of view on the same topic can help viewers discover the ways that images and words are used to construct arguments, shape opinion, and recruit true believers. Following Burke (1974), I argue that the goal of communication is to persuade, and visual works of persuasion or argument are no different in this regard. Young people who are politically disengaged because of the obvious insincerity of political actors can benefit from exposure to multiple narratives and counter-narratives that address the crucial connection of fakery to fact. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Art Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.. / Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2006. / Date of Defense: July 31, 2006. / Art Education, Action Research, Image-Based Education, Experimental Communities / Includes bibliographical references. / Pat Villeneuve, Professor Directing Dissertation; Jeffrey Milligan, Outside Committee Member; Tom Anderson, Committee Member; Melanie Davenport, Committee Member.

With the paradigm shift from a behavioral to a constructivist perspective in teaching and learning of mathematics, students' thought processes have become a major focus for learning and students' learning of the specific subject matter has been analyzed and approached more qualitatively. In parallel to this development, the present study attempted to describe two algebra-honor students' cognitive obstacles in the learning of quadratic functions. In particular, along with students' concept image and definition for the quadratic function (Tall & Vinner, 1981), five other aspects of quadratic functions were examined to identify students' cognitive obstacles surrounding quadratic functions. These five aspects, adapted by Wilson (1994) who identified the most important aspects of the function concept for deep understanding, were as follows: translating, determining, interpreting, solving quadratic equations, and using quadratic models. A multiple case study involving two algebra honor students was designed and implemented. Two honor students under the pseudonyms of Richard and Colin were purposely chosen and voluntarily participated in this study. Data were obtained from one-on-one clinical interviews, students' written work (a test, quiz, and questionnaire), and classroom observations. The analysis particularly focused on identifying students' cognitive processes as they worked on quadratic tasks during the interviews. The whole data were analyzed through the lens of an integrated framework using Schoenfeld's (1989) level of mathematical analysis and structure and Tall and Vinner's (1981) framework of concept image and concept definition. The study revealed the cognitive obstacles that Richard and Colin encountered during the study of quadratic functions. In light of these obstacles, the following four assertions were made in this study: (1) one of the obstacles arises from a lack of making and investigating mathematical connections between algebraic and graphical aspects of the concepts, (2) another cognitive obstacle arises from the need to make an unfamiliar idea more familiar, (3) a third cognitive obstacle arises from the disequilibrium between algebraic and graphical thinking, and (4) the image of the quadratic formula or absolute value function has a potential to create an obstacle to mathematical learning. This study has important applications for classroom teaching. By identifying the students' cognitive obstacles based on the six aspects of quadratic functions, the study indicates which obstacles are associated with certain aspects of quadratic functions. Moreover, in light of these obstacles, it emphasizes the interrelation and complementary aspect of algebraic and graphical thinking in an ongoing back-and-forth process in learning and teaching of quadratic functions. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Middle and Secondary Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2005. / Date of Defense: October 24, 2005. / Algebra honor students, Cognitive obstacles, Secondary mathematics education, Quadratic functions / Includes bibliographical references. / Leslie Aspinwall, Professor Directing Dissertation; Emanuel I. Shargel, Outside Committee Member; Elizabeth Jakubowski, Committee Member; Maria L. Fernández, Committee Member.

Recognizing the role of the larger patriarchal structure in framing social expectations, identifying preconceived notions about gender, and the self-concept of students is critical in understanding what goes on in science classrooms and why. This study examines the relationships between teaching science and gender dynamics in society, and the way in which a female science teacher brings her life experiences to the classroom through her pedagogical practices and interactions with students. These interactions and intents of the teacher are shaped by society, both academically and socially, thus influencing the development and perpetuation of gender identity and doing gender in society. In this case study of a female science teacher, numerous observations, field notes, researcher interpretations, and assertions were developed. As meanings were negotiated, intent of actions was defined using significant statements, clustered to produce invariant meaning units. Both the participant's intents and how she interpreted her experiences were central to the understandings sought in this study. The findings of this study point to the tensions between Laura's attitudes and beliefs and her pedagogical practices, disconfirming these as they pertain to gender in relation to teaching and learning science. The findings also support questioning the role of intentionality and a teacher's perceived ability to adhere to intentions while practicing within the norms established by the social institution of schools operating within the larger structures of society. The major findings and implications are relevant to the manner teachers are prepared and encouraged to enact their practice by departments and boards of education, prepared by institutions of higher education and subsequent participation in professional development. Specifically, calling attention to how these educational frameworks emphasize or de-emphasize the role of teachers and promote cognizance in terms of the culture of schools, reflective of the larger structures of society. Understanding the larger social structures and manner in which science in particular is formally packaged with its hegemonic reality and power arrangements reflective of such society is important if teachers are going to enact their practice in ways that facilitate this understanding to students. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Middle and Secondary Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2005. / Date of Defense: October 20, 2005. / Feminism, Feminist Poststructuralism, Social Context of Education, Science Education, Phenomenology, Gender, Equity / Includes bibliographical references. / Alejandro J. Gallard, Professor Directing Dissertation; Paul H. Ruscher, Outside Committee Member; Nancy T. Davis, Committee Member; Jeffrey Milligan, Committee Member.

This purpose of this study was to assess the development of teachers' conceptual understanding about inquiry in a professional development program designed to provide scientific research experiences as a means for increasing the practice of inquiry-based teaching. The teacher's experiences in inquiry-based scientific research were the focus of reflective journal sessions employed as a pedagogical tool. The lead scientist also participated in the journaling process in order to develop a template describing his role as facilitator of the research experiences. The lead scientist's template, representing his conceptions of inquiry, was consolidated into a set of three essential features: Provocative Phenomena, Questions, and Ownership. These features were compared to the teachers' perceptions of their inquiry-based research experiences. Results from this comparison showed that each of the features of inquiry were intelligible to the teachers. There were no significant differences between teachers' perceptions of inquiry when sorted by grade level. This study suggests that the identification of a Provocative Phenomena is an essential feature of inquiry that has been largely overlooked. Other important implications of this research include the ability of elementary teachers to profit from such experience, and the difficulty in constructing understandings of inquiry. Suggestions for future research are included. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Middle and Secondary Education in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2005. / Date of Defense: June 14, 2005. / Scientific Research Experiences, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Inquiry / Includes bibliographical references. / Sherry Southerland, Professor Directing Thesis; Penny J. Gilmer, Committee Member; William Herrnkind, Committee Member.

An investigation is reported by which a multimodal assessment of affect was incorporated by measuring introspective (verbal reports) and objective (heart rate and skin conductance) measures in a laboratory setting for the purpose of applying a biofeedback intervention using Blumenstein & Bar-Eli's (2001) Wingate Five-step approach. The foundation of this experiment was based on an empirically supported concept (i.e., probabilistic determinations of Individual Affect-related Performance Zones; Kamata et al., 2002) in order to verify the utility and effectiveness of the intervention by manipulating affective performance states in a racecar simulator. Nine male participants complete five separate time trials of a simulated racing task and then were randomly assigned to one of three arousal regulation treatment conditions (three participants per group): (1) optimal arousal-regulation, (2) poor arousal-regulation, and (3) attention control. Following the BFB intervention, the participants underwent another series of race trials to determine the effectiveness of the arousal regulation intervention. The results indicate general and relative similarities in the strength and direction of the perceived and physiological states between the participants; however, the subtle details of the participants' unique performance zones, and the probability of achieving each zone was revealed to be unique between the participants and between the groups. The results indicate that (a) the BFB manipulation resulted in the expected changes for all the groups, and (b) there were some large individual differences between the participants, necessitating the idiosyncratic approach. The results are further discussed in the context of the stimulus-response specificity principle (Andreassi, 1989), Sternbach's (1966) individual response-stereotypy, as well as the Inverted-U hypothesis (Yerkes & Dodson, 1908). Future research directions and practical implications are also offered. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2005. / Date of Defense: October 20, 2005. / Heart Rate, Skin Conductance, Emotions, Affect, Optimal, Performance, Simulator / Includes bibliographical references. / Gershon Tenenbaum, Professor Directing Dissertation; Robert Glueckauf, Outside Committee Member; Akihito Kamata, Committee Member; Francis D. Kelly Jr., Committee Member.

The spiritual life of college students has largely been overlooked by many American colleges and universities. However, a surge of interest in college student spirituality has emerged in recent years. This interest has led to research that has attempted to define and identify aspects of spirituality, as well as determine the importance of spirituality to other areas of student development. Minimal research, however, has attempted to connect student spiritual development to collegiate experiences and influences in the campus environment. This study attempted to reduce this gap in the professional literature by examining how traditional-aged college student involvement in community service and experiences with diverse peers impacts their spiritual quest, a concept which focuses especially on students' search for meaning, purpose and understanding in their lives. Through a quantitative, longitudinal, national panel study, college students were surveyed in summer, 2004 and spring, 2007. The survey included items that asked students about their spiritual and religious beliefs and practices, and related experiences, goals, attitudes, and opinions. Utilizing one public research institution's data from this national study, factor and path analyses were employed to determine if significant relationships existed between race, gender, pre-college spiritual quest, community service involvement, diversity-related experiences (defined broadly to include interactions across race/ethnicity, religion, politics, and other differences), and collegiate spiritual quest. Results indicated significant direct effects from pre-college spiritual quest and diversity-related experiences on collegiate spiritual quest, but not for community service involvement. A strong indirect effect for community service involvement emerged however, through diversity-related experiences. Neither race nor gender exhibited significant direct or indirect effects on collegiate spiritual quest. Total effects on collegiate spiritual quest were significant for pre-college spiritual quest, community service involvement, and diversity-related experiences. The strongest direct influence among all variables existed from community service involvement towards diversity-related experience, but greatest total influence occurred from pre-college spiritual quest to collegiate spiritual quest. Limitations of the study include a convenience sample of small size, gender imbalance, and single institution for all participants. A lengthy, self-report survey and history effect from the tragic shooting in April, 2007 at Virginia Tech also may have impacted this study. Implications of the findings are considered finally. For developmental theory, the results suggest that spiritual quest grows and evolves during college within students' broader spirituality, and that identity development is closely tied to the development of spiritual quest. Further research is proposed with an emphasis on in-depth qualitative study to follow up on this study's findings, as well as replication of the study at different types of institutions to examine more thoroughly the influences found here. Outcomes regarding educational policies and developmental practices are outlined, including the addition of spiritual quest development as an explicit and anticipated outcome in institutions' promotion to students of community service and diversity experiences. Means by which institutions can foster spiritual quest in service-learning and volunteer initiatives are offered, along with ideas for the enhancement of diversity-related programming to highlight the development of spiritual quest. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. / Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2010. / Date of Defense: April 20, 2010. / Spirituality, Spiritual Quest, Community Service, Diversity, College Student / Includes bibliographical references. / Jon C. Dalton, Professor Directing Dissertation; Diana Rice, University Representative; Joseph Beckham, Committee Member; Robert A. Schwartz, Committee Member.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among variables reflecting the cultures, mental models or thinking styles, and leadership behaviors for elementary, middle, and senior high schools. This study explored the characteristics of thinking styles and leadership behaviors as they related to school culture. It was important to find out how these constructs, differ depending on school level, gender, position and years of experience. The three constructs were school culture, mental models or thinking styles and leadership behaviors of school administrators. School administrators studied consisted of both female and male principals and assistant principals from K-12 schools in Riverhills County (a pseudonym). This research design was a quantitative correlational study. The Pearson Product –Moment, multiple regression analyses, and a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), were used to examine the research questions to determine the relationships between the dependent and independent variables. Instead of the usual alpha level of a = .05 that is recommended for educational research, the decision was made to control for the family-wise error rate and to set a more rigorous level of significance for alpha (a = .01). The survey instruments utilized to measure the constructs of mental models, leadership behaviors and current school culture were: the Inquiry Mode Questionnaire (Bramson-Harrison, 1982), the Leadership Orientations Self-Survey (Bolman & Deal, 1991), and results of the Whole School Effectiveness Survey (Riverhills County School). For the two primary questions: relationships were found between school culture and mental models, but they were not of statistical significance; relationships between school culture and the four frames of leadership behaviors were not of significance. There were four secondary questions to further explain the relationships of the three constructs. Bivariate correlations and multiple regression analyses showed statistically significant relationships between the four frame and dimensions of leadership behaviors and demographic variables. Characteristics of current school culture had statistically significant inverse relationships with gender of school administrators. School level one(elementary schools) had statistically significant relationships with all the characteristics of current school culture (assumptions, behaviors, beliefs, norms and values). Statistically significant differences were found between the idealist and realist mental models for female and male school administrators. Finally, effectiveness as manager and leader were found to be statistically significant with the four frames of leadership behaviors (i.e., structural, human resource, political and symbolic). / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2004. / Date of Defense: November 4, 2004. / Leadership Behaviors, Mental Models, School Culture, School Levels / Includes bibliographical references. / Dale W. Lick, Professor Directing Dissertation; Richard Tate, Outside Committee Member; Fanchon Funk, Committee Member; Peter Easton, Committee Member; Laura Hassler, Committee Member.

This study explored the relationships between teacher knowledge and first-grade reading outcomes in low-income schools. Three teacher knowledge measures were adapted to assess alphabetic principle knowledge, comprehensive language knowledge, and vocabulary knowledge. Student phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and reading comprehension outcomes were assessed using the DIBELS and SAT/10. Sixty-nine teachers and 1146 first-grade students in 15 low-income schools participated. Results showed a wide range of scores on the teacher knowledge assessments, indicating a need for some of the participant teachers to improve their knowledge. In addition, teacher knowledge was compared to student outcomes and the significance of these relationships was varied. For all three teacher knowledge tests, student outcomes in phonics were significantly related to initial student differences. Student outcomes in fluency were significantly related to initial student differences for teacher knowledge about the alphabetic principle and comprehensive language knowledge. Student outcomes in reading comprehension were significantly related to initial student differences for teacher comprehensive language and vocabulary knowledge. When controlled for initial student differences, there were significant positive relationships between teacher alphabetic principle knowledge and student comprehension and teacher vocabulary knowledge and student fluency, and a significant negative relationship between teacher vocabulary knowledge and student phonemic awareness. The relationships between teacher alphabetic principle and comprehensive language knowledge and student phonemic awareness were non significant. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Childhood Education, Reading, and Disability Services in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2006. / Date of Defense: February 28, 2006. / Reading Outcomes, First-Grade, Low-Income Schools, Teacher Knowledge / Includes bibliographical references. / Carolyn L. Piazza, Professor Directing Dissertation; Joseph K. Torgesen, Outside Committee Member; Barbara C. Palmer, Committee Member; Richard Tate, Committee Member; Alysia D. Roehrig, Committee Member.

A socially created community has emerged in Tallahassee, Florida, with West African dancing and drumming at its core. This phenomenological study is to describe and understand the nature of the African dancing and drumming community in Tallahassee, Florida, and its function within its participants' lives as focused on from a group paradigm using a participant case study design. The basic research question is what are the factors that allow African dancing and drumming to help build "community" as the participants describe community? This research uses social survey document analysis, participant observation, interviews (personal and oral history), and focus group methodology to 1) provide an accurate historical account of the development, major milestones, and contributors to the Tallahassee African dance and drum scene, 2) determine what the participants mean by the term "community" and establish a definition of community based on their meaning utilizing the McMillan and Chavis (1986, 1996) model, and 3) identify what factors led to the creation and sustaining of this sense of community. Based on my research, I was able to develop a context specific definition for the term community: The Tallahassee African Dance and Drum community consists of multi-generation members, relating and functioning like a family, providing support and energy for one another, while paying homage to the African cultural traditions, developing through an organic evolution and maintaining through a love for the art. Additionally, through this research process I have identified a set of key elements necessary to create and sustain the members' sense of community. These elements are: (a) appreciation of tradition; (b) concept of family; (c) communication; (d) support; (e) energy; (f) love of the arts. I have found that in the Tallahassee African dance and drum community, dance has extended beyond a classroom experience and has integrated itself into a way of functioning for most participants. The embracing of family along with the cultural and organizational traditions (social organization) that are in place has created a village (in the African sense of the word) in the capital city of Florida. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Art Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2009. / Date of Defense: March 19, 2009. / Sense of community, African drumming, African dancing, Arts Administration / Includes bibliographical references. / Pat Villeneuve, Professor Directing Dissertation; Patricia Young, Outside Committee Member; Marcia Rosal, Committee Member; Tom Anderson, Committee Member.

Literacy emerges as a key concept in English language arts classrooms and in education in general. The components of literacy important to classroom instruction come under continuous political fire as schools, classrooms, and society continue to change. Technology represents a recent change in the literacy demands and practices in today's classrooms. Computers and access to the Internet and the hypertext documents it contains illustrate a prevalent means through which technology has infiltrated classrooms. As a result, more and more students turn to the Internet for information and more and more teachers create assignments that require students to access the Internet. In this study, a tenth-grade English language arts class was observed to identify the following: 1) the environment of a tenth-grade classroom using computers regularly in the new millennium, and 2) the processes tenth-grade students use when reading online hypertext. Existing research regarding literacy and reading comprehension was examined to then create a foundation for examining the role of computers and hypertext in literacy activities. This framework was used as a lens through which to view the activities in the classroom in which the research was conducted. This study employed a variety of methods in identifying the two key issues. The methods utilized in this study included the analysis of observational field notes, attitudinal surveys, transcribed video tapes of think aloud protocols, cookie files, and student responses to reading comprehension questions. Students participated in online hypertext reading designed specifically to meet the coinciding curricular goals of their classroom. Cookie files tracked students' movements throughout the hypertext and reading comprehension questions identified their understanding of the hypertext. Think-aloud protocols and follow-up interviews with selected students further illuminated the reading processes these students employed while interacting with the hypertext document. This study found that in a classroom environment where computers are an ongoing component of instruction there exists a social dimension to working in that context whereby students share knowledge with each other. Other components of this classroom environment found through the study included students searching for information via the Internet and using the computer for a variety of purposes inside and outside the school environment. This study also found that students utilize a variety of strategies when reading hypertext via the Internet, including: scrolling the document, skimming the text, note-taking by hand, summarizing information, and relying on prior knowledge. Despite employing traditional reading strategies, students scored low on the comprehension questions assessing their understanding of the hypertext. The findings of this study indicated that students need direct instruction in the applying reading strategies in this new literacy context. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Middle and Secondary Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2004. / Date of Defense: October 6, 2003. / English, Computers, Literacy, Hypertext, Reading / Includes bibliographical references. / Pamela S. Carroll, Professor Directing Dissertation; Sande Milton, Outside Committee Member; Susan N. Wood, Committee Member; Barbara Palmer, Committee Member.