Ex post facto research was conducted exploring the relationship between field-dependent and field-independent cognitive styles and persistence and performance in the instructional television curriculum of a Florida community college. The conceptual framework was the influence of field dependence and field independence as predictor variables of persistence rates and performance levels in the impersonal pedagogical approach of instructional television, an approach that is incongruent with the cognitive style of field-dependent learners, who prefer reliance on human interaction, or the "field," for analysis and structure in ambiguous information-seeking conditions. The expectation was that if a field-dependent or field-independent cognitive style were systematically associated with the instructional television program, inferences could be made about completion rates and performance levels and an explanation would be yielded for recurring high levels of attrition and unsuccessful performance. / The 103 subjects were categorized by cognitive style; by the nature of the disciplines in which they were enrolled: the natural sciences, the academic interests of field-independent learners, or the behavioral sciences, the academic interests of field-dependent learners; and by gender, age, and ethnicity. / The following conclusions emerged from this study: (1) Field-independent learners excelled field-dependent learners in successful performance. (2) Field-independent learners excelled field-dependent learners in successful performance in both the natural sciences and the behavioral sciences. (3) Field-independent females excelled both field-independent males and field-dependent females in successful performance, and field-independent males excelled field-dependent males in successful performance. (4) Field-independent learners in the under 22 age category excelled field-dependent learners in the under 22 age category in successful performance. (5) Field-dependent Caucasian learners excelled field-dependent Black learners in successful performance. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-02, Section: A, page: 0402. / Thesis (Educat.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.

The purpose of this investigator's study was to ascertain the critical compentencies needed by instructional supervisors as perceived by selected school personnel in Florida. A secondary purpose was to determine the competencies needing to be emphasized by Florida School District supervisors in order to perform effectively on the job. / A list of competency statements was identified through the review of the literature: (1) on the role of expectations of supervision, (2) role of the supervisor in Florida, (3) development and identification of leadership competencies, (4) studies related to impact legislation, (5) Florida legislation passed 1967-1984 and (6) question-answer responses acquired from administrative-supervisory personnel concerning legislation affecting the instructional program in schools. / There were 120 instruments (response sheets) distributed to the outside panel members comprised of a variety of supervisory job titles. These were made up from the State Department of Education consultants, university professors, district administrative/supervisory personnel and Teacher Education Center and inservice staff development directors. / The outside panel of respondents was asked to evaluate and rank order the 73 competency statements on a two-column scale. / A taxonomy was used to classify the competency statements. This included Critical Functions and Supervisory Domains. / Of the seventy-three competencies, the data revealed that sixty-nine were accepted on the evaluation scale and sixty-seven on the rank order scale. Among the sixty-nine competencies accepted, 8 out of 23 or 49 percent were evaluated in the I - Conceptual Function cluster as "always necessary." Of the sixty-seven competencies "always needing emphasized" 9 out of 23 or 39 percent were in the I - Conceptual Function cluster. It may be concluded that such a small number is not significant enough to show any overall differences in the evaluation of the competencies being necessary as opposed to the rank order of these competencies being emphasized for Florida instructional supervisory personnel job performance. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-01, Section: A, page: 0058. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1984.

The primary purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of the temporal presentation of cognitive training on motor skill acquisition, retention, and transfer. Four groups of subjects (N = 8 in each group) were presented training, based on the cognitive aspects of a basic flight maneuver, at different times during the acquisition of the motor skills needed to perform that maneuver. Results indicate that the performance of the group that received extensive cognitive training prior to attempting the associated motor skills was significantly better (p < .05) than the groups that received the same cognitive training interspersed during the initial learning of the motor skills. This finding was true even when the interspersed training was preceded by extensive cognitive pretraining. Results also show that cognitive training interspersed with motor skill learning produced some interference in learning as the performance of the two groups receiving the training was below that of the control group which received no cognitive training whatsoever. Transfer of training to a similar maneuver indicated that the group that was initially trained using only extensive cognitive pretraining performed significantly better (p < .05) than the group that received only interspersed cognitive training. There were no significant differences between groups on the retention trial. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-01, Section: A, page: 0066. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1984.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the implementation of the State of Florida's policy on child abuse and neglect prevention relating to education as established in Florida Statutes 415.501. This policy statement required Florida's State Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services and the Department of Education to develop ways to inform and instruct personnel in all school districts in the detection of child abuse and in the reporting process. The policy also required the Department of Education to enhance or adapt curriculum materials for teaching child abuse and neglect prevention. / To establish norms for the evaluation, the specific legislation found in Florida Statutes in 415.501 and in the subsequent State plan on the prevention of child abuse and neglect was examined. Interviews were conducted with policymakers and implementors for the development of policy norms on child abuse and neglect prevention. A review of the literature was conducted to identify minimum competencies. The policy norms and minimum competencies provided the basis for the development of the "Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Questionnaire for Educators" (CANPQE). The CANPQE was mailed to a cluster sample of 900 Florida teachers statewide and 543 were returned. A "Curriculum Materials Assessment Chart" was used to evaluate compliance with objectives regarding curriculum enhancement or adaptation. / Data from these instruments show that only 49.9 percent of Florida's teachers have received in-service education on child abuse and neglect prevention. There is significant evidence showing, that those who are subject to instruction in child abuse and neglect prevention more fully participate to reduce child abuse and neglect in the State of Florida. / One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) shows significant differences (P < .05) for sections of the CANPQE, when two groups, those receiving and not receiving in-service instruction were compared. The Curriculum Materials Assessment Chart indicated that the enhancement or adaptation of curriculum was not implemented due to the lack of resources and its controversial nature. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-02, Section: A, page: 0401. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.

This study examined the relationship between oral language proficiency and the minimum competency tests scores of third and fifth grade LEP students in Palm Beach County, Florida, who took the state competency tests. Language proficiency was measured by the score of students on the Language Assessment Scales I (LAS-I)@ and its five subscales (Minimal Pairs, Phonemes, Lexical, Comprehension and Production). Competency test performance was operationalized as the scores of the students on the three Florida State System Assessment Test I (SSAT-I) components (Reading, Writing, and Mathematics). / The analysis of the data showed that oral language proficiency, as assessed by the LAS-I, and minimum competency tests, as assessed by the SSAT-I, were related but the strength of the relationship varied from grade to grade and from one SSAT-I component to another. In general, the composite LAS had a stronger relationship with third grade reading than with fifth grade reading, while its relationship with writing was stronger in fifth grade than in third grade. The relationship between the composite LAS and Mathematics was weak in both grades. / The strength of the relationship of the LAS-I subscales differed also from one grade to the other. For the third grade, Minimal Pairs had the highest correlation of all the subscales with the SSAT subtests; Production, Lexicon, Comprehension, and Phonology followed, in that order, in terms of the strength of their relationships with the SSAT subtests. For the fifth grade, Lexicon had the highest correlation of all the subscales with the SSAT subtests with Production, Phonology, Minimal Pairs, and Comprehension subscales following in that order. Finally, the analysis showed that certain subsystems, especially Minimal Pairs in third grade and Lexicon in fifth grade, had a strong relationship with the SSAT subtests even after controlling for the relationship of the composite LAS. Thus, it suggested that, although oral language proficiency does influence the students' ability to master the minimum competencies successfully, different combinations of the LAS subscales may be needed for different grades or test to capture its full impact on the SSAT test achievement of the students. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-07, Section: A, page: 2441. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.

Reviewers of military curriculum development have repeatedly cited as a problem the absence of clear procedures for deriving learning objectives from job requirements. Traditional task analysis procedures do not provide sufficient data for determining the optimal task, skill, and knowledge content of Navy curricula which prepare enlisted personnel for job entry. The purpose of this study was to design and evaluate a model for translating the task, skill, and knowledge requirements of Navy enlisted jobs into the terminal and enabling objectives most essential to job entry. / The model represents a system for collecting, organizing, and using empirical data to make training decisions about job requirements. System inputs are simple and purposeful, system processes are automated, and system outputs are tailored to support curriculum development. Needs assessment is an essential feature; data are collected to provide an empirical basis for assessing the appropriateness and adequacy of existing curricula. Summaries are generated by computer to specify the curriculum development actions required to correct deficiencies and align existing curriculum content with content recommended by experts at job sites. The model provides for a comprehensive data system to ensure that the requirements of Navy jobs are documented and effectively supported by the Navy training system. The model may be adapted to a variety of military and civilian applications. / The value and completeness of the model were assessed by personnel responsible for managing or developing entry-level curricula for Navy enlisted personnel. They rated their perceptions of present conditions without the model and conditions with the model fully operational. Significant differences in ratings indicated that if the model were to become fully operational, improvements could be expected with respect to each of the 20 attributes rated. Reviewers indicated that model subsystems were adequately described. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-01, Section: A, page: 0072. / Thesis (Educat.D.)--The Florida State University, 1985.

The objectives of this investigator were as follows: (1) To determine the degree of classroom application by elementary school teachers of the components of a research-based model of spelling instruction. (2) To determine the degree to which elementary school teachers held views that were congruent with the components of a research-based model of spelling instruction. (3) To investigate whether or not a statistically significant difference in teachers' practices and knowledge, as measured by a calculated discrepancy score, was attributable to groups categorized by grade level, professional experience, and professional training for three categories of behavioral items on the research questionnaire (Curriculum, Teaching Process, and Learner Strategies). / The data were obtained through the administration of an investigator-developed questionnaire. The twenty instructional techniques listed on the questionnaire were synthesized from 144 empirical studies. One-way analysis of variance was used to test the three research hypotheses. Further analyses of significant differences were conducted using the Scheffe procedure. An item analysis was used to determine the degree of discrepancy between teachers' classroom practices and their knowledge of research-based spelling instructional procedures. / The findings were that of the twenty pedagogical techniques, eight were reported as being used and favored by elementary teachers; one technique was reported as being used but not favored. In addition, teachers indicated a research-based view of six techniques, but failed to put their views into their classroom practices. Finally, teachers revealed classroom practices and professional views that were in conflict with five research-based techniques. The results from the one-way analysis of variance revealed that the discrepancies between teacher practices and teacher views were not affected by grade level, professional experience, or professional training. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-08, Section: A, page: 2873. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.

This study addresses the element which cognitive moral development researchers have tended to ignore, the perception of alternative courses of action open in any given moral decision-making situation. Specifically, the dissertation is concerned with exploring: (1) The relationship between the creative ability to perceive alternative courses of action in a decision-making situation with stages of cognitive moral development as defined by Lawrence Kohlberg and James R. Rest; (2) The amount of variance in generating alternative responses to such social/moral decision-making situations which can be explained by a combination of selected general knowledge, social knowledge, and demographic variables; and (3) Whether systematic training in generating alternatives to social/moral decision-making situations increases students' ability to generate alternatives in previously unencountered social/moral decision-making situations. / In real-world decision-making there are two relevant phases. First, there is the problem situation to which the actor or actors must respond by making a moral decision. Second, there is the actual laying out of feasible alternatives open to the actor or actors in that situation. / By logical analysis and a review of the literature on creativity, several critical factors emerge which affect a decision-maker's ability to generate increasing numbers of feasible alternative courses of action: general knowledge, spontaneous flexibility, social/situational knowledge, and practice in applying the rules of the decision-making model. / In this study, freshmen and sophomores at Palm Beach Junior College (Florida) were involved in college social science instruction, and those included in the treatment group were also provided systematic practice in generating alternative courses of action in decision-making situations. The research in this dissertation was designed to test this conceptual model, as the causal features of the ability or inability to generate alternatives in specific problem situations. / In light of the findings in this study, it appears that systematic practice does improve the ability of most subjects to produce a wider range of feasible solutions in real-life decision-making situations. Accordingly, the implications of this finding might be important for educators at all levels and in all academic disciplines. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-08, Section: A, page: 2876. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.

This experimental study examined the effects of two learning strategies, visualization and verbalization, on retention of verbal information and defined concepts when these are learned from expository text. Fifty-four sixth grade students read and studied a social studies lesson concerning the Industrial Revolution. One group answered embedded questions by generating drawings, while a second group answered the same questions by writing short essays. A control group read the lesson with no embedded questions. No rules for drawing or writing were presented, but students did have the opportunity to ask questions about, and practice, their assigned strategy. During one class period, students studied the lesson using the assigned strategy and completed an immediate, multiple-choice test assessing their learning of facts and concepts. Nine days later the students took the same test again so that delayed retention could be measured. No significant effects of an imposed strategy on learning were found on any measures. Interesting differences, although not statistically significant, indicate the possibility that strategy use (either visual or verbal) may enhance the learning of defined concepts. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-12, Section: A, page: 4274. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.

Research Context. Often instructional designers developing training materials for business or the military are not content experts. Similarly, content experts often are neither familiar with nor interested in learning training theory and methods. At the start of a training development project, there may be no job/task descriptions sufficient for instructional staff to undertake instructional development. The common dilemma then is how to efficiently work with content experts to make a task analysis and create other specifications which will enable the instructional staff to begin drafting instructional material. / A Novel Technique for Front-End Analysis. This study implemented and evaluated a novel technique to streamline front-end analysis for design and development of self-instructional texts on job tasks. The first stage of the technique involves one or more content experts completing a "large-grained analysis" of a topic, using a multiple-item instrument titled the "Topic Analysis Worksheet" (TAW). The second stage involves a more detailed, "fine-grained" topic analysis by the instructional staff using the TAW and resources named by the content expert(s). The end result is a full set of instructional specifications for the topic. / The instructional writer(s) then transmute the content into appropriate forms (e.g., graphics and text at an appropriate reading level) for placement in a prespecified standard lesson format. / The research involved a combination of descriptive information and quantitative data with specific, a priori criteria of success. The informative data were gathered by: (1) tracking tasks and times required to develop individual lessons plus related costs and materials consumed; (2) instructional design expert reviewing the completed lesson specifications; (3) content experts technically reviewing the lessons; (4) performance and attitude tests of learners; (5) structured interviews of project personnel, including the project instructional designer and writers to determine strengths of the technique as well as ways to improve it. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-02, Section: A, page: 0299. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.