Abstract not available.

Abstract not available.

The current study answers the question: What are the relationships between teachers' assessment practices and students' mathematics achievement in large-scale assessment tests? The investigated teachers' assessment practices and students' achievement were defined according to the School Achievement Indicator Program (SAIP) 2001 mathematics achievement test and its accompanying teachers' questionnaire. The study focused on the problem solving component of that test. The assessment practices were investigated within three dimensions: assessment tools (e.g. teacher made multiple-choice tests, projects, and portfolios), assessment purpose (e.g. feedback, and diagnosis), and homework purpose (e.g. feedback and grading). Correlational analyses were employed to investigate whether there are relations between the assessment variables and students' mathematical achievements. Research findings proposed a few relations between students' achievement and the investigated assessment practices. The directions and the strengths of these relations varied based on a few factors such as the distribution of teachers' assessment practices, the amount of missing data, and the data deletions during analyses. The research findings could contribute to the literature on mathematical assessment, and also propose potential relations from which teachers, administrators, and policy makers may predict possible impacts of assessment practices on students' achievement.

Les pratiques d'enseignement de la lecture à l'élémentaire représentent un facteur des plus importants à considérer pour donner le goût de lire aux élèves et pour favoriser leur réussite en lecture (Dreher, 2003; Snow, Burns et Griffin, 1998). D'ailleurs, les pratiques les plus efficaces des enseignants en lecture sont aujourd'hui bien connues grâce à un grand nombre d'études effectuées sur le sujet (Block, Oakar et Hurt, 2002; Menon et Hiebert, 2005; Taylor, Peterson, Pearson et Rodriguez, 2002). Toutefois, peu de recherches ont donné la parole aux enseignants afin de connaître comment ils ont construit leurs pratiques exemplaires (Wharton-McDonald, Pressley et Hampton, 1998). L'objectif de cette thèse est d'examiner de quelle manière des enseignants qui favorisent la réussite en lecture de tous leurs élèves en sont arrivés a construire des pratiques aussi efficaces. Des entrevues en profondeur de type phénoménologique (Seidman, 2006) réalisées auprès de 6 enseignants qui adoptent des pratiques exemplaires permettent de connaître (1) leurs expériences passées de lecteur et d'enseignant, (2) leurs pratiques d'enseignement de la lecture et de lecteur au présent et (3) le sens qu'ils accordent aux expériences relatées ainsi qu'à leur pratique. Des analyses individuelles et comparatives sont effectuées à partir des profils de chacun des enseignants à la suite des entrevues. Les enseignants participants sont par ailleurs appelés à approuver ces profils ainsi que les analyses de leur entrevue afin d'assurer la validité (Savoie-Zajc, 2000) et un travail de co-construction de sens (Vygotski, 1978). Les résultats dévoilent diverses expériences vécues par les participants, leurs objectifs et leurs valeurs personnelles et professionnelles, ainsi que les liens qu'entretiennent ces derniers éléments avec leurs pratiques pédagogiques efficaces. Il appert que les pratiques de ces enseignants sont socioconstruites d'une part à l'aide de l'intéraction avec d'autres tels des collègues, des professeurs, la direction, les élèves et, d'autre part, à l'aide de leurs valeurs et leurs objectifs ainsi que leur engagement personnel et professionnel.

The purpose of this research was to enhance student learning outside of the classroom through the creation and facilitation of a community of practice. Using the social constructionist and communities of practice frameworks and employing a modified collaborative inquiry methodology, the objective was to provide a non-formal learning environment (i.e., regular meetings) where students could openly and candidly engage in group discussions with their colleagues on topics related to their learning and education. The results - based on interviews with students and professors, meeting recordings, meeting notes, and persona' reflections of the researcher - report on a variety of different aspects of the research. First, the progression of the participant group in becoming a community of practice is described and evaluated. This is followed by an examination of students' perceptions of the utility of the non-formal learning environment as a forum for collaborative meaning-making. This non-formal environment is then compared and contrasted by the student participants with their formal, in-class learning experiences to understand how they complement each other. Next, the facilitation of the non-formal learning environment is investigated, looking specifically at students' perceptions of the differences in power dynamics between their relationships with professors and their relationship with me, in my multiple roles as a collaborative researcher, co-participant, group facilitator, resource person, doctoral student, and former student in their program. Finally the importance of having a physical place where non-formal learning can occur is discussed. Based on the findings, it is proposed that in order for students to achieve their highest potential in their educational endeavours, it is essential to provide them with the opportunity to engage regularly with colleagues and knowledgeable others in a facilitated, non-evaluative, non-formal learning environment. This research points to the Tact that despite professors' test efforts to create an ideal learning climate in and out of their classrooms, many students are not willing to risk appearing incompetent in front of them.

The need for improved student achievement in writing is well-documented across all grades and scores continue to show slow gains. The evidence is clear that one way to improve student achievement is to increase engagement. Engaged students not only do better in school, but think of themselves as better students and are perceived by others, including their teachers, to be more successful. This study looks at a writing program based on the use of metaphor, and measures changes in student engagement before and after the writing lesson. It also looks at the writing produced by the students to determine how well they learned to write with metaphor and whether their writing evidenced use of well-developed metaphor, such as container and orientation metaphors. Conducted with two fifth-grade classes, the study uses quantitative and qualitative methods. The results indicated that the students overall did not show significant increases in engagement after the lesson. However, between the two classes, some differences did emerge. The study further examines whether students learned to use metaphoric concepts in their writing, and if the ability to write metaphorically differed by gender or class achievement. / CITE/Language Arts

A potentially rich source of curricular material for the development of a Deaf Studies curriculum lies in the category of feature films. The case of minority status of films produced by the American Deaf community is presented based on a comparison with the African-American independent film industry. An ethnographic study formulates an understanding of the contributions made by deaf independent filmmaker, Ernest Marshall. Marshall's personal background, his film business and perspectives on the value of film and signed language are discussed. A description of Marshall's film collection also provides an excellent historical resource for signed language use and for cross-cultural comparison purposes. Film studies are stressed as a viable teaching approach where the film medium providing cultural insights into the lives of deaf people and serving as a primary source for the documentation and preservation of American Sign Language.

This study investigated whether training in and use of referential questions had an effect on learners' linguistic output and accuracy. The study had three components. A quasi-experimental design with treatment and control groups examined quantitatively the performance of students on a set of variables, including number of words, number of T-units, clause length, coordination, subordination, grammatical accuracy, error-free T-units, and comprehensibility. A pretest and posttest were administered to a population of 149 students (64 in treatment groups and 85 in control groups) enrolled in three consecutive levels of French as a foreign language at the university of Arizona. Gain scores were computed and statistical tests were conducted on these gain scores for significance. A follow-up study examined the performance of selected high and low achievers within groups and across levels on the same variables. Finally, an attitude questionnaire was administered to the treatment groups at the end of the treatment period. Its purpose was to tap the students' perceptions of the effectiveness and enjoyableness of homework tasks involving referential questions in language learning. Results of the quasi-experimental study indicated that all subjects within groups and across levels significantly increased their performance between the pre- and post-tests on most of the variables examined. No statistically significant differences, however, were found between treatment and control groups. Results of the follow-up study with high and low achievers indicated that only in two areas were the differences between high and low achievers clearly established and consistent across levels: error-free T-units and number of words in error-free T-units. The high achievers outperformed the low achievers in 100% of the cases on those two variables. There was variation on the other variables. Results of the attitude questionnaire indicated that the majority of students felt that referential question assignments were more effective and more beneficial tools of language learning than were fill-in-the blanks-type exercises. However, barely half of students rated referential question assignments as enjoyable.

This study proposes a different approach for teaching drama/theatre arts to encourage lifelong creative and aesthetic response. Teachers introduce domain-relevant concepts using children's intrinsically generated themes and stories. Because it roots children in both the generative and interpretive work of drama and involves the student holistically, this approach is labeled global. A reciprocal student-teacher relationship reinforces self-esteem and motivation as children work from within the drama process writing, directing, acting, designing, building, and reacting as audience. The global method works as a K-12 curriculum for children because it stresses developmental theory in both creative and aesthetic growth. To this end, the global approach encourages openness, flexibility, self-direction, divergent and heuristic thinking, risk taking, and perseverance in a collaborative setting natural to drama and life. Drawing from personal observations and writings on creativity and aesthetics, the author builds a case for this method to merge disparate views on drama in education.

This study was an attempt to describe reflection in more detail than in the past, and it provides insight into how we might capture the details of this unseen reflection. I conducted a self-study of the "bumpy moments" in my teaching to address the following questions: (1) What do teachers think about when making a decision during a "bumpy moment"?; and (2) How does the teacher resolve the difficult task of making important decisions spontaneously? To arrive at answers to these questions, I tape recorded the on-going classroom events, and transcribed these moments into story form. Through an analysis of the many "bumpy moments" in my teaching, several important findings emerged about the nature of reflection and how reflection actually occurs in the classroom context. Results of this study have implications for future research, teacher education, and the practice of teaching.