This study investigates the effects of peer coaching, a peer-mediated intervention package, on the positive social behaviors of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). A single-subject, ABAB design is used with 3 elementary-aged students in grades 3 and 5. Following a baseline period, peer coaching activities are introduced, which involve daily social goal setting, the coach providing feedback, and both students rating the performance of the focus student in order to earn a weekly reward. The students are supervised by an adult during a weekly meeting. A return to baseline phase follows the first peer coaching phase. The final phase of the study includes a re-introduction of the peer coaching activities. Results suggest that the peer coaching package led to improvements in positive social behaviors during recess for 2 out of 3 students. Contributions to current literature are discussed and implications for future studies are provided.

A variety of academic, behavioral and social problems are first identified when children begin school as schools have an obligation to identify a child's needs. However, internalizing problems such as anxiety and depression often go unnoticed due to their covert and subjective symptoms. Not readily apparent to observers, internalizing problems may be best identified through self-report. However, without an instrument to identify internalizing problems, children may suffer silently. Due to developmental limitations of young children to self-report options are limited to individual interviews, which are impractical for screening large groups of children. Thus, the purpose of this study was to develop an instrument that could enable children in Kindergarten and first grade to self-report their experiences of internalizing problems, in a wide-scale screening procedure. The Watkins Early Self-Report of Internalizing Problems (WESRIP) was created using pictures and oral administration to enable children to independently self-report their symptoms of internalizing problems, thus allowing large groups of children to be screened simultaneously. Kindergarten and first grade children (n = 235) consented to the study. Three forms of the WESRIP containing separate test items were administered to groups of students. The 26 items with the highest item-total correlations were chosen for the revised WESRIP that was administered in a pre-test (n = 207) and post-test (n = 197). Teachers completed a modified version of the Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders (SSBD) for concurrent validity analysis. The WESRIP was found to have adequate internal consistency for screening decisions, and moderate test-retest reliability for this age group. Through factor analysis, two distinct factors were identified, "Physical and Emotional Manifestations of Internalizing Problems," and "Self-Appraisal." However there was no relationship between the self-report and teacher rankings, limiting concurrent validity. Without a comparable criterion instrument, diagnostic accuracy was not feasible. Further research is still needed in order to make the WESRIP a technically sound and useful tool. The WESRIP may one day serve to validly and reliably screen children who could benefit from further assessment and ultimately benefit children through early identification of internalizing problems and improved outcomes.

The purpose of this study was to recognize and validate dual exceptionalities and to give voice to an underachieving gifted adolescent with an Attention Deficit Disorder regarding what has worked and not worked for him in traditional school settings. The importance of this study resonates in the voice of a tenth grade, Caucasian male student; a student for whom learning and intellectual challenge is a driving force, but who has been unable to “achieve” in a traditional school setting. This study is vital in that twice exceptional learners are at great risk of underachieving in traditional school settings. In the context of this study, underachievement was viewed as a phenomenon (Schultz, 2002), not a label. It is a verb, not to be confused with the noun. The term should not be used to describe who someone is (underachiever), but rather what someone does (underachieves). Data gathered in this study were analyzed using a constant comparative method of data analysis, which was applied to interviews and classroom observations in an effort to identify categories and themes (Strauss & Corbin, 1994). Data collected from the student interview, classroom observations, document analysis, and adult interviews were triangulated in an effort to uncover patterns and practices that have contributed to or helped to ameliorate the phenomenon of underachievement in a gifted student identified with ADD. Results of this study indicate that schools underachieve their twice exceptional learners (Schultz, 2002) by failing to recognize the asynchronous tension with which these students live; by not creating life-giving relationships with twice exceptional learners that are based on trust and respect; by not implementing classroom practices that are predicated on constructivist learning theory; by denying them access to intellectual peers; and by failing to instill hope.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether field-dependent/independent style awareness affects learning outcomes and learning strategies used in a hypermedia instructional module. Field-dependent/independent style was measured using the Global Embedded Figures Test. Style awareness meant that students were provided with information and explanations about their individual cognitive styles and the learning strategies that accommodate those styles. The study entailed examining students' achievement in a multiple-choice test and performance in a design task, and also their navigation patterns as they studied a science-oriented Webquest. The sample consisted of 149 eighth-grade students in 10 sections of a science class taught by two teachers in a public middle school. A two-group posttest-only design on one factor (style awareness) was used. Sixty-eight students in five sections of the class were assigned to the treatment group (field dependent/independent style awareness) while the other 81 students in five sections were assigned to the control group (no field dependent/independent style awareness). The study took place over a period of 6 days. On the first day, students in the treatment group were first tested and debriefed on their individual styles. Next, all students in both the treatment and control groups studied the hypermedia instructional module (Webquest) over a period of two days. On the fourth and fifth days students worked on the performance tasks, and on the sixth day students took the multiple-choice test and students in the control group were tested and debriefed on their individual styles. The findings indicate that style awareness significantly influenced the learning strategies of field-dependent students as they studied and carried out learning tasks in the Webquest. Field-dependent students with style awareness used hypertext links and navigated the menu sequentially a greater number of times than their counterparts with no style awareness. Correspondingly, there were no significant findings for field-independent students of the effects of style awareness on learning strategies. The findings also revealed significant differences in terms of style awareness and its interactions with achievement on the multiple-choice test. Both field-dependent and field-independent students with style awareness achieved higher scores than their counterparts who received no style awareness. There were however no significant findings with respect to the effects of style awareness on performance on the design task. Overall this study demonstrated that providing middle-school students with cognitive-style awareness training can improve both their academic performance as well as enable them to adopt more effective learning strategies when learning in hypermedia environments. / 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. / Summer Semester, 2009. / April 28, 2009. / Cognitive Style, Field Dependent, Field Independent, Hypermedia Learning, Science Inquiry, Webquest, Web-based Learning, Instructional Design / Includes bibliographical references. / Vanessa Paz Dennen, Professor Directing Dissertation; Sherry Southerland, Outside Committee Member; Nancy T. Davis, Committee Member; Aubteen Darabi, Committee Member.

This study examined the impact of collaboration on both the processes and the outcomes of grade retention/promotion decision making. Fifty participants were recruited to participate in the study, with the requirement of having taught at least 1 full year as a classroom teacher in grades K-5. The study involved participants making retention/promotion decisions for 3 vignettes, each depicting a child through a description of characteristics. In addition, participants were asked to list all the relevant factors they considered in making the decision for each vignette. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that for 2 of 3 vignettes, group collaboration had a significant impact on the polarization of decisions. In addition, for all 3 vignettes, participants who collaborated before making the decision cited fewer total factors, and a fewer number of unique factors that they considered in making the decision. Results from the study suggest that group collaboration does play a significant role in affecting both the grade retention/promotion decision-making process, as well as the decision outcome. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Summer Semester, 2007. / June 28, 2007. / Group Polarization, Group Decision Making, Grade Retention / Includes bibliographical references. / Alysia Roehrig, Professor Directing Thesis; Susan Losh, Committee Member; Jeannine Turner, Committee Member.

Previous studies exploring teachers' perceptions of creativity and giftedness yield inconsistent results. In attempts to evaluate the confidence that can be placed among the existing research literature, a rubric was developed which incorporated criteria from existing rubrics in order to analyze methodology among existing articles pertaining to teachers' perceptions of creativity and giftedness. Articles identified for review were selected because they investigated teachers' perceptions of creativity and/or teachers' perceptions of giftedness and were published in a peer-review journal over the past 25 years. Thirty identified articles were graded using the rubric. Findings indicate that this research literature has many shortcomings including: not including definitions of concepts, not reporting sampling procedures and sample size rationale, not using valid and reliable instruments, not including confidence intervals, measurement deficits, and not discussing limitations or limits to generalizability. Results indicate there is a high frequency of methodological weaknesses among the studied articles, which suggests previous studies may not represent teachers' perceptions of giftedness and creativity to a confident extent. The thesis concludes with a discussion of limitations and alternative explanations. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Education Specialist/Master of Science. / Spring Semester, 2012. / November 21, 2011. / Gifted students, Teachers Perceptions, creative students / Includes bibliographical references. / Steven I. Pfeiffer, Professor Directing Thesis; Alysia Roehrig, Committee Member; Debra Osborn, Committee Member.

Assessment and accountability has been a major influence in public education since the introduction of No Child Left Behind and continue to influence teachers and students with the signing of Race to the Top. In Florida, the value-added model (VAM) is beginning to be implemented into teacher evaluations. These evaluations take into account student gains on NCLB assessments and formal instructional observations. However, teachers have had very little say in the implementation of this new law and the Common Core State Standards. When it comes to teacher understanding of a policy, teacher understanding can play a role in how teachers implement and approach a policy. This instrumental qualitative study (Stake, 1995) focused on the role of VAM and merit pay play in how teachers view their work in the school and school community. Using Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory (1984), Control-Value Theory (Pekrun, 2006), and the emerging model from my preliminary study (Pressley, 2014) I focused on how VAM and merit pay impacts teachers' motivation to change their instruction. This study focused on 13 elementary teachers from schools with different grades (one A, two B, and two C) with three teachers from all but one school (C2). Overall, I found that the teachers had limited knowledge of VAM and had negative feelings about VAM being part of their evaluations. These feelings were based on the low value and low control teachers felt regarding their student test scores that are used to determine a VAM score. The teachers did not feel that VAM drove their changes in instruction; however, teachers were still changing instruction. The changes were made either for higher observation scores, student learning or were district mandated. When it came to merit pay, ten of the thirteen teachers did not want to give up tenure for merit pay. The teachers felt there could be mixed impact on the school community because of merit pay depending on the sense of community between teachers within the school or grade level team. Lastly, even though the teachers had negative feelings regarding VAM the teachers were not against teacher accountability. Based on these findings, implications for future research and practice are considered. / 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. / Summer Semester 2015. / July 14, 2015. / Effective Teaching, Merit Pay, Teacher evaluation, Teacher perspective, Value-added model / Includes bibliographical references. / Alysia D. Roehrig, Professor Directing Dissertation; Kathy Clark, University Representative; Susan Losh, Committee Member; Jeannine Turner, Committee Member.

Previous research suggests that differential reinforcement procedures may inadvertently strengthen problem behavior, resulting in treatment relapse (i.e., recurrence of problem behavior) when chges (e.g., intentional treatment withdrawal or treatment fidelity errors) are encountered following successful treatment. The current study evaluated one potential solution to the problem of treatment relapse based on the procedures proposed by Mace et al. (2010), which involved initially implementing treatment within a context with a minimal history of reinforcement for problem behavior rather than in the treatment context. Treatment relapse was then evaluated by conducting renewal and resurgence analyses at different points of time during treatment. Participants were four young children diagnosed with autism whose problem behavior was maintained by negative reinforcement. The children's caregivers implemented all procedures in their homes within multielement and reversal designs with coaching provided by a behavior consultant via telehealth. Interobserver agreement was collected on 34.2% of sessions and averaged 97.9% across participants. Following a functional analysis and an extinction baseline, functional communication training (FCT) was initially implemented in alternative contexts (i.e., play and neutral tasks) that had minimal history of reinforcement for problem behavior. This was conducted in order to strengthen manding and task completion without inadvertently strengthening problem behavior. I programmed for the generalization of mands and task completion by training sufficient exemplars (three alternative contexts) and programming common stimuli (picture cards, safespot, microswitch). FCT was then implemented in the treatment context (target demand), and extinction probes were conducted intermittently throughout treatment. Results demonstrated that problem behavior was reduced on average by 97.8% across all participants by the end of treatment. Treatment maintenance results showed that only minimal treatment relapse occurred. Clinically significant renewal of problem behavior only occurred with one participant, and little or no resurgence of problem behavior occurred for two participants during the first extinction probe. With minimal demand fading, resurgence was reduced during the second extinction probe for the other two participants. Manding and task completion generalized to the treatment context for most participants. These behaviors also persisted during the extinction probes showing that they were strengthened across treatment. Thus, these results showed substantial improvement in achieving maintenance than what has been achieved in previous studies evaluating treatment maintenance following FCT.

This dissertation describes a qualitative investigation of two research questions: "What do homeless individuals perceive to be the critical incidents that led to their homelessness?" and "What do people who are homeless recommend for how counselors can help the homeless and individuals at risk of becoming homeless?" Twenty-five participants were recruited from an Iowa City homeless shelter and were interviewed using an interview protocol. Participants were asked to provide detailed accounts of critical incidents that led to their homelessness and recommendations for counselors who would be working with people who are homeless or at a risk of becoming homeless. The critical incident technique, a qualitative research methodology, was used to develop the research design and analyze data. From the 25 interviews, 238 useful responses were extracted creating 34 unique categories. Eleven overarching themes were derived, representing groupings of categories. There were seven themes and 18 corresponding categories describing participant responses about the critical incidents that led to their homelessness. The first theme was Employment, Finances, and Resources with the categories Loss of Employment, Resource Problems, Job Search Difficulties, and Financial Problems. The second theme was Interpersonal Incidents with the categories Isolated from Interpersonal Support, Domestic Dispute, Domestic Abuse, and Burdening Interpersonal Support. The third theme was Substance Abuse with the categories Substance Abuse of Participant and Substance Abuse of Other. The fourth theme was Significant Difficult Events with the categories Traumatic Event, Conned/Robbed, and Natural Disaster. The fifth theme was Illness with the categories Psychological Illness and Physical Illness. The sixth theme was Legal Problems with the category Legal Incidents. And the seventh theme was Choices with the categories "I made poor choices" and Choice to Be Homeless. There were four themes and 16 corresponding categories describing the participants' recommendations to counselors who want to work with people who are homeless or people who might be at a risk to become homeless. The first theme was Types of Counseling with the categories Substance Abuse Counseling, Employment Counseling, Family Counseling, Supportive Counseling, and Other Types of Counseling. The second theme was Counseling Not Enough with the categories Counselor Not Helpful, Spirituality Component Needed, Counseling for Other Needed, and Personal Responsibility. The third theme was Counselor Characteristics/Knowledge with the categories Caring Counselor Characteristics, Familiarization with Population, and Understand Etiology of Problem. The fourth theme was Resources with the categories Resource Problem, Accessibility of Services, Shelter Service is Helpful, and Approach Clientele. An overview of relevant literature, a detailed explanation of the critical incident technique, a description of the results, and a discussion of the results and limitations for this study are provided in this dissertation.