This study investigated the problem that educators have throughout the state of Texas. The problem educators have is that reading scores continue to fall short of state expectations. This study investigated the effectiveness of 90 minutes of class time given for reading to students who use the Electronic Bookshelf Program and the effectiveness of the Electronic Bookshelf Program, which is being sold to school districts throughout the nation. The literature review focused on the effectiveness of independent reading on reading achievement, and the effectiveness of using computer-based reading programs to increase reading achievement.

The problem for this study was to enhance the development of higher order thinking skills and improve attitudes toward computers for fifth and sixth grade students. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a Technology Enriched Classroom on student development of higher order thinking skills and student attitudes toward the computer. A sample of 80 sixth grade and 86 fifth grade students was tested using the Ross Test of Higher Cognitive Processes. The Ross Test was selected because of its stated purpose to judge the effectiveness of curricula or instructional methodology designed to teach the higher-order thinking skills of analysis, synthesis and evaluation as defined by Bloom. The test consisted of 105 items grouped into seven subsections. In addition, the students were surveyed using the Computer Attitude Questionnaire developed by the Texas Center for Educational Technology. The questionnaire assessed sixty-five questions combined to measure eight attitudes.

To examine parental attitudes toward sexuality education in the home and school, sealed packets were distributed to fifth and seventh graders (N = 609) for each to deliver home to a parent. Parents were asked to express level of agreement with a series of attitude statements and to indicate the content and timing considered appropriate for sexuality instruction in the home and school. Analysis of 246 returned surveys (40% response rate) indicated that most parents trust the school to address human sexuality, though a sizeable minority of parents hold very conservative attitudes toward sexuality instruction in this setting. Results suggested that the majority of parents view school-based instruction as supplemental to instruction in the home.

The purpose of this study was to explore the process and product of African American First Graders as they participated in digital storytelling. Of interest was the role digital tools played in the creation process. Eight participants participated in 18 study sessions during which they composed, recorded, and then shared their digital texts with their peers and at home. Data sources included classroom observations, parent and teacher questionnaires, participant pre and post interviews, field notes, video and audio tapes of sessions, and story screenshot captures and print outs. Study questions focused on the nature of the texts the student produced, the role of the digital in the creation process, and the meanings and purposes the participants had for the texts they produced. This study’s findings challenge teachers to offer students authentic experiences with writing so that children can construct their own ideas and interests, their own writing personalities. Digital texts were a particularly engaging medium for these young children and allowed them to produce texts that reflected their identities as well as their attitudes toward using digital tools. The nature of the texts varied depending on the child, his or her attitude toward using the digital tools, and likely their previous experiences with composition. One unique type of text was identified as a hybrid text that seemed to capitalize on both the ability of the child storyteller and the affordances of the digital. Due to the study’s emphasis on sharing these texts with peers and at home, the first graders were introduced to a sophisticated view of audience. This transactional role of the audience made them aware of audience as a living, breathing entity that gains ownership of the texts’ meanings once they are shared. / text

Handheld computers may hold the possibility for a one-to-one computer: student ratio. The impact of the use of Palm® (Palm, Inc.) handhelds on information acquisition and use by 5th grade students in a North Texas school during a class research project was investigated. Five research questions were examined using observation, interviews, surveys, and document analysis. Are there differences in information gathering and use with the Palm between gifted, dyslexic, and regular learners? What relevance criteria do students use to evaluate a web site to determine whether to download the site to the Palm and afterwards whether to use the downloaded site's information in the report? How do the Palms affect the writing process? Do the animations and concept maps produced on the Palm demonstrate understanding of the intended concepts? Are there significant differences in results (i.e., final products grade) between Palm users and non-Palm users? Three groups of learners in the class, gifted, dyslexic, and regular learners, participated in the study. The regular and dyslexic students reported using Web sites that had not been downloaded to the Palm. Students reported several factors used to decide whether to download Web sites, but the predominant deciding factor was the amount of information. The students used a combination of writing on paper and the Palm in the preparation of the report. Many students flipped between two programs, FreeWrite and Fling-It, finding information and then writing the facts into the report. The peer review process was more difficult with the Palm. Most students had more grammatical errors in this research report than in previous research projects. By creating animated drawings on the Palm handheld, the students demonstrated their understanding of the invention though sometimes the media or the student's drawing skills limited the quality of the final product. Creating the animations was motivational and addressed different learning styles than a written report alone. No statistically significant difference was found in the scores of the three 6+1 Traits categories, however the Palm users didn't meet the page-length requirement for the research project but the majority of the control class did.

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the effect of a parent involvement education program on the academic achievement, school behavior, and educational motivation of Hispanic students enrolled in a bilingual education program. Fifty bilingual fourth-grade students and their parents were compared to 50 bilingual fourth-grade students and their parents who were subjected to a parent education program. The groups were randomly assigned from a stratified random sample. Students in each group were given the Student Attitude Measure prior to treatment and immediately following the parent involvement training. Parents in each group were given the Parent Opinion Inventory prior to and immediately following the parent involvement training. Students were also compared utilizing a norm-referenced achievement test. Discipline referrals were compared between the experimental group and the control group.

The purpose of this study was to determine reliability estimates of authentic assessment for fourth-grade narrative and descriptive writing samples for students with and without learning disabilities. Three types of reliability estimates were established: (a) inter-rater, (b) score stability, and (c) alternate-form. The research design involved 40 teachers, trained in holistic scoring by Education Service Centers 10 and 11 in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, who scored 16 writing samples. Approximately 2 weeks later the teachers rescored 8 of the same writing samples. In addition to scoring the writing samples, the teachers also completed a demographic questionnaire. The writing samples, which consisted of eight narrative and eight descriptive writings, were selected based upon teachers' holistic scores and scores from 1993 writing sample of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. Based upon these scores, two narrative and descriptive writings of above-average, average, and below-average writings were selected. In addition, two narrative and descriptive writing samples of students with learning disabilities in written language were selected.

A manutenção das estradas florestais pode afetar diretamente os processos erosivos. Assim, o presente trabalho teve por objetivo conhecer a influência da atividade de nivelamento, utilizando a motoniveladora, na produção de sedimentos pelas estradas florestais. Para tanto, três estradas (1, 2 e 3) foram submetidas ao nivelamento e outras três estradas (4, 5 e 6) permaneceram sem tratamento. As estradas foram divididas em trechos de 30 m os quais foram demarcados com pares de estacas, devidamente nivelados. Para se determinar o perfil da superfície da estrada formado entre os pares de estaca, um fio de nylon, demarcado de 10 em 10 cm, foi preso na parte superior das estacas e, utilizando-se uma régua graduada, foram medidas as distâncias entre o fio de nylon e a superfície da estrada. Esse procedimento foi realizado entre todos os pares de estaca que compunham as estradas. Determinado o perfil inicial, as estradas 1, 2 e 3 foram submetidas à passagem da motoniveladora e nova medição foi realizada. A remoção média de sedimentos foi de 2,13 cm. Considerando a densidade média do solo de 1,6 g cm-3, a remoção média de sedimentos foi de 341 t ha-1 de estrada. Após esta primeira etapa, foram realizadas mais 6 medições ao longo de um ano em todas as estradas. A análise conjunta das estradas verificou que o tratamento (nivelamento), a porcentagem de argila na camada de 0 a 5 cm e a declividade foram fatores considerados altamente significativos (p<0,0001) na produção de sedimentos. A precipitação também foi significativa (p=0,0028). A maior perda média de solo (0,53 cm) foi registrada para as estradas que foram motoniveladas, enquanto que as estradas não motoniveladas apresentaram perda média de 0,24 cm. Considerando-se os valores médios de perda de sedimentos (cm) e a densidade média do solo de 1,6 g cm-3, a perda de sedimentos nas estradas motoniveladas e não motoniveladas foi, respectivamente, 84,8 t ha-1 ano-1 de estrada e 38,4 t ha-1 ano-1 de estrada. A remoção média de sedimentos pelo nivelamento (341 t ha-1) foi quatro vezes maior do que o valor perdido pelas estradas motoniveladas (84,8 t ha-1 ano-1) e oito vezes maior do que o valor obtido nas estradas não motoniveladas (38,4 t ha-1 ano-1) durante um ano de medições. Frente aos resultados, a adoção no plano de manejo de técnicas adequadas de construção e de manutenção, além da redução da densidade das estradas poderia contribuir na redução da quantidade de sedimentos produzida, uma vez que essas ações influenciam diretamente na extensão que as estradas vão ocupar na paisagem e também na durabilidade dessas estradas. / The maintenance of the forest roads can affect the erosive processes directly. Thus, the present work had the objective of determining the influence of the regrading operation, using the motor grader, in the production of sediments in forest roads. Three roads (1, 2 e 3) were submitted to regrading operation and others three roads (4, 5 e 6) remained without treatment. The roads were divided in 30 m long segments marked with leveled stakes. A nylon thread, demarcated of 10 in 10 cm, was then stretched across the leveled stakes and the distance from the nylon thread to the road surface was measured using a ruler. This procedure was carried in all pairs of stakes that composed the roads. Once the initial profile had been determined, roads 1, 2 and 3 were submitted to regrading operation and new measurement was carried out. The average removal of sediments was of 2,13 cm. Considering the mean density of soil 1,6 g cm-3, the average removal of sediments was of 341 t ha-1 of road. After this first stage, 6 measurements throughout one year were carried out in all roads. The analysis of the roads permitted to observe that the regrading operation, the percentage clay (0 a 5cm) and the slope were the factors considered highly significant (p < 0,0001) in the production of sediments. The precipitation also was significant (p = 0,0028). The roads that were regraded had lost an average of 0,53 cm, while the untreated roads lost an average of 0,24 cm. Considering the average values of loss of sediments and the mean density of the soil, the losses of sediments in the regrading roads and ungraded roads were, respectively, 84,8 and 38,4 t ha-1 year-1 of road. The average removal of sediments (341 t ha-1) was four times greater than the losses of sediment in regraded roads (84,8 t ha-1 ano-1 ) and eight times greater than the losses of sediment of ungraded roads (38,4 t ha-1 ano-1) during one year. The adoption in the management plan of adequate techniques of road construction and maintenance, as well as the reduction of the density of the roads, could contribute in the reduction of the amount of sediments produced.

A major change being advocated in education is that of making students more self-directing; that is, helping them become more responsible for their own learning. The focus of this investigation was on fifth grade students' use of self-directed learning strategies and self-directed perceptual skills. An experimental study was conducted using the nested design for analyzing data obtained from the Guglielmino Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale, the Zimmerman and Martinez-Pons1 Self-Regulated Learning Interview Schedule, and the Bradley-Lane Self-Directing Perceptual Scale. One hundred fifty-two fifth graders were involved in the eight week study along with their six teachers. Both students and teachers were immersed in a module of training that included emphasis upon self-directing behaviors and learning strategies. Two striking findings emerged; namely, (a) in comparing the average number of learning strategies acquired after treatment, the experimental group (low, middle, and high IQ levels) scored 40%, 50% and 29% higher respectively, than did the control group; (b) in comparing the fifth grade students use of learning strategies it was found that most students nearly doubled the number of learning strategies they had previously acquired. Thus, it was concluded that children who do not have actual teaching of information or data concerning learning strategies will likely never acquire the same repertoire of skills that students acquire when exposed to this critical information in some specific, systematic fashion. A primary product developed for the purposes of this investigation was the Bradley-Lane Self-Directing Perceptual Scale—a 132-item Likert Scale designed to identify the self-perceptions of elementary and middle school students. After field-testing, a chi-square treatment was applied to each item of the Perceptual Scale resulting in a reliability of p<.01 for the majority (79%) of the test items, while an additional twelve items (9%) were found to be reliable at the .02 level of significance.

The purpose of this study is to establish whether or not there is a connection between a highincidence of computer gaming and English proficiency in Swedish 9th-graders. The study also takescomputer game genres into account, attempting to see if there is a link between frequent playing ofcertain genres and high English grades.According to this study, there is a clear correlation between the gaming habits of Swedish 9thgradersand the grades they receive in English, with a higher frequency of gaming corresponding toa higher grade. The study also suggests that the Strategy, MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) andCRPG (Computer Role-Playing Game) genres have a higher representation amongst students withgood grades in English.