The objective of the present study was to investigate the validity of a new teacher rating inventory, the Iowa Early Learning Inventory (IELI). It is intended to assess the young students' cognitive behaviors, behaviors related to or supportive of the learning process. It is intended to be useful for early identification of students who are likely to encounter learning difficulties later in their academic careers. The intended users are kindergarten and 1st grade teachers. The construct theory of the IELI was empirically derived using qualitative analysis of behavior statements obtained from relevant sources. Six areas of cognitive behaviors emerged from the qualitative analysis. The IELI was constructed to measure these areas using representative behaviors for item content. All six areas of cognitive behaviors had medium or strong correlations with each other and all had correlations of medium strength with ITBS achievement measures. Investigation of the relationship of individual cognitive behavior areas with selected measures of achievement supported that the IELI captures variance related to other measures of related constructs. Confirmatory factor analyses of the structure of the IELI investigated five models consisting of the six areas. None of the models was evaluated as adequately fitting the data. The most promising model consisted of six correlated areas or factors, each defined by the items intended to measure the respective cognitive area. Investigation of sex DIF identified a small number of potential problems in three of the six areas, but investigation of ethnic DIF was inconclusive but called for further investigation. Overall, the results indicated that the IELI provides useful and valid information about the cognitive relationships of early learners.

The problem of this study is to determine the trends in the Nature Study in Texas with reference to the quantity and quality of printed materials for primary grades and the trends in methods of presenting them.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of small group vocabulary instruction above and beyond whole group, read aloud vocabulary instruction, on second grade students' expressive vocabularies.  This experimental study reflected a between-subjects design as three treatment groups were compared using a pretest, posttest within subjects variable methodology.  A small group instructional intervention was administered to a treatment group in addition to the whole group, read-aloud based vocabulary instruction that the alternative treatment group received.  Data was collected over an eight week intervention period.  Results indicated that small group vocabulary instruction led to greater gains in second grade students' expressive use of target words than did read aloud-based instruction or no instruction (control).  Additionally, students who received small group instruction retained more target word knowledge over time than students who did not receive small group instruction.  Implications for practice and future research are included. / Ph. D.

This study determined how quality grade and degree of doneness influence the development of beef flavor compounds among whole muscle and ground patties. Proximate composition, pH, cooking duration, neutral and polar lipid fatty acids, free and total amino acids, total reducing sugars, and volatile compounds were evaluated in beef strip steaks and ground patties of Longissimus lumborum from three USDA quality grades (Prime, Low Choice, and Standard; n=8 per quality grade) and six degrees of doneness (4, 25, 55, 60, 71, and 77°C). In the split-plot experiment, quality grade was the whole-plot, product-type was a sub-plot, and degree of doneness was the sub-sub-plot. The 3-way interaction of quality grade, degree of doneness, and product type impacted moisture (P = 0.004) and protein content (P = 0.006); pH (P < 0.001); neutral and polar lipid fatty acids (P ≤ 0.048); free and total amino acids (P ≤ 0.044); total reducing sugars (P < 0.001); and volatile compounds (P ≤ 0.029). The 2-way interaction of quality grade and degree of doneness impacted free amino acids (P ≤ 0.036); PUFA within the neutral lipid fraction (P ≤ 0.033); fatty acids within the polar lipid fraction (P ≤ 0.043); volatile compounds (P ≤ 0.038); and the total fat percentage (P = 0.046). The 2-way interaction of quality grade and product type impacted fatty acids within the neutral lipid fraction (P ≤ 0.042); fatty acids within the polar lipid fraction (P ≤ 0.015); and volatile compounds (P ≤ 0.047). The 2-way interaction of product type and degree of doneness affected fatty acids within the neutral lipid fraction (P ≤ 0.046); fatty acids within the polar lipid fraction (P ≤ 0.035); free amino acids (P ≤ 0.005) and total amino acids (P ≤ 0.004); volatile compounds (P ≤ 0.029); and cooking duration (P < 0.001). Overall the results of this study indicated that quality grade, grinding, and cooking have interacting effects on flavor related compounds. Thus, each factor must be considered during any model development which aims to predict beef flavor.

No description available.

In this study, the writer has attempted to judge the effects of different types of report cards upon the accuracy of the teachers' grades of South Park Elementary School. The data used in this study, is located in Beaumont, Texas.

No description available.

The focus of the research was to examine the academic intervention program implemented to address academic concerns in the middle grades in one large urban school district in central Florida. Educational leaders at all levels are concerned with the choice of one in four students who make the decision to not complete high school coursework, leaving before earning a high school diploma. The researcher examined to what extent, if any, participation in the middle grades academic intervention program affected academic success in coursework and what difference, if any, there were between academic coursework grade point averages and at-risk eligibility factors, for levels of student participation in the academic intervention program. The at-risk eligibility factors for placement into this middle grades intervention program included prior year retention, prior year course failure(s), and prior year grade point average of 2.0 or below on a 4.0 scale. The school district of study provided each middle grades school with one teaching allocation to support the academic intervention program. Data from six of the 12 middle schools that tracked students in the academic intervention program for the 2013-2014 school year were retrieved from the school district central office. Interviews were conducted with all 12 academic intervention program supervising administrators to determine the delivery method provided for the program at each school. The study provides information on the effectiveness of the academic intervention program, implications for practice, and recommendations for future research.

This study was developed to determine middle school principals' knowledge about the structure of the special education program in their schools and the support given to the personnel who serve students with disabilities in that program. The principals' knowledge was compared to the application of their knowledge to determine if principals were applying what they knew when making decisions about structuring and supporting the special education program in the school and the teachers and staff who work within the programs. In addition, various personal and school factors were analyzed to determine if any of these variables were significant in explaining any differences that were found between the principals' knowledge and application of their knowledge. Finally, the principals' innovativeness was determined, and the factors in common to the groups of principals who were most and least innovative were analyzed. When the data were analyzed, a statistically significant difference was found between reported knowledge and application of knowledge. None of the school and personal variables explained this difference. A statistically significant difference existed between the two groups of principals found to be most and least innovative. When analyzed, several school and personal variables were found to possibly explain the difference, and a profile was proposed for each group. The variables included gender, subject area taught, number of years as a professional educator, number of years since completing educational leadership training, number of years as a principal, primary source of information for structuring the special education program at their school, school size, district size, and types of classes offered to students with disabilities. Further research is needed to confirm these profiles and recommendations for future research are included.

Self-regulated learning (SRL) and higher-order thinking (metacognitive processes) are important in education because they contribute to effective learning and improved academic performance. These processes may be facilitated by the implementation of computer technology in the classroom. This research project examined the use of computer technology among elementary school students and possible effects on self-regulated learning and metacognitive processes, including the ability to plan, monitor, evaluate one’s own work, and apply specific learning strategies. Two main research questions were investigated: (1) Do elementary school students demonstrate SRL metacognitive processes when they use computers and paper-pencil for reading-relating tasks, and what are the key SRL metacognitive processes? (2) Are there differences in SRL metacognitive processes between computer-based and paper-pencil reading tasks in elementary grades? Recruitment of students occurred at the local school district’s after-school programs. A total of 52 students from Grades 2-5 consented to participate in two conditions, a computer-based and a paper-pencil reading task, each lasting approximately 30 minutes. Observations, ratings, and semi-structured interviews were conducted. The quantitative portion included descriptive and correlational statistics. Differences in SLR metacognitive constructs between conditions and between grades were explored. Inferential statistics employed a 2 x 4 (condition-by-grade) mixed-model Analysis of Variance and follow-up tests. The qualitative portion included primary analytic strategies, thematic analysis, and triangulation across data sources. The results indicated that metacognitive self-regulated learning skills were present in students of primary grades. There were no differences between grades or between conditions for most regulation of cognition constructs except for control and evaluation practices. Among knowledge of cognition constructs, conditional knowledge was higher in the paper than in the computer reading assignment across grades. The qualitative findings corroborated the quantitative results. Students in primary grades demonstrated SRL metacognitive processes, and these were more common in the paper than in the computer condition. These findings are explained by the familiarity with the reading medium, the integration of multimedia and verbal cues, the speed for corrective actions, and the use of prior knowledge. These important insights can contribute to improved academic performance and higher order thinking among young students. The results also suggest that students can benefit from focused instruction to perform transfer of knowledge between the two reading formats - computer and paper.