<p> Once viewed as a way to establish educational placement, high-stakes testing is used to establish benchmarks for success within school systems. Within a local Utah school district, raising these benchmarks has been deliberated due to a steady decline in Grade 8 language arts scores, which has heightened concerns among local school administrators and teachers. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the perceptions of teachers on how to improve declining Grade 8 language arts test scores. Based on the theoretical concepts of constructivism, 3 research questions were created to examine the underlying factors of the steady decline in Grade 8 language arts test scores, teachers&rsquo; perceptions of decline in Grade 8 test scores, and current instructional practices used by teachers to prepare students for high-stakes testing. Through semi-structured interviews, data were collected from a sample of 7 language arts teachers who held an academic degree in language arts area and were a faculty member at the selected school. Comparative analysis and the open coding process were used to find themes in the data. Specific themes included the need for change, different influences, and varying instructional practices to increase test scores each academic year. An individualized instructional curriculum might help increase test scores. A 3-day, in service workshop focused on helping teachers recognize current issues with test preparation and offered methods to help improve student learning through multiple intelligence-based instruction. This study contributes to social change within local Grade 8 language arts classrooms by providing information to educators on how to increase high-stakes test scores on an annual basis and increase overall student achievement. </p>

<p> This qualitative study explored the strategies that teachers use to implement virtual literature circles in middle and high school classes and university Reading programs. Through questionnaires, interviews, and document analysis, several strategies that support student learning were identified, including guided questions, rubrics with clear expectations, and targeted feedback. Making the process student-centered rather than teacher-centered, using appropriate platforms with small groups, and including a face-to-face component also supported student learning. </p><p> Additionally, an examination of teacher perceptions of benefits and challenges of virtual literature circles revealed more advantages than disadvantages. Benefits included improved writing, specificity, and critical thinking; connections to other subject matter; peer interactions; ease of differentiation; technology integration; flexibility; teacher collaboration; engagement; and student-centered practice. Challenges included technology access issues and glitches, student apathy, superficial student responses, and time issues.</p>

No description available.

Initially the purpose of this ethnographic study was to discover insights into effective teaching in an actual classroom. However, as the study developed, it became apparent that two very different and distinct approaches, to language arts instruction were operating. These two approaches came to be known and understood as traditional and whole language concepts of effective thinking. This lead to the question, to what extent are these two approaches compatible in one classroom during language arts? Each position was researched and explored to provide extensive background and clear definitions for the study. Throughout this process the data collection began. Descriptive data of one grade four classroom during language arts instruction emerged. The research did not focus on one of the two pre-determined teaching behaviors but described the classroom as a social situation during language arts. The lengthy and in-depth description contained information about me, the teacher, the school, the students, the classroom, the parents, the program and it's resources. The main data collection occurred through participant observation which means I studied a situation in which I was already and ordinary participant. Data were collected according to a systematic scheme which served to document the classroom and were compared with ethnographic notes of two other independent field researchers, who were non-participate observers. The ethnographic record consisted of field notes, tape recordings, pictures, student work and student and teacher journals. These data were collected from the beginning of January until the middle of April, 1987. Each observation lasted for 30-45 minutes twice weekly, yielding about 25 hours of classroom data over a four month period. The data provided a lengthy description of a grade four classroom during language arts instruction and in so doing, discovered characteristics of both traditional and whole language approaches. Specifically, a traditional approach exercised greatest influence in the areas of: 1) spelling 2) classroom management, and 3) evaluation. A whole language approach primarily influenced the following areas: 1) concept of learning 2) pedagogy, and 3) curriculum. These conclusions suggest that what goes on in a classroom may be a highly complex process that is not necessarily influenced by only one theoretical approach but by a combination of several. This may suggest a change in the treatment of these approaches as unconnected strategies of effective teaching. / x, 137 leaves ; 28 cm

This study explored the development of students' written story structure over a three-year period. Twenty longitudinal writing files, each containing three science fiction stories written at the end of students' grade 3, 4, and 5 years, were studied. The idea development of these sixty stories (20 written at each grade-level) was examined through the use of two methodologies, a genre-independent Idea Analysis, and a genre-specific Narrative Analysis. These analyses were used to explore three aspects of idea structure: (a) idea production, (b) idea elaboration, and (c) narrative structure {i.e., setting, character, and plot development}. / In the area of idea production, the following trends were identified: (a) significant growth from grades 3 to 5 in the number of idea units in students' stories, with a sharp increase in idea-unit production from grades 4 to 5, (b) steady growth in the proportion of embedded {i.e., complex} idea units in students' stories, and (c) steady growth in the proportion of Internal -State units {i.e., descriptions of story-characters' thoughts and feelings}. In the area of idea elaboration, proportions of both Descriptor- and Constraint-use remained stable across grades; in contrast, proportions of Rationale-use (a more specialized form of idea elaboration) increased steadily from grade to grade. Description was the highest-frequency of these three forms of idea elaboration, and the only one used universally by students. In the area of narrative structure, the number of setting elements in students' story openings increased steadily from grade to grade, with particularly strong emphasis on delivery of setting information in grade 5. Character description and narrative goal-setting means also increased steadily from grade to grade; however, within-grade variability was noted. The possibility that dialogue-use mediates growth in these two areas was explored informally. The developmental and instructional implications of these findings were discussed, and recommendations made for future study.

No description available.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 93-98).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--UCLA, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 141-145).

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2004. / Document formatted into pages; contains 209 p. Includes bibliographical references. Abstract available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center; full text release delayed at author's request until .