The purpose of this study was to evaluate Core5, a computer-assisted instruction (CAI) programme, on developing early literacy skills in struggling kindergartners and providing enrichment for high achieving kindergartners. Conducted through the positivist research paradigm, the research design of this study is a quantitative quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design using the probes AIMSweb Letter Name Fluency (LNF), AIMSweb Letter Sound Fluency (LSF), MAP K-2 Early Literacy, as well as a questionnaire regarding teacher perceptions of Core5 and its implementation in the classroom. This study used convenience sampling instead of probability sampling since many schools already use Core5. Fifteen schools in the Matanuska Susitna Borough School District was the target population. The sample group comprised of 751 kindergartners, aged five to six-year-olds divided into the treatment group, the partial treatment group, and the control group. Posttest analysis of LNF and LSF data confirmed all three groups made gains from the pretest, but an ANOVA indicated there was a significant difference between the three groups. A Bonferroni post hoc test determined the treatment group and the partial treatment group were significantly different from the control group. The posttest analysis of MAP K-2 Early Literacy data indicated that all three groups made gains from the pretest. An ANOVA suggested there was no significant difference between the three groups. Lastly, the end-of-year Core5 levels were correlated to the benchmark scores on LNF, LSF and MAP K-2 Early Literacy probes using Pearson’s r. The teacher questionnaire indicated that a majority of teachers have a favourable view of Core5, which is vital to the implementation of Core5 because their attitude is also a significant predictor of student use in the classroom. The findings indicate that Core5 is an effective CAI program to use as part of the kindergarten ELA curriculum. The findings also add to the volume of research on Core5, CAI programmes and blended learning. / English Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (English)

Fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, there remain large gaps in academic achievement between children of color and White students (Darling-Hammond, 2007). It is estimated that by 2050, the population of the United States will increase by 50%; 90% of which will be accounted for by minorities (Vanneman, Hamilton, Anderson, & Rahman, 2009). In less than 50 years, our citizenry will be comprised of "groups that are over represented among low achievers, and under represented among high achievers" (Ferguson, 2005, p. 4). Nationwide, districts are addressing the issue of the achievement gap through implementing formal equity professional development opportunities at their school sites. While formal equity training leaves participants transformed, they leave with little to no support in how to change their practice in order to teach more equitably. Therefore, based on Bridges' and Hallinger's (1995) problem based learning approach, the handbook, Keeping Equity in Mind, was developed, field tested and revised using Borg and Gall's (2003) research and development cycle. The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine the usefulness of the handbook, Keeping Equity in Mind, in supporting teacher leaders in continued equity work in their classrooms once formal equity training had ended at their school sites. Participants implemented the strategies presented in the handbook in order to determine its usefulness in supporting teacher leaders in continued equity work in their classrooms. The findings of this study determined Keeping Equity in Mind is a useful tool for teachers attempting to close the achievement gap in their classrooms and the administrators who support them.

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are groups of educators committed to working collaboratively in ongoing processes of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve. PLCs operate under the assumption that the key to improved learning for students is continuous job-embedded learning for educators (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, & Many, 2006). Researchers and practitioners agree that PLCs are critical to the overall success of schools. The problem is that implementing PLCs with fidelity to an inquiry process is a real challenge. Most school districts do not have a systematic or comprehensive approach to guide their PLC process. School leaders are in need of quality tools and resources to assist them in implementing PLCs. As a possible solution to this problem, a design team of four Estacada School District principals and one vice principal was convened to create, field-test and refine a handbook for PLC leadership. The handbook was field-tested in four schools and evaluated to determine its usefulness. The study's primary research questions were: (a) Is the PLC handbook a useful resource for school leaders? and (b) What are the handbook's strengths and weaknesses? Secondary research questions focused on specific topics and sections of the handbook: (a) How do school leaders organize and support a PLC framework? (b) How can PLCs support school change initiatives? (c) How can PLCs gather and analyze student data? (d) How can PLCs plan for future action? and (e) How can PLCs troubleshoot challenges? The design team relied on a problem-based learning approach (Bridges & Hallinger, 1995) and the use of a research and development process (Borg & Gall, 1989) to design an educational product ready for operational use in their schools. The design team met weekly for regularly scheduled meetings. They used the Critical Friends Consultancy Protocol (Harmony Education Center, 2013) as a systematic way to problem solve and collect qualitative data. The data collected from these sessions were transcribed, coded for themes, and analyzed. Other data sources that were used included the review of institutional documentation, structured interviews with teacher leaders, and survey results. The design team then refined its PLC handbook through the first seven steps of the research and development process: (a) Research and information collecting; (b) Planning objectives, learning activities, and small scale testing; (c) Developing a preliminary form of the product; (d) Preliminary field-testing; (e) Main product revision; (f) Main field-testing; and (g) Operational product revision. The design team determined that the handbook was in fact a useful resource for school leaders, and it helped move PLC work forward in each of the four schools. The team found that the handbook had a number of strengths, including the clarification of key terminology and the establishment of a common language for PLCs. Another noted strength was that the activities included in the handbook were user-friendly. A noted opportunity was that the field-tested handbook did not create viable ways to involve parents, families, and community members in PLC work alongside educators. This opportunity is being addressed by the design team in future handbook revisions. The handbook helped school leaders organize and support a PLC framework. The design team confirmed that the handbook assisted PLCs in completing the work required of major school change initiatives, including Differentiated Instruction/Sheltered Instruction, Response to Intervention/Positive Behavioral Intervention Support, Common Core State Standards, and Proficiency-Based Learning. The design team also found the PLC handbook to be useful as an orientation tool for new staff members, as well as a valuable review tool for PLC veterans, particularly regarding how to collect and analyze student assessment data. The handbook also helped PLCs plan future action relative to providing intervention and enrichment opportunities for students. Finally, the handbook provided tools to help educators troubleshoot challenges that surfaced during their PLC work. The design team will continue to refine its handbook and provide support for the Estacada School District and community as mutually-beneficial PLC-related activities, grants, and projects are pursued. The optimal next step for future use of the handbook would be for several schools and districts throughout Oregon, particularly from small, rural areas, to pilot the handbook. The piloting schools and districts could then share the roadblocks and success stories pertinent to their use of the handbook, which would in turn support the design team in making a quality final product revision.

Uppsala University Library owns eight volumes of manuscripts attributed to the academy equerry Johan Leven Ekelund (c.1701−1775). In this thesis, I apply methods from the field of material culture studies in order to establish which of the volumes that formed the donation from Leven to the library mentioned in his will. By mapping certain markers such as places, names and dates I am able to identify to some extent where Leven gained his practical skills and which writers influenced him. By analysing the texts, I draw the conclusion that the manuscripts can be divided into groups aimed for different audiences. Some of them fit in an utilitarian context, some of them aim to give riding and horsemanship scientific legitimacy. Some are aimed for a narrow circle of peers, connaisseurs of the art of riding. By examining Leven’s networks, I seek to shed light on whether he wrote in order to further his career. My conclusion is that in that case, Leven’s main focus was probably to help his son, who had a remarkably successful career as a physician after the death of his father. / <p>Orcid nr: 0000-0002-8791-4109</p>

Unlike consumer technologies and electronics that have advanced and become more affordable and intuitive to use, the supplied user manuals are still using the old-fashioned book-like design. There are people who do not read the manuals, even when they are in trouble, because these book-like manuals might be too complicated or difficult to understand. There are also people who are unable to use the manuals because of reading disabilities or illiteracy. These problems can be solved with an universal design for manuals (UDM) on digital platforms. Universal design is a design approach with the goal to provide the same accessibility and usability to all people. However, there was no such published design on the market.The purpose of this research was to investigate requirements for the UDM, and create a model of it. The goal was to propose a model of UDM (MUDM) that describes how a manual can be designed on digital platforms, that is universally accessible and usable.The research method was qualitative with exploratory nature. By studying the relevant literature, scientific papers and existing manuals with high level of usability, a list of the requirements for UDM was compiled and analyzed. Based on the findings from the studies, a model of UDM was created which describes an implementation of the manual as a mobile application on smartphones.The model consists of two diagrams, a flow-chart diagram which describes the navigation and the structure of the application, and a package diagram which covers interaction methods, layouts, components, and information presentation methods. The model covers all the found requirements for UDM, which implies that the model includes methods to achieve all these requirements. / Till skillnad från ständigt utvecklande konsumentteknik och konsumentelektronik som har blivit billigare och mer intuitiva att använda, de medföljande manualerna använder fortfarande den gamla bokliknande design. Det finns människor som inte läser manual när de har funderingar eller frågor, eftersom manualen kanske är för komplicerad eller svårbegriplig. Det finns också människor som inte kan använda manualen, på grund av lässvårigheter eller analfabetism. Sådana problem kan lösas med en universell design för manual (UDM) på digitala plattformer. Universell design är en design strategi som syftar på att göra produkten lika tillgänglig och användbar för alla. Dock fanns det ingen sådan design på marknaden.Denna forskning syftade på att undersöka vad det är som krävs för UDM och sedan utveckla en model för det. Målet var att förslå en model för UDM (MUDM) som beskriver hur manual kan designas på digitala plattformer, för att uppnå universell tillgänglighet och användbarhet.Forskningsmetoden var kvalitativ och utforskande. Genom att studera relevanta litteratur, forskningsrapporter och existerande manualer med hög nivå av användbarhet, en lista med kraven för UDM skapades och analyserades. Därefter skapades en model av UDM baserat på upptäckterna från studierna.Modellen beskriver en implementering av manual som mobilapplikation på smartphones. Modellen består av två diagram, ett flödesdiagram och ett paketdiagram. Diagrammen omfattar interaktionsmetoder, layouter, komponenter, navigeringen och metoder för informationspresentation. Modellen täcker också all kraven för UDM, vilket vill säga den innehåller metoder för att uppfylla samtliga kraven.

For many mothers and fathers, parenting books are the conduit to information on child development from to the scholarly and scientific communities. This study examined popular American parenting books from 1983–1998 to determine the types of fatherhood role expectations and perceptions regarding fathers that are being communicated to expectant and new parents. A telephone interview process was used to obtain a non-biased sample of the most popular parenting books in the nation. Three bookstores, hospitals, obstetric offices, and pediatric offices from each of 11 regions of the United States were selected for a total of 132 interviews which resulted in a 190 book nominations. The What to Expect series of books, written by Eisenberg, Murkoff, & Hathaway, received the most nominations. There were 40 votes for What to Expect When You're Expecting , 39 for What to Expect the First Year and 20 nominations for What to Expect the Toddler Years . The American Academy of Pediatrics book, Caring for Your Baby and Young Child received 15. Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care received ten votes and Burton Schmitt's Your Child's Health was nominated nine times. Ten others books received two or more nominations and were included in the sample. Results showed that fathers were noticeably absent from the pages of the parenting manuals. On average, the books devoted approximately 3.5% of the text and 7.5% of the illustrations to father-related issues. For this naturalistic study, grounded theory was used to examine the illustrations and text pertaining to fathers. The salient themes from the text indicate that parenting manual authors seem to marginalize the father's importance in the family: (a) Fathers play a subordinate role in parenting; (b) Fathers' family role family is unclear and confusing; (c) Fathers' involvement in the family is portrayed as increasing while simultaneously not increasing; (d) Fathers depicted as family providers whose family involvement is voluntary; and, (e) Fathers portrayed as inadequate, jealous, reluctant, and rejected. This investigation concluded that the parenting book illustrations were largely positive, in contrast to the more negative portrayal of fathers in the text.

This dissertation offers the first full-length study of medieval England’s literary tradition of manuals for penitents—texts describing the sins, and other essentials of the faith, that address penitents preparing for confession. This tradition includes works that were among the most popular in medieval England. Some of these—including the Parson’s Tale and Ancrene Wisse, which is an important precursor to this body of writing—have been studied in depth, but the tradition in which they participate is still not well understood. This dissertation shows that this tradition emerged in a significant way in the second half of the thirteenth century, although it took root in an existing body of self-examination writing. Insofar as it reflects a new emphasis on reading as a means of interrogating oneself rather than as a means of preparing oneself to interrogate others, the development of these manuals represents a widening range of reading practices and a shift toward private confessional education. The first two chapters describe the characteristics of manuals for penitents, including their material and formal qualities. Among other contributions, the first chapter explores a feature of commentaries on the essentials of the faith that often goes unnoticed: that when they appear in manuals for penitents, they are not, as is often thought, digressive, impersonal, or strictly didactic, but instead encourage and promote self-reflection. The second chapter examines the implied and actual audiences of manuals for penitents. On the basis of this more precise characterization of these manuals, the final three chapters offer insight into three interlinked texts chosen from different stages of the development of these manuals: Ancrene Wisse, the Compileison, and the Parson’s Tale. In addition to shedding light on these three texts, these concluding chapters highlight some of the tensions that emerged surrounding the shift to asynchronous penitential learning that was enabled by these manuals.

The author has designed a guidebook to accompany the State of California Department of Education's Coordinated Compliance Review Manual. The purpose of the guidebook is to provide English language learners' (ELL) coordinators the information needed to facilitate and achieve compliance with the State of California's rules, regulations and policies that will insure that ELL students' needs are being addressed and met. The design and method of the project are discussed.

This project was designed to help instructors at Camp Highland Outdoor Science School in Cherry Valley, California. The camp is drsinged for fifth and sixth grade students. The manual would be a useful tool for instructors to reference information to assist in lession planning and activities. It would familiarize them with the local natual history in the area including geology, climate, plants and Native Americans.

La présente étude explore l’application par l’école en Roumanie et en France de deux méthodes de gestion de la diversité ethnoculturelle, notamment l’intégration et l’assimilation. L’école aspire à modeler un bon citoyen en enseignant un socle de valeurs reflétant la tradition culturelle en France et religieuse en Roumanie ; d’une part, les manuels français d’éducation civique, juridique et sociale ainsi que les manuels d’éducation religieuse roumains illustrent une stratégie d’assimilation. D’autre part, l’éducation civique en Roumanie et l’éducation au fait religieux en France reflètent une stratégie d’intégration. L’assimilation est implantée par une pédagogie passive, qui a tendance à créer des élèves passifs, tandis que l’intégration s’appuie sur des méthodes pédagogiques actives, favorisant la formation des citoyens actifs. L’identité culturelle des minorités issues de l’immigration ainsi que des minorités nationales influence leur intégration dans le pays d’accueil, affectant directement la cohésion sociale. L’obéissance et la conformité aux règles, nécessaires pour le bon fonctionnement de la démocratie, représentent uniquement un pas primitif vers l’intégration culturelle, économique, politique, sociale et religieuse, qui est étroitement liée au sentiment d’appartenance et partiellement illustrée par l’acquisition de la citoyenneté. En Roumanie, comme en France, l’assimilation se justifie par le besoin de préserver certaines valeurs traditionnelles, cependant, elle favorise le développement de l’intolérance et de la méfiance, effet qui s’atténue légèrement avec l’âge. La réussite de l’intégration requiert un effort réciproque de la part des minorités ainsi que des personnes non-minoritaires. Tous les citoyens, indifféremment de leurs origines sont encouragés à participer à la construction et à la réalisation du projet national. / This thesis explores the utilisation of integration and assimilation by the Romanian and the French public school in order to manage ethnocultural diversity. The school aspires to create a good citizen through teaching core values that reflect the cultural tradition in France and the religious tradition in Romania; as such, both French Civics textbooks as well as Romanian Religion textbooks reflect a strategy of assimilation. Inversely, Romanian Civics textbooks and French History of religions textbooks illustrate a strategy of integration. In both countries, assimilation is implemented using a passive pedagogy, having a tendency to create passive students, while integration is reflected by active learning methods that aspire to model students into active citizens. The cultural identity of immigrant and national minorities partially determine their integration in the host country, which consequently directly affects social cohesion. Obeying the law and conforming to societal norms, although necessary for the functioning of democracy, both represent solely a primitive step towards cultural, economic, political, social and religious integration, which itself is linked to the feeling of belonging and partially illustrated by the acquisition of citizenship. In Romania as well as in France, assimilation may be justified by the need to preserve certain traditional values; however, this strategy encourages the development of intolerance and weariness, an effect that subsides as children get older. Successful integration requires equal effort from minorities as well as from nationals. All citizens, regardless of their origins, are encouraged to participate in defining and carrying out national objectives.