The purpose of this study was to investigate the kinds of support offered for integrating literacy strategies into mathematics instruction in elementary mathematics textbooks so that students are given opportunity to achieve the vision NCTM (2000) has for mathematical power for all. The research methodology for this was a qualitative content analysis using a priori codes. Two textbook series were chosen for this study. In each series examples of literacy integration ideas based on Trabasso's and Bouchard's (2002) effective comprehension strategies to teach comprehension were cited and analyzed. The results show that there is support for teachers to integrate literacy in mathematics instruction. Improvements can be made in both the classroom and during teacher preparation.

The purpose of this study was to rate the oral retellings of fifth-grade students to determine to what degree passages, raters, and rating occasions affect those ratings, and to identify what combination of those elements will produce reliable retelling ratings. Thirty-six fourth-grade students read and orally retold three contemporary realistic fiction passages. Two raters rated these retellings on two separate occasions using the Reader Retelling Rating Scale. These ratings were analyzed quantitatively using generalizability software. Two research questions were answered by the generalizability (G) and decision (D) studies. The G study answers the first question regarding the percentages of the total variation that can be attributed to the students, the raters, the rating occasions, the passages, and interactions among these factors. The G study found that the largest sources variation were the students, the passages, and the student-by-passage interaction. The D study answered the second question about how many raters, rating occasions, and passages would be needed to obtain a reliability coefficient for similar students in another setting. To obtain high reliability coefficients, retellings of a minimum of four (preferably six) passages should be rated by at least two raters on one occasion.

The purpose of this study was to document the nature of elementary writing instruction and classroom physical environments in eight Utah school districts. One hundred seventy-seven full-day observations were completed throughout a one-week period. Results indicated teachers included at least one of the following types of writing: writing workshop/writing process, non-process writing, and writing conventions and mechanics. Process writing time was dominated by instruction from the teacher. Other elements of the writing workshop were implemented, but in a fragmented way. Only five teachers combined aspects of the workshop simultaneously. Non-process writing activities were dominated by prompts and formulas that resulted in one-draft products created with limited teacher assistance and no expectation for revising, editing, or publishing. Conventions of writing were taught regularly, but always in isolation, rather than being integrated with other aspects of writing. Classroom physical environments were generally not literacy rich, showing more evidence of traditional resources instead of resources to support the writing process. Process-oriented teachers had richer environments than those focused on conventions. In fact, classroom environment could be better predicted by the kind of writing the teachers and students did rather than the amount of time spent writing.

This action research study focuses on a teacher's experiences while implementing critical literacy instruction in a seventh grade language arts class. Throughout the unit, a tension between teacher control and student autonomy emerged in three areas: discussion (teacher-directed and student-directed), curriculum (teacher choices and student choices), and student text comprehension (surface and critical). Finding the balance between teacher control and student autonomy was difficult. When these two elements were not balanced, the classroom experience for everyone was mediocre. When they were balanced correctly the entire classroom community had positive experiences that advanced student learning. Critical literacy instruction, though difficult to implement, was useful in helping students become literate, critical thinkers who can successfully participate in democratic society.

The purpose of this study was to explore the tensions that existed between my co-teaching partner and me while working together during the last four years. Additionally, I studied how my partner, the special educator, and I, the general educator, negotiated the tensions that came up during our collaboration. Using a narrative approach to share our stories about our teaching, I investigated how we worked together and contributed to our co-teaching relationship. I analyzed the stories and storylines that we shared using a theoretical lens called positioning. Positioning theory looks at how people interact with each other and the positions that they take up and give away. Positioning helped me to understand better how we were negotiating the tensions we were experiencing while co-teaching together. The findings suggested that the tensions that existed between us stemmed from our confusion about our roles and our lack of planning. It was also strained because of the ways in which the institution positioned us. Because we were confused about our roles and were not planning, our co-teaching was not as excellent as it could have been. Both of us negotiated our tensions by (a) remaining positive about our relationship, and (b) continuing to value teaching together even though there were tensions in our partnership. Our "friendship" persisted even after professional tensions came up and, many times, in spite of the tensions. In conclusion, this study revealed that my co-teaching partner and I needed more training about how to be co-teachers so that we could negotiate the tensions that came up. We did not plan regularly and did not understand how our roles co-existed because we had no training about how these things would help us in our relationship. This study also reveals that co-teachers need to be more committed to co-teaching. Despite our lack of training and preparation, we remained positive about our relationship and this is the reason why our partnership endured.

This qualitative study analyzes a professional development course and its associated influence on the induction of a beginning mathematics teacher from a sociocultural perspective. Specifically, it examines whether a specific high school mathematics professional development course formed a community of practice through the elements of mutual engagement, joint enterprise, and shared repertoire. A community of practice is an inherently sociocultural framework. The results show how each element was present in the professional development, indicating that a community of practice had formed. Using those three elements of community of practice, the study further analyzes the induction of one first-year teacher, Sarah, who was a participant in the community of practice. Sarah's induction is framed as consisting of her conformance to the school mathematics department accepted by both her colleagues and herself, as well as her transformation of the system. The results of the study demonstrate how each element of the community of practice influences each aspect of Sarah's induction into the mathematics department at her school.

This study investigated the reliability of the revised Early Expository Comprehension Assessment (EECA), a measure that looked at preschoolers' comprehension of expository text. Thirty-seven preschool children between the ages of four and five were administered two comparable versions of the measure by two examiners. Scoring procedures were created and the protocols were scored and compared for reliability. The data was analyzed using a mixed models Analysis of Variance for repeated measures and a maximum likelihood estimate of variance components. Results from the analysis showed that version and order had no significant effect on three of the response task scores (Purpose of the Text, Problem/Solution Retelling, and Problem/Solution Mapping), indicating these tasks were reliable. Results showed that variation due to controlled administration variables (version and order) was larger as compared to variability among the subjects in two of the response task scores (Graphics and Problem/Solution Questions), indicating these tasks to be unreliable.

The purpose of this study was to determine as far as possible the extent of the subject-matter preparation of full-time seminary teachers in the areas of Book of Mormon, Old Testament, New Testament, and Church history and doctrine. Answers to the following questions were sought: 1. How many semester hours of college credit have the teachers received in the areas of Book of Mormon, Old Testament, New Testament, and Church history and doctrine? 2. To what extent have the Standard Works been studied by the teachers? 3. How many books which were considered to be basic sources have been read by the teachers? 4. What were some of the other experiences that contributed to the teacher's preparation in subject matter? 5. What evidence of yearly growth, as indicated by semester hours of college credit received and books read, was shown by the teachers during their first five years of teaching? Also sought was a standard of comparison that could be used to make a meaningful evaluation of the data gathered.

No description available.

This dissertation studied the beliefs and practices of principals, workshop site coordinators, and science support personnel in two Central Florida school districts and compared those beliefs and practices to the literature on effective science in-service education. It is important to understand these beliefs and practices because they directly affect the content and pedagogical knowledge of classroom teachers, yet this aspect of instructional practices has been ignored in the science education literature. This study used a grounded theory methodology using open-ended individual interviews, participants observation, and documented analysis. Constant comparisons were built through analyzing the data. The research shows that in-service providers' and administrators' beliefs are aligned with the effective science education in-service literature. The conditions and context are ripe for changes because principals and workshop site coordinators' beliefs are aligned with the literature and changes are already beginning to take place. The intervening conditions may lead to improved teacher knowledge, teaching, and learning because standardized testing is expanding to incoporate the content area of science. Also workshop site coordinators are trying to set up a variety of opportunities to attend workshops on the same topic throughout the school year. Budgets are being restructured at the school level and district level to incorporate more science content professional development. However, it is too early to show how much improvement there will be in standardized test scores or whether teachers' have a deeper understanding of science content knowledge or effective science instruction.