<p> The sixth grade is very important for education stakeholders, as it marks the beginning of the transition period for students to high school. No consensus has been reached so far among scholars on whether block scheduling is the best way to provide students the time that is necessary to facilitate effective learning and the retention of knowledge. </p><p> The purpose of this quasi causal-comparative, ex-post facto study was to determine the effectiveness of block scheduling in improving the mathematical performance of sixth-grade students by using data from a selective Nebraska public school system regarding the performance of its sixth-grade students on their state assessment evaluation scores in traditional and nontraditional schedules. The researcher analyzed the results of a mathematics assessment from one school in the Nebraska public school system, using data from learners at the sixth-grade level as the specific purposeful sample. The results indicated that there were no significant differences found in student mathematical proficiency scores for each type of scheduling. This suggests that the type of scheduling of mathematics courses does not influence a student&rsquo;s mathematical achievement. This conclusion also held true when comparing the students of various races, free or reduced lunch status, and genders. Due to limitations including missing data and an intermittent block schedule, the researcher cannot conclude that block scheduling improves academic performance; further studies are recommended. </p><p>

<p>This mixed-methods case study examined two out-of-school (OST) Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs at a science-oriented high school on students? Self-Efficacy. Because STEM is a key for future innovation and economic growth, Americans have been developing a variety of approaches to increase student interest in science within the school curriculum and in OST programs. Nationwide, many OST programs are offered for students but few have engaged in an in-depth assessment. This study included an assessment of two different types of OST programs and direct observations by the researcher. This study involved two advisors (one male, one female), 111 students, and their parents during 2016. Student participants completed two standardized surveys, one to determine their Science Self-Efficacy and another to assess their engagement in science during their OST programs. Parents described their parental involvement and their child?s interest in the OST program(s). The OST program advisors participated in lengthy interviews. Additionally, the advisors rated their perceived interest level of the enrolled students and recorded attendance data. Bandura?s Social Cognitive Theory (1997a) provided the theoretical framework. This theory describes the multidirectional influence of behavioral factors, personal factors, and environmental factors have on a student?s Self-Efficacy. Compiled data from the teachers, students, and parents were used to determine the relationship of selected variables on Science Self-Efficacy of students. A correlational analysis revealed that students who participated in these OST programs possessed a high Mindset for the Enjoyment of science and that teacher ratings were also positively correlated to Mindset and Enjoyment of Science. Descriptive analyses showed that (a) girls who chose to participate in these OST programs possessed higher school grades in their in-school coursework than boys, (b) that parents of girls participated in more parental activities, and (c) the teachers rated student?s interest in the science OST programs as high. Student comments on the survey and the qualitative analysis by trained coders revealed that success of the program was related to the collaborative and hands-on activities/projects of their OST program. In addition, students felt more involved in projects during after-school and weekend activities than in OST lunch break programs.

<p> Modeling is an important scientific practice through which scientists generate, evaluate, and revise scientific knowledge, and it can be translated into science classrooms as a means for engaging students in authentic scientific practice. Much of the research investigating modeling in classrooms focuses on student learning, leaving a gap in understanding how teachers enact this important practice. This dissertation draws on data collected through a model-based curricular project to uncover instructional moves teachers made to enact modeling, to describe factors influencing enactment, and to discuss a framework for designing and enacting modeling lessons. </p><p> I framed my analysis and interpretation of data within the varying perceptions of modeling found in the science studies and science education literature. Largely, modeling is described to varying degrees as a means to engage students in sense-making or as a means to deliver content to students. This frame revealed how the instructional moves teachers used to enact modeling may have influenced its portrayal as a reasoning practice. I found that teachers&rsquo; responses to their students&rsquo; ideas or questions may have important consequences for students&rsquo; engagement in modeling, and thus, sense-making. </p><p> To investigate factors influencing the portrayal of modeling, I analyzed teacher interviews and writings for what they perceived affected instruction. My findings illustrate alignments and misalignments between what teachers perceive modeling to be and what they do through instruction. In particular, teachers valued providing their students with time to collaborate and to share their ideas, but when time was perceived as a constraint, instruction shifted towards delivering content. Additionally, teachers&rsquo; perceptions of students&rsquo; capacity to engage in modeling is also related to if and how they provided opportunities for students to make sense of phenomena. </p><p> The dissertation closes with a discussion of a framework for designing and enacting lessons for engaging students in modeling. I draw on examples from this study to provide context for how the framework can support teachers in engaging students in modeling. Altogether, this dissertation describes how teachers facilitate modeling and why varying enactments may be observed, filling a gap in researchers&rsquo; understanding of how teachers enact modeling in science classrooms.</p><p>

This study was designed to assess the role of secondary education in the employability of operators in the South African automotive industry. Five types of secondary education are referred to, namely, a secondary education including Mathematics and Science as subjects; a matriculation with Mathematics as a subject; a secondary education inclusive of Science as a subject; a technical type Grade 12 qualification and a general form of secondary education. A two-phase aptitude testing selection process, employing three sub-tests from the Differential Aptitude Test (DAT-K) and five from the Trade Aptitude Test (TRAT) batteries, was utilised to assess whether there were significant differences in aptitude test scores of applicants with different types of secondary education. These aptitude measures were administered to 2 463 preselected respondents. Descriptive statistics such as median, mode and frequency distribution graphs were used. Statistical analysis was also carried out, using the Chi-square test of independence, to determine the differences in aptitude test results obtained by the groups in the study. The study‟s findings revealed that the type of Grade 12 qualification held by applicants is an important criterion to be considered in the selection of automotive operators. The findings specifically indicated that a secondary education that included Mathematics and/or Science as subjects resulted in notable performance in the aptitude instruments employed in this study. The findings are broadly relevant to the South African automotive industry and are of value to human resource practitioners, educators, social scientists and other researchers.

<p> Educational reform is at the forefront of legislatures and school districts across the United States (Hattie, 2011). To find and employ high school improvement initiatives that lead to improved educational experiences for students, educational leaders must examine in great detail what systems have been successful and then modify the initiatives to fit the characteristics of their particular school districts (Berliner &amp; Glass, 2015). The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of initiatives one Midwestern high school implemented beginning in 2012. The initiatives implemented included the Tardy Sweep policy, Response to Intervention (RtI) program, and a Late Work policy. The data collected were archival and reflected the school years from 2010-2011 through 2015-2016. Using descriptive statistics, the findings demonstrated an improved attendance rate, a decline in discipline referrals, and decreased failure rate with the implementation of these initiatives at one Midwestern high school. The findings of this study provide a compelling argument for the implementation of the three initiatives at other high schools.</p><p>

Twelve aspects of the communicative language teaching approach which have placed FL reading skills development in English at discordance with L1 and L2 reading research findings and models of memory and word recognition are identified. Cognitive aspects of reading, which are not developed implicitly, are highlighted. The impact of curricular change on FL reading development since 1995 is considered in relation to theoretical models of memory and word recognition and L1 literacy development. Decoding sub-processes are identified through Goodman's (1968) model of L1 Levels of Reading Proficiency, and the teacher's role in promoting deep structure-building in the L2 mental lexicon is considered. River's (1968) Six Stage FL Reading Training Programme is re-visited in the light of the new research understandings. The crucial role of phonology and word form knowledge in FL reading development emerges unequivocally from this literature and is the focus of the empirical research reported here. The function of 'hearing' words during L1 and FL silent reading is compared. Respondents confirmed this to be 'normal' classroom reading behaviour, promoting comprehension and reader engagement with narrative L1 reading, and linked with word-level comprehension when reading in French. Inability to 'hear' words when reading in French was linked with perceptions of text difficulty. The need for helping learners to 'hear' the sound of FL print through explicit teaching of sound-spelling links and oral reading tasks is demonstrated. Rapid sight vocabulary growth, too, is vital. A Flash Card Vocabulary Presentation Task demonstrate that failure to present the written form during oral presentation of new vocabularly leads learners to form incorrect mental representations, as shown through respondents' invented spellings. Those who failed to make semantic and orthographic associations with prior L1 and L2 linguistic representations in which working memory span limitations effects were evident. Contrastingly, when phonological, orthographic, semantic and syntactical associations were made, prior knowledge was used to construe sensible 'guesses' at spelling, indicating strong structure-building in the mental lexicon. Respondent expressed a strong preference for seeing spellings during the oral presentation phase. The findings show that knowledge of the interrelationships of sounds and writing in the target language impacts on vocabulary acquisition, spelling, word recognition and reading comprehension. This supports the guiding principles of the Key Stage 3 Framework (DfES, 2003). An outline pedagogical framework for FL reading development in Key Stage 4 in England is proposed based on the research literature and empirical research findings.

This dissertation examined the personality types of ten selected teachers with one or more year's experience in the Hillcrest Educational Centers, Inc.'s residential schools to determine whether certain personality types were more effective than others in working with at-risk special education students in a classroom setting. This study also described how these types performed in the classroom, as well as their interactions with students outside of the classroom, giving consideration to the kinds of affect, approaches, and teaching styles utilized by each. The central focus of this study was an interpretive perspective of these teachers, with data generated by participant observation and in-depth interviews. All teachers were given the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and five were selected by their supervisors and their peers as the most effective teachers, while five more were selected who were not so designated, to function as the control group. Although the findings of the study did not substantiate the validity of specific personality types as effective teachers, there was a high correlation between the characteristics of the effective teachers and the body of research on effective teaching. A more in-depth study, with a larger population sample, and the use of the newly developed more comprehensive MBTI, might yield better results toward finding clusters of specific effective teacher personality types.

In spite of the proclivity to organize educational practices around the concept of gender and the pervasive presence of women in public school teaching, little research exists which focuses on women's experience teaching in a patriarchal school environment. Even less exists on the experience of women student teachers in that same school context. This dissertation describes and develops an understanding of what it means to be a female learning how to teach in public secondary schools during the student teaching phase of preservice education. It focuses on how connecting the individual experiences of these women provides insight into the gender issues embedded in their lives and in the secondary schools where they did their preservice work. The gender issues that emerged from the study center on women's self-esteem and ways of knowing, patriarchal attitudes and other forms of harassment by male students and faculty, and collaborative and non-collaborative relationships between women student teachers and male and female cooperating teachers. I have used in-depth, phenomenological interviewing to ask women to reconstruct their student teaching experience in the context of their life history and inquire how they understand the meaning of that student teaching experience (Seidman, 1991).

The purpose of this dissertation, a year-long qualitative study involving action research, was to record and analyze the behavior of both a teacher/researcher and her tenth grade students when she eliminated judgmental language, grades, and punishment in a high school English class. Instead, she provided specific feed-back, engaged students in dialogue concerning their work, and used verbal strategies which did not allow development of the usual classroom roles of "teacher as Rescuer and Persecutor," and "student as powerless Victim." The study describes the initial debilitating anxiety the students experienced as they created their own rules, examined qualities of excellence in writing and speaking, evaluated their own work, engaged in daily class discussion and performed a variety of cooperative learning tasks. The study further describes teacher responses to the students' behaviors, parental and administrative concerns, and the extensive time commitments involved. It concludes that most of the participating students did not know how to take responsibility for their learning, and that the teacher's primary role was to guide them through a process for learning to do so.

Archaeology belongs in the schools. Students and teachers both find it interesting, and it has been shown to be an effective vehicle for teaching a wide array of topics and skills. However, there are at least two serious reasons why it is important for students to understand what archaeologists do and why: (1) an informed public is a potential ally in identifying, protecting and managing endangered archaeological resources; and (2) archaeology as a mode of inquiry can help students understand the social construction of the world in which they live. Archaeologists and educators have been working together to develop materials to help teachers use archaeology in their teaching. Some excellent materials are now available for middle and junior high school teachers. But if students are to take archaeology seriously as a tool for social analysis, they need to be exposed to a more mature understanding of it in high school. Interviews exploring the ways in which archaeology is currently understood and used in all aspects of the curriculum in one high school indicate that teachers use it to capture students' interest, or to reward them for learning some other subject. Teachers do not use archaeology to teach analysis and interpretation of evidence, or critical thinking skills, or the role of human beings in the creation of social systems. Since very few teachers have received formal education in archaeology, they do not associate these goals with archaeology as a discipline. Teachers' sources of information about archaeology are television, newspapers and general circulation magazines. These popular sources do not provide them with the understanding they need to recognize archaeology as a tool for intellectual and social analysis. Archaeologists should take advantage of more professional channels for reaching teachers with serious material linking archaeology to the various disciplines traditionally taught in high schools. To reach high school students with a more sophisticated understanding of archaeology, we need first to present that knowledge to their teachers as fellow professionals.