Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / This study investigated the concept of syntactic awareness as a reading strategy for complex sentence comprehension and the relationship between instruction in syntactic awareness and improved reading comprehension among mainstream high school students. When given the insight that sentences are important and when given simple rules to map syntactic structures onto thematic roles, with discussion and practice in simplification and restructuring of complex sentences, 91h and lth grade students demonstrated that they could significantly improve their reading comprehension abilities. The results support the concept that many high school students default to simple reading heuristics which work well on canonical sentence types, but which can fail with complex content-area texts. Sixty-three eleventh grade and forty-seven ninth grade mainstream students participated in a study in which one group of ninth and one group of eleventh graders, the experimental groups, were given a sentence comprehension strategy to help them when confronted with text that they block on, in many cases typical texts that are part of the high school curriculum. The control groups were given regular instruction in reading comprehension skills and strategies. Eleventh grade students who were enrolled in a SAT Preparation elective class were pre-tested and post-tested using both Real SAT tests from The College Board and the Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test (SDRT). A third group, the maturation group, was pre-tested and post-tested using the SDRT to control for normal academic growth. Ninth grade students who were enrolled in a reading elective course were pre-tested and post-tested using the SDRT. For the Eleventh Grade Experiment results were significant at the .01 level for the SDRT and at the .01 level for the SAT. The difference between the maturation group and the intervention group was significant at the .01 level but was not significant between the control and maturation group. The Ninth Grade Experiment results were significant at the .05 level for the SDRT. / 2031-01-02

An exploratory study on instructional design for classroom activities that encourage algebraic reasoning at the elementary school level. Assistance with the activities was provided as students needed further scaffolding, and multiple solutions were encouraged. An analysis of student responses to the activities is discussed.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Not available

The purpose of this study was to develop a model describing the relationship of inquiry-based teaching elements on middle school students’ science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) interests and belief changes. The study utilized pretest/posttest, correlational, and longitudinal designs. Classroom inquiry data (N = 139) and middle school students’ attitudinal data (N = 1779) were collected in middle school classrooms within a 40 mile radius of Texas A&M University during the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 school years. Results indicated 24% of the variation in middle school students’ change in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) interests was explained by the inquiry-learning element “teacher as listener” was very characteristic of this classroom.” STEM interest change explained 55% of the variation in middle school students’ STEM belief change. Analyses indicated NSF Fellows and teachers affected the rate at which middle school students’ STEM beliefs and interests changed. Middle school students’ STEM interests and beliefs remained significantly unchanged from pre- to post-NSF Fellow each year of the study. Classroom inquiry levels did significantly increase from beginning of school-year to end of school-year each year of the project. NSF Fellows had a positive relationship with the one inquiry element “teacher as listener” was very characteristic of the classroom; which explained middle school students’ change in STEM interests. NSF Fellows had negative relationships with the inquiry elements, lessons involved fundamental concepts of the subject; lessons were designed to engage students as members of a learning community; lessons promoted strong conceptual understanding; and elements of abstraction were encouraged when it was important to do so. No inquiry elements were associated with middle school students’ change in STEM beliefs. Middle school students’ change in STEM interests were positively associated with three inquiry elements, “teacher as listener” was very characteristic of the classroom; students were involved in the communication of their ideas to others using a variety of means and media; and student questions and comments often determine the focus and direction of classroom discourse. The inquiry element, instructional strategies and activities respected students’ prior knowledge and the preconceptions inherent therein, was negatively associated with changes in middle school students’ STEM interests.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a modified LORS technique on the ego identity formation of adolescent high school students. In order to investigate this relationship, a group of eighty volunteer high school students was randomly divided into an experimental and a control group. The experimental group was further divided into four sub-groups, each consisting of ten members. Both groups completed a battery of personality inventories comprised of 1) the Dignan Ego Identity Scale; 2) the Inventory of Psychosocial Development; and 3) the Personal Orientation Inventory. The group of experimental subjects took part in dramatizing typical adolescent crises, involving situations such as self-consciousness, sexuality, values clarification, vocational choice, and conflict with authority. The situations were designed to utilize the LORS Experiential Technique (Hollis, 1975), and were facilitated by trained process involvers. While the experimental subjects participated in the LORS situations, the control group members continued their regular school schedule. Following the completion of the treatment for the experimental group, both experimental and control group subjects repeated the aforementioned battery of personality tests. Statistical procedures were then applied to the data in order to test hypotheses written concerning the relationship between the variables involved.The analysis of data first required a preliminary test in order to determine whether or not the four experimental sub-groups were sufficiently enough alike that they could be pooled into one group. The results of the preliminary test showed that the four experimental subgroups could be treated statistically as one group. The preliminary testing was followed by a regression analysis to determine whether the covariates were related sufficiently to be useful as covariates. The results yielded an F value of 6.3376 and a P of less than .0001. Using the factors of "sex" and "grade level" as blocking factors, a three-way multivariate analysis of covariance was conducted. With an F value of 6.102 and a P of less than .0001, the major hypothesis concerning the relationship between experimental and control group vector of means was rejected. To determine which of the dependent measures (adjusted covariates) contributed to the overall rejection of the major hypothesis, the univariate F statistics were computed. The F values indicated that all of the dependent measures, except one, contributed to the rejection of the null hypothesis. The one exception was the reduction of identity diffusion as measured by the Inventory of Psychosocial Development.The purposes of the study were, first, to investigate current theory and empirical knowledge about the relationship between ego identity formation in adolescence and a treatment designed to help facilitate this development. A second purpose of this study was to provide data for use by teachers and counselors who work with adolescent high school students. To an important degree, both of these purposes were achieved in the present study.

The purpose of this study was to develop a model describing the relationship of inquiry-based teaching elements on middle school students’ science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) interests and belief changes. The study utilized pretest/posttest, correlational, and longitudinal designs. Classroom inquiry data (N = 139) and middle school students’ attitudinal data (N = 1779) were collected in middle school classrooms within a 40 mile radius of Texas A&M University during the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 school years. Results indicated 24% of the variation in middle school students’ change in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) interests was explained by the inquiry-learning element “teacher as listener” was very characteristic of this classroom.” STEM interest change explained 55% of the variation in middle school students’ STEM belief change. Analyses indicated NSF Fellows and teachers affected the rate at which middle school students’ STEM beliefs and interests changed. Middle school students’ STEM interests and beliefs remained significantly unchanged from pre- to post-NSF Fellow each year of the study. Classroom inquiry levels did significantly increase from beginning of school-year to end of school-year each year of the project. NSF Fellows had a positive relationship with the one inquiry element “teacher as listener” was very characteristic of the classroom; which explained middle school students’ change in STEM interests. NSF Fellows had negative relationships with the inquiry elements, lessons involved fundamental concepts of the subject; lessons were designed to engage students as members of a learning community; lessons promoted strong conceptual understanding; and elements of abstraction were encouraged when it was important to do so. No inquiry elements were associated with middle school students’ change in STEM beliefs. Middle school students’ change in STEM interests were positively associated with three inquiry elements, “teacher as listener” was very characteristic of the classroom; students were involved in the communication of their ideas to others using a variety of means and media; and student questions and comments often determine the focus and direction of classroom discourse. The inquiry element, instructional strategies and activities respected students’ prior knowledge and the preconceptions inherent therein, was negatively associated with changes in middle school students’ STEM interests.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Lehigh University, 2000. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-117).

Thesis (M. Med. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 79-82).