Accompanying materials housed with archival copy. / The purpose of this study is to research the role of documentation in a cycle-two, year one classroom (Grade 3) in a suburban community in Quebec. As the teacher-researcher, my overarching question is to come to a better understanding of how documentation is carried out in the classroom. There are several questions that guide this research: (1) What kinds of documentation are used and what purposes do they serve? (2) What role(s) does the teacher play in the documentation process? (3) What role(s) do the children play in documentation? For the purpose of this study documentation is any recording of or about classroom activities, students, or events influencing learning (Dahlberg, Moss, & Pence, 1999). Data forms included fieldnotes, video tapes, and classroom artifacts. I used complementary categorizing (Maykut & Morehouse, 1994) and contextualizing (Erickson, 1986, 1992; Merryfield, 1990) approaches for analysis, aided by the computer software program Atlas.ti (Muhr, 1997). / Three main categories of documentation were uncovered in the data. These are interactive documentation, reflective documentation, and process-oriented documentation. The activities that supported and sustained the creation of this documentation are explored in detail. The consequences of the documentation process resulted in what is described as an interactive classroom. The major conclusions concern the importance of communication cycles, flexible teacher roles, and the space provided for student participation.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1982. / Title from title page screen, viewed April 13, 2005. Dissertation Committee: Lanny Morreau (chair), John Brickell, Alan Repp, Raymond Dembinski, Robert Rittenhouse. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-85) and abstract. Also available in print.

"The purpose of this paper is to study the whole problem of reporting pupil progress to parents; to identify and analyze specific methods of reporting in various sections of the United States; and finally, to recommend methods and procedures whereby desirable changes in reporting can be studied, understood and brought about cooperatively in the interests of improved teaching and learning, and in the interest of better lay support of public education"--Introduction. / "August, 1953." / Typescript. / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts." / Advisor: John A. Permenter, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 92-93).

Accompanying materials housed with archival copy.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

This study investigates the reporting and grading, as well as the meaning of letter grades, of students in Science 9 from the perspectives of teachers, students, and parents in five schools from two British Columbia school districts, one urban and one rural. To that end, four research questions guided the data collection and analyses: (1) What reporting methods do teachers use to communicate information about student learning in Science 9 to students and parents, and what are teachers', students', and parents' opinions of those reporting methods? (2) What grading components do teachers incorporate into Science 9 letter grades, and what grading components do students and parents believe teachers incorporate into Science 9 letter grades? (3) What meanings do teachers, students, and parents attribute to Science 9 letter grades? and (4) What are students' and parents' perceptions about some possible effects of student progress reports in Science 9? A mixed-methodology design was employed to collect the data. Quantitative data, collected via self-administered written questionnaires from the five Science 9 teachers, 43 students, and 21 parents who volunteered to participate in the study, were used to identify participants' practices and perceptions about grading and reporting. Qualitative data, collected via individual, audio-taped interviews conducted with a subset of the people who completed questionnaires (all five teachers, 16 students, and seven parents), were used to verify, clarify, and expand the questionnaire data. Observational notes and collected documents (e.g., report card forms) also served as data sources. The results of this study show that most of the participants in the study were generally satisfied with most aspects of the reporting of student progress in Science 9. However, individual teachers consider different kinds of assessment information when they assign Science 9 letter grades, teachers are not always clear and consistent about what they intend letter grades to mean, and students' and parents' beliefs about the grading components and meanings of Science 9 letter grades vary widely. The results pf this study also indicate that the information communicated by a letter grade is not always clear and consistent. That the meaning of a letter grade is not always clear has implications for the ways in which letter grades are used by students and parents. The results of this study indicate that some students' attitudes, behaviours, and decisions could be affected by the grades they receive in Science 9. However, in order for students' attitudes, behaviours, and decisions to be appropriate, their interpretations of the meanings of letter grades must be appropriate. Given the multiple meanings attributed to a Science 9 letter grade, it is likely that peoples' inferences and actions based on a letter grade will not always be appropriate. This study raises a number of issues. Two classes of issues are discussed: those arising from the research findings, and those arising from the methodology of the study. An example of an issue arising from the research findings is that the process of assigning letter grades is problematic. An example of an issue arising from the methodology is that participants do not always interpret questionnaire items in the way they are intended. This study contributes to our understanding of teachers' grading practices with respect to the assignment of Science 9 letter grades, and it provides information about students' and parents' understandings of those grading practices. The study also provides insight into teachers', students', and parents' understandings of the meaning of letter grades. In addition, the results of this study help us understand some possible consequences of reports of student progress from the perspectives of students and parents. Another contribution is a direct result of the methodology of the study — by interviewing a subset of the questionnaire respondents after they had completed the questionnaires, it was possible to learn more about how different people interpreted the questionnaire items; that is, it was possible to explore the internal validity of the study. As a result, this study offers evidence about the value of employing more than one data collection method when conducting research.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Catholic University of America, 1931. / Vita. Bibliography: p. 85-92.