This mixed methodology study investigated the arts integration practices of music teaching artists participating in four selected elementary school arts integration projects in the United States. This study also explored the possibility that music teaching artists’ formal education, arts integration training and professional development, and their own attitudes as well as different stakeholders’ attitudes about arts integration and music education impacted their arts integration practices. The explanatory two-phase design of this study began with the collection and analysis of quantitative data and was followed by the collection and analysis of qualitative data, thus connecting the results from the former to those from the latter. The quantitative data provided information for purposefully selecting the interview participants who provided the qualitative data collection in phase two. The data gathered in this study indicate that the music teaching artists shared similar beliefs about arts integration but that they believed their school leaders’ goals and objectives differed from their own. The data also provided evidence for concluding that the music teaching artists believe that the most successful arts integration projects are those that are collaborative partnerships between an arts specialist or classroom teacher and a teaching artist. A unexpected finding in this study was the teaching and exploration of sound in arts integration projects team taught between a sound teaching artist,–some without musical backgrounds or formal training–a music teaching artist, and a classroom teacher. The statistical analysis in this study regarding the degree to which formal education, arts integration professional development and training, music teaching artists’ attitudes about arts integration, and the beliefs held by music teaching artists regarding school leaders’ and their arts organization’s administrators’ attitudes about arts integration were predictors of the arts integration practices as self-reported by music teaching artists produced results that were non-significant. The content analysis of curriculum documents and student products submitted by the study participants revealed information to support the findings from the interview and survey data / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Middle school literature advocates interdisciplinary team organization as a structure that enhances student learning and teacher satisfaction. In an interdisciplinary team, teachers responsible for different content areas collaboratively plan the instructional program for a shared group of students. Yet, fewer than fifty percent of the nation's middle schools use an interdisciplinary team structure, and research indicates that teams are fragile and temporary. Few studies were found that described interdisciplinary team organization at the team or individual teacher level. The purpose of this case study is to describe the structure, dynamics, and outcomes of interdisciplinary teams of teachers in middle schools. The collection, analysis, and evaluation of data focused on four areas: (a) team structure including goals, roles, and leadership; (b) team dynamics ("teamness"), including collaboration, cohesion, and communication; (C) teacher affective outcomes of satisfaction, efficacy, and stress; and (d) teacher behavioral outcomes of curriculum and instruction and counseling and discipline. The researcher collected data from five sources of evidence including documents, structured interviews, key informant interviews, direct observation, and questionnaires. Two middle schools that were implementing interdisciplinary team organization for the first year were selected for the study. Their differences in demographics, teaming structure, and district/school history allowed for a basis of comparison and contrast. The data were organized and presented in four case studies of interdisciplinary teams and two cross-case analyses, providing a descriptive account of the experiences of teachers involved in an interdisciplinary team structure. The results of the study indicated that: Structural variables affected team planning. The level of teacher collaboration on teams was a developmental process. Teachers derived professional benefits and personal satisfaction from teaming and experienced a reduction of stress. Barriers of time and training impeded team effectiveness in the area of developing and implementing interdisciplinary curriculum. Further research on effective team practices is warranted, particularly on the effects of group process training and the developmental nature of team collaboration. In addition, further research is recommended on the effects of an interdisciplinary team structure on student learning outcomes and on teachers' day-to-day instructional practices in the classroom.

This thesis has studied the differences in value change of different groups of eighth grade students when exposed to different lessons on a particular aspect of the environment (forests) ranging from a single discipline approach to an interdisciplinary approach -utilizing the subjects of science and history.Three groups viewed a historical-social, biotic, and historicalsocial-biotic (combination) presentation respectively and were then administered a test (the Semantic Differential developed by Osgood, Suci, and Tannenbaum, 1957). In addition, there was a control group (administered the test only) to determine if there were any significant value changes held by the students after viewing the presentations. The results of the study were broken down into four groups.The test results of males and females were also computed because of the difference in development within this age group. The two-way analysis of variance (AMOVA) was used to analyze the findings.The study showed no significant differences between group mean scores. In this research, therefore, no value change occurred as a result of viewing the presentations nor were there differences as a result of subject matter presentation.Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) approach on 9th grade students&rsquo / understanding of chemistry concepts and chemistry achievement in chemical changes and mixtures units. Four 9th grade classes taught by the two chemistry teachers from a public high school were selected for the study. Each teacher&rsquo / s one intact class was assigned as the experimental group and the other class was assigned as the control group. Students in the experimental group were instructed by the SWH approach, while those in control groups were instructed with traditionally designed chemistry instruction. Tests measuring students&rsquo / conceptual understanding and achievement in the units of chemical changes and mixtures were administered as pre-test and post-test to students in both groups, and a test measuring students&rsquo / attitudes toward chemistry was administered to students in both groups at the beginning of the instruction. At the end of the instruction, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 students from experimental group and 8 students from control group. The quantitative data were analyzed by using Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA). The results revealed that the SWH approach was superior to the traditional approach on students&rsquo / understanding of the concepts in the units of chemical changes and mixtures. In addition, interview results indicated that students in experimental group demonstrated better scientific understanding of chemical change and mixture concepts compared to those in control group. The interview results also showed that students in experimental group developed positive attitudes toward chemistry and SWH approach.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 138-142). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (D. Ed.)--University of Oregon, 2001. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 211-216). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 132-142). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 132-142). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Riverside, 2009. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 42-47). Issued in print and online. Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Leaf 100 blank. 41 unnumbered leaves in Appendix between leaf 103-106. Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94-99). Also available on the Internet.