abstract: Background: Childhood obesity is one of the most serious public health concerns in the United States and has been associated with low levels of physical activity. Schools are ideal physical activity promotion sites but school physical activity opportunities have decreased due the increased focus on academic performance. Before-school programs provide a good opportunity for children to engage in physical activity as well as improve their readiness to learn. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a before-school running/walking club on children's physical activity and on-task behavior. Methods: Participants were third and fourth grade children from two schools in the Southwestern United States who participated in a before-school running/walking club that met two times each week. The study employed a two-phase experimental design with an initial baseline phase and an alternating treatments phase. Physical activity was monitored using pedometers and on-task behavior was assessed through systematic observation. Data analysis included visual analysis, descriptive statistics, as well as multilevel modeling. Results: Children accumulated substantial amounts of physical activity within the before-school program (School A: 1731 steps, 10:02 MVPA minutes; School B: 1502 steps, 8:30 MVPA minutes) and, on average, did not compensate by decreasing their physical activity during the rest of the school day. Further, on-task behavior was significantly higher on days the children attended the before-school program than on days they did not (School A=15.78%, pseudo-R2=.34 [strong effect]; School B=14.26%, pseudo-R2=.22 [moderate effect]). Discussion: Results provide evidence for the positive impact of before-school programs on children's physical activity and on-task behavior. Such programs do not take time away from academics and may be an attractive option for schools. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Physical Education 2014

The purpose of this study was to make as analysis of the relationship between dominative-integrative classroom behavior and the mean scores on selected measures of socio-civic attitudes of students at North Texas State College preparing to teach the social studies during the year 1960-61.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the behavioral differences between over- and underachieving mental retardates and to provide an effective way of identifying over- and underachieving mental retardates.

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This study examined the influence of behaviors exhibited in the classroom on reading and math achievement in the first, third and eighth grades; and the influence of teacher perceptions on reading and math achievement of African-Americans versus White students and male versus female students. Lastly, the study examined teacher ratings of student behavior and standardized measures of intelligence in predicting reading and math achievement. The Classroom Behavior Inventory (CBI) was used to measure student classroom behavior. The CBI contains 10 subscales of classroom behaviors: extroversion, introversion, independence, dependence, creativity/curiosity, task orientation, verbal intelligence, hostility, distractibility, and considerateness. Reading and math achievement were measured using reading and math subtests from the Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery. The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) in first grade, and the Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) in third grade, were used as standardized measures of intelligence.Results revealed that overall, teacher ratings, as measured by the CBI, were better predictors of reading and math achievement than standardized measures of intelligence in first, third and eighth grades. Students who were rated higher on positive behaviors had overall higher achievement scores than students who were rated higher on negative behaviors. Minor differences in teacher ratings of classroom behavior based on race and gender were observed. Teachers rated White students higher on consideration and independence, while African American students were rated as more dependent and hostile. Males were rated as more hostile, introverted and distracted, while females were rated higher on consideration. / Ph. D.

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The Teaching Tools for Young Children with Challenging Behavior (TTYC) presents a useful tool to disseminate evidence-based practices into the classroom setting for teachers to create lasting behavioral changes in young children. This study aims to further examine the use of TTYC by classroom teachers for students ages 4-6 years old with and without disabilities who had difficulty engaging in classroom routines or activities. A multiple-baseline across participants design was employed to demonstrate the outcomes of the TTYC in increasing appropriate classroom behavior and reducing problem behavior of the target children. The results indicated that the teachers’ fidelity of implementing the behavior intervention plans designed using the TTYC was relatively high with the exception of a few sessions. The teachers’ implementation of the plans resulted in increased appropriate classroom behavior and decreased problem behavior for all three child participants. The data indicated an association between implementation fidelity and changes in child behavior. When the teachers had difficulty implementing the steps for implementing intervention strategies, the children’s problem behavior increased, resulting in decreases in appropriate classroom behavior. Keywords: problem behavior, young children, teaching tools for young children, manualized behavioral intervention, classroom behavior

Teachers’ expectations for African-American students and the role of students’ race in teachers’ expectations is the focus of this report. Several studies have indicated that teacher expectations not only influence African-American students’ academic achievement, but also their classroom behavior. Studies have also suggested that low teacher expectations are a result of a combination of various factors such as teacherstudent race, low socioeconomic background and cultural differences. Low expectations based on incorrect information may lead to self-fulfilling prophecies. This report also sheds light on ways in which school counselors could contribute in changing and sustaining teacher expectations and promoting culture-relevant teaching strategies. / text

The problem this investigation considered was the effect of student evaluation feedback upon subsequent classroom behavior and attitudes of university faculty. The results of analysis of the data revealed that neither the amount of feedback, nor the time of semester the feedback was given produced any significant change in the teachers' self-evaluation. The discrepancies between students' evaluations and teacher's self-evaluation which were present also had no effect upon the teacher attitudes or classroom behaviors. Other variables that were without effect upon the teacher attitudes were number of years of teaching experience of the teacher, elective versus required course offerings, level of course, and academic department. These results refute much of the findings in current literature concerning the effects of various external consequences upon the attitudes of both teachers and students. However, the associated procedural difficulties require further explanation of the results. A possible explanation for the lack of significant results is detailed in the conclusion section. The reasons include procedural difficulties associated with external considerations which could not be controlled through experimentation; however, these processes have a large effect upon the final results.