The aim of this study was to describe co-construction processes in large group discussions. Co-construction, as used here, is a process by which the teacher and the students work together to construct and evaluate mental models of a target concept. Data were collected for an in-depth case study of a single teacher instructing middle school students with an innovative curriculum on human respiration. Data came from transcripts of video taped lessons, drawings, and pre- and post-test scores. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted. In the quantitative analysis, differences in gains between one and two standard deviations in size were found between the pre- and post-test scores indicating that the students increased their understanding about human respiration. In the qualitative analysis, a generative exploratory method followed by a convergent coded method was conducted to examine teacher-student interaction patterns. The aim of this part was to determine how learning occurred by attempting to connect dialogue patterns with underlying cognitive processes. The main outcome of the study is a hypothesized model containing four layers of nested teaching strategies. Listed from large to small time scales these are: the Macro Cycle, the Co-construction Modes, the Micro Cycle, and the Teaching Tactics. The most intensive analysis focused on identifying and articulating the Co-construction Modes—Accretion Mode, Disconfirmation Mode, Modification Mode, Evolution Mode, and Competition Mode—and their relations to the other levels of the model. These modes can either describe the construction and evaluation of individual model elements or of entire models giving a total of ten modes. The frequency of these co-construction modes was then determined by coding, twenty-six hours of transcripts. The most frequent modes were the Accretion Mode and the Disconfirmation Mode. The teacher's and the students' contributions to the co-construction process were also examined. It was found that both the teacher and the students generated ideas in approximately equal proportion to build the models, that the teacher usually evaluated the ideas, and that both modified or disconfirmed the ideas. Thus the study is an attempt to develop a vocabulary for describing strategies that facilitate student model construction.

The study reviews the history of education in Francophone West Africa from the post-colonial era to the current period. It gives primary attention to the conflicting goals of formal and Islamic education, the place of nonformal education during colonial period and looks at the attitude of policymakers towards nonformal education after independence. Furthermore, it examines the role of international partners of development, the World Bank, UNESCO, UNICEF and bilateral cooperation in shaping education policies in Third World countries; presents the background of the Education for All (EFA) movement, its goals, and rationale; and analyzes the Fast-Track Initiative (FTI), the place of nonformal education in the movement, and its implications in Third World education policies. The study focuses on the Sénégalese experience. After presenting the education system and the strategies of the government to achieve Education for All in 2015, the author, drawing on field research using interviews, focus groups, surveys, and observations, describes different models of community-based schools and contrasts government and NGO schools. The study analyzes the attitudes of parents, students, and teachers, officials of the Ministry of National Education, the Delegate Ministry of Professional Training, Vocational Education, Literacy and National Languages and NGOs towards community-based schools and raises the issues of girls' education, religious education, and teacher's training. At the end, the author highlights the challenges that community-based schools face and provides recommendations for the state, communities, and school administrations to improve access and to assure the relevance of education to local populations.

Much of the service-learning literature in higher education assumes that community service linked to classroom learning is inherently connected to concerns of social justice. While some service-learning practice aims to alleviate oppressive or unfair circumstances and promote "more just relationships," there is little research that examines the effectiveness of service-learning in developing that commitment. The purpose of this qualitative research is to understand how students' experiences in service-learning contribute to their understanding of and commitment to social justice. The program investigated is a four semester critical service-learning experience, named the Citizen Scholars Program, at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Written assignments and interview transcripts from 11 women who participated in the program comprise the data for this dissertation research. This secondary data set was analyzed using grounded theory methodology to explore connections between students' participation in service-learning and their understandings of and commitments to social justice. The findings from this research suggest that participants in this study did develop more complex conceptions of social justice. Through the critical service-learning experience provided by the Citizen Scholars Program, students report being able to: develop authentic relationships with community members, question the distribution of power in society, and deepen their commitments to social justice. The study identified six properties of social justice sensemaking that appear to influence students' understanding of and commitment to social justice. Reflection on the self and experience, introduction to new information, contradictory experiences, relationships with peers and community members, and the idea of plausibility were all shown to spur students' social justice meaning construction. The findings of this study were used to develop a conceptual framework that charts how the critical service-learning experience of the Citizen Scholars Program facilitates social justice sensemaking. This framework can guide the work of scholars and practitioners who aim or hope to encourage social justice commitments in students. Students left Citizen Scholars with confidence in their views of social justice and a willingness to take action in alignment with those views. This research demonstrates that critical service-learning can foster a greater sense of agency to act in support of social justice.

This study was undertaken to assess outcomes of a teacher training program whose goal was application of the 4MAT Learning Style Model (McCarthy, 1987) to the design of lessons which foster student creativity. Results derived from the analysis of data in this study indicate that the training program met its objectives of content mastery, attitudinal change, and application of theory, within the context of a case study involving 27 subjects undergoing 36 hours of training. Goals of the training program included: (1) developing understanding of basic learning style and creativity concepts; (2) increasing positive attitudes regarding the significance of diversity and creativity; and (3) applying concepts taught through construction of 4MAT lesson plans. Training program content was based on topics covered in the introduction and literature review including the importance of accommodating diversity and developing creativity in society today; an explanation of the 4MAT Model; an overview of typology and creativity research; and examination of implications for education. Outlined in detail are scope and sequence of the training program, as well as measures of evaluation which included a content pre/post-test, a retrospective attitudinal survey, a lesson rating scale, and anecdotal commentary. Results were analyzed quantitatively not only in terms of new learning acquired, degree of attitudinal change, and quality of lesson plans, but also with regard to patterns of performance emerging among sub-groups categorized according to sex, grade level taught, work experience, previous training, learning styles, and attendance. Results indicate that (1) during the course of the training there was a significant increase in positive attitude regarding the importance of accommodating diversity and creativity in educational settings; (2) that the training program prepared the majority of participants to develop lessons which integrated creativity and learning style theory, while satisfying 4MAT criteria; (3) that performance on lesson plan design correlated more closely to attitude than to content; and (4) that gender and learning style of participants appeared to significantly affect assessment scores.

INTRODUCTION: Milton Bradley founded the manufacturing company which bears his name in the year 1860. His company was engaged in the production of games and amusements when, in 1868, he was introduced to Froebel's kindergarten principles and practices. Throughout the remainder of his lifetime (he died in 1911). Bradley was a participant in the kindergarten movement. His home was in Springfield, Massachusetts. PROBLEM: The present study was designed for the purpose of researching Milton Bradley's educational endeavors in the context of the kindergarten movement in America. Specifically, the study was designed ( 1) to review the extent of Mil-ton Bradley's activities in promoting the kindergarten movement and (2) to examine his contributions in the area of the kindergarten curriculum. PROCEDURES: The primary concern of the research was to examine the extent of Bradley's educational ac·ti vi ties. In order to place his endeavors in historical perspective the following factors relating to the kindergarten movement in America were considered: the early childhood educational interviews oi' European theorists; Friedrich Froebel' s teachings and philosophy; elements contributing to the growth of' the kindergartens in America; features -of the kindergarten curriculum.; and American educators involved in the kindergarten movement. Another perspective on Bradley• s educational activities was gained by assembling biographical information about hlm. FINDINGS: The data obtained from the research procedures indicate (1) that Bradley's participation l.n the kindergarten movement was extensive; and 2.) that he made an important contribution to the kindergarten curriculum. through his work in developing color for use in the instructional program. His endeavors can be summarized: (1) Froebel's teachings and .philosophy were promoted through instructional materials and through his (Bradley's) writings; (2) he made color materials and color lessons available to teachers (3) a significant contribution was made through his writings and by publication of periodical literature and books. In view of his education endeavors, Milton Bradley can well be called one of the pioneers of the kindergarten movement in America.

The purpose of this study was to expand and clarify the understanding of how an inservice training program which incorporated research-based classroom management principles and practices combined with coaching techniques would enable new teachers to reduce class rates of off task behavior and feel more self-efficacious about their classroom management skills. Data on the occurrence of three categories of off task behavior for students in 6 classrooms in a single school district in central California were collected during pre-treatment and post-treatment conditions and during a maintenance condition for experimental group classes only. During the interval between the two conditions, the 3 experimental group teachers participated in an inservice training program developed by the investigator. The classrooms were paired, 1 experimental and 1 control, within schools for grade level and the teachers' years of experience. Information from pre-questionnaires and post-questionnaires/interviews was used to assess the teachers' feelings of self-efficacy related to classroom management and the effects of participation in the inservice training experiences on those feelings of self-efficacy. A descriptive analysis of the observation data did not indicate a positive effect from the inservice training experiences from either baseline to post-treatment or post-treatment to maintenance observations. However, information from the post-questionnaires/interviews indicated that the 3 experimental group teachers strongly felt that the inservice training experiences had positively affected their feelings of competence and control in the classroom. A possible reason for the conflicting findings may have been that the inservice experiences helped the teachers to reconceptualize their beliefs and expectations about classroom management. This study supports the hypothesis that inservice training which incorporates research-based practices of effective classroom management and coaching techniques embedded in a collegial approach result in the improvement of teachers' feelings of self-efficacy. This study recommends that beginning teachers, especially in inner-city schools, desperately need psychological support as well as personalized inservice training in effective teaching and classroom management methodology during their early years in teaching.

Statement of the problem. The purpose of this study was to investigate the interaction between two common instructional methods--the use of editing questions and the use of models--and word processing in the revisions of twelfth-grade students. This study addressed the following questions: Will students' revisions of analytical essays be significantly affected by the used of word processing? Will students' revisions be significantly affected by the use of editing questions or writing models? And will there be a significant interaction between instructional method and computer use? Methods. A sample of 33 twelfth-grade students wrote four essays under four different conditions: word processing with model essays, word processing with editing questions, non-word processing with model essays, and non-word processing with editing questions. The resulting rough and final drafts were scored holistically, according to idea/example count, and according to error count. A statistical analysis of the differences between rough draft scores and final draft scores was then conducted using ANOVA and $t$-scores. Results. Holistic scores and idea/example counts for the final drafts were significantly greater than those for corresponding rough drafts, but there was no significant decrease in error/example counts. The study did not demonstrate a significant difference in changes in the three scores between rough and final drafts among the four conditions. The study did demonstrate a significantly higher idea/example count and error count for the final drafts of essays written with word processing. Conclusions. The study indicates that the use of word processing does affect the student's composition process but will not necessarily improve the quality of the student's writing or the quality of student revisions.

The Seventh-day Adventist church, a protestant, evangelical denomination, operates its own school system. The objectives of this study were to identify and describe the needs of young adolescents in grades seven and above as seen through the writings and philosophy of the church; to investigate how the staffs of the junior academies of northern California were meeting these needs; and to suggest guidelines for a curriculum model that could assist these and similar schools to meet these needs. On the basis of selected criteria two instruments were used to gather data from the ten schools involved in the study. The first instrument, along with personal visits and interviews was used to gather data concerning the curriculum offerings in each school. The second instrument, after field testing and modification in similar junior academies in Florida and Tennessee, was used as a self-study by the staffs of the ten schools, the data giving further information on various aspects of the curriculum. The first instrument revealed that the schools were not able to meet all the needs of young adolescents as identified by the church, mainly due to their small size, with consequent staffing and financial problems. The self-study instrument revealed that the faculties of the ten schools recognized the need for more study attention and effort in individualizing instruction; in practical applications of the subjects; in teaching for mastery; in fine arts, creative teaching, and in solving space and equipment problems. The three main differences between the curriculum of these schools and comparable public schools appeared to be the Bible class, the fundamentalist approach to subjects such as biology and the way Bible teaching and doctrinal considerations permeate all areas of the curriculum. Other differences appeared in the emphasis on practical training, health and the dignity of labor. Ten guidelines for a curriculum model for the junior academies of northern California were identified. These included the centrality of the Bible and belief in God; the emphasis on student individuality; mastery of the basics a major goal: training in practical arts; meaningful work experiences provided; emphasis on health education; a continual augmenting of the staff, adequate communication with the community; use of community resources: and the necessity for future planning.

No description available.

No description available.