This study examined the language, methods and behaviors employed by high school level special education teachers when planning for content area classes. While past research in the area of teacher cognitions have described these processes related to regular classroom teachers, no systematic investigation of special education teacher planning has been conducted to date. Previous research in the area of teacher planning has served to develop models of planning found at all levels of education. Drawing on past research, hypotheses about planning practices for secondary level content area special education teachers were tested. Use of a descriptive case study design allowed for an investigation of the language, methods, and behaviors used by special education teachers at the secondary level to plan for content area classes. Two special education teachers, one teaching social studies, and one teaching science, and two regular classroom teachers, one teaching social studies and one teaching science at the high school level participated in the study. The teachers completed background questionnaires, were interviewed to obtain their beliefs and practices in planning, were observed for one week while teaching, kept audio reflective journals, and were interviewed using a video stimulated recall procedure. Findings indicated that special education teachers and regular classroom teachers plan in similar ways. The language that these two groups of teachers used in talking about planning varied. The language differences were observed when teachers talked about individualization and about skills versus content focus in their teaching. The definitional differences could hinder effective collaboration between these professionals. These findings impact teacher preparation in special education, as well as ongoing staff development for inservice teachers. The combination of methods used to develop the descriptive case studies provide more validity for subsequent qualitative research in this area. Lastly, this study adds to the literature base describing secondary level teacher planning and also represents an initial study in the area of special education teacher planning.

This study is based on the Arts Integration Program, a series of lesson outlines utilizing fine arts experiences (dance, music, theatre, and visual arts) to teach core curriculum subjects. The study took place over two years in six schools, combining qualitative and quantitative research methods to determine: if learning actually took place concurrently with the program's lessons; how the classroom learning environment was affected; and what teachers who use the Arts Integration Program lessons for the first time report about the experience? The study was continued into a second phase based on results of the first. In the development of an Arts Integration Program teacher-mentor model, two teachers from the first year of the study worked with new teachers in their schools who were beginning to use the program. This second phase of the study asked: What is involved in establishing a successful teacher-mentor model with the Arts Integration Program? And, How do the lessons effect the classroom learning environment? Lesson outlines and arts integration techniques are described and results from the Content Area Tests and the Perceived Self-efficacy, Attitude, and Linguistic Domain Questionnaire from both phases of the study are presented. The evolution of the Arts Integration Program Teacher-mentor Model is also described. The process of implementing the program in each school was documented through teacher journals, observations, interviews, and videotapes. The aesthetic reaction that Vygotsky (1971) wrote about seems to be present in these children. Their teachers each report having a more cohesive and supportive classroom environment as a result of the theatre lessons. They all noted improvement in the childrens' communication, expressive and receptive, skills. There is also evidence of transfer into other academic areas. The study showed the more successful Arts Integration Program Teacher-mentor model to be: (1) At least a one-year. (2) Concentrating on one, or two, arts areas. (3) With teacher observing teacher. (4) Regular meeting to plan and discuss. (5) Videotape and review for teachers and students. Plans for future implementation of the Arts Integration Program and ideas for further study are presented.

The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate whether or not there was any change in behavior on the part of teachers who participated in a university graduate level course which used an inservice format. The course in question was on the effective construction of elementary school language arts curriculum. The subjects were those who had taken the course and who volunteered to participate in the study. Ten of the twenty who finished the course volunteered. The data was collected by conducting two interviews and administering two questionnaires. During the interviews, the research technique of stimulated recall was used to help the subjects remember past experiences. The first questionnaire determined to what extent the subjects were likely to distort their self-reporting on the second questionnaire. The second questionnaire was used to collect data in reference to how the subjects saw their roles within the framework of the inservice course. Instrumentation consisted of: Interview quides, Part I and Part II; the Reynolds Social Desirability Scale; and the Role Perception Scale. All but the Reynolds Social Desirability Scale were developed by the researcher. An analysis of the data provided ample evidence to support the following conclusions: (1) A university level graduate course in language arts curriculum development can be regarded as inservice education. (2) A positive change in the way teachers think about the influence of effective curriculum development on student growth can occur within the framework of a graduate level course in elementary school language arts curriculum construction. (3) Teachers actually implement their personal language arts curriculums constructed as a course requirement for a graduate level course in elementary school language arts curriculum construction. (4) The university instructor plays a prominent role in bringing about change in thinking and behavior on the part of teachers taking a university graduate level course in elementary school language arts curriculum construction.

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Quality Education for college students, which aims at overcoming the problems made by specialization education in the globalization of higher education and the fierce competition of comprehensive national power, has been carried out at universities in Mainland China since mid-1990s. The general education curricula at some universities are similar to American ones. This study focuses on teachers' understanding of general education curriculum, their practical general education curriculum design model and the influential factors in their course planning. / The research constructs a descriptive model for general education course design, finds out that curriculum orientation acts as the key influential factor of teachers' general education course planning, reflects the characteristics of general education course planning, works as the orientation of teachers' course design. Furthermore, the findings show that the background, interests and needs of college students should be taken into account in general education curriculum design. At the same time, the teachers' decision-making in general education courses can be analyzed from two-dimensions---"endemic and exotic, individual and policy". / The researcher adopted qualitative research method, took one comprehensive university as a case study to explore the teachers' general education course designs. Based on document analysis, classroom observation and interviews, six teachers unique in their course design have been selected as research subjects. The study gives a deep description of their understanding of curriculum elements such as curriculum objectives, selection and organization of learning experiences, assessment and evaluation; constructs the general education course design model; and explores the reasons for the general education course design from the macro, organizational, and micro levels. / The study explores the curriculum orientation of teachers in the field of college curriculum. The findings will develop college curriculum theories, deepen the understanding of the concept of curriculum orientation, provide plenty of practical experiences for teachers who give general education courses, and give suggestions for future college general education curriculum program improvement. / 徐慧璇. / Advisers: Hin-Wah Wong; Ping-Kwan Fok. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-08, Section: A, page: 3022. / Thesis (doctoral)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 510-527). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / School code: 1307. / Xu Huixuan.

This research examines the usefulness of the Curriculum and Standards Framework as the basis for school music education in Victoria. The thesis consists of a folio of four short research tasks and a Dissertation that examine the question in different ways. The first of the short research tasks uses document and discourse analysis to examine and critique the philosophies of music education and aesthetic education that inform the Curriculum and Standards Framework. The same techniques are used in the second research task to trace the adoption and dissemination of the philosophy of music education as aesthetic education in a range of curriculum documents from around Australia. These two tasks show how centralised curriculum development often produces abstract and impractical goals and strategies. Research tasks three and four use interview and participant observation with teachers based in one Melbourne secondary school to illuminate the highly contextual nature of teaching practice. The theoretical formulations of learning presented in Victorian curriculum materials and policy documents is contrasted with the practical approaches that teachers take in developing educational programmes. These tasks show how school education is always developed in relation to students and resources and not according to abstract standards. The Dissertation reports on a major research project with thirty-two experienced music teachers working in the northern metropolitan region of Melbourne. Interviews with both primary and secondary teachers sought to determine the extent to which the Curriculum and Standards Framework had impacted upon their classroom teaching practice. The research was guided by Grounded Theory (Glaser and Strauss 1967) principles and it showed that the Framework and the associated process of centralising curriculum production failed to deliver any measurable gains or changes in music education in schools.

The aim of this thesis is to develop a model for the analysis of curriculum structure and organisation in Australian secondary schools and to apply a computer formulation of the model to two case studies. The model proposes the construction of indicators of curriculum provision and teacher workload using the raw data provided by school timetables and class lists. This in turn leads to the idea of standardising curriculum structure in a way that will enable comparisons to be made between different schools, the same school with different timetables or between school substructures such as year groups. Limitations and advantages of this approach are explored through an analysis of the concepts of modelling, information and organisation. It is proposed that this view of curriculum implies an evaluation perspective that focusses on school improvement as a process of informed criticism and collective decision-making. Several applications of curriculum analysis are suggested including the setting of specific goals for school improvement programmes, industrial applications in the area of workloads and a scheme for the classification and standardised description of curriculum plans.

Thesis (D.Min.)--Andrews University, Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, 2007. / Vita. Bibliography: leaves 181-197.

The purposes of this study were to determine the effect of the exogenous polyamines, spermidine and spermidine, on growth of crown gall tumors, to assay levels of spermidine and spermine in normal and crown gall tumor tissue and to determine the effects of selected anti-tumor compounds on growth of crown gall tumors as well as on the endogenous levels of the polyamines in those tumors.Findings1. Spermidine and spermine are present in normal potato tissue and crown gall tumor tissue grown on potato discs.2. Exogenous spermidine and spermine do affect growth of crown gall tumors depending upon the concentration of the solutions added, the type of polyamine added and the number of times the solutions are applied.3. Spermidine (1 mM) has a positive growth effect on crown gall tumors.4. Crown gall tumor tissue contains more spermidine than corresponding normal potato tissue; spermine levels are consistently low compared to spermidine levels in both crown gall tissue and normal potato tissue.5. The level of spermidine in tumor tissue increases as the tumors develop; the level of spermine remains consistently low.6. Addition of methylglyoxal bis (guanylyhdrazone) inhibits tumor growth, but the inhibitory effect is decreased by concurrent administration of spermidine.7. Both novobiocin and nalidixic acid have an inhibitory effect on tumor growth, but the effects are decreased by concurrent administration of spermidine. Reversal of the nalidixic acid effect on growth by addition of spermidine is more pronounced than reversal of the novobiocin effect.8. Methylglyoxal bis (guanylhydrazone) decreases the endogenous levels of both spermidine and spermine in crown gall tumor tissue.Conclusions1. The polyamine, spermidine, plays an important role in the growth of crown gall tumors.2. Compounds which inhibit spermidine biosynthesis or the possible mode of action of spermidine inhibit tumor growth.3. Other polyamines appear to have no significant role in crown gall tumor growth.4. The growth of crown gall tumors involves the activation of a mechanism leading to the increased biosynthesis of spermidine.5. A specific inhibitor of polyamine biosynthesis in animals also reduces endogenous levels of spermidine and spermine in crown gall tumors.6. These data further support the hypothesis that crown gall tumors are similar to animal tumors.

To meet the future need of the vocational high school education in Taiwan, the Ministry of Education has redesigned the vocational high school curriculum and is going to implement "The Curriculum Guidelines of Vocational High School" in September 2006. The Guidelines are made with the intention to improve the vocational high school education. However, after studying on the content of the Guidelines, we find some incongruity between the curriculum design and the educational status quo. "The Curriculum Guidelines of Vocational High School" features the core curriculum of the vocational high school education and leaves a lot of space for individual school to develop its school-based curriculum. Nevertheless, while the society emphasizes greatly the value of academic degrees, the vocational high school students, generally speaking, consider their education in vocational high school as nothing but the step stone to their further education, instead of the necessary training for their future profession. Therefore, when designing a new curriculum, the management of the vocational high school has to consider both the Guidelines and the need of the students. Besides, the implementation of "The Curriculum Guidelines of Vocational High School" is going to influence not only the faculty and the students of vocational high schools, but also the supply of professional human resources in the society. Therefore, it is a great opportunity for us to reconsider the goal of vocational high school education. Whether to keep its traditional goal, or to make vocational prep high schools for college education, in my opinion, we need to make a dynamic adjustment of the curriculum to shape the future characteristics of vocational high school education. The objects of this research are the students of the Department of Data Processing of St. Paul's High School. Through interviews with students and questionnaires, the research is to find out a scheme, based on the Curriculum Guidelines of Vocational High School, the school-based educational environment, the study goal of students, for improving the curriculum of the department and hopefully for the reference of other schools.