QUANTITATIVE - EXPERIMENTAL

True Experimental

McMillan/Schumacher, p. 33

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of an activity-centered health education program on the general health benefits and self-reported behavior of fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. Ten schools were randomly selected to receive the newly developed health curriculum, compared to 10 school that continued to use a science textbook. Both groups were pretested and posttested with a 28 item questionnaire.

A prototype treatment developed to significantly reduce symptoms of stress among inservice teachers was tested in this experiment. Thirty participants selected for high stress levels were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. They were assessed on environmental, personality, and emotional variables using self-report and expert-judge measures, at both pre- and post-treatment. The experimental treatment was holistic, incorporating all the processes previously found to be related to reducing teacher stress. At post-treatment, the treatment group averaged significantly lower on the stress measures....

Quasi-experimental

McMillan/Schumacher, p. 34.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of math manipulative on the math achievement of students. Twenty teachers of seventh, eighth, and ninth grade students were identified. Ten received training in the use of algebra tiles and incorporated them into their instruction. Ten used a traditional algorithm approach to instruct. At the end of the study, the achievement of students using math manipulatives exceeded that of those using the traditional approach across all measures of achievement.

This study investigated effects of a mainstreaming course on attitudes toward mainstreaming and sense of teaching efficacy of teacher candidates. The Survey of Teachers' Opinions Relative to Mainstreaming and the Teacher Efficacy Scale were administered pre and post to two groups of preservice teachers. One groups was enrolled in a mainstreaming course and the other was enrolled in a general education course. Results indicated that the mainstreaming class had more positive perceptions of classroom management skills and ability to develop the academic abilities of special needs children.

Single Subject

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a structured reinforcement program on the time-on-tasks behavior of a fifth grade student named John. Baseline data was collected, the intervention was used subsequently removed. Results indicated the effectiveness of the reinforcement....

The previous study was extended to an ABAB design. Subsequent to the reversal of the intervention, the reinforcement was introduced again. Similar patterns of improvement in John's time-on-task behavior were observed. These results suggest a casual relationship between ....

In this investigation, we evaluated the effectiveness of a self-monitoring package with 3 learning disabled students whose responding to subtraction problems had been highly inconsistent and unsuccessful. Following a two-phase baseline of didactive instruction and special incentives, as error analysis was used to develop individualized self-monitoring checklists that the students then responded to as they completed their subtraction assignments. In the context of a multiple baseline design, the self-monitoring procedures produced immediate gains in correct responding, with more stable levels of successful performance occurring across sessions. In a subsequent maintenance phase, the checklists were removed and the previous incentives condition was reinstated, resulting in continued levels of successful responding.

Descriptive

McMillan/Schumacher, p. 35.

This study of academic time-on-task was conducted to evaluate the current use of elementary school time. AN observational method was used to measure allocated time for academic learning, students' time-on-task, and selected teacher traits related to task time. The sample included 489 elementary students and 132 teachers in six elementary schools. Students on the average were in the classroom four hours of the six hour school day (66.5%) and they were allocated time for academic learning slightly less than three hours per day (49.1%). During the allocated academic time, they were on-task 69.7% of the time or 32.2% of the school day. Significant ANOVA differences for sex and race but not for level were in evidence.

This research focused on literacy development in children through fourth grade and followed an earlier study. The Simple View of reading and writing received support in this earlier study and was examined longitudinally in this study. Of particular concern were the following questions. DO the same children remain poor readers year after year? Do the same children remain poor writers year after year? What skills do the poor readers lack? What skills of the poor writers lack? What factors seem to keep poor readers from improving? What factors seem to keep poor writers from improving? The results indicated the probability that a child would remain a poor reader at the end of the fourth grade if the child was a poor reader at the end of the first grade was .88. Early writing skill did not predict later writing skill as well as early reading ability predicted later reading ability. Children who became poor readers entered first grade with little phonemic awareness. By the end of fourth grade, the poor readers had still not achieved the level of decoding skill that the good readers had achieved at the beginning of second grade. Good readers read considerably more than the poor readers both in and out of school, which appeared to contribute to the good readers' growth in some reading and writing skills. Poor readers tended to become poor writers. The Simple View received support in accounting for reading and writing development through fourth grade.

Correlational

McMillan/Schumacher, p. 36.

The purpose of this study is to develop a method by which effective schools can be distinguished from ineffective schools. A residual regression approach was used to identify school performance after accounting for factors beyond the school's control (e.g., parental educational level, student SES).

The purpose of this study was to develop a highly accurate equation for predicting the success of entering USC students. The specific use of this equation would be to establish a ranking system by which applicants to the Carolina Scholars Program could be evaluated objectively.

Survey

The purpose of this study was to establish client's perceptions toward Quality of Life indicators. Issues addressed included the client's satisfaction with their current situation relative to each indicator, the importance of each specific indicator to the client's life, and the client's perception of the degree to which the agency facilitated improvement in those areas in need of attention.

The purpose of this research was to assess the attitudes of students, faculty, administrators, and community members to the development of a University of New Orleans Wellness Center.

The purpose of this research was to survey faculty and staff perceptions of their school environment. Eight specific areas were investigated using the School Level Environment Questionnaire. Results indicated consistently high, positive ratings for the teacher affiliation, professional interest, and work pressure subscales. Ratings for all other subscales were neutral.

Ex-Post-Facto

McMillan/Schumacher, pp. 36-37.

The purpose of this study was to investigate objectively observable categories of behavior for good and poor readers in classroom settings. Seven specific observable behaviors of three good and three poor readers from each of three regular classrooms were viewed under natural classroom conditions. Trained observers recorded student behavior for 30 minutes a day for 10 days. A two-way ANOVA was used in data analysis. Results indicated that poor readers did not differ from good readers in starting to work on assignments, having necessary materials available, making unacceptable noise, being out of place, or making unacceptable contact with other people or their property. Poor readers, however, were off task more and volunteered less than good readers did. The results were interpreted to suggest that poor readers could be viewed as uninvolved students. Instructional suggestions are given.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the demographic and academic characteristics of dropouts in the state of Louisiana.

Overview of Case Study Methodology

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the conflicts that an experienced second-grade teacher encountered as she switched from the traditional approach to teaching mathematics to a constructivist-sociological approach. The constructivist approach considers the student to be an active constructor of knowledge rather than a passive recipient of knowledge transmitted by the teacher, textbook, or other source. The sociological approach is based on the view that students find meaning in mathematics through interactions with fellow students and with the teacher. In addition to determining the conflicts that the teacher encountered in switching to this approach, the researchers wished to learn how the researcher resolved these conflicts in her daily lessons.

Penelope Harper is good at what she does. She's a professional. But in Harper's line of work, what exactly does it mean to be a professional? Does it mean simply possessing a body of expert knowledge and a repertoire of technical skills? Climbing a career ladder toward greater autonomy and increased occupational rewards? Or, for classrooms teachers, does professionalism mean something more? These questions were the focus of a qualitative study I conducted on the nature of professional life in schools. Penelope Harper was one of six high school English teachers I observed and interviewed as part of this study. My purpose was to identify what Harper and her colleagues regard as the salient concerns of their day-to-day work experience. I hoped to view professional life through the eyes of classroom teachers.

Ethnography

McMillan/Schumacher, pp. 38-39.

This article reports findings from a study that investigated the interaction among public-school teachers in a barroom over a three-month period. Research questions focused on the relationship between this setting and the job of teaching and on the meaning of the barroom setting for teachers. Data were collected through participant observation and unstructured tape-recorded interviews. The data suggest that teachers dichotomized their professional and personal identities and that barroom interaction facilitated the transition from a restricted professional self to a more spontaneous personal self.

This study provides a good qualitative description of how students in homes with various socioeconomic backgrounds differ in the language skills that relate to educational success.

Analytic Designs

The purpose of this study was to help us understand why reforms return but seldom substantially alter the regularities of schooling. The risks involved with a lack of understanding include pursuing problems with mismatched solutions, spending energies needlessly, and accumulating despair. Part of the study involves documentation of several types of reforms that have been tried in the past. The repetitive cycles of reform were documented using multiple data sources. Much of the report involves an effort to develop a conceptual framework to interpret the repeated cycles of reform and their apparent lack of impact on teachers.

As a start in addressing these issues, I have looked at changes in attitudes toward the intellectual development of infants and young children in the US from 1900 to 1985. This study is based on a content analysis of 1,017 articles drawn from the popular literature directed toward parents. It is designed to offer a broad yet systematic view of changes in recommended child-rearing practices, with particular reference to changes in how young children's thinking and learning were viewed.

This article reports on the beliefs about reading instruction from teachers of the past. Through the use of primary materials, historical reading philosophies and methods are illustrated. While there are differences between the reading practices and materials of the past there are also many similarities as well. Of particular note are what teachers believed the reading process to be as illustrated through their definitions of reading.