Browsing by Author "Alan Reiman, Committee Member"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6

Emotional Intelligence: The Heart of Public School Administration.
(2010-09-16) Wells, Vivian; Paul Bitting, Committee Chair; Alan Reiman, Committee Member; Peter Hessling, Committee Member; Bonnie Fusarelli, Committee Member
An Investigation of the Impact of Literacy Training on Performance Gaps in the Computer Skills of Low-Performing Eighth Graders
(2006-11-07) Thomas, Rollinda Alicia; Paul Bitting, Committee Member; Alan Reiman, Committee Member; Ellen Vasu, Committee Chair; Jane Steelman, Committee Member
This research effort investigates relationships among factors that typically impact student performance in computer skills. The study utilizes a causal-comparative (ex post facto) research design to examine the effects of several variables on the computer skills of low performing eighth grade students. Students from two county school systems were selected for inclusion in comparison groups. The relative contribution of literacy training, reading comprehension, race, and family income will be considered using multiple regression analysis. The results will be examined for the difference in effect sizes and⁄or existence of interactions between variables. The findings will be summarized at the conclusion of the study, along with possible implications for future research and instructional planning.
My Brother's Keeper: The Perceived Effects of A Mentoring Program for High School Aged Adolescent Males.
(2006-11-21) Pettiford, Marrius Lymar; Alan Reiman, Committee Member; Edwin Gerler, Committee Member; Don C. Locke, Committee Member; Stanley Baker, Committee Chair
This study evaluated the perceived effects of an adolescent male mentoring program that had been shaped by adolescent developmental theory, mentoring research, rite-of-passage research and the advisor-advisee literature. The study was descriptive and exploratory using a survey design. The research questions were: (1) To identify the perceived level of effect that specific components of the Theta Phi Psi program had on participants, (2) To identify the perceived order of importance that components of the Theta Phi Psi program had on participants, (3) To identify the level of agreement between participants' perceptions of the Theta Phi Psi program outcomes and those of the program developer, (4) To identify the reason why participants joined Theta Phi Psi, (5) To identify the perceived characteristics of an effective Theta Phi Psi program chapter advisor and (6) To give voice to the respondents in order to find out how Theta Phi Psi influenced them. The participants were 45 male students aged 14-30 who were current or former members of Theta Phi Psi Fraternity: Male Mentoring Program. All participants were or had been enrolled in the Theta Phi Psi Program in two large urban public school districts in North Carolina. Program participants were supervised by one or two adult males who followed the Theta Phi Psi Curriculum developed by the investigator. A survey was developed by the investigator and validated by advisors to the Theta Phi Psi program. The finalized survey was distributed to all program participants via US mail, email and or classroom administration. The return rate among students currently enrolled in the program was 60%. Among graduates, the return rate was 5%. Based on the data from the survey, respondents indicated that the all program components were perceived to have made a positive impact on program participants. Participants indicated that the rites-of-passage, leadership, brotherhood and community service components were particularly perceived as important and meaningful. Participants also indicated that having an advisor who listened and cared was most important to them. This study had several limitations. The small number of participants did not allow for any generalizations outside of those who participated in the TPP Program. The low return rate from the graduates limited the voice of those respondents. There were several implications for practice in this study. The study does provide evidence as to which program features students found particularly effective. The study underscored the importance for counselors/mentors to develop programs with direct connections to theoretical concepts and to evaluate them. In addition, the need for advisor/mentor training is highlighted based on the participants' emphasis on advisor/mentor relationship. The implication for further research centered on a couple of areas. The first was that a qualitative study would provide more information about how student made meaning of these program components perceived as important. The other area would be the context of the advisor/advisee relationship. What created the perception of a "good" advisor?
Persuasive Developments: Reflective Judgment and College Students' Written Argumentation
(2003-10-13) Overbay, Amy Stephens; Nancy Penrose, Committee Member; Ruie Jane Pritchard, Committee Chair; Hiller Spires, Committee Member; Alan Reiman, Committee Member
This study investigated the relationship between college freshmen's stage of reflective judgment and the patterns in their written arguments using a mixed-method design with two major and two secondary data collection strategies. The Reflective Judgment Interview (RJI) was conducted with 15 college freshmen enrolled in a composition course that focused on persuasive writing. Participants' essays were examined for patterns in position-taking, evidence-usage, treatment of objections, and rhetorical strategies. Essays were examined 'blind' to participants' reflective judgment scores, and then analyses were compared across reflective judgment groupings. Participants' qualitative interviews and self-recorded reflections on Paper 4 were used to supplement analyses of their essays, and to provide information about contextual factors. Based on assessments made by independent raters, four participants were described as using predominantly pre-reflective judgment, and eleven were described as using predominantly quasi-reflective judgment. Qualitative interviews revealed that participants in both groups had received instruction in persuasive writing in high school, had taken advanced English classes, and were familiar with their own writing processes. However, participants rated as using predominantly quasi-reflective judgment tended to adopt balanced positions, differentiate their views from an authority's, acknowledge the ill-structured nature of the rhetorical dilemma, and respond to objections more frequently than their pre-reflective counterparts. At the same time, findings for both groups of students suggested that the writing context did not support participants' use of sophisticated assumptions about knowledge and justification, in that most essays written by participants in both groups included one-sided positions, an uncritical use of evidence, and superficial attention to the objections of a doubting audience. Based on these findings, the researcher made recommendations for more developmentally-sensitive instruction.
The Relation of Teachers' Reflective Judgment and Conceptions of Teaching and Learning
(2009-08-11) Bowen, Kimberly Clark; Ruie J. Pritchard, Committee Chair; Alan Reiman, Committee Member; Ronald Honeycutt, Committee Member; Chris Anson, Committee Member
The purpose of this study was to investigate the reflective judgment of high school English language arts teachers, including how that epistemology relates to demographics and conceptions of teaching and learning. One of the most comprehensive and commonly accepted models of epistemic development, the Reflective Judgment Model provides a theoretical framework for understanding how personal epistemology influences the ways in which individuals approach ill-structured problems from late adolescence through adulthood. For the sample of 149 teachers, the mean score was 5.25, suggesting teachers most commonly access quasi-reflective levels of reflective judgment. Consistent with previous studies, graduate education was the only significant variable related to reflective judgment; age, gender, race, years of teaching experience, and National Board Certification were not significantly related to reflective judgment. A subset of 42 teachers completed the Teacher Beliefs Q-Sort and constructed metaphors about teaching and learning. Results suggest that overall teachers do not value teacher-centered environments or teacher-centered instruction, but they do hold negative views of student motivation. Pearson Product Moment Correlations revealed inverse relationships between age and valuing teacher-centered environments. Both age and race correlated with negative views of student motivation, with younger minority teachers likely to express the most negative views. Significant correlations between reflective judgment and two of the three teacher conception factors were found; no correlation existed between reflective judgment and negative views of student motivation. Stepwise linear regression revealed that reflective judgment accounted for 22% of the variance in teacher-centeredness values and 25% of the variance in teacher-directedness values. Further research about the relatedness of reflective judgment to teacher beliefs, as well as to teacher practice, may help shape graduate and professional development programs.
Teacher Conceptions of Care and the Impact on Elementary School Students
(2007-11-30) Bartley, April Young; Alan Reiman, Committee Member; Patricia Marshall, Committee Chair; Tom Oppewal, Committee Member