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Fanatics and Their Obsessions
No full textThis collection of human interest pieces provides an in-depth look at fanatics and their individual obsessions. Fanatics describe their obsessions, and try to verbalize exactly what it is that keeps them hooked. Although their objects of fascination are very different, the similarities among these individuals is outlines in the final piece, which analyzes the phenomenon. Includes color photographs
ATTITUDES, SELF-EFFICACY, AND FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE ARTS BY SECONDARY-LEVEL TEACHERS IN SCHOOLS DEEMED SUCCESSFUL OR IN-NEED-OF-IMPROVEMENT UNDER THE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT
Get PDFThis study compared and investigated the arts attitudes and practices of secondary-level mathematics and English teachers working in Connecticut public schools deemed either successful or in-need-of-improvement under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act. This study considered how educators of subjects directly assessed for NCLB compliance, specifically mathematics and English teachers, felt about using arts in the classroom. The Teaching With the Arts Survey (TWAS) was employed to gauge the arts attitudes, self-efficacy, and frequency of use of the arts among 166 ninth- and tenth-grade mathematics and English teachers in Connecticut. The evidence indicated that while no significant differences in attitudes, self-efficacy, or personal frequency of use of the arts existed for teachers based on their school’s NCLB designation, significant differences did exist on each of the group factors when teachers were compared by classroom discipline with English teachers scoring higher on all measures of arts use and support than the mathematics teachers studied. Among the demographic variables, only ethnicity presented an interesting relationship to the factor of arts attitudes with non-White teachers scoring lower than their White peers on this measure.Doctor of Education (EdD)Education & Educational Psycholog
AN INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEARNING STYLES OF FIFTH GRADE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS AND THEIR MUSIC COMPOSITION PROCESSES AND PRODUCTS
Get PDFThis researcher sought to investigate the relationship between perceptual learning modalities of fifth grade elementary school students and their compositional processes and products. Music composition, at the elementary school level, has been studied for many years, as the creation of new music can give students a more active role in learning, and in many cases, a greater understanding of musical concepts than can performing and responding alone. However, there is no research to suggest that learning styles play an important role in music composition processes and products of the elementary school student.
The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship existed between students’ preferred learning modalities and their music composition products, and if students articulated a heightened sense of confidence in the process of composing when creating music through their preferred learning modalities. Research indicates that innovative techniques to music composition are necessary to allow students opportunities to think in sound. It is agreed that while there may be multiple ways of teaching students to compose original music, often the methods of doing so dampen the motivation and creativity of children by being too structured to allow exploration and the development of musical decision-making, or, are so unstructured that they frustrate the children.
This study utilized the qualitative design, as the intent was to examine not only the products developed by the subjects, but the processes the subjects went through while composing. Each subject (n = 11) composed four musical compositions, initiated through each of the four learning modalities, (visual, auditory, tactual, and kinesthetic). Compositions were scored using a 6-point rating scale on the dimensions of aesthetic appeal, originality, craftsmanship, and proportion by independent music experts.
Following the music composition tasks, subjects completed a learning styles instrument, Learning Style: The Clue to You! (LS:CY!), to detect preferred perceptual modalities. The perceptual modality scores derived from the LS:CY! were then compared to the scores from the music composition tasks. During the second phase of this study, semi-structured interviews allowed the researcher insight into subjects’ music composition processes as they related to preferred learning modalities.
An implication of this study is that by studying the optimal conditions by which students achieve success in music composition, educators might design appropriate composition tasks and assessments to further students’ musical understanding.Doctor of Education (EdD)Education & Educational Psycholog
Author Talk
No full textTim O'Brien speaks to an overflow crowd in Ives Concert Hall on the evening of October 26, 2010
TEACHERS’ AND PRINCIPALS’ PERCEPTIONS OF LEADERSHIP CHARACTERISTICS AND THE RELATIONSHIP OF THESE PERCEPTIONS TO SCHOOL CLIMATE
No full textThis study examined the relationship between leadership characteristics and school climate. Through the online administration of two instruments, The Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) and The School-Level Environment Questionnaire (SLEQ), teacher and principal perceptions of leadership characteristics in five categories and school climate in eight categories, were collected and analyzed. The SLEQ included two forms, actual environment and preferred environment.
Leadership skills, characteristics, and styles define the leader in a school building. The role of the school leader has become more complex, and expectations for leaders to create environments that support students, provide continuous learning for teachers, foster innovation, and meet achievement goals has become standard practice. School climate encompasses all of these expectations. Although the research on leadership and its characteristics is extensive, this study examined the research in the context of the needs of schools’ today, identified how leadership influences school climate, and predicted the discrete leadership characteristics that support the growth of positive school climate.
The two-group multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted on the leadership characteristics as dependent variables. Findings determined that there is no significant difference between teachers’ (N = 324) and principals’ (N = 21) perceptions of leadership characteristics. A MANOVA was also conducted to establish significance between teachers’ perceptions of their actual school climate and their preferred school climate. Results indicated there is a significant difference in teachers’ perceptions when considering the two.
Multiple Regression analyses (p ≤ .003) were used to determine the extent that teachers’ (N = 324) perceptions of their principals’ (N = 21) leadership characteristics predicted the teachers’ perceptions of school climate and principals’ perceptions of their own leadership characteristics predicted teachers’ perceptions of school climate. Results of analyses indicated that teachers’ perceptions of leadership maintain more predictive strength for school climate than principals’ perceptions of leadership. In particular, the leadership characteristic of the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) Model the Way, showed a relationship most often to the school climate characteristics specifically related to the School-Level Environment Questionnaire’s, Mission Consensus, Professional Interest, and Affiliation. Conclusions can be developed from these data and used to inform leaders about their own school climate and ways to develop positive school climate.Doctor of Education (EdD)Education & Educational Psycholog
CREATIVITY, LEARNING STYLES, AND PROBLEM-SOLVING STYLES OF TALENTED SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS
No full textThis study’s primary purposes were to: (a) explore relationships among creative thinking abilities, learning styles, and problem-solving styles of high school students who were talented in the domains of athletics, science, and the visual arts; and to (b) investigate the perceptions of creativity (person, process, product, and press), learning styles, and problem-solving styles of students who showed creative potential. Both quantitative and qualitative methodologies were utilized. The 105 participants had a mean age of 16.22 and were enrolled in three high schools with similar demographics and academic offerings. Participants were athletes from interscholastic varsity teams, science students from honors and Advanced Placement (AP) courses, and visual arts students from AP and studio art courses who were nominated by their teachers or coaches. The nine participants in the qualitative study were selected from the original sample using purposeful sampling; each talent domain was equally represented. Selection was based on students’ creativity scores from the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (Verbal B and Figural B) and from teachers’ nominations. The possible relationships between creative thinking abilities as assessed by the TTCT Verbal B and TTCT Figural B, learning styles as profiled by the Building Excellence Survey (BE), and problem-solving styles as computed by VIEW were analyzed. Students in the qualitative study participated in semi-structured interviews and follow-up email questionnaires, and all data were transcribed and coded for emerging themes using a software program to assist with data coding and retrieval. Results of the correlational analyses supported few significant relationships between VIEW or the BE with the TTCT Verbal B or the TTCT Figural B. Significant relationships resulted between the BE and VIEW. Student perceptions of their creativity, learning styles, and problem-solving styles showed differences and similarities among and between talent domains. Implications of these findings suggest further research is needed to understand individual differences and talent domain influences on creativity, learning styles, and problem-solving styles.Doctor of Education (EdD)Education & Educational Psycholog
Class Interaction with Author Tim O'Brien
No full textTim O'Brien is asked a question by a student in a WCSU class
Press Conference
No full textDr. James (Jim) Schmotter speaks at the August 25, 2010 press conference.</p