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A Study of the Teaching Methods, Materials, Class Organizations, and Opinions of American History Teachers in Selected Iowa High Schools
Get PDF118 leaves. Advisor: Charles D. RowleyThe problem. The purpose of the study was to
examine the present status of social studies education in selected Iowa public high schools. The research particularly focused on aspects of social studies education related to the "new social studies" movement. The study
concentrated on American History classes, since they provided a common base for research.
Procedure. Teachers in thirty-five randomly
selected Iowa public high schools received a questionnaire-opinionnaire form which they were asked to complete and return. The form elicited responses regarding the teachers' teaching methods, materials, and class organizations. The teachers also responded to questions intended to determine their attitudes toward new social studies
techniques and concepts. The respondents' answers were categorized according to the degree to which the teaching methods, materials, and class organizations reflected traditional or new social studies orientations. Teachers' opinions toward new social studies approaches and concepts were also analyzed. Finally, it was determined if any statistically significant relationships existed between the use of new social studies teaching methods, materials, and class
organizations and three selected variables. The variables were: (1) years of teacher experience, (2) number of class preparations, and (3) educational exposure of the teacher
to the new social studies. It was also determined if a significant relationship existed between opinions about new social studies approaches and the three variables.
Findings. Analysis of the respondents' answers
showed that nearly 64 percent of the teachers reported using teaching methods that reflected a combination of traditional and new social studies approaches. Nearly 31 percent indicated that they taught in a traditional manner, and the remaining 4 percent showed a considerable use of new social studies approaches. Fifty-six percent of the
respondents indicated that they used materials that were judged to be an eclectic combination of traditional and innovative. Thirty-five percent used traditional materials, while the remaining 9 percent used materials that strongly reflected a new social studies approach. Sixty-six percent of the respondents reported using ideas and concepts from social science disciplines, while 34 percent indicated that they did not. Twenty-one
percent of the respondents gave opinions that strongly favored approaches that combined traditional and innovative methods. There was no significant relationship between teaching methods, materials, class organizations, or
teacher opinions and any of the three variables--with one exception. Teachers with more than seven years experience showed more favorable attitudes toward new social studies
approaches than did teachers with seven or fewer years.
Conclusions. The findings indicated the following conclusions: (1) The majority of teachers reported using teaching methods, materials, and class organizations that
reflect a combination of traditional and new social studies approaches; (2) The majority of teachers gave opinions that favored using a combination of traditional and new social
studies methods; (3) On the whole, teachers' opinions were more favorable toward new social studies approaches than their teaching methods, materials, or class organizations
would indicate; (4) Teachers with more than seven years of experience were more likely to have favorable opinions about new social studies practices than were those with less
experience.
Recommendations. Recommendations included: (1) It is desirable that further study be made of the teaching methods used by social studies teachers; (2) Another area for investigation involves the possible relationship between
approaches used by social studies teachers and the college or university at which they were trained; (3) Further research could be aimed at examination of the finding that teachers with over seven years experience tended to show
more favorable opinions about innovative approaches to teaching social studies
Mountain Man : Fact and Fiction
Get PDF155 leaves. Advisor: Dr. Norman R. HaneThe problem. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine representative factual and fictional accounts of the mountain man, a pioneer to the Rockies in the early and mid-nineteenth century. Certain components are examined and weighed against each other in an attempt to ascertain the authentic image of the mountain man.
Procedure. Initially the historical mountain man is examined: his motives, his attitudes, his skills, his habits, his relations with the Indians. Next, the disagreement between William Goetzmann ("The Mountain Man as Jacksonian Man") and Harvey Lewis Carter and Marcia Carpenter Spencer ("Stereotypes of the Mountain Man") -is explored, and each image illustrated by examples from both history and fiction. Finally, through analysis of journals, accounts of travelers to the frontier, novels, poetry, and film, the
building of this sometime roughneck into an alltime hero is demonstrated. Extensive study is given to Hugh Glass, one of the first mountain men, and to John Johnston, one of the
last. The major sources dealing with Hugh Glass are Pirate, Pawnee and Mountain Man by John Myers Myers, The Song of Hugh Glass by John G. Neihardt, and Lord Grizzly by Frederick Manfred. Those dealing with John Johnston are Crow Killer: The saga of Liver-eating Johnson by Raymond W. Thorp and Robert
Bunker, Mountain Man by Vardis Fisher, and Jeremiah Johnson, a film directed by Sydney Pollack.
Conclusions. In the brief career of the mountain man (1822-1850) America found a culture hero. He was a loner and a wanderer, symbolizing the frontier spirit and American freedom. His thoroughness in trapping nearly exterminated his prey, the beaver. His expeditions led him deep into the Rocky Mountains where he discovered the mountain passes and river routes that would make possible western emigration. These two conditions signaled the end of his days in the
Rockies and showed him to be the unwitting agent of his own demise. He left little written record. One must therefore turn
to the journals of company men, accounts of travelers to the western frontier, and later research. Four images occur separately and in combination: the Jacksonian man engaging
in economic exploitation of the wilderness, the daring degenerate illustrating the effect of Frederick Jackson Turner's "corrosive influences" of the frontier, the explorer probing the Rockies, and the romantic hero moving away from the corruption of civilization to experience a oneness
with Nature. Rather than being a new type in American literature, he is an extension of the frontier hero seen in Davy Crockett and in Cooper's Leatherstocking. His life and habits are refined to suit public taste, and he emerges the romantic hero who is, most of all, free
Aspects of the Niche of the Common Snapping Turtle, 'Chelydra Serpentina Serpentina', in Iowa
Get PDF95 leaves. Advisor: James L. ChristiansenThe problem. Large gaps exist in knowledge of the
niche of Chelydra s. serpentina in Iowa. Much of the literature is anecdotal and some is contradictory. Aspects of this turtle's niche investigated were growth and maturity,
habitat preference, daily and seasonal activity cycles, response to a severe drought, population structure, home ranges, and homing ability.
Procedure. Turtles collected statewide and preserved were used in growth maturity studies. A population of snapping turtles was monitored to provide information on the other aspects mentioned.
Findings. Growth is accomplished in an activity
period of 204 days and a 145 day feeding period with growth beginning in late May. Most males are mature by the end of their fifth year at plastral lengths of 149-155 mm while most females are not mature until their seventh year at plastral lengths greater than 162 mm. Growth slows with
maturity. Activity is greater at night. During severe drought snapping turtles are less active, burrow in mud or terrestrially, and move in association with rainy periods. They showed evidence of home ranges, homing ability, and
most long distance movements were made in fall or spring. Apparently there is a sex ratio shift as snapping turtles mature.
Conclusions. Males mature before females. This
late maturity of females may decrease the ability of snapping turtle populations to recover from exploitation by man. Snapping turtle behavior during drought presumably results in decreased mortality due to heat and desiccation. Snapping turtles appear to have home ranges that are large
(1.33 ha), temporary (perhaps lasting a season), and overlapping implying that they are not strongly defended against other snapping turtles. They apparently have some homing ability.
Recommendations. More females need to be collected
between ages five and eight, because further work on the apparent sex ratio shift is necessary. Also further study involvinq radio-telemetry, especially on the affect of season and sex on activity, would prove fruitful
A Comparative Analysis of the History of Substate Districts in Iowa and Missouri
Get PDF69 leaves. Advisor: William AngrickThe problem. Prior to the completion of this
thesis, a written historical account of the establishment of substate districts in Iowa and Missouri did not exist. The severity of this fact intensifies considering that the political ramifications of substate districts will either directly or indirectly touch the lives of all of us.
Procedure. The data on Iowa and Missouri's substate districts was collected by the author from periodicals, books, personal interviews and letters. A large percentaqe of the historical facts noted in this paper are "primary source information," and had not been previously recorded. The gathered data was analyzed, compared, and recorded.
Findings. Both Iowa and Missouri were successful in implementing substate districts in their respective states. The primary reason for creating their substate districts was to become eligible for specific federal grant-in-aid monies. The methods employed by the two-states to establish their substate districts substantially.
Conclusions. Although both states achieved their goals of delineating their state into substate districts, Missouri's method of creating substate districts is comparatively favorable to that of Iowa's for substantial political reasons
The Effects of Locus of Control and Two Types of Classroom Climate on Student Academic Achievement and Self-Concept
No full text181 leaves. Advisor: Dr. Marjorie PrenticeThe Problem. The purpose of this study was to
determine whether children could benefit from differing educational environments either in a cognitive or affective sense. The relationships between two types of classroom climates and the locus of control personality construct were investigated. The dependent variables were the cognitive measures of reading achievement, mathematics achievement, and composite achievement scores and the affective measure of self-concept.
Procedure. This study was conducted in an independent suburban school district near a midwestern metropolitan area. The sample for the study was 125 sixth grade students enrolled in six selected classrooms during the 1977-78 school year. Three open and three non-open classrooms in the school district were selected for the study through the use of the Dimensions of Schooling Questionnaire Form VI. The DISC VI was used to assess the extent to which a school's program embodies the characteristics of open education. Locus of control scores were obtained through the use of the Children's Nowicki-Strickland Internal-External Scale. Measures of academic achievement were obtained from the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, Form 5. Self-concept measures were obtained through the use of the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory.
A two-way analysis of covariance procedure was used to test for differences between means on the criterion measures of reading, mathematics, and composite achievement scores. A two-way analysis of variance procedure was used to test for differences between means on the criterion measure of self-concept.
Findings. In testing the research hyopotheses at the .05 level, significant differences were found for all the criterion measures. Students with an internal locus of control scored significantly better than students with an external locus of control on the measures of reading and composite achievement. A significant difference was found for the measure of mathematics achievement, however, it could not be attributed to either locus of control or classroom climate. In this case, individual means were higher for the student with an internal locus of control and for the non-open classroom environment. Students with an internal locus of control also scored significantly better than students with an external locus of control on the measure of self-concept. These results indicate that students who believe they can, through their own efforts, accomplish desired goals, score significantly better on the criterion measures of self-concept and reading and composite achievement regardless of type of classroom climate.
Conclusions. Three general conclusions can be drawn from the findings of this study.
1. Students with an internal locus of control
scored significantly better on the measure of reading achievernent than students with an external locus of control regardless of the type of classroom climate.
2. Students with an internal locus of control
scored significantly better on the measure of composite achievernent than students with an external locus of control regardless of the type of classroom climate.
3. Students with an intern locus of control
scored significantly better on the measure of self-concept than students with an external locus of control regardless of the type of classroom climate
Gaddis's Recognitions : The Major Theme
Get PDF135 leaves. Advisor: Dr. Stuart BurnsWilliam Gaddis's "The Recognitions" is a highly
praised contemporary American novel. Yet, relatively little has been written about the lengthy and complex masterpiece, as a summary of the criticism indicates. This dissertation, then, introduces the work through a discussion of its major theme, which involves a search for reality, meaning, and salvation. The search explores
three principal realms--art, religion, and interpersonal relationships--frequently resulting in profound recognitions. The most pervasive discovery is the counterfeit nature of reality, which may result in either cheapening or perfecting of the rarely perceived genuine.
Chapter two deals with the subject of art, around
which the dominant plot revolves. Through art counterfeiting, reality is sought and revealed. On the one hand, deep recognition and redemption of reality is achieved; on the other, self-debasement and entropy result. Even when the genuine is discovered, however, copying entails victimization of the artist. One of the chief forgeries alluded to is "The Recognitions" itself, which copies (particularly the Faustian legend, Bosch,
and the Western Cultural Heritage in general) in an attempt to find its creator's salvation. Gaddis also introduces himself into his novel, as the seemingly minor character Willie, thereby providing keys to the work's interpretation.
Another major subject in the narration, closely related to art, is religion, which is examined in chapter three. What is found is the obscurity, yet limited attainability, of truth, as well as the derivative nature of religion, as emphasized through allusions to Mithraism.
Organized faiths are depicted as frequently corrupted and perverting of their mystical origins. And science is seen as the modern surrogate for religion. Finally, reason is attacked as the chief cause of the modern
wasteland.
Chapter four investigates the novel's concern with
individuals themselves and their interpersonal relationships, in a world of separation, no longer dominated by absolute beliefs, institutions, and values. Again counterfeiting is discovered. In this case, people are revealed as often phony imitations, masking themselves, in need of union with the universe, but substituting lesser phenomena. The possibility of love as a unifying
force with something outside the self is seen as a means to achieve individual meaning. In the end, reality is acknowledged to be composed of a multitude of inseparable dualisms (especially, reason and emotion, good and evil, spirit and matter) which must be put in their proper harmonious balance.
A summary chapter attempts to establish "The
Recognitions" as a contender for the "Great American Novel"--not only because the work successfully dramatizes the American Dream/Nightmare (as a symbol of the Western
World's latest evolutionary stage); not only because it profoundly debates art, Christianity, and love; but because it scrutinizes the breadth of existence itself, finding that there are genuine impulses and truths worth copying. Ultimately, despite its surface level description
of a world dominated by chaos and nihilism, "The
Recognitions" proves itself a penetrating philosophical analysis, recognizing redemptive possibilities in the cosmos in which man finds himself
Operant Procedures in the Auditory Assessment of "Difficult-To-Test" Individuals
Get PDF33 leaves. Advisor: Larry A. AlferinkThe Problem. Standard audiometric assessment procedures are not effective in testing some mentally retarded individuals for sensory capabilities. The present study investigated the use of operant conditioning procedures to
determine hearing threshold levels with profoundly retarded individuals.
Procedure. Three profoundly retarded individuals
were trained to respond on an FR 2 or 3 schedule of reinforcement to puretone presentations of several frequencies (500,1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz). Then, hearing thresholds were determined for each subject using two types of threshold tests, the descending-series method and a trials-wise tracking procedure, the staircase method. The order of threshold test administration was counterbalanced across subjects.
Findings. Reliable hearing threshold levels were
obtained within subjects and within the type of threshold test employed. All subjects were observed to "track" their own threshold levels with the staircase procedure, and the obtained threshold levels were similar to or lower than those produoed with the descending-series method.
Conclusions. The systematic employment of operant
conditioning procedures enabled the production of hearing thresholds with "difficult-to-test", profoundly retarded individuals. A trials-wise tracking procedure, or staircase method, proved to be very functional in the determination of
sensory capabilities with such individuals.
Recommendations. In order to assess the auditory
capabilities of "difficult-to-test" individuals, the clinical investiqator should (1) employ operant conditioning training procedures to ensure increased control of the subject's behavior
in the clinical situation, and (2) use testing procedures which allow for the attainment of both reliable and valid sensory profiles
The Generality of the Autoshaped Response
Get PDF31 leaves. Advisor: William d. KlipecThe problem. To determine if autoshaping is
restricted to responses which are biologically preorganized, or if a response which is not overlearned or pre-organized, but is elicited by an appetitive stimulus (grain), can be autoshaped.
Procedure. The autoshaped responses of two debeaked pigeons which had developed modified eating responses were compared to responses made by three control subjects which contacted grain normally.
Findings. The control subjects exhibited normal
keylight responding almost exclusively. The experimental pigeons contacted the key with a percentage of normal and modified responding similar to that directed to grain, though the modified responses were less extreme.
Conclusion. The results of this study demonstrate that a component of the modified eating response is directed to a keylight which is paired with grain availability.
Recommendations. Further experimentation in this area is necessary before all the variables which control the form of the autoshaped response can be determined
When Even the Best is Bad: Thomas Pynchon's Alternatives to the Wasteland
No full text450 leaves. Advisor: Stuart L. BurnsFour of Thomas Pynchon's virtually ignored short
stories are cruclal to a full appreciation and understanding of his larger works; contained in them, in seminal form, is every theme around which "V.," "The Crying of Lot 49" and "Gravity's Rainbos" revolve. In the most important of his nine short works, Pynchon introduces the gamut of alternatives for human action in the face of a contemporary Wasteland, the nightmare world of chaos, absurdity and corruption which is reality this twentieth century. The human responses presented in "Mortality and Mercy in Vienna," "Low-lands," "Entropy" and "The Secret Ingegration" are developed and expanded upon in "V." and "Lot 49," and throughout the six works, Pynchon advocates active resistance to the negative forces which drive the universe; passivity insures a death-in-life existence and is certainly and irrevocably damning.
In "Mortality and Mercy in Vienna" emerges the most extreme of the delineated responses. A savior in the person of Cleanth Siegel effects, through an act of annihilation, a cleansing redemption for a decadent flock and an absolute deliverance from the void. In "V.," the annihilation motif
explodes in dimension, with Lady V., Hugh Godolphin and the Whole Sick Crew illustrating a communal, historical death-drift via an obsession with inanimacy; in "Lot 49," several characters prefer suicide to that more subtle extinction.
Dennis Flange of "Low-lands" decides on withdrawal
from a failed self born of his tendency to passivity. Retreating into a fantasy submarine world with a fictional image of a former self, he substitutes one death realm for another. In the subsequent novels, Flange is reincarnated in
Benny Profane, Fausto Maijstral and the desperate citizens who comprise the Tristero.
Manifesting what will prove to be a lasting preoccupation with the second law of thermodynamics and the field of information theory, "Entropy" introduces Pynchon's fascination
with the application of scientific principles to literature. Additionally, in the actions of Callisto and, Meatball Mulligan surfaces a polarity of alternatives to twentieth century reality: passive withdrawal into the hothouse of the past and active involvement in the riotous Street of the present. While Callisto determines upon an absurd lifestyle, as will Sildney Stencil and several characters in the second novel, Mulligan stands as the most heroic of Pynchon's many anti-heroes; his futile struggle is revealed as the best, and most dlfficult, of possible alternatives to the Wasteland.
The first of the author's paranoid questers is presented in "The Secret Integration," the story of a children's conspiracy formed to undermine a malicious adult plot which thrives in Mingeborough, Massachusetts. The actively
rebellious Operation Spartacus embarks upon a quest which, if destined to ultimate failure, allows nonetheless for a measure of achievement and the state of "greenness." The paranoia
which enables the Spartacan ringleader, Grover Snodd, to refashion sinister events of his daily life into an adult cabal, allows Herbert Stencil and Oedipa Maas to reinvent terrifyingly random void worlds through the mental projections
of a malevolent "V."-plot and a ubiquitous Tristero conspiracy. Mingeborough's small-scale rebellion mushrooms in the novels into the obsessive paranoid quests which, if imbued with
dangers and defects, guarantee the survival of Stencil and Oedipa.
Throughout the short stories, "V." and "The Crying of Lot 49," Pynchon endorses active, albeit vain, combat against the negative forces of degradation, dehumanization and death. A brief concluding glance at "Gravity's Rainbow" discloses the
consequence of a universal tendency to non-resistance and voluntary acquiescence to systems of control and destruction. Pynchon's third novel, in many respects a summation of his
earlier works, depicts, through such figures as Katje Borgesius, Franz Pokler and Edward Pointsman, an accretion of refusals to act. The death of the world is the price, ultimately, to
be paid for passivity
Preparation of 7-(p-Substituted-Benzylamino)-4-Nitrobenzoxadiazole Derivatives and the Study of their Fluorescent Properties in Solution
Get PDF59 leaves. Advisor: Dr. Lawrence E. BrownThe problem. The objective of this study was to
synthesize a series of derivatives of 7-(benzylamino)-4-nitrobenzofurazan
and study their fluorescent behavior in
aqueous-nonaqueous solvent systems. The parent compound has been used by others as a fluorescent probe to determine the conformation changes of bovine trypsinogen and bacterial libosomes. Fluorescent probes have been used to:
(l) establish the degree of polarity of a particular region of a protein; (2) measure distances between groups in a protein; (3) determine the extent of a flexibility of a
protein; and (4) measure the rate of very rapid conformational transitions. By selecting those fluorescent probe molecules that have structural features similar to an enzymic substrate molecule, it is expected that the probe molecule will exhibit an affinity for the enzyme. Thus,
it may be expected that the probe molecule will be specifically inserted into enzymes to reveal facets of their structure and dynamics.
Findings. This study resulted in the characterization of two new compounds, 7-(p-methylbenzylamino)-4-nitrobenzofurazan (BBD-CH3) and 7-(p-chlorobenzylamino)-4-
nitrobenzofurazan (BBD-Cl) which may have use as fluorescent probes. The quantum yield studies of this study indicated that the para substituent makes these compounds more sensitive to solvent polarity. No NMR spectra have been reported
in the literature. The NMR spectra obtained in this study gave additional identification of these compounds. The changes in quantum yields and wavelengths of maximum emission with solvent polarity changes are reminiscent of other fluorescent probes which are important in protein conformation studies