Culminating Experience Action Research Projects, Volume 13, Fall 2008
Author: McAllister, Deborah A., Ed.
Date: 2010-08-26
Type: Collected Works - General
Subjects: Student Teaching,Homework,Creativity,Test Results,Music,Advanced Placement,Writing Strategies,Research Projects,Action Research,Integrated Learning Systems,Scores,Music Education,Integrated Curriculum,Research Design,Student Evaluation,Student Teacher Evaluation,Literacy,Pretests Posttests,Academic Achievement,Art Education,Visual Arts,Student Motivation,Poetry,Nineteenth Century Literature,Behavior Modification,Outcomes of Education,Writing Skills,Teacher Attitudes,Teacher Morale,Debate,Persuasive Discourse,Elementary Secondary Education,Parent Participation,Performance Contracts,Spanish,Best Practices,Vocational Education,English Instruction,Physical Fitness,Journal Writing,Access to Computers,Computer Uses in Education,Assignments

As a part of the teacher licensure program at the graduate level at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), the M.Ed. Licensure candidate is required to complete an action research project during a 3-semester-hour course that coincides with the 9-semester-hour student teaching experience. This course, Education 590 Culminating Experience, requires the student to implement an action research plan designed through (a) the Education 500 Introduction to Inquiry course, (b) one of the two learning assessments required during student teaching, or (c) a newly-designed project not used as one of the learning assessments. With funding through a UTC Teaching, Learning, and Technology Faculty Fellows award, the Education 590 course is conducted through the use of an online, course management system (Blackboard), allowing for asynchronous discussion and use of the digital drop box feature for submitting required papers. The action research projects from, fall semester 2008, are presented here. The projects include: (1) Music, Movement, and Literacy Standards (Michelle Bailey); (2) Middle School Teacher Instructional Survey  (Jeremy Bramblett); (3) Analysis of Pre-test and Post-test Results for a Ninth-Grade Unit on Poetry of the English Romantic Period (Eric Cathey); (4) The Impact of Art Integration Across the Curriculum to Enhance Student Performance (Alison Dorough); (5) Does Implementing Focus Techniques, Behavior Modification Strategies, and Journaling Activities Positively Effect the Academic Outcomes of Students with ADHD? (Elizabeth Gurney); (6) Breakfast and Performance (Melissa Hartley); (7) Teaching Japanese Art through the Country's Traditional and Contemporary Forms and Themes (Melissa Johnson); (8) Gettin' 'Em 2 Write Rite: Addressing Writing Proficiency (John Milliard); (9) Optimizing Students as Teachers (Julie Norton); (10) Assessing and Improving Teacher Morale in the Local School Building (Stephanie Parrott); (11) Quit Writing and Talk: The Effect of Verbal Debate and Pre-Writing Strategies on Persuasive Writing in High School English Class (Laura Pearman); (12) Positive Effects of Parental Involvement on a Child's Education (Lydia Rawlings); (13) Efficacy of Contracts On High School Students' Performance in a Computer Laboratory (Murray Rice); (14) Motivated by Choice: Will Allowing Fifth-Grade, Visual Art Students a Choice in Their Assignment Increase Motivation and Enhance Learning? (Melissa Saunders); (15) Bigger, Faster, Stronger, Better: An Investigation of Best Practices to Improve Students' President's Challenge Fitness Scores (Daniel Scoggins); (16) Effects of Integrating Music with a High School Literature Unit (Melissa Smith); (17) The Effect of Homework Assignments on the Academic Achievement of Eighth-Grade, Advanced Placement Students in Spanish I (Ann Souza); (18) Vocational Education and English Class (Andrew Virdin); and (19) Warm-Ups and Creativity in the Classroom (Chris Williamson). (Individual papers contain references and figures.) [For &quot;Culminating Experience Action Research Projects, Volume 12, Spring 2008,&quot; see ED502348. Abstract modified to meet ERIC guidelines.]