Culminating Experience Action Research Projects, Volume 15, Part 1, Fall 2009
Author: McAllister, Deborah A., Ed.
Date: 2011-04-00
Type: Collected Works - General
Subjects: Research Projects,Action Research,Questioning Techniques,Parent Participation,Biology,Parent School Relationship,Student Projects,Research Reports,Religious Education,Religion,Lesson Plans,Individualized Instruction,Social Studies,Educational Finance,Integrated Curriculum,Educational Strategies,Emergent Literacy,Bullying,Teacher Attitudes,Knowledge Base for Teaching,Teaching Experience,Teaching Methods,Preservice Teachers,Teacher Education Programs

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 2009, are presented below. Papers include: (1) Ready to Take on the World (Religions): Examining Teacher Readiness to Teach World Religions (Christopher Burns); (2) An Inquiry-Based Lesson Plan: Incorporating Adapted Primary Literature in a High School Biology Classroom (Ashley Cross); (3) Using Differentiated Instruction to Improve the Overall Academic Knowledge of Middle School Students (Rembert Edward); (4) Using Interactive Questioning Techniques to Increase High-Level Student Responses in a Catoosa County High School Social Studies Class: An Action Research Project (Jennifer Greeson); (5) School Funding and its Effect on Teacher Preparation (Neil Hamilton); (6) Making Connections through Mediums: An Integration of the Visual Arts with the Language Arts (Kathy Higley); (7) Attitudes Affect Learning (Jennifer Hixson); (8) The Effects of Art-Integration Strategies on Emergent Readers: Comprehending New Vocabulary (Jessica James); (9) To What Extent and How Much Bullying is Going on in School? (Kenneth Johnson); (10) Art in the Curriculum: Teachers' Perspectives (Jake Kelley); (11) Teachers' Opinions on Parental Involvement Possibly Leading to Higher Student Academic Achievement, Better Behavior, and Increased Motivation (Joshua Overton); and (12) Total Physical Response and Total Physical Response--Story Effectiveness in Large and Small Classrooms (Nicholas Selbo). (Individual papers contain references, figures, and appendices.) [For "Culminating Experience Action Research Projects, Volume 14, Spring 2009," see ED511724. Abstract modified to meet ERIC guidelines.]