This action research project report was conducted in order to increase motivation and engagement in elementary and middle school students through technology-supported learning environments. The study was conducted from August 27, 2012, through December 14, 2012 with 116 participating students in first-, fourth-, fifth- and eighth-grade classes. To…

This study provides English teachers who teach, or plan to teach, film courses, with an analysis of the unique structural elements of film, suggestions for the teaching of a high school elective course on film, and activities that teach visual literacy skills. The first part of this study analyzes and defines visual literacy. Chapters provide…

This investigation examines the historical influences on the New Theatre in terms of a figural tradition and suggests that the New English may also be analyzed in terms of a figural tradition. In part 1, a new theory of the "historical figura" is proposed. The first chapter describes the origins of the "human figura" in…

This dissertation explores the teaching/learning application which simulation-gaming has to offer journalism/mass communication educators. It proposes eight uses to which journalism/mass communication educators can put simulation-games and develops a series of generating principles, based on a broad concept of mass communication, which are…

This report presents ideas on the use of poetry in teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. Chapter 1 describes beliefs about language and language learning, and offers a theoretical justification for including the reading and writing of poetry in the language classroom. Chapter 2 is a collection of poetry activities that have been…

This annotated bibliography describes research on the characteristics of apprehensive writers and on methodology which has been found useful in reducing anxiety and increasing writing achievement. Following an introduction, 27 annotations (dating from 1976 to 1990) are presented. A summary, conclusions, and recommendations follow. A 33-item…

The purpose of this project was to develop new materials for non-English speaking secondary school students of English as a second language that were meaningful and applicable to their immediate needs. The material was developed from audio and video tape recordings made of survival situations encountered by ESL students in an American high school.…

This report describes the procedures used by a New Jersey high school English department of 15 teachers to improve the critical thinking skills of their students and thus allow the students to assume greater autonomy in their learning. Emphasis was placed on improving critical thinking skills of the students through literature and writing…

This study was designed to determine statistically whether the prolonged use of three prepared reading readiness activities has any influence on seventh-grade students' abilities to read unfamiliar literature; which of the readiness activities is most influential on students' abilities; and whether or not longevity of such influence exists. The…

This study examined the effective use of computer stations across the curriculum. Research was conducted in a fourth grade classroom in Lena, a small, rural farming town in northwestern Illinois. Desks were arranged in circular clusters of five. The students moved to five different stations, one of which was an IBM computer mini-lab. The lab, used…

A project to determine the effectiveness of a program designed to create more positive attitudes among students studying social studies through use of simulation games is described in this dissertation. The purposes of the project were to describe the design and implementation of a plan for such a program and to determine whether simulation games…

This essay deals with the use of cartoons and comic strips to teach English as a second language. It illustrates, through past professional literature written on the subject and through specific lessons, the various instructional uses to which cartoons and comic strips lend themselves. Cartoons and comic strips can be applied to the following…

This paper reports on a study conducted to determine if PowerPoint presentation is the most effective medium to explain two reference books: "The Storyteller's Sourcebook" and "A Guide to Folktales in the English Language." A secondary purpose was to see if the students who saw the PowerPoint presentation received higher…

An inter-racial simulation game was administered to 6 ninth grade social studies classes in a desegregated upper middle class suburban junior high school to determine how the game would affect the white students racial attitudes and the self perceived race relations within the classrooms. There were two experimental treatments, the Sunrise game,…

This report describes instructional strategies to decrease anxiety and frustration in the Spanish classroom. Participants were five 7th grade Spanish classes in two suburban middle schools. Student interventions included a study skills guide; partner and group presentations, skits, and activities; and group oral reading. Teacher interventions…