Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2015, Curriculum and Instruction (Education)

This quasi-experimental study investigated the impact that daily writing instruction and bi-weekly pen pal correspondence had on third graders' writing development and reading comprehension in a Midwest, rural elementary school. The treatment group participated in a 12-week writing intervention program in which they exchanged letters with second-grade pen pals on a bi-weekly basis. Letters were informative, expressive, and autonomous, as they were based on daily graphic organizers students completed, on which they wrote about school-related subjects of their choice. The control group did not participate in the writing intervention program, as they received their typical writing instruction. Both groups' reading comprehension scores were assessed via a S.T.A.R. pretest, which was administered prior to the writing treatment, and a S.T.A.R. posttest, which was administered after the writing treatment had concluded. Results showed that students whose writing substantially developed experienced development in the following areas: 1) text structure; 2) written expression; 3) audience awareness; and 4) voice. There was substantial interplay amongst the first three components, which resulted in a pronounced voice throughout students' letters. Conversely, students whose writing did not develop throughout the 12-week period did not develop in the four aforementioned areas, and thus never established a consistent voice in their letters. Quantitative results showed that while between-group differences in the pretest to posttest reading comprehension scores favored the treatment group, the results were not statistically significant.

Committee: Gene Geist Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Krisanna Machemes Ph.D. (Committee Member); Sara Helfrich Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jeesun Jung Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Language Arts; Literacy

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2012, Music

The purpose of this mixed-methodology study was to investigate how middle-school instrumentalists (N = 60) understand expression in music by examining the categories of language they use to describe music (music analytic, metaphor/imagery, temporal) and how they perform when given music analytic or figurative language as performance instructions. Sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students wrote descriptions of six brief excerpts, all of which were played on piano. Students used music analytic language in 41.5% of excerpts, metaphor/imagery in 36.1% of excerpts, and temporal language in 22.4% of their descriptions. There was a significant difference among the types of language used; music analytic terms were the most common type of description, followed by metaphor/imagery. Temporal language was used significantly less frequently than the other types of language. However, there were no significant interactions between category of language and grade level or instrumental experience. Experts then attempted to match descriptions to excerpts. Findings indicated that they could be matched to stimulus recordings 67.4% of the time. A sub-set of seven students who studied piano in addition to their school instrument were selected for the second phase of the study. Students were given a piece of music and 15 minutes to practice. They then selected at random one of four different performance instructions (2 using music analytic language, 2 using figurative language), given a few minutes to practice according to the instructions, and then performed as per the instructions. This process was repeated until each of the four instructions had been performed. Analysis of the recordings of the performances indicated that students could perform in such a way that their performances could be matched to the performance instructions 82.86% of the time. Experts also rated the performances for expressivity. There was no difference in expert ratings based on whether analytic or figurative (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Patricia J. Flowers PhD (Advisor); Jan Edwards PhD (Committee Member); Daryl Kinney PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Music Education

Master of Education, The Ohio State University, 2009, ED Teaching and Learning (Columbus campus)

Writing is a skill with which many students struggle, but especially those identified with special needs. Previous studies have shown that teaching students strategies has been successful; however, using Direct Instruction has been most effective in improving and increasing written expression skills particularly for struggling students (Walker, Shippen, Alberto, Houchins, & Chalk, 2005). An important element of Direct Instruction curricula is that it is scripted. The current study examined the effects of a scripted writing program on the number of correct minus incorrect writing sequences (CIWS) and total words written (TWW) by middle school students. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of a scripted program to teach basic writing skills and paragraph writing in three different middle school classrooms. A scripted program developed to improve written expression was used to instruct middle school students in grades 6, 7, and 8. Two dependent variables (CIWS and TWW) were evaluated in this study. Students moved into intervention by class when the majority of the subjects' baseline data remained stable or decreased. Instruction took place with the entire classroom not with just several students. Three-minute writing prompts were collected weekly throughout the study to measure progress with both variables. Results show the scripted presentation was successful for some students, though not all. Social validity results indicating consumer satisfaction are discussed, as well as limitations, practical implications, and suggestions for future research.

Committee: (Theresa) Terri Hessler (Advisor); Diana Erchick (Committee Member) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2005, Physical Activity and Educational Services

Outcomes for secondary students whose writing skills are less than proficient are discouraging. Students with mild disabilities especially face significant challenges in their writing education, yet few interventions have been implemented (Englert, Raphael, Anderson, Anthony, & Stevens, 1991). Typically, these students write far less than their non-disabled counterparts and are less able to produce coherent, quality writing (Vallecross & Garriss, 1990). Writing output is often so sparse that it is difficult for teachers to identify deficits for remediation. Consequences for adults with poor writing skills include underemployment (College Board, 2004), restricted access to higher education, and extra time and expense in postsecondary education (Livingston & Wirt, 2004). Research indicates that with strategic support, students with disabilities can increase both the quantity and quality of their writing. Various supports have been explored in the research, including self-regulation (De La Paz, 1999), goal-setting (Page-Voth & Graham, 1999), and revision strategies (Wong, Butler, Ficzere, & Kuperis, 1996, 1997). Strategies are most likely to be used if they can be easily implemented by the teacher to more than one student at a time. This study proposed the use of an extended prompt containing supports for writing a 5-paragraph essay as a way to increase the length and quality of student writing. Eight African American high school students participated. Each week during the 12-week study, students completed a first draft essay. During the baseline condition, students wrote in response to a typical 1-page prompt that provided a topic, background, and brainstorming information. During the intervention condition, students wrote with an extended prompt, a 7-page packet containing the typical prompt, prewriting support, and guidance for writing an introduction, conclusion, and three body paragraphs. Students wrote a final essay using only the typical prompt. The results demo (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ralph Gardner (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2006, Clinical Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

Disclosing thoughts and feelings about emotional events has some physical health benefits. To address the disclosure-health link, the current study aimed to examine whether disclosure about an emotional stimulus leads to physiological habituation when re-exposed to the stimulus. Heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, skin conductance level (SCL), respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and peripheral resistance were assessed during the viewing of an emotionally evocative film clip, and during re-exposure to the clip after participants wrote about either their emotions regarding the movie clip (emotional disclosure), or plans for the day (trivial disclosure). Physiologically, the film did not elicit a strong response, little habituation was observed, and no differences existed between emotional and trivial disclosers during the second film viewing. However, higher SCL for trivial disclosers during the second viewing relative to the first was observed. Together, findings warrant improved methodology to adequately address physiological habituation in the disclosure-health link.

Committee: Kathi Heffner (Advisor) Subjects:

Specialist in Education, Miami University, 2010, Educational Psychology

This study examined the effects of story mapping plus incentives on writing proficiency. A single-subject multiple baseline design was used in which 16 students (1 fifth, 1 fourth, 14 second, and 1 first grade) were provided direct instruction in story mapping. Incentives were used as reinforcers for students who wrote 30 percent more words during intervention than they did during baseline. Total written words, words spelled correctly, correct punctuation marks, correct word sequences, percentage of words spelled correctly, percentage of correct word sequences, and correct minus incorrect word sequences were used to assess written expression skills. Visual inspection was used to examine data for changes in level and/or slope.

Committee: T. Steuart Watson PhD (Advisor); Kevin Jones PhD (Committee Member); Michael Woodin PhD (Committee Member); William Boone PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Psychology