Winona State University Graduate Education Learning Community Rochester, Minnesota 2005-2006 Anthology of K-12 Action Research Papers Graduate faculty Thomas F. Sherman Ed.D., University of Colorado, 1980 M.Ed., Colorado State University, 1975 B.S. in Ed., State University of New York, College at Buffalo, 1970 A.A. Liberal Arts, Paul Smith’s College, 1967 Heather Klees M.S., Winona State University, 2001 B.S., Winona State University, 1995 B.A. Saint Olaf College, 1993 Cheryl Moertel M.S., Winona State University, 1997 M.S., Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, 1992 B.A., Saint Olaf college, 1981 Graduate Assistant John Weibel B.A., University of Wisconsin-Stout, 2002 TABLE OF CONTENTS VOLUME 1: Atkinson, Colin..……………………………………………………...1 Increasing Students Visual Aesthetics through the Critical Analysis of Western Masterpiece Artworks Boerger, CJ………….………..……………………………………...87 Will Ability Grouping the Seventh Grade Students in Math Positively Impact Their BST Scores When They Take The Test in Eighth Grade? Breeser, Becky……..………………………………………………112 Will Assigning Math Bags in High School Mathematics Classes Increase the Amount of Time that Parents Spend Doing Math With Their Child? Bremer, Amanda…………..……………………………………….143 When Incorporating a Parental Contact Commitment Form Will Students Show a Decrease in Their Missing Assignments each Semester? Cole, Jeffery.…..…………………………………………………...179 Can Evidence be Provided to Support the Practice of Using Targeted Homework Activities to Improve Reading Performance? VOLUME 2: Dahlin, Julianne……………………………………………………...1 Will the Use of Grade Trackers in the Orchestra Classroom Improve Sectional Attendance and Overall Grades? Erickson, Craig………………………………………………….…...28 Will Listening to Classical Music Before and During Tests Help Students Improve Their Test Scores? Erickson, Jane…………...…………………………………………..60 Will Studying for Spelling Tests Increase Scores if Time is Spent in Class Studying in Entertaining Ways? Fernholz, Chris………………………………………………………95 Do SpeedskinsTM Increase Student Typing Speed and Accuracy? Fernholz, Molly…………………………………………………….126 Repeated Oral Reading and the Effects on Reading Fluency of First Grade Students VOLUME 3: Hagg, Emily...…………………………………………………….…..1 Teaching with a Logical-Mathematical Style Ensures Higher Science Test Scores in Physical Science Students Haraldson, Ryan…………………………………………………….35 The Effects of Differentiated Instruction Reading Comprehension Homework on Northwest Evaluation Association Reading Assessment Performance of Second Grade Students Hongerholt, Margarret……………………………………………....72 The Effect of the Accelerated Math Program on the Minnesota Basic Skills Test Scores of Ninth Graders Kesler, Michael.…………………………………………….………96 Children’s Behavior Will be Affected in a Positive Manner by Going from a Mixed Gender Classroom to a Same Gender Classroom Lovelace, Saundra……………………………………………….…116 Does the Use of a Word of the Day to Teach High-Frequency Words Help Students Read and Write the Word More Successfully? VOLUME 4: Marin, Kelly…………………………………………………………..1 Does Gesturing Increase Students’ Language Learning in a Spanish II Class? Matiash, Michael…………………………………………………….29 Does Having Students Formally Write down Notes, Using the Classic Projector, Transparency, and Screen Method, Aid Middle Level Students in the Learning of Basic Historical Ideas and Facts? Menk, Brian…………………………………………………………61 Will Journaling While Going through the Executive Processes Improve Students’ Performance in Mathematical Problem Solving? Miller, Carrie………………………………………………………...93 Will the Read Naturally Program Produce Better Results among Elementary-Aged Students when Comparing Word Per Minute Fluency Probes than a Multi-Sensory, Phonetic Approach to Reading? Mortellito, Melissa…………………………………………………122 Goal Setting Will Increase Student Scores in Recall of Multiplication Facts VOLUME 5: Otterness, Chris……………………………………………………….1 Will Listening to Different Genres of Music in the Learning Environment Decrease the Levels of Stress for Students? Pittenger, John...……………………………………………………..42 Will Maintaining a Vocabulary List in Social Studies Improve Writing Levels of High School Seniors? Pittenger, Nicole……………………………………………………..75 Will a Support Math Class for a Semester Help Low-Ability Eighth Grade Students Raise Their Scores on the Minnesota Basic Skills Test? Raabe, Ryan………………………………………………………..113 Will Gradual Movement from Extrinsic to Intrinsic Reinforcers Decrease a Student’s Dependence on Extrinsic Rewards? Rud, John…………………………………………………………..142 Does the Use of Flash Cards Increase Comprehension and Retention of Vocabulary Terms for Middle School Science Students? Scheel, Mindy……………………………………………………...172 Implementing Math Skills Games into the Classroom on a Daily Basis Will Improve Students’ Performance on Computation Assessments in Math VOLUME 6: Theisen, William……………………………………………………...1 Will the Implementation of Individualized Self-Paced Instruction via the Accelerated Math Software Program Improve Math Competency for Target math Students? Tietje, Jacob…………………………………………………………44 Will the Ongoing Practice of Presidential Physical Fitness Skills Help Students to Improve Their Fitness Testing Scores throughout Eight Weeks? Volker, Benjamin……………………………………………………59 Will Teaching Eighth Grade Reading through Fiction or Nonfiction Produce Greater Achievement on Diagnostic Testing? Wieme, Andrew……………………………………………………..91 Does Student Academic Achievement Increase when Parents Have Online Access to Grades? Yolch, Kelly………………………………………………………..115 Will Earlier Exposure to High-Frequency Words, Compared to Gradual Exposure, Increase Students’ Mastery of These Words? Youlden, Erika……………………………………………………..150 Does Timed Practice Versus Not Timed Practice Affect the Mastery of Multiplication Facts INCREASING STUDENTS VISUAL AESTHETICS THROUGH THE CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF WESTERN MASTERPIECE ARTWORKS by COLIN L. ATKINSON B.F.A., Minneapolis College of Art and Design, 1996 B.S., Winona State University, 1998 A capstone submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Winona State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Department of Education May, 2006 This capstone entitled: Increasing Students Visual Aesthetics Through the Critical Analysis of Western Masterpiece Artworks, written by Colin L. Atkinson has been approved for the Winona State University Department of Education by Melissa Mortellito Mindy Scheel Jake Tietje Deb Tiedeman, Resource Heather Klees, Facilitator Cheryl Moertel, Facilitator Date Dr. Thomas Sherman, Faculty Advisor The final copy of the capstone has been examined by the signatories, and we find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline. 2 Atkinson, Colin L. (M.S., Education) Increasing Student Visual Aesthetics through the Critical Analysis of Western Masterpiece Artworks. Capstone directed by Dr. Thomas Sherman Abstract Students at the high school level were continually basing their judgment of unfamiliar artworks on previous perceptions gained through their previous knowledge and misconceptions of what art should look like. As a result, students were increasingly creating and discussing artworks of their own and others in an uninformed and disorderly approach. The purpose of this study was to involve students in a comparison between a student’s initial opinion of a masterpiece artwork with the students opinion of the artwork after the student had been made aware of the artworks sensory, formal, technical, expressive, socio-cultural, cultural-historical and symbolic properties. All students participated in each exercise and were asked to rate each artwork with a preliminary score. After knowledge was presented, applied and reflected on, a subsequent rating was also gathered. Student response or comment of each artwork was accepted, but not necessary or demanded so as not to bias the true nature of the artwork in any way. 3 Increasing Aesthetics iv A small rubric scale was used by the students to judge their impression of each artwork. The ratings are as follows: 1-unsatisfactory, 2-satisfactory, 3-average, 4-above average, 5-excellent. Students participated in the study during a one semester, five-month period from January through May, rating twenty random Fifteenth through Twentieth century artworks. Students were of mixed gender, 9 boys and 18 girls in 5th hour as opposed to 13 boys and 12 girls in 6th hour. The classes were also mixed age classes varying in class size from 27 students in 5th hour, and 25 students in 6th hour, ranging in the ages of 14 through 18. Results of this study showed a slightly higher post-test mean for all of the artworks viewed. 4 Increasing Aesthetics v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my wife, Anita, and children; Cole and Alexa for giving me their patience and space which allowed me to fulfill the goal of completing this capstone. I would also like to thank my immediate family for giving me the encouragement and faith that education is meaningful and necessary for life. Understated praise goes out to my patient Dad who always questions people’s motives and teachings, and has been successful because of it. Praise also is for my Mother who always said “You can be anything you want when you grow up”, and if had chosen to, would have made an excellent teacher in her own right. I would also like to acknowledge the Winona West II Learning Community Facilitators, Dr. Tom Sherman, Cheryl Mortel and Heather Klees as well as the members of the learning community, for showing me that there is hope for the future of education. The Winona State Library, The University Center Rochester library, and Lake City I.S.D. 813 library are also commended for their large variety of resources used in the research of this capstone. 5