Elizabeth Futch

Annotated Bibliography
FRER 7130
December 1, 2009

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (2009). Prevalence of Diagnosed Tourette’s
Syndrome in Persons Aged 6-17 Years--United States, 2007. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, Retrieved from ERIC database.

The researchers conducted telephone interviews and surveyed 91, 642 parents of children who
are between the ages of 6-17. Of those households, one child was randomly selected as the focus
of the interview. Parents were asked if the randomly selected child was ever diagnosed with
Tourette’s syndrome (TS) and if so, to describe the severity. Parents were also asked if other
mental or behavioral conditions co-existed with the TS. The purpose of this survey design was to
increase awareness of Tourette’s syndrome and to provide educational programs to those who
care for adolescents with TS. This study is classified as survey design because information was
collected using a survey conducted by a phone interview. It also contains an assessment of needs
for adolescents with TS indicating that this study was more specifically a cross-sectional survey
design.

Rowland, T. (2008). The Purpose, Design and Use of Examples in the Teaching of Elementary
Mathematics. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 69(2), 149-163. Retrieved from ERIC
database.

In this grounded theory study, a group of novice teachers are asked to prepare and teach 24
different mathematics lessons. An indication that this is an emerging design study is the
comparison between different methods of mathematical teaching examples chosen by the novice
teachers and those that were chosen by seasoned teachers. The study was broken down into
several focuses. First, it was established that examples are important in providing instruction in
mathematics. Second, various teacher were asked to prepare examples and present them to
students. The instruction was then analyzed for effectiveness in teaching the mathematical
concept and the level of effectiveness was recorded. The researchers concluded that novice
teachers need specific guidance in choosing examples in order to avoid common pitfalls in
selecting mathematical examples.

Kirby, E. (1998). Strategies To Support Effective Distance Education Programs in High Schools.
Unpublished Manuscript. Retrieved from ERIC database.

This case study was designed to initially identify the role of classroom facilitator in regard to a
high-school level distance-learning course. However, the researchers decided to include the
school itself as an important element of the facilitator/student environment. The data collection
consisted of classroom observations, informal and formal interviews, and a review of student
work products; all of which indicate that this is an ethnographic design study. In addition, three
separate high-schools were observed which classifies this study as a multiple case study. Finally,
the study was written in third person and the data was reported objectively further indicating an
ethnographic design study. Several conclusions were made following the end of the study;
distant education is similar to traditional classroom education and the role of the facilitator will
ultimately be subject to the needs of the students within a distant education classroom.
Elizabeth Futch
Annotated Bibliography
FRER 7130
December 1, 2009

DeMik, S. (2008). Experiencing Attrition of Special Education Teachers Through Narrative

Inquiry. High School Journal, 92(1), 22-32. Retrieved from ERIC database.

In this very interesting narrative study, the researcher set out to examine the attrition rate of
special education teachers. A total of five teachers were interviewed; two that taught special ed
for more than five years (stayers), two that taught five years or longer and left the field (movers),
and one that was a first year special ed teacher (novice). Information was gathered using an
interview process asking the teachers to tell his or her history in their career up to the current
time. Results were then given in a chronological narrative of each participant. Both the interview
process and the chronological narrative are attributed to the narrative design form. Also
indicative of the narrative design is the inclusion of quotes that are presented throughout this
study. The researcher concluded that the study would have been less limited in its findings had
more ‘stayers’ and ‘movers’ been included in the study. In addition, it was interesting to note that
the novice teacher ended up leaving the field of special education after her second year.

Helf, S., Cooke, N., & Flowers, C. (2009). Effects of Two Grouping Conditions on Students
Who Are at Risk for Reading Failure. Preventing School Failure, 53(2), 113-128. Retrieved
from Academic Search Complete database.

In this experimental design, researchers set out to determine whether instructional intervention
made a positive difference in the reading abilities of at-risk students. While this study is
considered an experimental design, it does not consist of a control and treatment group. The
researchers penned this study a true group experimental design in which both groups receive
some sort of intervention but at varying levels. Students were selected randomly out of a group
of students who scored below average on a literacy skills test. The students were then placed into
two distinct groups; one student paired with one tutor or three students paired with one tutor for a
total of 27 groups. Measures were taken using a pretest (the literacy skills test), the intervention
was administered, and then students were given a post-test (the literacy skills test) to measure
results. A three mixed-factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to examine the
groupings with the dependent variables. Interestingly, the conclusion resulted in findings that
showed the 3:1 group to be more effective in achieving reading gains. These gains were
attributed to a more effective use of resources in the 3:1 groupings as opposed to the 1:1
groupings.

Byer, J. (2000). The Effects of Absences and Academic Self-Concept on Academic Achievement
in Two Eleventh-Grade U.S. History Classes. Unpublished Manuscript. Retrieved from ERIC
database.

In this study, absences and academic self concept are investigated in relationship to their affect
on the academic achievement of 34 eleventh graders in two U.S. History classes at a high school
in Alabama. The researcher felt that the study could help with the design of intervention
programs that would elevate self concept and subsequently elevate academic achievement.
Consistent with the explanatory category of correlational design studies, the researcher collected
data from one point in time through the viewing of the teacher’s grade book which held a record
Elizabeth Futch
Annotated Bibliography
FRER 7130
December 1, 2009

of both students’ grades and absences. Academic self concept scores were measured using an
Academic Self-Description Questionnaire (ASDQ II) that analyzed the data using a correlation
co-efficient. The result was significant and a measured a positive correlation. The strength of the
correlation co-efficient measured between .668 and .967 concluding that a strong to very strong
relationship exists between absences and self-concept to student academic achievement.

Burgess, M. (2009). Using WebCT as a Supplemental Tool to Enhance Critical Thinking and
Engagement among Developmental Reading Students. Journal of College Reading and
Learning, 39(2), 9-33. Retrieved from ERIC database.

In this mixed method study, the researcher conducted research to discover whether or not
WebCT, an online learning application, improved student motivation to read. Over a four month
period, 18 students participated in a variety of online tools including discussion boards and chat
sessions. Quantitative data included the use of transcripts from both the discussion board and
chat sessions and were measured using the Murphy and Perkins Model (2006). The quantitative
portion of the study is classified as a correlational design because the researcher seeks to
discover the correlation between student participation in online learning and student motivation.
In addition, a pre-test and post-test were administered further indicating a quantitative study.
Qualitative design methods were evident in the form of observations recorded in a weekly
journal and through interviews which helped to provide information about the data. This full
study would be classified as an embedded design. An indication of the embedded design method,
as related to this study, is the collection of both sets of data at the same time with the qualitative
data used primarily to support the quantitative data. The researcher concludes the study by
stating that student motivation and willingness to read was positively affected by the use of an
online learning application.

Sosa, T. (2009). Visual Literacy: The Missing Piece of Your Technology Integration
Course. TechTrends:
Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, 53(2), 55-58.
doi:10.1007/s11528-009-0270-1.

This study explores the issues that arise when pre-service teachers create
technology products that do not visually appeal to the end user. The researcher
used an action research approach to re-assess an educational technology course to
include techniques that will aid in the application of visually effective design
elements in products produced by pre-service teachers. Elements of design
principles were taught to students through the use of two primary textbooks and
instructor supplementation. Analysis included the comparison of pre-intervention
work to post-intervention work. The researcher concluded that students end
technology products were greatly enhanced visually after receiving the visual
literacy instruction. This study would be classified as a practical action research
design because the instructor acted as the researcher in search of a way to improve
her students’ learning.