David C. Griffey

Literacy orientation survey: A survey to clarify teachers’ beliefs and practices

Abstract The development of the Literacy Orientation Survey (LOS) is described. The LOS is an instrument for assessing teachers’ beliefs about literacy learning and classroom practices as they relate to constructivism. Content validity of the LOS was established by a panel of experts who reviewed the items, judging how well items reflected principles of constructivist approaches to literacy instruction. A draft survey of 44 items was administered to 110 teachers. Responses were factor analyzed. Thirty items, 15 belief statements and 15 practice statements, that respectively loaded at a .80 level were retained. The resulting LOS survey was administered to 30 different teachers in order to determine the reliability of the instrument. A test‐retest reliability coefficient was computed as r = .927. The LOS was subsequently administered to 95 teachers. Correlation between belief and practice items was .65. While the LOS was determined to have robust internal validity and reliability, questions remained about e...

Wax on, wax off: pedagogical content knowledge in motor skill instruction.

Abstract Transforming subject matter and presenting it to students in comprehensible forms requires the use of alternative strategies such as analogies, metaphors, examples, demonstrations, and simulations.

The Effects of Imagery and Language Cognitive Strategies on Dietary Intake, Weight Loss, and Perception of Food

Two forms of suggestion were practiced by a randomly assigned experimental group of twenty-seven volunteers, over a six week period, to determine the effects of suggestion on dietary intake, weight loss, and perception of food. One form of suggestion entailed reading a variety of written suggestions every time before eating and/or drinking. The other form was auditory; subjects listened to a fifteen minute cassette tape which led them through a variety of imagery suggestions. ANOVA, analysis of variance, was used to determine that the experimental group (n = 27) experienced a significant average weight loss of 4.963 pounds (p > .001) and decreased total daily caloric intake by approximately 200 calories per day; the control group (n = 21) gained an average of one pound with a slight increase in daily caloric intake. Experimental subjects indicated that they were less anxious, less frustrated, and less depressed before eating a favorite food. They reported a lessening of liking foods that were harmful to them and experienced a diminution of their desire for eating such foods.

Alternate Approaches to Analysis of Covariance: Non-Simultaneous and Simultaneous Inference

Abstract This paper has three sections: (1) advantages and assumptions of ANCOVA, (2) an alternate approach to ANCOVA that uses simultaneous, as well as non-simultaneous, inference techniques, and (3) an example. The use of this approach to analysis of covariance is advocated for situations where it is suspected that dependent measures are a function of some initial aptitude of subjects: when regressions do not satisfy the assumptions of being parallel.