Date of Award
1-1-1986
Document Type
Dissertation - NSU Access Only
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Center for the Advancement of Education
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to assess the extent of need and willingness of students to participate in a special student seminar which should be focused on the essay question, and to determine the likelihood of their attendants. One hundred Oral Roberts University students from Cross Cultural classes were the subjects of this study. They completed a survey instrument designed to provide data for the above purpose. Responses to the five questions of the survey indicated the following: (1) The subjects considered the objective question to be more difficult than the essay question by a small margin (50% to 46%). (2) Sixty-nine percent of the subjects had a positive feeling to the essay question, and thirty-one had negative feelings. (3) The subjects expressed difficulty in three areas: insufficient knowledge of content (48%), inability to express self in writing (28%), and lack of organizational skills (24%). (4) Forty-two percent of the subjects felt they would benefit from a study seminar; however, only twenty-nine percent indicated they would attend. Three areas of desire instruction were identified by the subjects. These were (1) outlining and organizing ideas, (2) knowing what the instructor wants, and (3) ideas on studying for the essay question. The subjects overwhelmingly rejected the concept of additional payment for the conference. The following recommendations were made as a result of this study: (1) that the university utilize the services of the Diagnostic Learning Center to provide a special pilot study seminar or conference on the essay question as a part of its student assistance programs, (2) that funding be covered under present tuition or by special funds for any student in need of this program, (3) that the curriculum should include strategies for outlining the and organizing answers, methods for decoding the essay question, and techniques for study and (4) that a further survey of ORU students be made in perception of need and readiness to attend such study seminars before they become a permanent part of the Diagnostic Learning Center.