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An Examination Of The Practice Of Aligning Speech-Language Therapy Goals To The Common Core State Standards For English Language Arts, Gerard Francis Shine

Theses and Dissertations

Implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is now a curriculum priority for school districts across the United States. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are exploring ways to incorporate the CCSS into their assessment and therapy practices. Literature centered on the development of language goals aligned with the CCSS for English language arts (ELA) was limited. The purpose of this study was to identify if SLPs working in public elementary and middle school settings had adopted the practice of aligning their language-intervention goals to the CCSS for ELA for students on their caseloads. Perceived feasibility of language goal alignment to the …

Leading Curricular Change: The Role Of The School Principal In Implementation Of The Common Core State Standards, Tiffany Marie Squires

Dissertations - ALL

Principals, whose jobs are increasingly being reframed as requiring instructional leadership (Lunenburg, 2013; Hallinger, 2005), serve as a vital link between standards-based reform and its successful implementation at the school level (Fullan, 2011; Hallinger & Heck, 1996; Leithwood & Riehl, 2005; Spillane & Hunt, 2010). Standards-based reform or guidelines for change mandated by state government significantly influence teaching and learning (Beane, 2013). Our nation’s latest iteration of standards-based reform is comprised within the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), which are currently fully implemented in 42 states. Despite the essential role of the school leader in implementation of standards-based reform, research …

Emergent Themes Surrounding The Implementation Of The Common Core State Standards For Mathematics For Students With Learning Disabilities In Mathematics, Andrew R. Mills

All NMU Master's Theses

As the nation transitions into a new national curriculum, the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM), educators face the challenge of meeting the needs of a diverse student population coupled with a change in standards. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand educators’ perceptions surrounding the implementation of these standards specific to students with learning disabilities in mathematics. Five rural, middle school educators were interviewed using a series of questions that investigated their experiences related to implementation of the CCSSM. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Coding was used to identify emergent themes surrounding the phenomenon. Six emergent …

Oregon Reading Instructional Materials And Practices Statewide Survey Executive Summary, Sue Lenski, Dot Mcelhone, Mindy Legard Larson, Maika Yeigh, Carol Lauritzen, Amanda Villagómez, Dennis Davis, Marie Lejeune, Melanie Landon-Hays

Faculty Publications

This study reports the results of a survey of a representative sample of 1,206 K-6 classroom and 7-12 English Language Arts teachers in Oregon to learn 1) what reading instructional materials are currently being used, 2) what reading instructional materials teachers would prefer, 3) what reading instructional materials teachers wanted to have included on the state approved materials list, and 4) what instructional practices teachers use. Results indicated that in grades K-6 basal/core reading programs were the predominant material in use, but that these teachers preferred to use trade books. The majority of grades 7-12 English Language Arts teachers reported …

Appreciative Inquiry: A Path To Change In Education, Pamela L. Buchanan

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

Appreciative Inquiry (AI) introduces a new approach to educational change. Most state and federal initiatives for educational change grow out of a deficit model determined to fix problems. The emphasis of AI is upon what is right with the organization and forms the basis for new initiatives and further change. This model proposes a cycle of inquiry used by leaders who distribute leadership across their constituents. Organizational learning is a process of individual and collective inquiry that modifies or constructs organizational theories-in-use and changes practice.

The study explored the relationship of AI, distributed leadership, and organizational learning qualities that exist …

Teachers' Experiences With The Implementation Of The Common Core State Standards, Julie A. Bryant

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

Trust is essential in effective change, and this study examined the role trust plays in implementing policy change. This study begins to define the critical role of educator trust historically, through No Child Left Behind, and moves it forward in an exponential way as it applies to educator trust in this current wave of policy reform. This qualitative study examined how six teachers experienced the implementation of the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards during the first two years of required implementation in a southwestern state. The focus of this study examined these experiences by answering three primary questions: …

Teacher Perceptions Of The Common Core Performance Standards, Sandra Cochrane, Joshua A. Cuevas

Georgia Educational Researcher

The Common Core State Standards were implemented in the state of Georgia in the 2012/2013 school year replacing NCLB. Previous studies indicated that teachers and administrators viewed NCLB negatively, and the purpose of this study was to gauge teachers' perceptions of the new standards after they had been in effect for one and a half years. Findings revealed that while teachers did see some improvements with CCGPS, such as preparing students for college and/or a job and increasing creative and critical thinking skills, they did not feel that CCGPS would improve student achievement or raise standardized test scores. Teacher morale …

Proficiency-Based Diploma System In Maine: Implementing District-Level High School Graduation Policies Phase Iii Report, Erika K. Stump, David L. Silvernail Phd

Proficiency-Based Education

In this Phase III of the study, examination of the application documents, practices, policies and standards of several case study districts provided insights into the development of local high school graduation policies aligned with Maine's proficiency-based diploma legislation. In addition, high school administrators and district leaders in case study districts were asked in interviews to discuss how this state policy has continued to impact their local district and schools. The following material describes the work being done regarding high school graduation policies that have been proposed and passed in these seven case study districts. This study examines and describes the …

Common Core: Good Or Bad?, Ed Starkenburg

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"What comes to your mind when someone mentions the Common Core (or otherwise known as the Common Core State Standards)? Do you appreciate them? Are you scared of them? Suspicious? The Common Core is an aspect of education that typically gets a strong response today when the topic enters conversations. As an educator, I find that many people respond negatively based on what they have heard about the standards from others rather than based on facts. However, because these standards have a political nature, it’s often hard to determine what the facts and truth are regarding this set of curriculum …

Of Education: Milton And The Common Core State Standards, Alexander D. Macphail-Fausey

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

This essay compares John Milton's views of educational reform during the 17th Century in England to the Common Core State Standards currently being developed in the United States. The essay argues that the Common Core is a postmodern reinvention of Milton's education reform presented in his tract, "Of Education." It outlines the education Milton received, and how that compared to the pedagogy Milton developed and implemented in his own school. Then, Milton's pedagogy is compared to the implementation of the Common Core State Standards, specifically focusing on the career and college preparation goals presented by the Common Core and difference …

The "Core" Of The Matter: Creating A Community For Making Common Core State Standards Work, Jane Bluestein

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

This program examines the ingredients of a classroom environment conducive to effectively meeting the demands of the CCSS initiatives, including classroom management policies, relationships, and interactions, instructional strategies, and ways of reaching a wide range of students across the depth and breadth of the curriculum. We’ll see how various policies and practices can impact the emotional climate of a classroom or school and address relationship and safety issues—as well as the social and emotional needs of students—with regard to instruction, motivation, and discipline. The program offers dozens of practical and effective strategies to prevent failure and resistance, minimize or eliminate …

Success After Failure: An Examination Of Credit Recovery Options And Their Effect On College- And Career-Readiness, Kathryn B. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations--Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education

More than ever before, educators and researchers are keeping a keen eye on student college- and career-readiness. The widely adopted Common Core State Standards were written with the explicit goal of helping students to be college- or career-ready by the time they graduate from high school. However, many students experience setbacks, such as course failure, within their educational career placing them at risk for not reaching this goal. Because the ACT can predict student success in college, states often use benchmark scores from the exam to measure student college- and career-readiness. A student who fails to learn fundamental concepts in …

A Study Of The Level Of Integration Of Common Core State Standards In West Virginia Teacher Preparation Programs, Georgia Nicole Thornton

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study examined the level of integration of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) within the population of 164 teacher preparation faculty members in 18 initial teacher preparation programs in West Virginia. A three part researcher developed survey was mailed to each dean/director for distribution to the initial teacher professional education faculty. Deans/directors were also given the option of participating in a follow up interview and were asked a series of questions based on a researcher developed interview protocol.

In general, initial teacher professional education faculty members described their level of integration of CCSS as between some and significant integration. …

Progression Of Elementary Teachers In Implementing Language Arts Common Core State Standards, Holly Franks Boffy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The challenges of implementing the Common Core State Standards at the classroom level resulted in political pushback to the reform initiative after the local media covered poor implementation decisions. This study explored how elementary school teachers and instructional leaders described teachers' progress along the implementation continuum for the standards. The concerns-based adoption model served as the conceptual framework for this study. This multicase study design consisted of 16 interviews of teachers and instructional leaders from 4 schools. Data were analyzed through a process that began with open coding followed by axial coding to identify themes. Teacher collaboration driving implementation progress …

Investigating The English Language Arts Placement Of Struggling High School Freshmen, Pamela Burke-Haug

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This qualitative case study addressed a suburban school district's placement of academically at-risk English language arts (ELA) 9th graders as the district transitions from the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJASK) to use of the unfamiliar and controversial Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC). Based on the theoretical frameworks of the zone of proximal development, cognitive apprenticeship, and Bandura's model of self-efficacy, the purpose was to understand the characteristics of struggling (labeled 'academic') ELA students, placement practices and perceptions of these practices, and placement improvements. A purposeful sample was recruited of 7 staff members …

The Relationship Between Science Curriculum Aligned To Common Core State Standards And Scientific Literacy, Amber Lee Struthers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Supporting the development of scientifically literate students is a priority in public school education, and understanding how that development is influenced by the Common Core State Standards is vital to quality science education. However, little quantitative research has been conducted about how the Common Core State Standards impact science education. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to determine how the alignment of science curriculum and instruction to the Common Core English Language Arts State Standards impacts the development of students' scientific literacy skills. Bybee's framework for scientific literacy provided the theoretical framework. Participants included 7 middle school students in …