Education Commons^™

Case Study Of How Effective School Leaders Influence The Contexts Of Formative Evaluations That Strengthen Teacher Efficacy, Patricia Denise Gordon

Doctoral Dissertations

An instrumental case study was implemented to understand how effective school leaders influence the contexts of formative evaluations that strengthen teacher efficacy. The study took place in a rural, public school district ranked as an A school by the State Department of Education in student achievement for the past three years. The principal, two master teachers, and four classroom teachers were interviewed and observed to explore how the context of formative evaluations strengthened teacher efficacy at their school. Findings from this study show that school leaders successfully facilitate teachers’ professional efficacy by personalizing the evaluation process and being goal-oriented, focusing …

Implementing Student-To-Teacher Feedback: Analyzing The Effectiveness Of Feedback In A Pull-Out Special Education Classroom, Aubrie Hutson

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

This qualitative case study focused on special education pull-out teachers’ and their students’ perceptions of student-to-teacher feedback forms and how the feedback forms influence their teaching and student learning. The researcher used four data collection methods including feedback forms, interviews, observational notes, and surveys. The patterns and themes found within the data collected were analyzed to determine the study’s findings. The major findings revealed that students who are given the opportunity to openly express their needs through a feedback form felt that the tool helped them to communicate their feelings to their teacher. The students found that expressing their needs …

Teaching Phonics Mastery Through The Use Of Differentiated And Instructional Strategies, Ashley Honeyman

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This capstone reports the effectiveness of using differentiated instructional and assessment strategies to improve student understanding in phonics mastery. Based on pretest data that analyzed understanding of short u consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words, phonics instruction was implemented to meet the needs of students in whole-group and small-group settings. This unit consisted of five whole-group lessons over short u blending and segmentation. In addition to the whole group learning, specific students were pulled for small-group intervention. The unit concluded with a post-assessment that tested student understanding on real and nonsense CVC words; these assessments were implemented to assess if the integration of …

Examining How Black Administrator Employment Decisions Are Impacted By The Behaviors Of Supervisors, Annie Wilson Whitaker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how Black, public school administrator employment decisions are impacted by the behaviors of supervisors in Virginia. Commonalities among the lived experiences of Black, public school administrators were examined in order to identify specific behaviors which impact employment decisions.

Transcendental phenomenological qualitative research design was utilized. Participants were identified through gatekeeper introductions and then narrowed through snow-ball sampling. Data was collected through open-ended face-to-face interviews with 12 Black, public school administrators in Virginia via a secure online platform. The data was analyzed in order to identify emergent themes which represent the lived …

Teacher Evaluation Practices And Policy Implications: Effective Strategies For Changing Instruction, Scott Grens

Dissertations

This study is a program evaluation of the effectiveness of teacher evaluation practices in a small suburban elementary school district in Illinois from 2017-2019. The primary research question explored in this program evaluation is whether and to what extent the teacher evaluation process is changing teacher practices in Washington School District 25. Employing a qualitative research methodology, with data gathered from teacher interviews, school administrator interviews, and document analysis, this study identified several key components to the improvement of instructional practices for teachers. Policy implications and recommendations highlight the importance of the following: a common instructional framework, staff involvement in …

The Effect Of Demographics On The Implementation Of The Principal Walkthrough, Jason A. Marx

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The purpose of this quantitative study was to research how school and principal demographics influence a principal’s implementation of the walkthrough process. Principals from New Jersey were administered a survey to provide insight into how they implement the walkthrough process in their schools. The findings suggest that socioeconomic status and level of principal experience have no influence on how walkthroughs are implemented; however, the findings also suggest that level of principal experience does have an impact on whether or not principals share the results of walkthroughs with teachers.

The Effect Of Feedback Given On Informal Assessments And Its Continued Effect On Formal Assessments, Britta Teeples, Britta Teeples

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This quantitative study investigates the use of immediate and delayed answer corrective feedback provided on informal assessments, with the use of technological tools, and its impact on formal assessments on senior level, high school students from a rural Minnesota high school. Specifically, this study investigated the impact of both immediate and delayed answer corrective feedback to determine if both/either are effective in helping improve students formally. Students participated in an eight-week study in which two smaller sections were provided immediate answer corrective feedback informally, with the use of Kahoot. An additional (one) section was provided delayed answer corrective feedback with …

Read Like You Are Talking To A Friend: The Effects Of Using A Systematic Approach, Including Teacher Modeling, Repeated Reading, And Corrective Feedback On The Reading Fluency And Prosody Of Students In A 6-9-Year-Old Public Montessori Classroom, Catherine E. Munro, Julie A. Foltmer

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to determine effective ways to improve fluency among lower elementary Montessori students. The study was comprised of 33 students ages 6-9 who attend public Montessori classrooms in North America. The field of research on reading fluency and comprehension was surveyed as a background to support this action research study, which utilized an experimental design, collecting quantitative data through student-generated artifacts. The researchers implemented a reading block into their Montessori classrooms. The large and small group lessons focused on modeled readings from the teacher, repeated readings, and corrective feedback. Data was collected at the beginning …

A School District's Change To Standards-Based Grading: A Conduit To Student Learning, Perry A. Finch

Dissertations

Nothing can be more important in a student’s learning process than feedback. This study looks at what is needed to effectively guide an elementary school district from a traditional letter grade system to a standards-based grading system. Survey data were collected from 91 teachers across the district in order to measure their understanding of standards-based grading. A standards-based grading pilot was conducted with six teachers from the elementary and middle school level. Four of these six teachers participated in a group interview to share perceptions of this pilot. Survey data were collected from the 54 students involved in the pilot. …

The Effects Of Consistent Observation And Feedback On Teacher Practice And Motivation To Refine Instruction, Scott I. Nasatir

Dissertations

This evaluation of a pilot program investigates the effects consistent observation and feedback had on teacher practice and motivation to refine instruction. An observation-feedback loop was initiated at a high school in a large Midwestern urban school district where teachers received bi-weekly observations and were provided with instantaneous feedback. Current research has shown that teacher evaluation, if utilized appropriately and with fidelity, can be a strong lever to improve instructional practices. While the advantages are vast, few schools and districts alike are also enacting measures to roll out a companion model that has “coaching” attributes embedded to support educators entrenched …

Reflective Assessment, Feedback And Academic Achievement In High School Mathematics, Nalline S. Baliram

Education Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of metacognitive strategies and content-specific feedback on student achievement in high school mathematics. Participants in the study consisted of a convenience sample of honors geometry students in grades 9 and 10 in a private high school located in Daytona Beach, Florida. Beyond answering the specific research questions raised in the study, an additional aim was to contribute to the growing body of knowledge pertaining to effective ways to use metacognitive instruction and provide effective content-specific feedback to improve student achievement and learning.

A quasi-experimental, nonequivalent control-group design with repeated-measures was …

The Experience Of Teachers And Deans In An Intensive Weekly Observation/Feedback Model, Kathleen A. Grinwis

Dissertations

This phenomenological study looked at the lived experiences of 12 teachers and deans participating in an intensive weekly observation/feedback model in several charter school academies. In this model, teachers and deans work to grow as educators and to reach their professional development goals. While we know that a major factor in increasing the proficiency rate of our students is improving teacher effectiveness, not as much is known about how to provide the necessary guidance for teachers’ professional growth and efficacy development. The challenge for leaders is to develop effective systems of supervision that support teachers and administrators as they work …

A Case Study Examining Teacher Responses To Principal Feedback Of Class Observations, Sean Kelly

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership Dissertations

Four teachers from each of the four major academic disciplines: Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and English Language from a suburban high school in the Southeastern United States participated in a study which examined teacher responses to principal feedback of class room observations. Each of the 16 teachers were observed on three occasions and provided feedback. Teachers were also interviewed using a semi-structured questioning format and asked to keep a journal during the study.

Findings of the study demonstrated that teachers who participated in the study most often responded to principal feedback of class observations by changing behaviors, considering changing behaviors, …

Teacher Evaluations: Empty Ceremony Or Vital Activity, Catherine Kennedy

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

One of the most critical duties of a school principal is to evaluate and lead teachers. A school district in Texas has mandated that all administrators conduct one hundred and forty-four walkthroughs per school year. Given that time is a priceless commodity in a typical school day, how effective is the above mandate to teacher and principal performance? The purpose of this research study was to examine how principals provide effective feedback to teachers on walkthroughs and evaluations. In addition this study looked at what teachers do with the feedback that is given to them on a walkthrough and evaluation. …

An Open Corridor Esl Workshop: A Supplemental English Program At Sit, John B. Millett Jr.

MA TESOL Collection

This report is a description of the creation and workings of an Open Corridor ESL Workshop designed as a supplement to an intensive ESL program. The workshop's form is based on the beliefs that learners learn in different ways, have different needs and interests which should be reflected in the content of activities, and can take the responsibility for their learning. An assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of this workshop and recommendations for improvement and use in different situations are presented in the final section.