Education Commons^™

The Relationship Of Formative Assessment To The Professional Development And Perspective Transformation Of Teachers, Kimberly K. Snyder

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study uses practitioner research to explore teacher perspectives about formative assessment. The researcher engaged in a four-month-long series of professional development sessions with one middle school and two high school English-Language Arts teachers from the Capital View School District. Understanding formative assessment as a process to monitor student learning and then customizing instruction based on the data gathered from the formative assessment is a complex skill in which teachers need practice and even coaching to become adroit. The sessions were intended to help early-career teachers better understand formative assessment and incorporate it as a strategy in their teaching praxis. …

The Influence Of An Extended School Day On Middle School English Language Arts And Mathematics Achievement In A New Jersey Suburban School District, Davida Lindsay-Harewood

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study examined the influence of an extended school day, reported in instruction minutes, on academic achievement of general and special education middle school students in one public suburban New Jersey school district using English Language Arts and Mathematics data from the 2014 New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJ ASK). The sample was selected using Propensity Score Matching, a statistical technique employed to reduce the influence of selection bias. The final sample consisted of 238 students in Grade 6, 238 in Grade 7, and 238 in Grade 8 in the New Jersey suburban, upper middle-income school district during …

Sustained Implementation Of School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports Through Continuous Regeneration, Thomas A. Edwards

Ed.D. Dissertations in Practice

School-wide Positive Behavior Supports (SWPBIS) aim to create safe and civil school environments through proactive teaching, consistent reinforcing, and appropriate response to student behavior. The literature pertaining to the implementation of SWPBIS is limited, having few longitudinal studies of school-based changes to sustain the initiative. The present case study examined the data-based adaptations in terms of effectiveness, efficiency, priority, and continuous regeneration during a five-year implementation of SWPBIS at a high needs middle school. Findings demonstrated marked improvement in fidelity of implementation, student, parent, and staff perceptions, and student behavior outcomes. Recommendations related to continual improvement that engages more staff …

Middle School Teachers’ Perspectives On Promoting Effective Technology Integration, Yona Andrew Rose

All Theses And Dissertations

Technology integration reforms in education have increased in number and expectation throughout schools across the United States. Some instructors have experienced barriers with skill sets, attitudes, professional development opportunities, and collaboration time which have impacted their ability to model good practices. Pictures of qualified, confident teachers integrating technology into their classrooms with regularity and fidelity are unclear. Existing literature was reviewed regarding methods of increasing teacher comfort and knowledge related to technology integration so that the 21st Century Skills of critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication can be addressed in public schools. This research study explored what middle school teachers …

A Mixed-Method Study Of Mobile Devices And Student Self-Directed Learning And Achievement During A Middle School Stem Activity, Scott Bartholomew

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

With the increasingly ubiquitous nature of mobile devices among K-12 students, many argue for and against the inclusion of these devices in K-12 classrooms. Arguments in favor cite instant access to information and collaboration with others as positive affordances made possible through mobile devices. Self-directed learning, a process where individuals take charge of their learning and decide what they will learn, how they learn it, and how they assess their learning, has been identified as an increasingly important trait for K-12 students. The relationship between mobile device access in K-12 education settings and student self-directed learning has not been explored. …

A Program Evaluation Of The Comprehensive School Reform Model Making Middle Grades Work, Wycondia West

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A Program Evaluation of the Comprehensive School Reform Model Making Middle Grades Work

by

Wycondia S. West

MA, Spring Hill College, 2002

BS, Spring Hill College, 1998

Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Education

Walden University

August 2016

There is increasing concern in the United States about the academic challenges that middle grade students face. Middle schools are not meeting accountability standards, and as a result students are not being adequately prepared for high school. In response to these concerns, a state in the southeastern United States adopted a comprehensive school …