Education Commons^™

Engaging Teachers In Agile School Improvement, Lynn Leslie

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan addresses a K-6 principal’s leadership challenge of engaging teachers in implementing the strategies from the annual school improvement plan in a changing school context. The inquiry questions focus on increasing teacher voice, enabling collaborative professional learning, and facilitating dynamic organizational change. Drawing from complexity theory, School X is conceived as a complex adaptive system that exists within a broader eco-system, with organizational transformation occurring through complex responsive processes where human interactions and diversity are essential for shifting current thinking and behaviors. The principal proposes an authentic/adaptive leadership approach that integrates two change models to develop the …

Improving Online Student Engagement In The Online Classroom, Emily Chen-Bendle

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan seeks to address inadequate online student engagement within online classrooms at University X. Inadequate student engagement risks students’ learning, persistence, performance, and academic achievement (Kuh, Cruce, Shoup, Kinzi, & Gonyea, 2008; Meyer, 2014; Pardo, Han, & Ellis, 2016; Phan, McNeil, & Robin, 2016), demonstrating the pressing need to improve online student engagement. This work is undertaken in the context of substantial growth in online education, accelerated in the short term by a movement to online delivery of face-to-face post-secondary education necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic of 2020. The author considers this problem from a non-traditional leadership …

Bridging The Gap: Increasing Low Student Reading Achievement In A High Poverty School, Jordan Reynaud

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Abstract

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) aims to improve the low student reading achievement at an inner-city elementary community school in Saskatchewan, as set out by the provincial Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP). It is framed around a Problem of Practice (PoP), that is based on concerns relating to the difficulties associated with increasing student reading achievement in a high poverty school. With a central vision to develop a desired state of improving student reading achievement, this OIP is viewed through the lens of critical pedagogy. The use of transformational leadership in partnership with a liberal ideology and a critical …

Differentiated Induction: An Enhanced Model For The New Teacher Induction Program, Terri Jackson

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

The Ontario Ministry of Education established the New Teacher Induction Program (NTIP) in 2006 to facilitate a smoother transition into the teaching profession for beginning teachers. This program intends to provide another full year of training and support to beginning teachers. The components of NTIP are: (a) a system orientation; (b) peer mentorship; and (c) targeted professional learning opportunities. Through the provision of differentiated professional learning communities and enhanced mentoring opportunities, this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) revises the existing induction structure in the Tungsten Board of Education. Using an adaptive, situational leadership style, the NTIP Facilitator employs the Awareness, Desire, …

A Strategic Approach To Leading And Managing Low Teacher Morale In An Adult Newcomer Education School Setting, Lenny Dinanath

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

The purpose of this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) is to produce a comprehensive and actionable plan to the problem of low teacher morale at Crest Wood Adult Education School (CWAES) which is a small, but rapidly expanding adult newcomer education school located in Ontario. Teachers’ morale and motivation increases when good working conditions exist and when they are offered opportunities to develop their professionalism and skills (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2005). A professional learning community (PLC) is central to the facilitating such learning opportunities which can be leveraged to improve students’ success and achievements. Leadership approach and style …

Leadership, Teacher Learning, And Assessment: A Strategic Approach To Improving Writing Achievement, Tommi Hoogsteen

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

In an era with increasing accountability and pressures to increase student achievement across all levels, school-based leaders need support in bringing about such changes. The problem of practice addressed in the organizational improvement plan is stated as: A document known as Saskatchewan Reads for Administrators exists to support leadership for best practice in reading in elementary school. No such document exists for writing. The problem of practice under investigation is the need for a strategic approach to support school leaders in improving student achievement levels in writing. Attempting to address this gap in a comprehensive fashion and using a strategic …

Increasing Teacher Capacity In Supporting Student Mental Health, Mary Louise Ireland

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Abstract

Increasing rates of adolescent anxiety and depression present new challenges for educators. This requires educators to increase their capacity to meet the unique learning needs of students with mental health concerns. The Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) explores this problem of practice, targeting improved teacher ability to understand student mental health, to recognize the signs of distress, and to employ teaching strategies and practices to accommodate learning needs. The notion that academic functioning is tied to mental health functioning in a bi-directional relationship (Powers, Bower, Webber & Martinson, 2011) underscores the need for teachers to be equipped with a greater …

Dual-Credit Program Leadership And Student Engagement, Melanie A. Christian

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Under dual enrollment, high school students take college or university courses from post-secondary institutions or external agencies for both post-secondary and high school credits. Dual credits include college/university, Advanced Placement, and International Baccalaureate courses. This study uses hierarchical linear modelling to determine whether grade in school (e.g., grade 12) or enrollment in multiple dual-credit courses impacts student engagement before and after moderation by leadership and dual-enrollment related variables. In this study, dual-credit students (n = 676) in New York and Ontario completed the Classroom Survey of Student Engagement (CLASSE), an adapted version of the National Survey of Student Engagement …