Education Commons^™

School Safety Planning: Barriers To Implementation Perceived By District Leadership And First Responders, David J. Alba, Robert K. Gable

K-12 Education

This study explored the perceptions of district and first responder leadership (N = 6) with respect to school crisis preparedness. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a stratified purposeful sampling of school, police, and fire/rescue personnel who were primarily responsible for the planning, training, and implementation of district safety policies. Overarching themes were: desire for coherence among procedures with guidance from the state level; and, ambiguity of roles and responsibilities in the event of a crisis. Participants believed the onus to foster inter-agency partnerships was the responsibility of either the state, or the partnering agencies. In addition, while the importance …

Information Literacy At Johnson & Wales University 2011-2012, Ariela Mccaffrey, Lori Micho, Nicole Covone, Joe Eshleman

Library Staff Publications

This initial document details some ideas and thoughts related to the development of librarians who instruct at the four Johnson & Wales University campuses. A group of five librarians at the four campuses developed the document; Amanda Samland, Ariela McCaffrey, Nicole Covone, Lisa Spicola, and Joe Eshleman, Seven aspects of library instruction are addressed as well as ideas for the application of the guidelines. Finally, next steps towards application of the guidelines are listed.

Perceived Efficacy Of Beginning Teachers To Differentiate Instruction, Michelle K. Casey, Robert K. Gable

Teacher Education

A two-phase, sequential mixed-methods design was used to assess perceptions of teacher efficacy (10 item survey, alpha = .90) to differentiate instruction for N = 36 graduates from one MAT teacher preparation program. Research questions addressed levels of self-efficacy, perceptions of preparedness, teaching tenure, and number of certifications held. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA and t-test procedures. A focus group with N = 10 purposively selected 2010 graduates and interviews with N = 2 graduates each from the 2008 and 2009 classes, and N = 2 faculty were conducted. No significant relationships were found for tenure and …

Backwards Planning, Forward Thinking, Valerie Balkun, Donna Thomsen

English Department Faculty Publications & Research

No abstract provided.

Beginning Teachers’ Perceptions Of Preparedness To Differentiate Instruction For Diverse Learners, Michelle K. Casey, Robert K. Gable

K-12 Education

A two-phase, sequential mixed-methods design was used to assess perceptions of Preparedness (28 items, alpha = .96) to differentiate instruction for N = 36 graduates from one MAT teacher preparation program. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA and t-test procedures. A focus group with N = 10 purposively selected 2010 graduates and interviews with N = 2 graduates each from the 2008 and 2009 classes, and N = 2 faculty were conducted. The following areas presented challenges to teachers when attempting differentiation: pre-existing ideas of how to teach which contradict differentiation, misinformation regarding differentiation, and classroom management skills. …

Online Versus Face To Face College Courses, Ningning Shi, Chen Du, Xiaonan Jiang, Hala M. Bin Saab

MBA Student Scholarship

Students have perceptions of the on-line course environment whether they have taken an on-line course or not. A random sample (N = 100) of undergraduate (n = 34) and graduate (n = 66) students were administered a student perception questionnaire on students' attitudes towards studying online versus traditional classroom instruction in a large, private, southern New England University. Thirty-nine percent of the participants have a part-time job, 29% have a full-time job, and the remaining 32% are not currently employed. Thirty-three percent of the sample was male and 67% were female. Results of the survey questionnaire indicate that 29% of …

An Investigation Of A Methodology To Assess District Performance, Peter Simpson, Robert K. Gable, Stacey L. Kite

School Finance and Student Achievement

This study investigates a resource-based methodology to assess district performance as an indicator of student achievement on standardized assessments. The problem that this investigation addresses is that performance measurement and the associated decision-making is indeterminate. There is a lack of empirical research that relates decision-making about resource utilization to performance.

The study utilizes structuralism to assess the relationship between the independent variable of resource utilization and the dependent variable performance. Complex Adaptive System theory is used as a framework for Concept Mapping methodology. The study is grounded in theories from Complex Adaptive Systems and Microeconomics that state that performance is …

Assessing Middle School Students’ Knowledge Of Conduct/Consequences And Their Behaviors Regarding The Use Of Social Networking Sites, Lawrence P. Filippelli, Stacey L. Kite, Robert K. Gable

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying, social networking sites (such as myspace and facebook), and instant messaging programs are initiating numerous problems for school administrators on a national level (McKenna, 2007). Franek (2005) defines a cyber bully as “anyone who repeatedly misuses technology to harass, intimidate, bully, or terrorize another person” (p.36). Students utilize cell phones, personal digital assistants, home computers, and laptop computers to access the internet and communicate with friends almost instantly.