Education Commons^™

Addressing The Black-White Ap Participation Gap: An Improvement Science Project, Gales Scroggs

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Advanced Placement (AP) courses have become an essential preparation for college, and the benefits of AP participation for students are plentiful. AP courses allow students to earn higher grade point averages in high school, stand out in the college admissions process, and increase their likelihood of graduating college with a degree in four years. The benefits experienced by Black AP students may be even more significant. However, Black students have lagged behind their White peers in AP enrollment since the inception of the AP program. This study examined the influence of targeted, counselor-led academic advisement on the AP enrollment of …

Using Improvement Science To Reduce Student Retention In High School Through School-Based Mentoring, Ellen B. Borland

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The disproportionate demographics among retained students must be addressed. School-based mentoring has been recognized as an effective tool for motivating and supporting students at-risk of not graduating on time. This research aimed to explore the impact of a school-based mentoring program on positive student outcomes, specifically academic achievement, among high school students at-risk of not graduating on time. This study followed twenty-three students and mentors throughout the school year, and examined the association between school-based mentoring and grade level retention or promotion. The results were compared to the same group of students and their performance during the previous school year, …

Factors Affecting Teacher Retention In A Selected South Carolina School District: Perspectives Of Administrators And Teachers, Alvilda Graham

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In this qualitative descriptive case study, I explored the issue of teacher retention, a growing concern within public K-12 education systems in the United States, particularly in South Carolina. I aimed to understand the unique organizational factors within individual school districts that influence retention decisions from the perspectives of teachers and administrators at the middle school level. I focused on a selected South Carolina school district (SSD) and explored the viewpoints of teachers and administrators regarding teacher retention. To better understand their lived experiences, I conducted semi-structured interviews and surveys with middle school teachers and administrators. Using an improvement science …

The Effects Of Math Pathways On Pupils In Poverty, Edward Kameen

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This was a Mixed Methods study that evaluated the implementation of a Math Pathways Program at Crestview High School. The study leveraged Improvement Science and a long-range PDSA cycle with the aim of improving outcomes for Pupils in Poverty in Dual Credit math courses. This study sought to answer three research questions. The first two research questions were answered with quantitative data and the final research question was answered with qualitative data. The research questions that guided this study were (1) What effects did the Math Pathways Program have on the enrollment of Pupils in Poverty in Dual Credit math? …

The Use Of The South Carolina School Improvement Model - Quick Cycles In Sixth-Grade Science Classrooms, Jennifer Gnann

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Using data to make informed decisions about instruction strengthens a teacher’s delivery of content within the classroom. However, many teachers have not been taught how to properly use a model of rapid improvement cycles to analyze data and apply it to their classroom instruction. I modified the South Carolina School Improvement Model so that it could be used in short cycles to see how teachers used it to plan for, monitor, and adjust instruction in their classrooms.

I conducted a single case study over a six-week period in which I instructed two sixth-grade science teachers on how to use the …

Making The Move Toward Meaningfulness In Learning Activities: Enhancing Teacher Self-Efficacy In Student Engagement Through An Instructional Coaching Approach In Improvement Science, Maureen Tiller

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Student engagement is a common problem in schools today and a challenging one to solve. Choosing to dive deeper into this complex problem at one high school, ten teachers participated in a coaching cycle designed to impact self-efficacy in student engagement with the support of the school’s instructional coach in collaboration with the principal. One overarching research question guided this improvement science study: What impact does an instructional coaching cycle focused on meaningfulness in learning activities have on teachers’ self-efficacy in student engagement? To answer the research question, I conducted a quantitative and qualitative data analysis of pre- and …

Exploring Academic Opportunities For Military-Connected Students: A Systems Theory Approach, Georgia Mckown

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Military-connected children experience frequent disruptions to their daily lives as a result of military lifestyle demands like frequent relocations and service-related separations from their service member parent. These disruptions impact all areas of their lives including their homes and schools. While the body of research concerning military-connected children’s experiences at school has grown over recent decades, little is known about specific individual and contextual factors that may serve as assets or constraints. Knowing more about specific factors that influence school experiences for military-connected youth is a critical step in promoting and scaling home- and school-based interventions.

This three-paper dissertation begins …

Implementation Of An Early College Design In A Rural High School: Empowering Place-Conscious Leadership To Affect Change And Overcome Barriers To Innovation, Michael Timko

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This qualitative, improvement science, autoethnograpic case study aims to examine a unique perspective on rural research through the lens of place-conscious leadership. With an identified problem of inequity in advanced-level course offerings, which resulted in lost student opportunities and student attrition to neighboring schools, the leadership at Forest Lakes High School (FLHS) in rural South Carolina began the ambitious journey of reframing their narrative. As a scholarly researcher and administrator at FLHS, I had the unique opportunity to immerse myself fully in all aspects of this study. My dual positionality allowed me to study this process while sharing the lived …

Long-Term English Learner: One Voice And Perspective Of Schooling Experiences, Donna Confere

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The term Long-term English Learner (LTEL) is problematic. The terminology is used in schools and based upon the number of years that a student has been in US schools and has not met the criteria for reclassification as no longer requiring language support services, accommodations, or continued annual assessment, as required by the federal government for those with a second language learner designation. It can carry with it a connotation of a deficit for the student who remains an English learner beyond five years. This study centered around interviews and observations of a student who met the criteria for being …

Black Oral History As A Culturally Sustaining Practice In The Secondary Social Studies Classroom, Elizabeth Mcdonald

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This study explores how a Black oral history project can be used in a secondary social studies classroom as a culturally sustaining practice. This study uses case study methodology to answer the research question, how are Black oral histories a form of culturally sustaining practice in secondary social studies classrooms? This dissertation explores the literature surrounding Black education, culturally sustaining pedagogy, Black history and race education in social studies, and oral history. Culturally sustaining pedagogy is used as the theoretical framework for this study. This study explores the use of Black oral history in a social studies classroom at the …

Use Of Vocabulary Strategies To Aid English Language Learners In A General Education Biology Classroom, Virginia Perry

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The demographics of the typical American classroom continue to present as a more diverse student population with the increase of English Language Learners (ELL) entering public schools. General education teachers on a secondary level are challenged with incorporating academic language instruction into content instruction for ELLs. Many of these teachers seek appropriate instructional strategies to teach ELLs academic language skills related to literacy to comprehend the specific content taught at the secondary level. A deeper understanding of language and skill acquisition within a secondary classroom can help guide future efforts in implementing effective literacy strategies to address ELLs’ academic language …

The Relationships Between College And Career Readiness Assessments, Charlotte M. Bruner

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This study explored the effects of taking Advanced Placement (AP) courses on college and career readiness in a rural school district in the southeastern United States. I examined student performance data using American College Test (ACT) scores, Ready to Work (R2W) examination scores, and AP examination scores. The results of the study show that taking a single AP course leads to significant improvement on the ACT exam over a student who has not taken an AP courses and the optimal number of courses a student should take. The results of the study also show that taking an AP course leads …

Using Blended Learning To Support Students During The Covid-19 Pandemic To Increase Credit Recovery Passage Rates: A Mixed-Methods Study, Anjail Salahudin-Bolden

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During the spring of 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic forever changed the lives of Americans. Being an educator, I experienced the school shutdowns of March 2020 and felt the impacts on our educational system on a personal level. More students than ever failed courses needed to be promoted and to graduate high school. This led to more students at my school needing to take VirtualSC credit recovery courses. VirtualSC credit recovery courses are fully virtual and have no face-to-face interactions with teachers. Instead, they are self-paced courses that provide students with learning modules that they move through as they master each …