Education Commons^™

Alternative High School Schedules, John Pisapia, Amy Westfall, Tony Hubert

MERC Publications

Currently there are four scheduling models being used in Chesterfield County Public High Schools. Manchester, Midlothian, Thomas Dale and Meadowbrook High Schools use the traditional six period day which evenly divides the school day into six periods of approximately 51 minutes in length that meet for the full year. Matoaca High School uses a seven period schedule which divides the school day into seven periods of approximately 45 minutes in length that meet for the full year. Clover Hill and L.C. Bird High Schools use a seven period alternating block schedule which divides the school day into three periods of …

Successful Literacy Passport Test Remediation Strategies For Elementary And Middle School Students: A Research Report, James H. Mcmillan

MERC Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine instructional strategies teachers and other school personnel have employed to successfully remediate students who have failed the reading and writing parts of the Virginia Literacy Passport Test (LPT), or the LPT Predictor Test. The intent was to determine if specific approaches seem to work best for different types of students, and if particular materials, teaching strategies, scheduling, and other factors are associated with successful remediation.

A qualitative research design was employed to gather and analyze information related to successful remediation. Classroom and resource teachers who had experience in remediating students who had …

A National Survey Of Occupational Therapists In The Public Schools: An Assessment Of Current Practice, Attitudes, And Training Needs Regarding The Transition Process For Students With Severe Disabilities, Katherine Josephine Inge

Theses and Dissertations

Because occupational therapy involvement in transition planning is a relatively new area. little was known about the characteristics of school-based therapists who serve students in this age group. The purpose of this study was to determine their current level of participation in the transition process, the roles that therapists identified for themselves in this process, their attitudes towards best practices for serving students ages 14 - 22, and occupational therapists’ future training needs if they are to participate fully in the national transition initiative. A survey was mailed to 1,000 therapists on the American Occupational Therapy Associations Direct Mail List …

Current Management Of Computerized Personnel Files In Virginia Public Schools: A Legal And Policy Analysis, Andrew Jameson Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Privacy in the workplace will be a significant legal and policy issue in employment during the late 1990's. The impact of computer technology in employment highlights privacy concerns and issues and is particularly acute in public school employment. Public schools have a right to know information about teachers which relates to their fitness in working with children. At the same time, teachers have a legitimate expectation of privacy, especially as it applies to their professional reputations and their abilities to maintain or obtain future employment in teaching.

This study had two purposes. One was to determine the extent of computer …

Teaching As Reflective Practice: Papers By Teacher Researchers, Merc Research Teachers

MERC Publications

This is a research report on "Teaching as Reflective Practice" put together by the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium. The research papers in this report include:

"Expectation and Innovations: A Nation At Risk; Shopping Mall High School; Horace's Compromise" by Angela Pickels and Brettina Sanchez of Monacan High School, Chesterfield County Public Schools.

"The Successful Interdisciplinary Class Must Secede From the Traditional" by Puck Snidow and Margaret Flanagan of Clover Hill High School, Chesterfield County Public Schools.

"What Has Been the Impact of Beaverdam Elementary Schools's Computer Network on Teachers?" by Katherine W. Benkert and Donna Kouri of Beaverdam Elementary School, …

The Efficacy Of The Collaborative Teaching Model For Serving Academically-Able Special Education Students: A Review Of Liturature, Paul J. Gerber

MERC Publications

Collaborative teaching is the latest attempt by the field of education to address the instructional needs of students with disabilities in at least restrictive environment. It is distinctive in design because of the focus of the collaborative teaching concept is keeping students with disabilities in regular classes to be educated alongside their non-disabled peers (a "keep in" program versus a "pull out" program. In a collaborative teaching arrangement both regular and special educators use their coincidental and complementary skills to teach students with disabilities. Because of the diversity of learning arrangement needed in classrooms with students with disabilities, collaborative teaching …

Scheduling Secondary Schools: Questions And Answers, Lynn Westfall

MERC Publications

Some researchers believe scheduling techniques have changed frequently and dramatically since the early 1960's. And, there is no doubt that changes have occurred in education. Changes such as the development of computerized scheduling techniques in the 1960's; the increase in the number of courses offered; the concern for equal opportunity; the individualization of instruction; and the increase in the variety and flexibility of scheduling models available to schools, led to a growing awareness of accountability by the 1970s (Dempsey * Traverso, 1983). The quality of individual opportunity prompted educators to revitalize conventional scheduling, and to consider diverse options.

Though such …

The Relationship Between Physician Personality Type And Medical Malpractice Risk, Thomas H. Casey

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate possible relationships between a physician's personality type and his or her risk of receiving a medical malpractice claim or lawsuit. Patients frequently initiate a malpractice claim for reasons other than the perception of an injury. Often it is the result of a misunderstanding caused by ineffective or insufficient communication with the physician. Different personality types are known to communicate differently.

Six research questions were explored in this analytical-descriptive study. The population was the physician faculty of the Medical College of Virginia. The Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI) was completed by 236 faculty. Information …

Parent Involvement In Public Education: A Review Of The Literature, Cifford Fox

MERC Publications

At the direction of the Policy and Planning Council, A MERC Study Group began meeting in September, 1994 for the purpose of planning and directing a study of parental involvement in public schools. This literature review represents the first product of that process. Research over the past several decades has shown that involving parents in the process of educating their children provides substantial advantages for their education (e.g., Stevenson and Baker, 1987; Henderson, 1987; Moles, 1982; et.al.). In a representative statement, Rebecca Crawford Burns summarizes the literature on the benefits of parent involvement to the education process as follows:

"Meaningful …