Education Commons^™

Effective Science Teachers’ Professional Development: A Multiple-Case Study Of District-Level Science Supervisors’ Perspectives, Chris J. Schaben

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

At its heart, science teachers’ professional development is about continual growth and improvement (Yager, 2005). Conducting research to understand what constitutes effective professional development is inherently complex (Hewson, 2007). The imperative to link research on professional development to student achievement (Fishman, Marx, Best, & Tal, 2003) increases complexity of research on the topic. These complexities require multiple research approaches and indicate that all stakeholders could provide insights to identify what constitutes effective professional development. District-level science supervisors’ voices are missing from the data on effective science teachers’ professional development and this provides a potential gap in the literature (Banilower, Heck, …

Both The Journal And Handbook Of Research On Urban Mathematics Teaching And Learning, David W. Stinson

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Faculty Publications

In this editorial, the author explores the prestige that the edited "Handbook" has gained in the social sciences generally and in mathematical education specifically over the past few decades, and explores how this has established new power relationships and scholarly practices within urban mathematical education.

Extreme Math Makeover: Mathematics Assessment And Reporting In The Era Of The Common Core Standards, Glenn W. "Max" Mcgee

Publications & Research

This presentation discusses the need to develop high quality performance based assessments of the Common Core Mathematical Standards and Mathematical Practices. Several examples of performance assessments from high achieving countries as well as from the 2009 PISA test are included.

State Of The Nation: K–12 Online Learning In Canada, Michael K. Barbour

Education Faculty Publications

A variety of initiatives are driving online and blended learning in each of Canada’s provinces and territories. From teachers’ unions in Nova Scotia fighting to ensure online learning is an accepted method of educational delivery, to Ontario’s College of Teachers creating an e-learning endorsement for teachers or the British Columbia government creating policies to expand the growth and opportunities online learning provides, there are multiple, isolated initiatives happening across the country.

State of the Nation: K-12 Online Learning in Canada is now in its fourth year of publication and can be seen as a national guide for understanding the field …

Students' Learning Style Preferences And Teachers' Instructional Strategies: Correlations Between Matched Styles And Academic Achievement, Mary L. Wilson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of the current study was to identify the extent to which learning styles influence the educational process as well as the outcome of students, particularly elementary-age students, in terms of academic achievement. This study examined the potential relationship between the degree of match (as determined by comparing learning style preferences of students with instructional strategies of teachers) and the academic achievement of fourth grade students as shown by Palmetto Assessment of State Standards scores in four academic content areas, namely English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. The researcher collected data from a sample of approximately 200 …

The Unforgettable Experience Of A Workshop On Pythagoras Theorem, Salima Shahzad Arwani

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

No abstract provided.

Educational Administration And Leadership Newsletter, Vol. 2, No. 1, St. Cloud State University

Educational Administration and Leadership Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Exploring Leadership Practices In Rural Context Of A Developing Country, Ali Nawab

Professional Development Centre, Chitral

The success or failure of any institution has closely been linked with the leadership practices exercised in the institution. Whereas the number of private schools is rapidly increasing in the rural context of Pakistan, the leadership practices of these institutions are interesting and timely questions to ponder upon. Drawing upon the data of a qualitative case study, this paper discusses the leadership practices in a private school in rural Pakistan. It is found that the school leaders in this context have still traditional approach to leadership with little possibilities of shared or distributed leadership. Since the private schools are owned …

Do Teachers Learn In School Contexts? Some Perspectives From Pakistan, Ayesha Bashiruddin

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

No abstract provided.

Role Of Head Teachers In Managing The Forces Emanating From The External World Of Schools In Gilgit-Baltistan Of Pakistan, Mola Dad Shafa

Professional Development Centre, Gilgit

This paper reviews the nature and intensity of some external forces that shape and re-shape headteachers’ school improvement efforts in the mountainous and rural Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan. The external forces emanating from the outside world of the schools are categorized under three themes: divisions within the school community, influences of the district office, and issues of communication with parents. The divisions within the school community were clear and deep. The major divisions included the uneven socioeconomic levels, the various tribal systems, the sense of local and non-locals, and the different religious denominations. The challenges related to the District Office were: …

What Works In Education In Pakistan, And Why? The Case Of Pdcn’S Whole School Improvement Program In Gilgit-Baltistan Of Pakistan, Mola Dad Shafa, Darvesh Karim, Sultan Alam

Professional Development Centre, Gilgit

This inquiry is part of a country-wide study conducted to explore What Works in Education in Pakistan, and Why? The Whole School Improvement Programme (WSIP) of Aga Khan University-Professional Development Center, North (AKU-PDCN) offered in Gilgit-Baltistan is one of the seven cases chosen based on its best practices in teacher professional development and school improvement in the mountainous and rural Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan. Three schools representing the public, private and AKESP systems were selected for this study. The findings emanating from the three cases have been structured and discussed under the themes of „Teachers Professional Development,‟ „School-Community Relations,‟ „Monitoring and …

The Preferred Principal: Leadership Traits, Behaviors, And Gender Characteristics School Teachers Desire In A Building Leader, Troy Dan Costellow

Dissertations

This study of 2,802 teachers and 129 school administrators sought to determine the gender, leadership traits, and leadership behaviors most preferred by teachers in Kentucky. Principals were also surveyed to establish which traits they felt were most important for a school leader to possess, and to determine the frequency at which they practiced various leadership behaviors.

Participants were from 194 public elementary, middle, and high schools in thirty-two Kentucky school districts. Leadership traits were based on Marzano, Waters, and McNulty’s (2005) twenty-one responsibilities of school leaders. Teachers and principals were asked to indicate the level of importance for school administrators …

Factors Affecting School Administrators Decision To Join And Maintain Membership In A Professional Association, Kelly K. Coash-Johnson

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This paper explored factors that influence school administrator’s decision to join and maintain membership in a professional association. In addition, factors that influence school administrator’s decision not to join a professional association was also explored. The research showed the relationship between, age, gender, dues payment, attitude and importance of benefits. Results from this study will be significant to recruitment and retention for professional educational associations such as the Nebraska Council of School Administrators (NCSA). In addition, information gathered from open-ended questions as well as other survey questions from both members and non-members helped the researcher determine other challenges that have …

“Race” In Mathematics Education: Are We A Community Of Cowards?, David W. Stinson

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Faculty Publications

In this editorial, the author revisits Attorney General Eric Holder's well-known 2009 statement that, "in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards," examining the ways in which racial "cowardice" continues to impact urban mathematical education.

The Status Of Students With Special Needs In The Instrumental Musical Ensemble And The Effect Of Selected Educator And Institutional Variables On Rates Of Inclusion, Edward C. Hoffman Iii

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Creative Work, and Performance

The purpose of this study was to describe the current status of students with special needs in the instrumental musical ensemble and to examine the effect of selected educator and institutional variables on rates of inclusion. An online survey was designed by the researcher and distributed electronically to 600 practicing K-12 instrumental music educators in the states of Idaho, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, and Rhode Island. While 13.6% of the total school-aged population nationwide received special education services, demographic data provided by respondents revealed that students with special needs accounted for 6.8% of all students participating in bands, orchestras, …

Factors Accounting For Variability In Superintendent Ratings Of Academic Preparation, Theodore J. Kowalski, Ila Phillip Young, Robert S. Mccord

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

This study utilized findings from the 2010 decennial study of the school superintendent to determine the extent to which four predictor variables (courses, professor credibility, size [enrollment of employing school district], and gender) accounted for variability in superintendent overall ratings of their academic preparation. The standardized regression coefficients indicate that most of the variance accounted for in the linear equation was due to ratings of professor credibility and ratings of the perceived value of courses. Neither the institutional variable, school district size, nor the personal variable, gender, accounted for meaningful variance in the overall ratings. Recommendations are made for extending …

Satisfied Superintendents: A Case Study, Zachary G. Kassebaum

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The role of the superintendent is viewed as high-stress. Research reports a high turnover rate in the superintendency. Superintendents face pressure and criticism from several fronts. Despite these circumstances, many superintendents find satisfaction within the position. Through the stories of superintendents, we discover new findings about satisfaction derived from the superintendency.

The purpose of this study was to examine the common characteristics of satisfied superintendents and the components of the superintendency that provide satisfaction. The major contribution of this study is a greater understanding of how superintendents can increase the likelihood of experiencing satisfaction and longevity in their position.

Through …

Exploring Students’ Learning Difficulties In Secondary Mathematics Classroom In Gilgit-Baltistan And Teachers’ Effort To Help Students Overcome These Difficulties, Takbir Ali

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This article sets out to describe and explain how four high school teachers, identified as improvement-oriented teachers (IOTs), in their day-to-day teaching, try to use pedagogical remedies to help their students overcome the difficulties that hinder in-depth learning in secondary mathematics classrooms. Providing reflective accounts from the IOTs’ experiences and presenting illustrative examples from their classrooms, the study provides a broad picture of the context in which students learn mathematics. The study recognizes the factors that constrain students from gaining in-depth understanding into subject matter knowledge; it highlights the possibilities of fostering in-depth learning by establishing the primacy of the …

How Much Do U.S. University Students Know, And Want To Know, About Sustainability And Green Building? The Findings Of A Survey, And Possible Implications For General Elective Curricula., Jeremy R. Farner

Purdue Polytechnic Masters Theses

Using the survey approach, this investigation examined the attitudes and interest of college students at two universities in different geographic locations within the United States. Approximately 24,000 students from all disciplines and majors at Weber State University (WSU) in Utah, and 4,000 at Purdue University in Indiana, were invited to participate in a study to determine current knowledge, familiarity, and interest in topics within the sustainability and Green Building educational arena. The goal of this study was to determine what students already know, would like to know, and how much interest there would be in developing …

Proper Classroom Management Is Essential For An Effective Elementary School Classroom, Kayla Cotter

Honors Theses

I am an elementary education major and have a deep love for seeing children make connections, and learn about not only academics but moral values and life lessons. As much as I have learned in different classes over the past four years of my education, I have learned the most during my Practicum and Student Teaching experience as I really have gotten to run my own classroom. I believe that classroom management is the most important tool of strong learning. It provides the atmosphere students need to learn to their best ability. My thesis paper discusses why classroom management is …

Motivation For High School Students To Read:Differences Among Student Perceptions And Differences Between Student And Teacher Perceptions, Angela Dawn Gunter

Dissertations

Many high school teachers are unaware of, or mistaken about, specific strategies and practices that actually motivate their students to read, and that what motivates one group of students may not motivate another. Although content-area instructors may not have been trained in teaching reading strategy and may feel as though teaching reading is not their job, it is an expectation that could largely be met by the implementation of motivational strategies.

This exploratory study utilized the expectancy theory of motivation and wasconducted to determine which strategies and practices would be most motivational for high school students to read. In a …

The Relation Between Speech And Reading, Erin St. Jacques

Honors Projects

An analysis is made of the connection between speech and reading, and language and reading, and how both are related to a Speech-Language Pathologist's job in a school setting, working with struggling readers. Research about the process of learning how to read and how and SLP can be brought in at different stages is examined. This research paper looks at how a child learns to read; programs were executed involving young readers with reading disabilities. It also examines the different stages of learning to read and how an SLP can try to hep. The tactics were examined more closely as …

School And Community, Community And School: A Case Study Of A Rural Missouri Setting, Melia K. Franklin

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

How do a school and a community interact? This question guided this dissertation examining one rural school and community. The purpose of this case study was to investigate the relationship between the rural Marceline R-V School District (a K-12 school system) and its community, Marceline, Missouri.

The framework for this study included the time-honored theories of Ferdinand Tonnies, with the contemporary work of Joyce Epstein and Mavis Sanders. With structure provided by Bolman and Deal, this document examined both the school and community.

This study included artifacts and documents of both the community and school. Documents and artifacts included yearbooks, …

Growth Rates Of Curriculum-Based Measurement-Written Expression At The Elementary School Level, Amanda Tadatada

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This project appears to be the first to determine growth rates for writing using Curriculum-Based Measurement-Written Expression (CBM-WE). Growth rates, or the amount of change over time, help educators track how much progress can be expected given typical instruction. CBM-WE probes were administered to a sample of 1,004 students in first through fifth grades within a school district. The writing probes were scored using production-dependent variables: Total Words Written (TWW), Words Spelled Correctly (WSC), and Correct Word Sequence (CWS). Data were analyzed by grade level and gender. Results are presented as weekly growth rates. Growth rates were calculated from fall …

Does A Co-Learner Delivery Model In A Mathematics Methods Course Affect Pre-Service Teacher Candidates’ Self-Efficacy In Teaching Mathematics?,, John J. Ribeiro, Denise Demagistris

Teacher Education

This study is related to a previous study (Ribeiro, 2009) that examined teachers’ perceptions of teaching self-efficacy. In the first study the sample consisted of two groups of teachers that took the same professional development course in mathematics. The comparison group took the course in their school district with other teachers and the experimental group took the course with pre-service teachers in a university classroom. After completing the course, both groups were measured in three dimensions of teaching self-efficacy: student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom climate. Findings indicated that although both groups had significant gains in self-efficacy toward teaching mathematics …

Exploring Student Perceptions To Explain The Relationship Between Physical Activity And Academic Achievement In Adolescents: A Mixed Methods Study, Megan J. Hylok

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A nationwide survey conducted by the Center for Disease Control in 2007 reported 65% of high school students did not meet the recommendation that youth participate in at least 60 minutes of physical activity most days of the week (CDC, 2008). While research has focused its attention primarily on bodily health, growing evidence supports the benefits of physical activity on brain health (Ratey & Hagerman, 2008). Physical activity is important and many adolescents are not meeting the recommendation, therefore, it is important to explore the adolescent perceptions to understand which factors influence physical activity participation. The significance of this study …

Educational Administration And Leadership Newsletter, Vol. 1, No. 1, St. Cloud State University

Educational Administration and Leadership Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Program Evaluation Of Universal Positive Behavioral Interventions And Supports In Kentucky, Kelly S. Davis

Dissertations

The current study was undertaken to examine the impact of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) implementation on schools in Kentucky. Research questions evaluated (a) whether schools in Kentucky implemented PBIS with fidelity and (b) how PBIS implementation impacted student outcomes. Results of the study indicated that elementary, middle, and high schools implemented PBIS with fidelity. Associations were noted between PBIS implementation and decreases in office discipline referrals, out-of-school suspensions, dropout rate, and student retention rate. Results suggested that the PBIS model of training and technical assistance used in Kentucky demonstrates a reliable model for schools to follow to implement …

Principal's Preparation Program: Managing The Learning Environment Using Elcc Standards, J. Eric Tubbs, Michael S. Heard, Adrian L. Epps

Faculty and Research Publications

School principals need to be well prepared to manage school facilities assigned to their care. Educational leadership programs can make best use of the Educational Leadership Constituent Council (ELCC) Standards to develop a course of study to address school facility management issues. Every standard has its facility implications that lead to designing course activities to prepare school principals to be facility managers. A school facility management course can be effectively delivered by meeting all ELCC Standards.

Getting The Girls To School: The Community Schools Project In Gilgit-Baltistan Of Pakistan, Mola Dad Shafa

Professional Development Centre, Gilgit

This paper reviews a ten-year, two-phase educational project that, amongst its main aims, attempted to increase significantly the enrolment of girls in schools. After discussing the constraints on the lives of females in the region, the paper analyses the effects of the project on enrolment. Although girls’ enrolment doubled, a large proportion of girls remained out of school and the drop-out rate of girls was significantly higher than that of boys. The paper examines the reasons for these trends and suggests that, contrary to some expectations, many parents are willing to send their girls to school, but only under strictly …