Education Commons^™

Foreword, Diane Debacker

Educational Considerations

It is with great pleasure that I write the Foreword for this edition of Educational Considerations. When Dr. Thompson requested that I contribute to the journal with the Foreword, I was flooded with memories of scouring through issue upon issue of Educational Considerations as I was working on my doctorate in Educational Administration at Kansas State University several years ago. Educational Considerations has a rich and long history of being a practitioner's journal and this issue continues with that tradition.

Theory Into Practice: A Cry From The Field For Innovative Leadership Development, Debbie K. Mercer, Scott Myers

Educational Considerations

Leaders make the difference. This is uniquely evidenced in school districts where a single superintendent impacts the lives of so many children, teachers, staff, and community members every day. With so much responsibility, the need to mentor the ongoing professional learning and development of this key leader is critical.

Table Of Contents And Introductory Materials For Vol. 21, No. 2, 2013-2014, Bruce Quantic

The Advocate

This content includes the table of contents and editorial information for vol. 21, no. 2 (Fall-Winter 2013-2014).

Common Core - Uncommon School: Teaching And Learning In The Walton Rural Life Charter School In Walton, Ks, John R. Morton

The Advocate

Editorial

Introduction: John Dewey’s quintessential quote perhaps sets the stage for the premise of this article better than any other source. His “learn by doing” approach to education has been in and out of vogue since the 1930s.

Undoing The Factory Model: A Practical Field Test In Blended Learning, Adam C. Holden

The Advocate

Merely, introducing new technologies into the classroom does little to address the needs of students–while it might create a welcome instructional environment for them, it does not address the compelling “elephant in the room.” Being able to orchestrate a student-centered, technology-rich lesson requires much expertise on the part of the teacher and a system-wide universally acknowledged educational technology plan. This study examines the paradigm shift required of teachers and the practical reality of adopting a blended learning environment to meet the needs of a diverse school district.

Literacy, The Graduation Rate, And Economic Development: How The Vaccination Approach To Literacy Instruction Impacts The Economy Of Kansas And The Nation, Carolyn L. Carlson

The Advocate

Introduction: Almost seven thousand students drop out of high school every day (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2010b). It is estimated that one in ten high schools in the United States is considered a “dropout factory” – a term given to a high school where no more than 60% of the students who begin attending the school as freshman complete their senior year (Zuckerbrod, 2007).

Journey To Solla Sollew: Teacher Candidates, Resiliency, And Children's Literature, Gayla Lohfink, Susan Unruh

The Advocate

Today’s elementary student must learn coping strategies in order to deal with life’s challenges—social, emotional, and academic—in his or her changing world. To foster the development of such learning, teacher preparation programs must include instruction in which teacher candidates study how to facilitate their students’ awareness of mechanisms for recovering from life’s setbacks and show resiliency. This article presents a training module for enhancing pre-service teachers’ pedagogical knowledge of resiliency. Examples of recent publications of children’s literature are shared and modeled as lessons to exemplify how this particular resource can be used to encourage resiliency in children.

Teaching Elementary Economics Using Children's Literature, Julia Mittelberg

The Advocate

Teaching economics to elementary aged children can be a challenge for classroom teachers. Using popular children’s literature is an engaging and fun way to involve students in learning important economic lessons while integrating the content with language arts standards. This article will describe how to use children’s books to teach economic ideas and it provides the reader with numerous examples of popular literature that can be employed to effectively teach concepts like opportunity cost, scarcity, and resources. Additionally, recommendations for using the books and how to find appropriate texts by grade level using existing on-line databases are included.

Teaching economic …

Illuminating The Path: Evidence Of Initial Success And Implications For The Future, Donna Augustine-Shaw

Educational Considerations

“Tremendous expectations have been placed on school leaders to cure the ills facing the nation’s schools.” The momentous role of leaders in our schools today to impact these circumstances can be overwhelming.

The Influence Of Mentoring On Developing Leaders: Participants Share Their Perspectives, Donna Augustine-Shaw, Elizabeth Funk

Educational Considerations

In an age of continuous and rapid change, today’s school superintendents face a litany of unique challenges as they lead individuals and organizations through tumultuous and unpredictable times.

From Vision To Implementation: Keli’S First Year, Mary Devin

Educational Considerations

Great ideas alone won’t produce large-scale change. Careful attention to the implementation phase of the change process is essential. The Kansas Educational Leadership Institute (KELI) moved from planning to implementation on March 30, 2011 when planners approved the proposal for what was to become a statewide systematic support system for the recruitment, development, and retention of quality leaders in schools and school districts in Kansas and possibly beyond.

Case Study In The Power Of Collaboration: Planning Process For The Kansas Educational Leadership Institute, Mary Devin, Debbie Mercer, Mike Mathes, Tom Trigg, Sharon Zoellner

Educational Considerations

Systematic statewide support for the recruitment, development, and retention of quality leaders in schools and school districts was not a new idea in Kansas in late 2010, but at best it was at an elusive concept. Diverse groups had considered it among components of a long-range commitment to move Kansas education quality from good to great, but no plan for creating such a system was in place.

Sign-Off, Andy Tompkins

Educational Considerations

The Kansas Educational Leadership Institute (KELI) is the missing link in the ongoing development of educational leaders in Kansas.

Table Of Contents And Introductory Materials For Vol. 41, No. 1, Fall 2013, Elizabeth Funk

Educational Considerations

Table of contents and editorial information for this special issue "Kansas Educational Leadership Institute: A Partnership to Collaborate and Share Resources to Support Professional Growth of Educational Leadership Needed in Kansas Schools and the Nation."

Collaboration At Its Best: Supporting The Professional Growth Of Educational Leaders, Elizabeth Funk

Educational Considerations

Strong leadership has a tremendous impact on organizations. This special edition of Educational Considerations highlighted the journey of the Kansas Educational Leadership Institute (KELI), from inception to implementation.

Educational Considerations, Vol. 41(1) Full Issue, Elizabeth Funk

Educational Considerations

Educational Considerations, vol. 41(1)-Fall 2013-Full issue

Silencing Reading, Silencing The Boys: Using Action Research To Investigate Silent Reading Programs And Its Effects On Boys’ Literacy Skills, Rachel Velluto, Joanna Barbousas

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

Despite the vast amount of literature regarding boys and their underperformance in the literacy realm, only some research indicates that boys’ low literacy levels may be attributed to unchallenged literacy classroom practices. Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) is a free voluntary reading program in which students are expected to read (usually books) for a period of time. Observing an SSR period during the teaching practicum as a pre-service teacher, the unstructured nature of the lesson disengaged many of the boys. In the lesson, the students are expected to select a book from the library and read in silence for the duration …

Learning From Families: Pre-Service Teachers’ First Interactions With Parents, Diana Brannon

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

Field experiences are practical ways for pre-service teacher education programs to provide their students experiences and exposure to schools, students, and communities similar to and different from ones that they have attended. The use of field experiences is commonplace in teacher preparation. These experiences provide hands-on application and practical experiences that cannot be replaced or matched by even the best education methods courses (Hammerness, Darling-Hammond, & Bransford, 2007). As Dodds (1989) explains, “Field experiences represent the closest juncture between formal teacher training in universities and on-thejob training in schools” (p. 81). Field experiences have been found to make significant contributions …

Introduction To The Special Issue, Faith E. Crampton, David C. Thompson, R. Craig Wood

Educational Considerations

We are pleased to bring you the second of two special issues of Educational Considerations comprised of papers presented at the 2012 National Education Finance Conference in San Antonio, Texas.

And Then There Were Ten: Equity And Adequacy Of New York City Schools After Recentralization, Nicola A. Alexander

Educational Considerations

New York City has the largest public education system in the United States, serving over 1.1 million students in 1,700 schools. Given its size, the city school system is a good place to explore the potential associations between various educational reforms and questions of adequacy and fairness.

State Challenges To Plyler V. Doe: Undocumented Immigrant Students And Public School Access (Perspectives On Legal Issues In Education), Lenford C. Sutton, Tricia J. Stewart

Educational Considerations

This article presents a review and an analysis of selected state laws and initiatives that have attempted to restrict public school access for undocumented immigrant children in the wake of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision of Plyler v. Doe.

The Role Of Expenditures In Predicting Adequate Yearly Progress For Special Needs Students In Ohio, Korrin M. Ziswiler, Barbara M. De Luca, Luke J. Stedrak

Educational Considerations

Although there exists a large body of research concerning the relationship between expenditure and student achievement, a lack of research exists analyzing this relationship as it pertains specifically to students with disabilities.

Predicting Student Achievement In Ohio: The Role Of Expenditure Distribution, Barbara M. De Luca, Steven A. Hinshaw

Educational Considerations

In the spring of 2005, political columnist George Will coined the phrase the “65 percent solution” in his Washington Post column in reference to an Arizona referendum that would have required at least 65% of every school district’s operational budget be spent on classroom instruction.

Educational Considerations, Vol. 40(3) Full Issue, David C. Thompson

Educational Considerations

Educational Considerations, vol. 40(3)-Summer 2013-Full issue

Table Of Contents And Introductory Materials For Vol. 40, No. 3, Summer 2013, David C. Thompson

Educational Considerations

This content includes the table of contents and editorial information.

Transparency And Accountability: What If The Federal Gainful Employment—Debt Measures Rules Applied To Law Schools? (Perspectives On Legal Issues In Education), Kari Ann Mattox

Educational Considerations

The purpose of this analysis is to compare current guidelines of the American Bar Association (ABA) for law schools to those of the U.S. Department of Education’s Gainful Employment-Debt Measures regulations in order to assess their transparency and accountability.

Online Education And Contingent Faculty: An Exploratory Analysis Of Issues And Challenges For Higher Education Administrators (Perspectives On Online Education), Justin C. Ortagus, Luke J. Stedrak

Educational Considerations

With the growth of the popularity and accessibility of online courses, higher education administrators are under tremendous pressure to keep pace with rapidly evolving conditions related to online learning.

A Book Review - Voices From The Classroom: Performing Case Study Action Research, Nicholas D. Hartlep

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

Voices from the Classroom is about how to perform case study action research. The book is 130 pages in length, and contains ten chapters. Written sequentially, each chapter is related to sections of an action research study. For instance, how to introduce the study (chapter 2); how to write a literature review (chapter 3); how to describe the setting, sampling, and participants (chapter 4); how to collect data (chapter 5); how to confirm the trustworthiness of the study (chapter 6); how to analyze data (chapter 7); how to write up the results (chapter 8); and how to discuss implications of …

Student-Centered Empowerment Of Teacher-Centered Practices: An Action Research Project, Nicolas Clegorne, Roland Mitchell

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

This action research reflects a narrative inquiry into the age-old debate concerning the relationship between theory and practice in educational settings. The unique perspective we add to this discussion is our distinct vantages. One researcher is a faculty member and the other is a student-affairs practitioner both working in a large public university. The insights we gleaned from this inquiry were drawn from our participant observation of a Foundations of Higher Education course. The course enrolled 22 students (many of whom worked full-time as student affairs practitioners) and we challenged them to engage theoretically dense material with the expressed aim …

Drawings As A Component Of Triangulated Assessment, Charlotte A. Otto, Susan A. Everett, Gail R. Luera, Christopher F.J. Burke

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

Action research (AR) in an educational setting as described by Tillotson (2000) is an approach to “classroom-based problems” or “specific school issues” (p. 31). His process involves identification of the issue or problem, development and implementation of an action plan, gathering and interpreting data, sharing the results within the community, and “action planning” as a cyclical endeavor (Tillotson, 2000, p. 32). AR is utilized as a key component of developing pre-service teachers in the University of Michigan-Dearborn certification program. Illustrating the five components of Tillotson’s approach, pre-service elementary teachers develop and analyze pre-assessments of K-8 student knowledge about a specific …