Educational Administration and Supervision Commons^™

Access To Success: A New Mentoring Model For Women In Academia, Amber Dailey-Hebert, Emily Donnelli, B. Jean Mandernach

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The scarcity of women leaders in academia influences policies, procedures, and expectations and in turn perpetuates a climate that deters development of future women leaders. Despite research supporting the need for institutional change to create leadership avenues for women faculty, little evidence of such change exists. The Presidential Leadership Program for University Women was developed as a proactive, integrative mentoring model to link female academics. Crucial to the program’s success are networking opportunities, peer mentoring in a group setting, and a culminating “legacy project” designed to improve the campus climate and services for women.

Survivor Academe: Assessing Reflective Practice, Laurel Johnson Black, Terry Ray, Judith Villa

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Reflective practice is a goal for many academic professional development programs. What do faculty participants gain from a reflective practice program, and how much reflection do they actually practice? Using interviews and grounded theory, we identified three crucial needs being met by such a program at our university. In addition, we compared participants’ comments to the elements of reflection established by Dewey and Rodgers to determine the extent of their reflection. The results call for more assessment to better align the structures of reflective practice programs with participant needs as well as further research on the effects of reflective practice …

Transforming Teaching Cultures: Departmental Teaching Fellows As Agents Of Change, Cassandra Volpe Horii

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The Departmental Teaching Fellows (DTF) program of the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard University employs doctoral students as peer teaching mentors. Four years of program assessment data include quantitative work inventories, surveys and self-reports, interviews of faculty and administrators, and a survey of all graduate students recently teaching in arts and sciences. Observed program outcomes include (1) better informal support for teaching, (2) higher quality and quantity of interactions between graduate students and faculty on teaching, and (3) more systematic opportunities for teaching-related professional development. Qualitative assessment data suggest that the DTFs occupy several liminal positions …

Teacher And Students' Perceptions Of A Modified Inclusion Classroom Environment, Elizabeth Kirby Fullerton Ph.D., Caroline Guardino Ph.D.

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

The purpose of this study was to examine how modifying the inclusion classroom impacts teacher and students’ perceptions of their learning environment. Prior to intervention the teacher was interviewed providing information about her preferred modifications. Following the intervention the teacher completed a rating scale and a post interview. The students completed a classroom environment student survey (CESS), to assess their perceptions of the classroom before, during, and after modifications were made. Twenty fourth grade students, as well as their teacher participated in the study. Implications for practitioners and researchers are discussed.

Hitting The Wall, Bonnie D. Irwin

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

Much has been written over the last several years about the increase in the number of students who come to our campuses with behavioral disorders and under medication. While honors students are certainly not immune to these conditions, the more frequent emotional trauma we see them suffer is their first encounter with failure. Luckily, we can address this trauma successfully if we are prepared to do so. As honors faculty, we encourage intellectual risk, knowing from our own experience that failure may very well result but confident in the fact that learning also happens despite other outcomes, good or bad. …

The Relationship Between Instructional Delivery And Academic Motivation Of Included Elementary Students With Special Needs, Don Jones, Daniele Kass

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

ABSTRACT

Historically, it has always been important for educators to meet the needs of their children. In practice however, children with special needs were often neglected in the educational processes of schools. With the advent of NCLB and high stakes testing, the pressure on schools to demonstrate improved student achievement for all students has accelerated. As these children have been increasingly included within the regular classroom, educators have been challenged to develop methods to effectively meet their needs.

This concurrent nested mixed method study explored the effect of interdisciplinary thematic instruction using constructivist principles on the motivation and performance of …

2010-11 Unopa Executive Board Minutes

UNOPA: Minutes

No abstract provided.

The Human Journey: Embracing The Essential Learning Outcomes, Michelle Loris

English Faculty Publications

At the beginning of the second decade of the twenty-first century, a new vision for college learning is clearly in view. Through its Liberal Education and America's Promise (LEAP) initiative, the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) has outlined what contemporary college students need to know and be able to do--in ever-changing economic, political, environmental, global, and cross-cultural contexts. The LEAP essential learning outcomes provide a framework to guide student learning in both general education and the major. The LEAP initiative calls upon college administrators and faculty members to give priority to these essential learning outcomes in order to …

The Implementation Of School-Based Teacher Evaluation Practices In Selected Malaysian National Primary Schools., Vasundhara Vasudevan

Student Works (2010-2019)

Continuous improvement in teacher performance is the key to enhancing the quality of education. Teacher performance must be monitored and evaluated by school administrators to provide constant feedback and to assist teachers in achieving the common goals of educating individuals in schools. The purpose of the study was to investigate how administrators in national primary schools carried out teacher evaluation practices and to ascertain the influence of the evaluation process on teacher performance. The qualitative case method examined the purpose of teacher evaluation; the methods and instrument used; the utilization of findings; and the contextual factors that affected the implementation …

The Place Of Personal Values In Educational Leadership In Pakistan, Sharifullah Baig

Professional Development Centre, Gilgit

No abstract provided.

Impact Of A Ninth-Grade Transition Program On Cumulative Gpas And Credits, Ninth-Grade Dropout Rates, And Student Satisfaction, B. R. Buhrman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Concerned educators have been implementing ninth-grade transition programs to help freshmen adjust to the demands in high school and to reduce ninth-grade failure rates. The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative study was to investigate the impact of a ninth-grade transition program. The research questions addressed impact on cumulative GPAs and credits, ninth-grade dropout rates, and student satisfaction with ninth grade as measured by a survey of 120 ninth-grade transition program participants and 102 nonparticipants. Theoretical foundations were provided by the construction of new knowledge based on different background knowledge, different social conditions, and different life experiences. Another theoretical foundation was …

Examining The Perceptions Of School Violence Through The Views Of Middle School Students, Parents, Teachers And Community Members, Teresa Bellflower

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this study was to determine how middle school students, parents, teachers, and community members perceived acts of violence. It focused indirectly on how a small community was impacted following a hostage situation. The theoretical framework for this study draws from the theories of violence as described by Aisenberg and Ell, Canady, Gottfredson and Hirschi, and Miller. In this qualitative study the research questions focused on perceptions of school violence acts and potential influences' on the participants in this study. The participants consisted of 6 middle school students, 4 middle school parents, 4 school officials, and 4 community …

Project Study: An Action Plan For Implementing Response To Intervention, Leah W. Hamilton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 allows schools to utilize response to intervention (RtI) as early intervention to prevent at-risk students from becoming labeled as learning disabled. Using action research methodology and school change theory, the purpose of this project study was to determine the RtI implementation needs of a rural elementary school (LE). The guiding research question was to identify the components of an RtI framework currently being utilized during the pre-referral process at LE. This study employed a qualitative method triangulation design to analyze data from key stakeholders including questionnaires; individual interviews from six reading …

Emerging Adults' Perceptions Of Learning In An Undergraduate Student Organization For Global Social Justice, Patricia Marie Kean

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Current literature suggests the institution of higher education is exploring its identity and role in society, much like the emerging adults who enroll in their programs as traditional aged undergraduates. Literature also reveals that society is asking undergraduate institutions to meet the diverse needs of its students and prepare them for adulthood and life long learning. However, research also highlights the need for students to be educated for participation within an interconnected and complex global society able to facilitate positive social change. Using a developmental lens, this interpretive case study addressed these current needs through interpreting perceptions of undergraduates and …

Integrating Equine-Assisted Activities And Therapy (Eaat) Into A Higher Learning Institution, Gary Mullen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Collegiate equestrian programs are costly to operate, and cost often exceeds revenue from tuition. The local problem in this project study was the need for supplemental revenue to support a cost-intensive equestrian program, without cutbacks or raising student fees. The study examined the integration of an equine-assisted activities and therapy (EAAT) program for additional income, while capitalizing on existing institutional resources at a Midwestern university in the United States. Research questions explored how to implement an EAAT program to close the budgetary gap at the project site. Systems theory formed the conceptual framework for analyzing the relationship between program characteristics …

A Phenomenological Study Of Leader Experiences And Reactions To Transformational Change In A Multicampus System, John E. Cech

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research on organizational change theory confirms the importance of leaders' ability to establish a sense of urgency, create institutional support for change, develop a vision, communicate the vision, empower others toward action, generate results, and ultimately create change in the organizational culture. Organizational change in nested systems, in which CEOs of individual units report upward through a state, regional, or corporate hierarchy, has not been extensively studied. To address this gap in the literature, this phenomenological study explored perceptions of college leaders who in 2002-2003 participated in the transformation of seven 2-year technical colleges into a community college system. The …

The Effect Of Cooperative Groups On Math Anxiety, Melissa Batton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research indicates that many students have difficulty with mathematics, which can be attributed to many factors including math anxiety. Students who experience math anxiety have poor attitudes towards mathematics and perform below grade level based on class and statewide assessments. The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative study was to investigate the effectiveness of cooperative groups on the math anxiety levels of Grade 5 male and female students. The theoretical foundation of the study included Vygotsky's social learning and Piaget's concept of knowledge. Thirty-two students from 2 Grade 5 classrooms were administered the pre and post MASC inventory. A repeated-measure ANOVA …

Perceived Attributes And Organizational Support Influencing Course Management System Adopter Status In Historically Black Colleges And Universities, Gayla Spooner Keesee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The rapid growth of online learning fueled by technologies including course management systems (CMS) has transformed the traditional educational landscape. Little research shows why faculty members at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have been slow to adopt this new teaching paradigm. This quantitative, nonexperimental study utilized Rogers's diffusion of innovation theory as the theoretical base. Research questions explored faculty perceptions of the CMS's attributes (relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, observability) and organizational support (policies, procedures, and norms) in order to predict adopter status. The study used a convenience sample of 137 full-time faculty from 3 public and 2 private …

The Dissemination Of Teacher Learning: A Study Of The Similarities And Differences Between Public School Levels And Locations, Jacqueline M. Krohn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teacher learning, whether in-service, continued education, or experience based, is a key component of school reform. Specific research on the use of teacher learning to improve student achievement and instructional practices in and across schools is limited. The research questions addressed in this study were: (a) the degree to which teacher learning is disseminated throughout a school organization to improve student learning and instructional practices, and (b) differences and similarities in the dissemination of teacher learning between schools. Watkins and Marsick's learning organization theory, Senge's system theory, and Dewey's constructivist learning theory were used as the theoretical framework. A variation …

Making Sense Of Exit Exam Policies: A Phenomenological Study Of English Language Development Teachers, Scott N. Forrest

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a lack of understanding regarding how sensemaking could be incorporated into a professional development program to improve teacher quality and student achievement. The lived experiences of high school English language development teachers as they interpret English language development and one state's high school exit exam instructional policies were explored in this phenomenological study. The conceptual framework that supported this study is based on the theory of sensemaking, the processes by which educators interpret and implement policies. The participants were English language development teachers of English learners who have not yet passed the exit exam. Data were collected through …