Invitations And Expeditions, But Hardly Ever Destinations,
2018
Appalachian State University
Invitations And Expeditions, But Hardly Ever Destinations, Tracy W. Smith
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
This essay characterizes educational development as an invitation. The author provides a rationale for using Invitational Theory (IT) to guide educational development programming and practice. The five assumptions of IT are included and linked to scholarly literature that grounds educational development. Examples of invitational educational development initiatives or programs are provided for each assumption.
Is Sotl A Signature Pedagogy Of Educational Development?,
2018
Elon University
Is Sotl A Signature Pedagogy Of Educational Development?, Peter Felten, Nancy Chick
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
In this article, we focus on questions that come into view when we look at educational development through the lenses of signature pedagogies and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). We offer this as a thought experiment in which we consider if SoTL is a signature pedagogy of educational development, simultaneously enacting and revealing the practices, values, and assumptions that underpin the diverse work of our field. By envisioning SoTL in this way, we may more clearly see the purposes and practices that unite—and that ought to guide—educational developers and educational development.
One Thing For All Learners,
2018
Clemson University
One Thing For All Learners, Linda B. Nilson
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
This essay showcases cognitive psychology and neuroscience research as the “one thing” that guides my work. This research shows how to learn on one’s own, paves the way for student success, and fosters inclusive teaching. These principles have implications for concrete classroom and online instructional practices that are easy for both faculty and students to implement. Because students have to attend to and process their learning experiences, faculty must motivate them to do so. Psychology offers us some useful, albeit limited, tools, and more research on ways we can help students set goals can reduce the limits.
Balancing Direction And Response: Four Dimensions Of Transformative Facilitation In Educational Development,
2018
Bridgewater State University
Balancing Direction And Response: Four Dimensions Of Transformative Facilitation In Educational Development, Roben Torosyan, Alison Cook-Sather
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
In this article we present 4 dimensions of transformative facilitation, each conceptualized using the “wisdom of practice” (Weimer, 2006, p. 54) gathered through our experience facilitating educational development and through the experiences posted by participants in a POD Network conference session. Composed of theoretical underpinnings we drew from several bodies of literature and practical applications generated by us and participants during the session, these dimensions include: (a) liminality (context); (b) organization (structures); (c) attitudinal stance (tone); and (d) process. Through their multidirectional interactions with one another, these dimensions aim to transform facilitation as enacted across educational development contexts.
The Chakra System As A Framework For Holistic Educational Development,
2018
Kennesaw State University
The Chakra System As A Framework For Holistic Educational Development, Michele Dipietro
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
As my interests and job duties have shifted toward holistic educational development beyond teaching support, I have sought a conceptual framework to organize my efforts. Joining my identities of educational developer and yogi, I have adapted the chakra system from yoga philosophy. The One Thing in my personal life has become The One Thing in my professional life too, informing programming and pointing out voids to fill. This essay reviews the classic articulation of the chakra system in the seven major chakras and offers examples of how the chakras can illuminate our institutional work, both individually and as an integrated …
Ways Of Doing: Feminist Educational Development,
2018
James Madison University
Ways Of Doing: Feminist Educational Development, Emily O. Gravett, Lindsay Bernhagen
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development
In response to the recent special call in To Improve the Academy, we offer the following collaborative essay that describes how feminism is our characterizing perspective on educational development. The essay details various, interrelated facets of feminism that inform our work in the field: gender, intersectionality, power, privilege, standpoint theory, and collaboration. Not only do these facets characterize our own feminist approach to educational development—from consultations to organizational development to publications—but, we argue, they also align well with the values and approaches of the field as a whole.
Understanding The Differences Between Novice And Experienced Reading Teachers,
2018
Walden University
Understanding The Differences Between Novice And Experienced Reading Teachers, Katie Anderson
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Education researchers have documented that first-year teachers are often less effective at reading instruction than their more experienced peers. Accordingly, this qualitative, comparative case study was designed to assess the instructional skills and strategies utilized by first-year and experienced teachers using Danielson's Framework for Teaching as the conceptual framework. The research questions were used to examine two groups of teachers using the framework and the Teacher's College Reading and Writing Project's defined levels of performance for effective reading instruction. The goal was to identify the instructional differences between the two groups of teachers. Purposeful sampling was used to select 3 …
Evaluating A Reading Response To Intervention Model: A Case Study Of Elementary Educators,
2018
Liberty University
Evaluating A Reading Response To Intervention Model: A Case Study Of Elementary Educators, Jeremy Brumfield
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This case study sought to explore the perceptions of classroom teachers and an instructional support team regarding the effectiveness of an established reading Response to Intervention model. It compared the perceptions of both groups regarding the model’s effectiveness, focusing on its strengths and weaknesses. The similarities and differences between the two participant groups’ perceptions that emerged from the individual interviews and focus groups were identified and discussed. This research also compared the perceptions of the participants to the success rates of students in the school in terms of the Response to Intervention measures of reading and standardized student achievement on …
Scope Management Strategies For Engineering Leaders To Improve Project Success Rates,
2018
Walden University
Scope Management Strategies For Engineering Leaders To Improve Project Success Rates, Kevin Lee Ramage
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Civil engineering projects undertaken without successful implementation of scope management strategies by project leaders are approximately 10% more likely to fail than projects undertaken with scope management strategies. Using scope management theory, the purpose of this single case study was to explore scope management strategies used by some project leaders in the engineering field to improve project success rates. Data were collected using semistructured interviews with 3 purposefully selected project leaders in Georgia, and a review of project completion reports, budget reports, government proposals, and scope management documents. Data analysis occurred using Yin's 5-step process of compiling, disassembling, reassembling, interpreting, …
Perceptions And Experiences Of Teachers And Literacy Coaches' Literacy Instruction,
2018
Walden University
Perceptions And Experiences Of Teachers And Literacy Coaches' Literacy Instruction, April Jessup Giddens
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
The literacy rate in Louisiana remains lower than the national average. This is especially true at Rosewood Elementary School (pseudonym), a D-rated school on a scale of A-F. The problem is that teachers are unsuccessful in trying to improve students' literacy test scores, despite several targeted efforts to give them tools to make these improvements. The purpose of this study is to explore the literacy practices, beliefs, and professional development of teachers at Rosewood Elementary. The conceptual framework of this study included Clark and Peterson's cognitive process teacher model, which focuses on teachers' thought processes and their behaviors in the …
Discriminant Profile Of Dimensions Of Acquired Disability On Domains Of Posttraumatic Growth,
2018
Walden University
Discriminant Profile Of Dimensions Of Acquired Disability On Domains Of Posttraumatic Growth, Linda Denise Portis
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
The transformative process of personal growth following suffering and challenges, or posttraumatic growth (PTG), is limited in persons with acquired disability. The dimensions of acquired disability, as outlined by the World Health Organization, include impairments in body functions, body structures, and growth restrictions in activities and participation. The 5 domains of PTG include personal strength, new possibilities, relating to other people, appreciation of life, and spiritual change. Using discriminant function analysis, the purpose of this quantitative study was to identify a discriminant analysis of the dimensions of acquired disability on the domains of posttraumatic growth. The first research question focused …
Strategies For Hiring Skilled Furniture Manufacturing Workers,
2018
Walden University
Strategies For Hiring Skilled Furniture Manufacturing Workers, Michael L. Simmons
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
In April 2013, the U.S. unemployment rate was 7.6% and did not drop as quickly in the recent recession as in past recessions. The Unemployment and Job Creation Program study informed readers that many employers could not find qualified workers. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore hiring managers' strategies to locate and hire skilled workers in the furniture manufacturing industry. The target sample included 3 furniture manufacturers located in Huntsville, Alabama who have successfully developed and implemented strategies for hiring skilled workers. The skill shortage theory was the conceptual framework for this study. In the …
Exploring Possibilities With Professionals On Youth Aging Out Of Placement,
2018
Walden University
Exploring Possibilities With Professionals On Youth Aging Out Of Placement, Karen L. Garrett
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Homelessness with youth aging out the child welfare system has proportionally risen over the years. It is important that policy makers, professionals, and practitioners in the field of foster care understand the conditions youth find themselves in at the time of leaving placement. The purpose of this study was to describe problems that exist for youth aging out of foster care. Post placement outcomes have not generated results that suggest youth are thriving as they return to communities. Attachment Theory outlines relational bonds that form with caregivers when youth are entering and exiting placements. This qualitative study collected data from …
Professional Counselors' Lived Experiences Of Counseling Gender Diverse Clients,
2018
Walden University
Professional Counselors' Lived Experiences Of Counseling Gender Diverse Clients, Veronica Monea Kirkland
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Gender diverse individuals experience stigma, discrimination, and transprejudice regularly, in response to daily interactions with society. These negative experiences lead to the development of physical, mental, and emotional instability. Gender diverse individuals experience transprejudice and discriminatory experiences in transpohobic counseling environments. Furthermore, current research highlights the need for counselors to increase training and knowledge to work with gender diverse individuals. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study, grounded in a Heideggerian philosophy, was to illuminate the lived experiences of professional counselors engaging in counseling with gender diverse clients and bridge the gap in the current literature. Data were collected from …
Human Resource Strategies And Sustainability In Small Businesses,
2018
Walden University
Human Resource Strategies And Sustainability In Small Businesses, Christopher Rice
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Research shows that due to a lack of strategy in managing human resources (HR), small businesses frequently close within the first 5 years of operation. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies that HR managers used to maintain business operations for longer than the first 5 years. The targeted population comprised 2 owners of small business in North Carolina who used HR strategies successfully to sustain their businesses for longer than 5 years. Data collection methods included face-to-face, semistructured interviews and the review of the company documents associated with owners of the businesses and their …
Influences Of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act On Ethical Financial Operations In Nonprofit Organizations,
2018
Walden University
Influences Of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act On Ethical Financial Operations In Nonprofit Organizations, Stephanie Powell Works
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
In the United States, approximately 7% of nonprofits' annual revenue is lost as a result of a lack of ethical financial operations among nonprofit executive directors (EDs). This represents $85 billion in estimated annual losses in available operating funds. This study addressed the problem of ineffective leadership in nonprofit organizations from the perspective of EDs responsible for ethical financial operations. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of nonprofit EDs who self-reported the use of 1 of Burn's and Bass' 3 leadership styles and whether leadership style influenced the use of the Sarbanes Oxley Act …
Teachers' Perceptions About Reading Instruction In Elementary Inclusion Classrooms,
2018
Walden University
Teachers' Perceptions About Reading Instruction In Elementary Inclusion Classrooms, Elizabeth Ann Kempf
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Researchers argued that special education students should learn alongside regular education students because involvement with peers affects special education students' ability to assimilate information. However, inclusive elementary classroom teachers in a local Texas school were struggling to meet the learning needs of their diverse student populations in reading instruction. The purpose of this study was to explore teachers' perceptions about reading instruction in an inclusion setting and to investigate what teachers believe was needed to improve the effectiveness of their practice. King-Sears's inclusion instructional model served as the conceptual framework to guide this study. The research questions were focused on …
Leadership Strategies To Retain Key Employees,
2018
Walden University
Leadership Strategies To Retain Key Employees, Keith Reginald Stafford
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Retention of key employees protects a firm's investment in its human resources. Employee retention is an issue in the insurance sector, particularly among sales employees. The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore leadership strategies used by insurance sales managers to retain key employees. Herzberg's dual factor theory and Adams's equity theory were used to explore insurance sales managers' insights into leadership strategies. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 15 insurance sales managers in southern California to elicit the strategies they used to maintain their key salespeople. Data were analyzed using the modified Van Kaam method. Seven themes emerged from …
Gulf War Era Ii Veterans' Cognitive Information Processing And The Civilian Employment Transition,
2018
Walden University
Gulf War Era Ii Veterans' Cognitive Information Processing And The Civilian Employment Transition, Denita Monique Oyeka
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Gulf-War-era-II combat veterans have made professional contributions to the civilian workforce since returning from Iraq and Afghanistan combat operations. Service members in California encounter transition issues related to employment and adjusting their self-identity in the civilian employment culture. These complexities have led to career problems. Using Peterson, Sampson, Reardon, and Lenz's theory of cognitive information processing and Mincer & Becker's theory of human capital, the purpose of this phenomenological study was designed to provide a holistic account of the lived experiences of 11 Gulf War era II veterans who have successfully integrated into civilian employment with a focus on mitigating …
Effect Of Differentiated Instruction On Reading Comprehension Of Third Graders,
2018
Walden University
Effect Of Differentiated Instruction On Reading Comprehension Of Third Graders, Deborah Davidsen
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
The performance measures from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study revealed no measurable growth in the U.S. average reading scores of 4th graders for the period between 2011 and 2016. Therefore, the diverse learning needs of students need to be customized if the education system is to accomplish its goal to graduate well-informed individuals capable of sustaining a lifestyle conducive to a democratic society. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of differentiated instruction on 3rd graders' reading comprehension. The theoretical foundation for this teaching approach was Vygotsky's zone of proximal development. The research question focused …
