Digital Commons Network^™

The Relationship Between Thematic Teacher Teaming And Its Effects Upon Student Achievement And Cross-Curricula Cohesiveness, Lakecia C. Hyman

Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to investigate the relationship between thematic teacher teaming and its effects upon student achievement and cross-curricula cohesiveness. The data were collected from a teacher questionnaire, student group discussions, school attendance and test scores, student assessments, and field notes. These various methods produced information about the development, understanding, enforcement, and collaboration regarding team teaching and its effects upon student achievement. A review of literature attributed initial positive teacher and student responses and later decreased lack of participation with inconsistent enforcement and support from administration. The findings of this study showed that this school did not develop a …

Discipline Problems: Ways Of Improvement, Teresa Mcganey-Guy

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to discover new ways of assisting students that have behavioral problems and the teachers of those students.

The subjects in this study were four teachers and their first and second grade students. The teachers were three females and one male. Two of the female teachers teach first grade and the others teach second grade.

The research tool used in this study was a questionnaire. The questionnaire was developed to gain knowledge about the effectiveness of the discipline strategies. The questions were used to collect general information about the respondent and the discipline strategies.

The …

Comprehensive School Reform Influence On Teacher Practice: Listening In The Classroom, An Examination Of Powerful Learning Labs Within The Accelerated Schools Project, Amy Daggett Petti

Dissertations and Theses

Focusing on teacher learning, this study follows fifteen teachers in the crux of comprehensive school reform. These "regular" classroom teachers are the ubiquitous players of this theatre of school reform. "Regular" teacher is defined as a typical classroom teacher who is not actively involved in the district's school reform project or one who hasn't taken an active leadership role. The teachers in this study work in the challenging environment of a poor, diverse urban school district that was in its third year of a comprehensive school reform program, the Accelerated Schools Project. Fifteen teachers volunteered to take part in a …

Implementing A Teacher Mentor Program, Nan L. Holland

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to develop a mentor program for novice teachers that will ease the inevitable anxiety that occurs during the first year and increase the retention rate of new teachers to the profession and at Camden High School. The intern monitored this program as its coordinator and conducted mentor training through regular workshops.

Management decisions related to mentoring influenced the quality of instruction and learning of both mentors and novices. Camden High School transmitted the school culture to novice teachers in a well-developed program. Through interviews, surveys, classroom visitations, reflective journals, and personal contact with a …

Personal Professional Vision For Administrative Practice : A Reflective Essay, Lisa Lueken

Graduate Research Papers

It is important for every future administrator to think about and reflect upon their values and beliefs regarding educational leadership. By identifying these ideas early in their education, one can better learn how to put them into administrative practice. Without this set of beliefs, a future administrator may find it difficult to evolve into an effective leader.

In order to attain this growth, I will utilize the six Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) and the Iowa Standards for School Leaders (ISSL) and their respective indicators for knowledge, disposition, and performance. The standards for visionary, instructional, organizational, collaborative, ethical, and …

Conference Program: Hold Fast The Dream!

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Conference Materials

Welcome, by G. Roger Sell (President), the Conference Planning Team (Karron G. Lewis, Nancy Simpson, Marilla Svinicki, and Dorothy Zinsmeister), Sally Kuhlenschmidt (Program Chair)

Core Committee, 2002-2003

POD Presidents and Conference Sites

Conference Overview

Acknowledgements

POD Honored Presentation Awards in Recognition of Robert J. Menges

Schedule

Learning As We G(R)O(W): Strategizing The Lessons Of A Fledgling Rhetoric And Writing Studies Department, Jane Hindman

Publications and Research

Published in one of the first collections to focus on independent writing programs, A Field of Dreams. The volume offers a complex picture of the experience of the stand-alone. Included here are narratives of individual programs from a wide range of institutions, exploring such issues as what institutional issues led to their independence, how independence solved or created administrative problems, how it changed the culture of the writing program and faculty sense of purpose, success, or failure.

Preface, Volume 20 (2002), Devorah Lieberman

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Preface to volume 20 (2002) of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development, by Devorah Lieberman of Portland State University.

Operational Diversity: Saying What We Mean, Doing What We Say, Wayne Jacobson, Jim Borgford-Parnell, Katherine Frank, Michael Peck, Lois Reddick

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Diversity issues, ranging from individual learning styles to institutional equity, are central to teaching and learning, but identifying and addressing these issues is a formidable task. At the Center for Instructional Development and Research (CIDR), our staff is gaining ground on this work through the Inclusive Practices Portfolio, a collaborative forum for documenting, sharing, and supporting our individual and organizational diversity initiatives. The process of developing the center’s portfolio and the portfolio itself are mechanisms for change within the center and a model far change at our institution and beyond.

What Do The Faculty Think? The Importance Of Concerns Analysis In Introducing Technological Change, Heekap Lee, Amy Lawson

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Change management strategies tend to focus on the inherent characteristics of the proposed change. However, there is a personal side to change and it is reflected in what are called perceptions or personal concerns. To manage change successfully, facilitators must take measures to understand the personal concerns had by those who are required to implement the change. Moreover, this concerns analysis should be done early in the project, ideally before the change is implemented. The purposes of this chapter are to explain the importance of conducting a concerns analysis and to propose a theoretical framework for concerns analysis. The framework …

Harnessing The Potential Of Online Faculty Development: Challenges And Opportunities, Timothy P. Shea, Pamela D. Sherer, Eric V. Kristensen

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This chapter explores several issues regarding the current state of online faculty development resources. First, it describes the breadth and depth of today’s online teaching and learning resources. Then, it explains the benefits of designing an institutional teaching and learning center portal as a means for organizing and focusing resources. Finally, it discusses the importance of the faculty developer’s role in harnessing these resources for individual and institutional advantage. The online portal provides a powerful tool for institutional change on a scale heretofore impossible for most, and puts faculty development at the center of an institution’s mission.

Bibliography, Volume 20 (2002)

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Bibliography for volume 20 (2002) of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development.

Constructing A Public Community College Presidency: A Retrospective Study, Annabel Brooks

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This retrospective, qualitative case study examined the complexities of leadership in a community college setting under a single, long-term president. Six critical events were identified by 16 key informants as a basis for reflection on their views of the 23-year presidency of Dr. William Seeker at Florida Keys Community College.

The researcher found a highly participatory leadership model and a college that functions in a less hierarchical manner than is traditionally encountered in community colleges. The study further revealed that the president of Florida Keys Community College expanded the role of president by giving priority to the construction of a …

Responding To District Systemic Change: A Case Study Of Campus Leadership Team Member Responses Regarding School-Based Management, Mona Rae Davidson Briggs

Theses and Dissertations

The intent of this study was to explore to what extent school-based management (SBM) was being implemented in one urban middle school and to specifically analyze attitudes and perceptions of participants' beliefs and opinions around issues of power, information, knowledge, and rewards. A qualitative case study approach was used that included interviews with the Campus Leadership Team (CLT) members, observations, and review of relevant school and district documents. Study findings revealed that SBM was intended to be a strategy for ensuring that fundamental changes would take place to support improved student performance. While student academic achievement was the primary focus, …

A Study Of The Multiple Perspective Approach To Leadership Used By Elementary And Secondary Public School Principals In Urban Iowa, Tracy E. Johns

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Based on the writings and research of Dr. L. G. Bolman and Dr. T. E. Deal, this study sought to assess the leadership practices, preferences, preparedness, and performance of public school principals in urban Iowa. Specifically, were the principals in Iowa's eight largest districts making use of a multiple perspective approach to leadership? In what areas did they appear to feel most competent? And, in what areas did the principals in this study appear to feel most inadequate?

Bolman and Deal's Leadership Orientations ( Self ) Survey (1990) was distributed to 240 elementary and secondary principals working within the Urban …

Quarterly Meeting, Wku Board Of Regents

Board of Regents Documents

Quarterly Meeting of the WKU Board of Regents to discuss disposition of minutes; Diversity & Internationalism Committee report; Executive Committee report; Finance & Budget Committee report; Academic Affairs Committee report; Student Affairs Committee report; personnel recommendations; president's report; real estate transactions and pending litigation.

Professional Development Workshop: "Infusing Technology Into The Language Arts Curriculum" – Gateway To The 21st Century, Joy D. Carey

Theses and Dissertations

This technology action research project provided teachers with the opportunity to learn how to navigate the Internet and to enhance the Language Arts curriculum. This project was conducted in a Camden, NJ elementary, urban, Abbott school setting. This sample population was chosen from responses to a cross-sectional self-report pre-workshop interest questionnaire. Thirty-six staff members agreed to participate in the training sessions. The intern scored the results of the Likert surveys using Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint computer software. Seventy percent of the respondents to the pre-workshop interest questionnaire indicated they had inadequate knowledge of the Internet.

The post-workshop Likert questionnaire results …

Assessing And Evaluating Students' Perception Of Cooperative Learning Teams At South Main Street School, Andrea Atkins

Theses and Dissertations

The intern conducted an action research project to evaluate the perceptions of fourth graders relative to working in cooperative learning teams in their reading classes. The target population were 38 fourth graders from South Main Street School who are presently involved in Success For All, a cooperative learning program. The intern wanted to determine whether the target students perceived the cooperative learning experience as being positive or negative, and whether this perception impacted on their learning. The intern utilized the survey as the major instrument for data collection. The students were interviewed as well. The intern utilized mean scores to …

School-Family-Community Partnership, Cynthia E. Kates

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to investigate the attitudes and perceptions of the school, family members, and local community agencies and organizations concerning the development of a school-family-community partnership. The project centered on a needs assessment for the West Avenue School in reference to parental and community involvement. The views of 15 teachers, 79 parents, and 3 community agencies were studied through questionnaires. Teachers expressed a desire for more parental involvement in their child's education, but would like no interference in the area of classroom management. Parents expressed an interest in taking a more active role in the overall …

Influences Of Leadership Theory And Change Processes During The Implementation Of A Social Skills-Violence Prevention Program, Lanetta Hammill

Theses and Dissertations

An implementation of a prosocial skills program was conducted in the Middle Township School District's K-2 Elementary #1 School, Cape May Court House, New Jersey. Three time periods of the implementation are discussed. The first time period, running from January 1994 to 1998, describes the historical events leading up to the participants desire to implement a social skills program. The second time period, running from January 1998 to December 1998 describes the period when the social skills program was discussed and piloted. During this pilot period, members became discouraged. They felt the program wasn’t giving them the results they wanted. …

Lessons Learned From Special Education Leadership Development Knowledge Diffusion And Schools As Organization, Jason Earle Ph.D., Susan G. Clark Ph.D.

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

Foundations and Leadership, recognized that to facilitate the successful implementation of IDEA provisions in local schools, educators need a sound conceptual understanding of congressional intent and best practice and opportunities to collaborate in new ways with school organization colleagues. To this end, the State Superintendent's Task Force for the Preparation of Special Education Personnel awarded UA a $25,000 grant to provide school teams, rather than individuals, with the needed skills to implement the IDEA in their organization. Six area school/districts were invited to send a four-person team to attend a series of four weekend workshops centered on the law and …

Stages Of Preservice Development In A Professional Development School For Teachers Of Students With Emotional Disturbance, Suzanne Tochterman

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

This study was designed to identify and describe the stages of preservice development in a Professional Development School (PDS) for teachers of students with emotional disturbance. This study investigated two questions: (a) How does a preservice teacher for students with serious emotional disturbance in a one year full time PDS progress through a series of developmental stages, and (b) what are the opportunities that contribute to the learning of the preservice teacher in a PDS?

This was a qualitative study in which seven data sources from preservice teachers were collected over a nine-month period. These included videotaped teaching episodes, informal …

Pod Conference Evaluation

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Conference Materials

Pre-Conference Workshops

Plenary Sessions

Concurrent and Roundtable Sessions

Other Conference Events

Conference Meeting Rooms and Equipment

Conference Food and Refreshments, Lodging, and Services

Overall Assessment and Worst/Best Experiences at the Conference

Pod Honored Presentation Awards

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Conference Materials

POD Honored Presentation Awards In Recognition of Robert J. Menges

Session Schedule

Conference Registration Information, Bill Burke, Sally Kuhlenschmidt, Mary Deane Sorcinelli

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Conference Materials

Invitation to Attend

Overview of the POD Network and POD Conference

Conference Theme, Tracks, and Topics

Conference Overview

Plenaries

Pre-Conference Workshops

Educational Expeditions

Hotel Room Reservation

Conference Registration Form

Additional Information

Conference Program: Interfaces, Intersections, And Gateways

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Conference Materials

Letter, by Bill Burke (Conference Coordinator), Sally Kuhlenschmidt (Program Chair), Mary Deane Sorcinelli (President)

Core Committee, 2001-2002

POD Presidents / Conference Sites

Conference Overview

Acknowledgements

Conference Tracks

Schedule

Changes to POD Program as of Wednesday noon, October 10

A Prophet In Your Own Land? Using Faculty And Student Focus Groups To Address Issues Of Race, Ethnicity, And Gender In The Classroom, James Francisco Bonnilla, Patricia R. Palmerton

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

In this study, six focus groups of faculty and students addressed issues of how race, ethnicity, and gender affected their classroom experiences. Consistent themes emerged across all groups, including feeling unsafe and vulnerable, concerns about equity, power, and role modeling. As importantly, the research process itself became a vehicle for growth and change in the community at large, both inside and outside the classroom. Six recommendations are offered for those who seek innovative approaches to addressing race and gender in the classroom.

Faculty Quality Of Life, Sally S. Atkins, Kathleen T. Brinko, Jeffrey A. Butts, Charles S. Claxton, Glenda T. Hubbard

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

An interdisciplinary research team conducted a formal assessment of campus culture and faculty quality of life at Appalachian State University. Interviews with a stratified random sample of full-time, tenure-track faculty revealed five themes: 1) the importance of human relationships, 2) the deep commitment of faculty to student learning, 3)general satisfaction with academic life, 4) the personal sacrifice of faculty members for their work, and 5) perceptions of incongruence between institutional rhetoric and action. Recommendations are offered for readers to apply to their own universities to help faculty, staff, students, and administrators work together toward becoming an institution that is a …

Scholarship Unbound: Assessing Service As Scholarship In Promotion And Tenure Decisions, Kerryann O’Meara

New England Resource Center for Higher Education Publications

Scholars of higher education have long recognized that existing reward systems and structures in academic communities do not weight faculty professional service as they do teaching and research. This paper examines how four colleges and universities with exemplary programs for assessing service as scholarship implemented these policies within colleges of education. Case studies suggest that policies to assess service as scholarship can increase consistency among an institution’s service mission, faculty workload, and reward system; expand faculty’s views of scholarship; boost faculty satisfaction; and strengthen the quality of an institution’s service culture.

A Study Of The Impact Of Teacher Perceptions On The Implementation Of The Success For All Program In An Urban School District In New Jersey, Joseph Sinatra Fulmore Sr.

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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