Digital Commons Network^™

The Effects Of Various High School Scheduling Models On Student Achievement In Michigan, Russell Edward Pickell

Wayne State University Dissertations

This study reviews research and data to determine whether student achievement is affected by the high school scheduling model, and whether changes in scheduling models result in statistically significant changes in student achievement, as measured by the ACT Composite, ACT English Language Arts, and ACT Math scores. The high school scheduling models included in this study are: six period semester (SPS), five period trimester (FPT), seven period semester (VPS), standard 4x4 block (SB), and alternate day block (ADB). Supportive and non-supportive research are discussed in regard to the impact of the student scheduling model on student achievement.

The Sustainability Of Evaluation Capacity Building Interventions: An Exploratory Study, James Wade

Dissertations

Evaluation capacity building (ECB) is a practice that can help organizations conduct and use evaluations; however, there is little research on the sustainable impact of ECB interventions. This study provides an empirical inquiry into the sustainability of multiple ECB interventions. Ten ECB practitioners, identified through snowball sampling, were interviewed. They identified 16 organizational leaders from non-profits, higher education institutions, and foundations that "bought in" to ECB and were at least six months removed from an ECB contract. Analysis of these interviews resulted in a blended empirical and theoretical model that highlights the developmental process of ECB sustainability. This model highlights …

[Preprint] The Practice Of Being A Student: Cops And Graduate Student Success, Aimee Dechambeau

Research, Publications, and Presentations

This report frames the major results of recent research into graduate student success using a community of practice model based on the work of Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger as the organizational framework and lens for analyzing collected data. The goal was to determine if a community of practice developed among doctoral students and if so, whether it aided the students in their role and practice of becoming, and being, successful students. An examination of the first eight doctoral cohorts in a hybrid low-residency, self-directed graduate education program determined that student CoPs can develop to support students’ success in the …

การพัฒนาระบบการประเมินคุณภาพภายในที่เน้นการนำผลไปใช้พัฒนาคุณภาพการศึกษาของสถานศึกษาขั้นพื้นฐาน: การประยุกต์ใช้การประเมินแบบเสริมพลัง, วรวรรณ สังสัพพันธ์

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

การวิจัยครั้งนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อ 1) ศึกษาสภาพการประเมินคุณภาพภายในและการใช้ผลการประเมินคุณภาพภายในพัฒนาคุณภาพการศึกษาของสถานศึกษาขั้นพื้นฐาน 2) พัฒนาระบบการประเมินคุณภาพภายในที่เน้นการนำผลไปใช้พัฒนาคุณภาพการศึกษาของสถานศึกษาขั้นพื้นฐานโดยการประยุกต์ใช้การประเมินแบบเสริมพลัง 3) ทดลองใช้และประเมินคุณภาพของระบบการประเมินคุณภาพภายในที่เน้นการนำผลไปใช้พัฒนาคุณภาพการศึกษาของสถานศึกษาขั้นพื้นฐานโดยการประยุกต์ใช้การประเมินแบบเสริมพลัง ผู้ให้ข้อมูล ประกอบด้วย ผู้บริหารสถานศึกษา และครู จำนวน 55 คน รองผู้อำนวยการสำนักงานเขตพื้นที่การศึกษาและศึกษานิเทศก์ จำนวน 5 คน และผู้เชี่ยวชาญด้านการประเมินและการประกันคุณภาพการศึกษาสำหรับการสนทนากลุ่ม จำนวน 8 คน ใช้ระเบียบวิธีวิจัยและพัฒนาทั้งการวิจัยเชิงคุณภาพและเชิงปริมาณ เครื่องมือที่ใช้ในการวิจัย ประกอบด้วย แบบสัมภาษณ์ แบบประเมินความต้องการจำเป็น แนวคำถามในการสนทนากลุ่ม แบบประเมินคุณภาพของระบบ แบบประเมินคุณภาพของหลักสูตรอบรม แบบทดสอบความรู้และมโนทัศน์ในการประเมิน และแบบสำรวจรายการพฤติกรรมตามหลักการประเมินแบบเสริมพลัง วิเคราะห์ข้อมูลเชิงคุณภาพโดยการวิเคราะห์เนื้อหา วิเคราะห์ข้อมูลเชิงปริมาณโดยใช้สถิติเชิงบรรยาย การทดสอบทีและใช้เทคนิค PNImodified ในการจัดอันดับความต้องการจำเป็น ผลการวิจัยสรุปได้ดังนี้ 1. สภาพการประเมินคุณภาพภายในและใช้ผลการประเมิน พบว่าการประเมินคุณภาพภายในเป็นหน้าที่หลักของผู้บริหารสถานศึกษาและครูวิชาการหรือครูผู้รับผิดชอบหลักงานประกันคุณภาพภายใน โดยมีคำสั่งแต่งตั้งผู้รับผิดชอบเก็บรวบรวมข้อมูลโดยใช้แบบบันทึกข้อมูล และจัดทำรายงานประเมินตนเอง (SAR) ทุกปี สถานศึกษามุ่งเน้นใช้ผลการประเมินมาตรฐานที่ 1 ประเด็นพิจารณาพัฒนาการจากผลการสอบระดับชาติ และมีความต้องการจำเป็นที่จะพัฒนาเรื่องการจัดทำรายงานการประเมินคุณภาพภายในที่อำนวยความสะดวกในการใช้ผลและการสร้างความเข้าใจความตระหนักในการใช้ผลการประเมินคุณภาพภายใน สภาพปัญหาที่สำคัญ คือ การประเมินคุณภาพภายในต้องใช้เวลามากเนื่องจากผู้เกี่ยวข้องให้ข้อมูลล่าช้า 2. ระบบการประเมินคุณภาพภายในที่เน้นการนำผลไปใช้ในการพัฒนาคุณภาพการศึกษามีองค์ประกอบที่สัมพันธ์กันคือ วัตถุประสงค์ หลักการ การดำเนินการประเมินแบบเสริมพลังโดยทีมนิเทศ และกลไกการทำงานของระบบ ซึ่งประกอบด้วย 1) ปัจจัยนำเข้า 2) กระบวนการ 3) ผลผลิต และ 4) ข้อมูลป้อนกลับ และผลการตรวจสอบคุณภาพของระบบการประเมินคุณภาพภายในที่เน้นการนำผลไปใช้พัฒนาคุณภาพการศึกษาโดยผู้เชี่ยวชาญ พบว่า ระบบการประเมินคุณภาพภายในมีคุณภาพด้านความมีประโยชน์ ด้านความเป็นไปได้ และด้านความเหมาะสมในระดับมาก ส่วนด้านความถูกต้องอยู่ในระดับมากที่สุด 3. ผลการทดลองใช้ระบบการประเมินคุณภาพภายในที่เน้นการนำผลไปใช้พัฒนาคุณภาพการศึกษา พบว่า ผู้บริหารสถานศึกษาและครูมีความรู้ในการประเมินหลังการอบรมสัมมนาสูงกว่าก่อนอบรม มีมโนทัศน์สูงกว่าคะแนนเป้าหมายที่วางไว้อย่างมีนัยสำคัญทางสถิติที่ระดับ .05 มีความพึงพอใจในการอบรมอยู่ในระดับมาก มีพฤติกรรม 10 หลักการตามแนวทางการประเมินแบบเสริมพลังสูงขึ้น และผลการปฏิบัติการใช้ผลการประเมินคุณภาพภายในอยู่ในระดับมาก และสถานศึกษามีผลการประเมินคุณภาพภายในตามมาตรฐานการศึกษาขั้นพื้นฐานอยู่ในระดับดีเยี่ยม มีบางประเด็นพิจารณาอยู่ในระดับดี 4. ผลการประเมินคุณภาพของระบบการประเมินคุณภาพภายในที่เน้นการนำผลการประเมินไปใช้พัฒนาคุณภาพการศึกษา โดยผู้ทดลองใช้ระบบดังนี้ โดยทีมนิเทศ ผู้บริหารสถานศึกษาและครูโรงเรียนขนาดกลาง และขนาดใหญ่ แสดงให้เห็นว่า ระบบมีคุณภาพด้านความมีประโยชน์ ด้านความเป็นไปได้ ด้านความเหมาะสม และด้านความถูกต้อง อยู่ในระดับมากที่สุด และโดยผู้บริหารสถานศึกษาและครูโรงเรียนขนาดเล็ก …

Separation Index And Fit Items Of Creative Thinking Skills Assessment, Andi Ulfa Tenri Pada, Badrun Kartowagiran, Bambang Subali

REID (Research and Evaluation in Education)

This article discusses the evaluation results of the separation index and fit item of creative thinking skills assessment that supports the conation aspect of prospective biology teachers in Aceh. This assessment consists of 37 items of divergent tasks, which is the application of human physiology courses that support the conation aspects. The participants were selected from the Biology Education Program, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Syiah Kuala University. The data were analyzed using the Quest software including the separation index and fit item. The results indicate that the creative thinking skills assessment instrument that supports the conation aspect of …

Education Through Simulation, Melody A. Padilla-Collings

Master's Projects and Capstones

SourceURL:file://localhost/Users/Mac/Desktop/653Abstract.docx

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if education through simulation was effective in an undergraduate ADN nursing program to improve nursing confidence, knowledge, skill competency, and nursing care. Two groups of second year RN students were selected in their fall semester to participate in a before and after survey to compare traditional learning (required course readings, assignments, and lectures) with the PROMPT Birthing Simulator that allows hands on, interactive learning, and feedback in preparation for the Mother-Baby clinical setting. The first PDSA cycle with Group A revealed 21% were confident in their knowledge with the traditional …

Three Empirical Investigations Into The Logic Of Evaluation And Valuing Practices, Satoshi Ozeki

Dissertations

This three-paper dissertation investigates the logic of evaluation proposed by Michael Scriven using two different methods of inquiry: content analysis and a survey method. Scriven’s logic of evaluation is one of the central concepts in evaluation, but has not been empirically investigated. Therefore, the purpose of this three-paper dissertation is to accumulate empirical knowledge on Scriven’s logic of evaluation to investigate the extent to which evaluators follow his logic and their perceptions of and familiarity with his logic. Furthermore, this dissertation aims to explore valuing practices in terms of Scriven’s logic of evaluation. Scriven’s logic of evaluation is important because …

A School District's Change To Standards-Based Grading: A Conduit To Student Learning, Perry A. Finch

Dissertations

Nothing can be more important in a student’s learning process than feedback. This study looks at what is needed to effectively guide an elementary school district from a traditional letter grade system to a standards-based grading system. Survey data were collected from 91 teachers across the district in order to measure their understanding of standards-based grading. A standards-based grading pilot was conducted with six teachers from the elementary and middle school level. Four of these six teachers participated in a group interview to share perceptions of this pilot. Survey data were collected from the 54 students involved in the pilot. …

Implementing Standards-Based Grading In A Suburban Middle School: A Change Leadership Plan, Cody Huisman

Dissertations

The purpose of the Change Leadership Plan was to describe a current issue facing a school district, creating a vision of change to end that obstacle. In the case of this particular change plan, the problem is the traditional grading system at a suburban middle school. The plan advocates for a change to a standards-based grading system. Several steps describing change are examined: describing the current situation, conducting research to support change, and designing a vision of what success will look like after standards-based grading is established. The research conducted was done through both surveys and group interviews. Research participants …

Leveling The Playing Field: Teacher Perception Of Integrated Stem, Engineering, And Engineering Practices, Bridgette Fincher

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe the perceptions and approaches of 14 third-through-fifth grade Arkansan elementary teachers towards integrative engineering and engineering practices during 80 hours of integrated STEM professional development training in the summer and fall of 2014. This training was known as Project Flight. The purpose of the professional development was to learn integrated STEM content related to aviation and to write grade level curriculum units using Wiggins and McTighe’s Understanding by Design curriculum framework. The current study builds upon on the original research.

Using a mixed method exploratory, embedded QUAL[quan] case study design and a …

Psychiatric Clinicians’ Perspectives On Continuing Education (Ce) Programming In Rural Maine, Charles Michael Wakeling

All Theses And Dissertations

There are a variety of barriers that psychiatric clinicians face when attempting to attend continuing education programming. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological research study was to explore continuing education practices within the health care industry, specifically mental health care, with a focus on psychiatric clinicians’ perspectives on continuing education programming in rural Maine. For the purposes of this research study, mental health care was inclusive of behavioral health care and substance abuse treatment. This study defined the term “psychiatric clinician” to be inclusive of social workers, counselors, and therapists. The participant pool was comprised of 37 psychiatric clinicians employed …

The Voices Of Educators: An Interview Study Of The Implementation Process Of The English/Language Arts Common Core State Standards Initiative, Efren Ponce

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Historically, disenfranchised students in the American education system have been promised opportunity through successful participation in the school system. These promises are voiced in legislation like the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and by executive actions like President Obama’s Race to the Top Initiative. Evidenced by the continuing education gap, the promises of success through education continue to evade many American children across the nation, especially students who are most in need of the support promised in these quixotic visions of opportunity.

This is a qualitative interview study that aimed to gather the voices of educators involved in …

Emerging Roles For Librarians In The Medical School Curriculum And The Impact On Professional Identity, Anne Linton

Himmelfarb Library Faculty Publications

This article discusses the impact on professional identity for health sciences librarians participating in the curriculum revision and development process. A qualitative survey, designed to examine the current roles, values, and self-identification of health sciences librarians involved in curricular revision, was conducted. The respondents discussed how they had participated in the planning, implementation, and rollout phases of revised curricula. They identified skills and values essential to successful participation and described the impact of expanded professional relationships on new identities as educators, change agents, and problem solvers. The study may add to the knowledge base of skills and attitudes needed for …

Getting To A Culture Of Assessment : Antecedents To Change Readiness., Maurini Strub, Samantha Mcclellan

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Paramount to the success of any assessment initiative is an organization that supports and welcomes the processes that will influence meaningful change. To create this culture of assessment, librarians must generate stakeholder buy-in. By synthesizing the prior research in Business Management and Organizational Psychology, we propose antecedents to buy-in to creating a culture of assessment that can provide a theoretical framework for meaningful organizational change on any scale. We situate the conceptual antecedents to buy-in, Management Needs and Employee Needs, through a familiar tool for assessment librarians: Suggestion Systems.

University Rankings: Evidence And A Conceptual Framework, Jonathan G.S. Koppell, Jacob Fowles, H. George Frederickson

Publications from President Jonathan G.S. Koppell

University ranking has high public visibility, the ranking business has flourished, and institutions of higher education have not been able to ignore it. This study of university ranking presents general considerations of ranking and institutional responses to it, particularly considering reactions to ranking, ranking as a self-fulfilling prophecy, and ranking as a means of transforming qualities into quantities. The authors present a conceptual framework of university ranking based on three propositions and carry out a descriptive statistical analysis of U.S. and international ranking data to evaluate those propositions. The first proposition of university ranking is that ranking systems are demarcated …

Integrating Ipe Into An Academic Health Sciences Center: A Bottom-Up And Top-Down Approach, Wilsie Bishop

International Journal of Health Sciences Education

No abstract provided.

Correlates And Effects Of Data-Informed Decision-Making: An Empirical Examination Of The Loose Coupling Theory Using A National Data Set, Xingyuan Gao

Dissertations

The notion of schools as “loosely-coupled” organizations has been widely discussed in the research literature. Many argue that the loose coupling is either a protective mechanism for schools to buffer external pressure or a barrier to implementing new reforms. Against the backdrop of standards-based reform and accountability policies in the last 15 years, which focus on tightening the system as the way to improve K-12 schools, I conducted three related studies to empirically test the loose coupling theory by applying two-level hierarchical linear models to nationally representative data in the US.

In the first study I evaluated the loose coupling …

A Case Study Of Turnaround Principal Identification And Selection In One Urban School District, Kondra T. Rattley

Education Dissertations and Projects

Through a case study approach, this qualitative study examined public school district leaders’ perspectives on turnaround principal competencies and actions. Furthermore, this study explored the strategies for identifying and selecting turnaround principals among district leaders in one district and their perceptions of the challenges associated with turnaround principal shortages. Participant responses were compared to existing, research-based turnaround principal competencies and led to direct reflections of the existing competencies. The research findings indicated that participant perspectives of the competencies associated with turnaround principals reflect existing, research-based competencies. The results also indicated that the participants placed more emphasis on certain competencies than …

Assessing The Relevance Of Statistics And Crime Analysis Courses For Working Crime Analysts, Jonathan A. Kringen, Christopher M. Sedelmaier, Elink-Schuurman-Laura

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Crime analysts study criminal activity and police function to improve performance. Analysts inform operations, aid resource allocation, and evaluate programs. These tasks require high levels of statistical literacy. Given that most analysts are college-educated civilians, college coursework in statistics and/or crime analysis may represent the foundational knowledgebase within the profession. However, little research has attempted to determine if coursework teaches the skills needed by analysts. Underlying this issue is a limited understanding about what technical skills crime analysts regularly use. Analyzing parallel surveys of 98 criminal justice educators and 146 crime analysts, this study compares the skills taught in undergraduate-level …

A Metaevaluation Of The Commission On Fire Accreditation International Accreditation Process, Stacy A. French

Dissertations

Fire and emergency services throughout the country are being required by local governmental authorities to provide efficient and effective services. In 1996, the International City-County Management Association (ICMA) and the International Association of Fire Chief (IAFC) executed a master trust agreement that established the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) to award accreditation to those fire and emergency services that demonstrated efficiency and effectiveness in the services provided. As of this study, no documented research had been published that challenged the current CFAI Accreditation process to ensure the highest level of accountability and usefulness for both the public and fire …

Systematic Implementation Of Full-Day Kindergarten In A Large Suburban School District: A Change Leadership Plan, Brad Edward Carter Mr

Dissertations

The purpose of this change plan document is to provide a rationale and structure for shifting from half- to full-day kindergarten. Patricia Clark’s (2009) synthesis of multiple research studies on full-day kindergarten outlines the reoccurring findings that implementation of full-day kindergarten prevents long term academic struggles for students. Closing the achievement gaps when at its smallest, which is early in the educational career of a student, ensures long term academic, social, and emotional success.

Teacher Leaders’ Perceptions Of Their Influence On The Distributed Leadership Process At A Middle School, Katherine Susan Garand

All Theses And Dissertations

This interpretive, qualitative study explores the perspectives of teacher leaders within the middle school setting as to how they perceive their role influences the distributed leadership process. Five significant themes, with subthemes emerged from the data as a result of the analysis process. These themes were identified as Leadership style, Empowerment, Social Influence, Commitment and Job Role Confusion. This data allowed the researcher to develop several conclusions, including the need to clarify the specific responsibilities associated with the team leader role and the importance of developing more appropriate professional development opportunities for team leaders, specifically in the areas of …

School Readiness Of First Grade Charter School Students: An Evaluation Of An Early Childhood Program, Dr Shandowlyon L. Hendricks-Williams

Dissertations

This program evaluation studied the effectiveness of an early childhood program as it relates to school readiness. The early childhood program of a charter school located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin had been operating for over thirty without an evaluation of its effectiveness. To examine the effectiveness of the early childhood program, seventy-two students were evaluated using a teacher-developed First Grade Readiness Checklist; the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Test and Success for All (SFA) Assessment. School readiness, as a multifaceted construct, included five domains: academic, behavioral, emotional, social and self-help-skills.

The results of the survey indicate that the early childhood program …

Embracing A Culture Of Evidence: A Phenomenological Study Of Faculty Experience Within A Transitioning Assessment Culture, Jennifer A. Galipeau

All Theses And Dissertations

This phenomenological study sought to give voice to the lived experiences of faculty within a transitioning assessment culture at an institution of higher education accredited by the New England Association of Colleges and Schools (NEASC). Current literature concerning outcomes assessment (OA) in higher education is highly focused on the need for campuses to foster a robust and pervasive culture around assessment, often termed a culture of evidence. The study site provided a unique opportunity to examine this phenomenon as it was at the mid-point of a multi-year initiative focused on transforming institutional assessment culture. During the study, full-time faculty at …

The Influence Of Building Configuration On Academic Achievement, Attendance, And Demographic Variables In Selected Midwestern School Districts, Catherine A. Macarthur

Dissertations

This study examined the influence of building configuration on the academic achievement and attendance of students who were considered chronically absent. A longitudinal nonequivalent groups research design was used to test the study’s six hypotheses. Data were collected from over 10,000 students within 38 K-8 schools and 40 6-8 middle schools in 24 urban school districts. These districts belonged to the Middle Cities Education Association (MCEA) in a Midwestern state. Student achievement data were collected from this state’s Department of Education’s Center for Educational Performance and Information (CEPI) database that focused specifically on 6th (2009) and 8th-grade (2011) achievement and …

Experiences Of Students With Specific Learning Disorder (Including Adhd) In Online College Degree Programs: A Phenomenological Study, Seleta Bunch

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Enrollment in online degree programs is rapidly expanding due to the convenience and affordability offered to students and improvements in technology. The purpose of this hermeneutical phenomenological study was to understand the shared experiences of students with documented specific learning disorders (including Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) enrolled in online degree programs at a large, faith-based university in the Southeast United States. Colleges and universities must follow federal mandates as recommended by the Office of Civil Rights for students with documented disabilities in both traditional and online settings. Research is lacking in the area of understanding the experiences of students with specific learning …

Distance Education In Law Enforcement: Exploring Kentucky's Barriers, Brandon J. Combs

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the College of Education at Morehead State University by Brandon J. Combs on March 4, 2016.

Proficiency-Based High School Diploma Systems In Maine: Local Implementation Of State Standards-Based Policy Phase Iv Policy Report, Erika K. Stump, Bernadette Doykos Phd, Catherine Fallona Phd

Proficiency-Based Education

In this current year, Phase IV, researchers collected new data from qualitative interviews and document analysis in six case study school districts in Maine, representing a range of demographics, geographic regions and implementation stages. Three of these districts had been involved in at least one year of Phase I-III of this study, allowing for exploration of ongoing implementation practices and comparing perceived challenges and benefits from initial implementation to later stages. Findings suggested that Maine's proficiency-based high school diploma mandate had mobilized PK-12 collaborative professional work, but there was an evident need for even greater professional time for full systemic …

Professional Development Data: A Review Of Action Research And Data Analysis And Its Implications For Special Education, Jennifer Lee Suppo

Journal of Research Initiatives

In today’s world of accountability and budgeting constraints, schools are examining how they get the most “bang for their buck” in the area of professional development experiences. Professional development has traditionally been used to keep teachers and administrators abreast of current teaching strategies. In using the traditional model of professional development, typically the school or district would have a speaker, who was knowledgeable on a random topic of education, come in and conduct a one-day seminar. More often than not, there was little accountability to this traditional model; little if any data was taken to see if the knowledge obtained …

Impact Of An Eportfolio Faculty Learning Community On Course Design And Student Learning: A Progress Report On A Case Study, Devshikha Bose

University Author Recognition Bibliography: 2016

The purpose of this paper is to present a progress report on a case study which documents faculty perceptions regarding the impact of a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) on the pedagogical applications of ePortfolios in course design. The study will also document faculty perceptions on how changes made/planned to course design as a result of participation in the FLC may impact student learning. A post-completion electronic survey and a focus group meeting will be used to collect data from nine research participants. Initial observations made by FLC facilitators are reported and implications for future iterations of a similar FLC are …