Digital Commons Network^™

Analysis Of Instructional Technology In The Runnemede School District, David Gentile

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe and evaluate the effectiveness of technology as a tool of instructional delivery. The results informed teachers, administrators, and board members of their current technology status and served in the development of future goals. The goal of the study was to survey the professional teaching staff to gather input and create a focus group to analyze the results.

The Intern surveyed the professional teaching staff at the Volz Middle School to assess how technology was being used to deliver instruction in the Runnemede Public School District. The Intern interviewed a focus group to …

An Integration Approach To Character Education In The High School, Janet T. Farrell

Theses and Dissertations

Character education provides many opportunities for students to learn how to be responsible citizens in their schools and communities by developing moral and virtuous traits. However, this path to maturity seems to create many challenges for today's students. Recent events in public schools and today's society have demonstrated that society has failed to adequately help students to meet these challenges. Although blame can be placed on the family or schools, schools must address the dilemma and try to correct it. The implementation of a character education program at the high school level and the incorporation of this program into the …

Parental Involvement As A Tool To Lower Repeat Suspension Offenses, Steven W. Price

Theses and Dissertations

Parental involvement in education has been sought after for decades. The purpose of this study was to involve parents in the discipline process and thereby reduce repeat discipline offense. The intern offered the opportunity for involvement to the parents of tenth grade students who received their first out-of-school suspension. The study took place during the first semester of the 2002- 2003 school year. Parents were asked to participate in this study by answering a short survey and by discussing the incident with their child at home.

The sample population included all of the tenth grade students. A limited sample included …

School Reform: The Impact On Teaching Practices, Carol J. Reynolds

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of school reform on teaching practices at the Middle School of Pleasantville. The district, a special needs (Abbott district), receives 85% of its funding from the state, therefore must provide all children with a "Thorough and Efficient" education.

The overall approach of this study was to use a survey to investigate the effects of school reform on teaching practices. Thirty teachers of grades 5-8, representing a variety of subject areas, completed a survey. The survey was used to determine if professional development provided teachers with effective support throughout the change …

Assessing The Effectiveness Of Crisis Management For The Staff Of The Uptown School Complex, Michele Tourigian-Mcgettigan

Theses and Dissertations

The Uptown School Complex has a crisis management plan that needs to be reviewed, updated, and practiced by staff members. In the past year, our country has gone through radical changes with security and crisis management that also need to be addressed in our schools. The focus of this study is to ensure that all staff members are aware of the current crisis management plan and to revise and update the plan.

The purpose of this study is to provide a highly effective organizational unit for dealing with a variety of crises by evaluating the effectiveness of the current crisis …

Designing, Implementing, And Evaluating A Homework Policy And Its Effects On Discipline At The George L. Hess Educational Complex, C. David Evangelist

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact a new homework policy would have on discipline among sixth grade students. Over the five months of the study there were an average of 346 students involved in the project. It was determined that a new homework policy would be incorporated into the already successful behavior point system, as a means to help students grow into accountable individuals. This policy would enhance our Character Education Program by promoting student responsibility and signify to the student that his/her work is similar to an employee in their work place. Without a homework …

Understanding The Need To Transition High School Students From School To Work, Christopher Armstrong

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine what employers were looking for in recent high school graduates. The study also tried to determine if high schools were currently meeting the needs of employers. A survey was sent to one hundred employers in the Southern New Jersey area asking about the importance of skills taught in high schools. Southern New Jersey is comprised of rural and suburban communities. The most widespread industries in Southern New Jersey are construction and hospitality/gaming. The survey asked questions about the importance of academic skills, social skills, work readiness skills, and higher level thinking skills. …

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 …

Academic Achievement Team - A School Within A School Program: Does Specialized Remediation Increase Test Scores?, Donald F. Mills

Theses and Dissertations

This research is being done to assess the tenets of the Academic Achievement Program. Those tenets being that a school within a school program devoted to those students who did not successfully complete any of the three parts of the Grade Eight Proficiency Assessment will help them to catch up and successfully pass the High School Proficiency Assessment. This program will also reduce behavior problems and absenteeism while simultaneously increasing the students' feelings of success and accomplishment. To test these tenets a set of surveys will be utilized along with report card grades for two sets of students. The students …

Enhancing Teacher Education Through The Use Of Technology, Tracey Reed

Theses and Dissertations

With the need for teachers in this decade well documented, state policymakers have directed much attention to programs aimed at retaining new teachers. States, school districts, and schools can ill afford to lose good teachers at a time when pressure to improve student achievement is increasing. Some states are using induction programs to help new teachers from both traditional and alternative preparation programs, make a successful transition to the classroom and stay in the profession.

The New Teacher mentoring program at Powell School offers support and guidance to new teachers through mentoring, workshops, additional training, and on-the-job assessments. The New …

Service Learning – Facilitating Academic Learning And Development Of Social Skills, Kathleen E. White

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a service learning project in raising the civic responsibility, social skills, and academic skills of special education students, while meeting the needs of homeless individuals living in Callalily County, New Jersey. Service learning provided an opportunity for student growth. Students learned to be dependable, solve problems, and learned cooperation and teamwork, while increasing their academic skills.

The study involved three classrooms of special education students: one elementary class of students with behavioral disabilities, one middle school class of students with behavioral disabilities, and one high school class of students …

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 …

Teacher Efficacy And Student Achievement Quantitative Research Study, Norma Jean Weatherly

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of high teacher self-efficacy, both teaching and personal, had upon student achievement. First, the 7th grade academic math teachers at the XYZ Middle School were asked to complete the 30-item Teacher Efficacy Scale (Gibson 1983), in order to obtain both a teacher with high efficacy (teacher-A), and a teacher with low efficacy (teacher-B). Second, ten pairs of students (ten from both teacher-A and teacher-B) of equal caliber/academic ability (based upon their Stanford 9 math score, and average in math, for 6th grade) were chosen from the two academic math classes. …

Teacher Mentoring: The Needs Of First Year Teachers, Susan E. Barkowski

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to identify the needs of the first year teachers in one public school district for the 2001-2002 school year. The intern distributed two surveys over the course of the study. The first survey was distributed in the beginning of the school year and the second survey at the end of January. The purpose of the surveys was to determine if the needs of the first year teachers changed over the course of the school year.

All of the first year teachers in the intern's school district were identified and sent a survey asking them …

Communication Tactics For Empowering Employees: A Guidebook For Organizations And Managers, Todd Michael Pasley

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to establish communication tactics that apply to various communication situations in an empowerment context. The creation of such a reference source will offer a valuable resource for organizations and managers that wish to implement or change empowerment initiatives.

The completion of the study has yielded a guidebook consisting of case studies that offer solutions to communication problems based on literary research. The case studies will act as a guide for effective communication tactics when implementing or altering an empowerment initiative.

A non-scientific content analysis of relevant literature was completed to ascertain communication tactics and …

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 …

Mentoring As A Method For Increasing The Graduation Rate Of "At Risk" Students, Thomas Anthony Lombardo

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to improve high school graduation rates for "at-risk" students by providing every "at-risk" 7th, 8th, and 9th grade student a mentor. By matching students who have been identified as "at-risk" of failing to graduate with an adult mentor from within Woodbury High School, this intern hypothesized that the students' grades would improve and that they would begin to feel as though they were an important part of the school community.

This study attempted to measure the overall effectiveness of the mentoring program by examining Math and Language Arts grades of the mentees prior 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. …

An Administrative Internship Experience At Maple Shade Junior/Senior High School, Maple Shade, New Jersey, 1999-2000, Frank Jankowski

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop a plan that would allow teachers in the junior high at Maple Shade High School to incorporate technology into their lessons on a more consistent basis. The use of technology would improve learning and better prepare our students for the future.

The intern used interview and survey as data gathering techniques for the project. The intern brought meaning to the data through a thorough analysis of interview responses. Also, surveys were collected, coded, and analyzed.

Teacher preparation and prior teaching experience were cited as reasons behind the fear of technology. Staff claimed …

Active Collaborative Teaching, Todd R. Slimm

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if the effects of teachers collaborating would have an effect on professional knowledge (pedagogy) and teacher efficacy. Teachers were exposed to three programs designed to promote collaboration (teachers talking about teaching and learning). The entire school staff was introduced to the program with 29 participants in the actual data study. Data was gathered through a questionnaire/survey/interview process. The major method of data analysis was tallies, percentages, and personal comments during interviews. The study found that the three programs had an effect on teacher collaboration. All three programs were found to be of …

Not More Important – Just Different: Concerns Of Middle School Female And Male Students, Marianne W. Gaffney

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify the specific needs of middle school females in order to develop a curriculum for an after school female program. This program would enhance the growth of female students ages eleven to fourteen.

After school meetings were held weekly for three months with female students in Orchard Valley Middle School. Attendance at these meetings ranged from eight to twenty girls. From these meetings, concerns pertinent to female students were identified. A survey was developed to determine the focus of middle school student concerns. The hypothesis being that males and females in middle school …

The Renaissance Concept And The Effect Of Positive Reinforcement On Student Performance, Henry N. Kobik

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of extrinsic rewards on the extrinsic and intrinsic motivation levels of high school students. To complete this task, 118 students were chosen to complete a series of surveys which measured perceived levels of academic performance and motivation. This process allowed the students to not only respond in a multiple choice format but also provided the opportunity for written feedback as well. Further information on the topic was gathered from discussion with these students. All of the participants were chosen through random selection using the school roster and they represented the …

An Action Plan For Improving The Continuum Of Services That Are Offered To The Classified Student At The Lower Cape May Regional High School, Gene Sole

Theses and Dissertations

Though there are many success stories in the Lower Cape May Regional High School, for a myriad of reasons many of the classified students are not achieving their potential. In this thesis, the intern will evaluate the continuum of services offered to the classified student, with the overall intent of advancing the learning of those in special education. In his role as the acting Assistant Principal, the intern was able to get staff members to work towards the goal of improving the services that we offer our students. In addition, the intern's role as a member of the special education …

Will The Adoption Of A More Stringent Attendance Policy Improve The Attendance Of Students At Nehaunsey Middle School?, Suzanne F. Gibson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quasi-experimental research design was to discover whether, after implementing a more stringent attendance policy, would the attendance of students improve? A pattern of poor attendance was observed in an increasing number of students who were absent more than 10% of the school year, and this alarming trend prompted this study. The entire student body of 200 students was included in this study, in which attendance records were studied before and after the adoption of the new Attendance Policy. Although the intention was to compare data for the ten month school year period before and after the …

Effective Programming Of A School District's Educational Access Channel, Darren J. Hickman

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to develop a district policy and practice of collecting and disseminating school information and public service announcements to the public using Atlantic City Public Schools' educational access channel, ACTV Channel 2. Using a case study research design, the project will result in an evaluation of current usage by parents and families of children who attend Atlantic City Public Schools and what they would like to view.

An upgrade in programming with more educational programs was a major objective for this study. To assist in programming improvement, a questionnaire survey was developed and was administered …

Identifying The Role Of The School Business Administrator, Diana L. Schiraldi

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of the school business administrator and to determine the congruency or incongruency between role expectations of the business administrator and actual role performance. Individuals participating in this study were the school business administrator and seventeen of his role set partners. Role set partners included the superintendent of schools, four district level administrators, eight building level administrators, two board members, a teacher and a custodial supervisor. Participants were surveyed using a written questionnaire to determine their views of the business administrator's role. The business administrator's daily activities were documented through shadowing. …

A Multicultural Club At Hammonton High School, Mildred Peretti

Theses and Dissertations

This action research study examines the attitude change among rural high school students regarding diversity and tolerance presented through a multicultural club. Fifty randomly selected students and parents of the high school were pre-tested using a survey instrument measuring needs assessment and an attitude profile. Data analysis was conducted using percentages of each of the four questions asked. The entire student body was then exposed to various multicultural facts and experiences promoted through a multicultural club. Activities included daily factual announcements, a trivia contest of information retrieval, guest speakers, music, assemblies, displays of heritage's artifacts, and relevant content knowledge integrated …