Digital Commons Network^™

Improving Reading Instruction Through Staff Development At Putnam County Elementary School, Kirk D. Mallette

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The problem addressed was low reading achievement for Grade 2 students at Putnam County Elementary School. Reading comprehension and vocabulary skills were not being demonstrated by Grade 2 students to a satisfactory level according to the test data. Teachers in the school expressed frustration about how to help students achieve higher levels. One variable that impacts reading achievement is teacher instruction. This study addresses that variable.

The intervention was a staff development training program to help Grade 2 teachers at Putnam County Elementary School learn to implement a balanced approach to literacy through guided reading and guided writing. The quasi-experimental …

An Analysis Of The Developmental Education Program At Bevill State Community College, Teresa L. Johnson

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to conduct a gap analysis, using a formative evaluation model, to compare the components of the developmental education program at Bevill State Community College (BSCC) to components of effective programs. The problem was that at least 40 percent of the students who complete the developmental education program at Bevill State Community College never enroll in college level courses. This analysis determined changes which could be made to increase the effectiveness of the program at BSCC. Eight procedures were completed to answer seven research questions.

The results of the study showed twenty-three areas which need to …

Using Graphic Organizers To Enhance The Academic Achievement And Self-Esteem Of Haitian Esol Students, Ingrid Chrisphonte

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to increase the academic achievement and self-esteem of English to Speakers of Other Languages Haitian students in language arts through reading and writing. Haitian students were not at the academic level of their counterparts in English. Teacher assessment and observed student behavior in writing assignments and class participation were evidence that a problem existed. Haitian students submitted writing tests that were incomplete. They were unlikely to participate in classroom discussion or to share answers aloud. It was important to make learning enjoyable in a nonthreatening environment.

The writer used various strategies to accomplish the goals. …

Molding Minds, Making Links: Mentoring And Staff Development To Reduce Suspensions For Major Offenses At The Secondary Level, Ginger W. Hamilton

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was two-fold. The first part addressed school-based administrators. They were offered opportunities for professional development programs to help them improve intervention services at the school level. The second part was a mentoring program designed to provide students who seemed to be on a path leading to serious behavior problems at school with an adult who provided daily guidance and assistance.

The writer designed and implemented a professional development program for school-based administrators. Seven sessions were held to assist with improvement of their knowledge of school discipline and intervention. In addition, fifteen students from three secondary schools were …

Development Of A Plan At Germanna Community College For Responding Quickly To The Training Needs Of Local Business And Industry, Kathleen P. Habel

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The purpose of this applied dissertation was to develop a plan for a quick response process to provide timely adult education and training to meet the requirements of business and industry. The plan was developed to ensure that the principles and practices of adult education were included to enhance quality training.

There was no direct linkage at Germanna Community College between adult workforce training and the training requirements of business and industry. Evidence of this need came from two sources. The Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce conducted focus groups in 2001. These focus groups, along with a Germanna Community College …

The Role Of The School Administrator In Building A Positive Culture In A New Elementary School Setting, Amy R. Davis

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to study the role of the school administrator in building a positive school culture in a new setting. As an administrator in a newly established elementary school, the writer found that, with staff coming from various prior work settings, set rituals and culture were nonexistent. The applied dissertation was designed to provide a vehicle for establishing a positive school culture in this setting.

The writer provided opportunities for staff to plan collaboratively and to develop collegial relations over a 9-month period of time. Staff development that focused on team building and collaboration was planned and …

Reducing The Failure Rate Of English For Students Of Other Languages (Esol) In Levels Iii And Iv In The Mainstreamed Classroom, Manuel Ferrer

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The program was intended to help reduce the failure rate of English for Students of Other Languages (ESOL) III and IV students in the middle school, mainstreamed classroom. The objectives for the program were to provide both ESOL levels III and IV students and their teachers with the strategies found in the available literature that had shown to be effective.

It was anticipated that ESOL levels III and IV students would initiate a student portfolio that would be used as an alternative method of evaluation. It was further anticipated that 100% of teachers with ESOL III and IV students enrolled …

Assessing The Kids’ Breakfast Club Nutrition Program At John Muir Elementary School, Marlena E. Uhrik

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to assess The Kids’ Breakfast Club nutrition program and how it has impacted the lives of participating families. The results of a parent survey were used to help guide The Kids’ Breakfast Club in evaluating the effectiveness of the program and to assist the organization in providing the most appropriate educational experiences for the participants.

The Kids’ Breakfast Club is a nonprofit organization designed to improve the quality of life for children and their families. The organization is dedicated to the empowerment of young children and their families through nutrition, education, positive educational and social …

Resiliency Training Of Sixth-Grade Students In An Educational Setting, Matthew K. Boggan

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This study was designed to investigate the effects that resiliency training had upon a selected group of students in a rural school with a student population of approximately 600. Planned solution strategies included staff development training and implementing activities to establish the school climate and student readiness.

Resiliency Skills and Abilities Scale was used as a pretest, a 45-item survey to determine resiliency scores, before implementing resiliency skills. Training from The Resiliency Training Program, a Training of Trainers by Nan Henderson, M.S.W. was used as an intervention strategy. The intervention strategies involved a section of sixth-grade students, teachers, counselor, administrators, …

Methods Of Improving The Reading Comprehension Skills Of Seventh-Grade Literacy Students, Mellanie L. Robinson

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to improve the reading comprehension skills of seventh-grade students. A majority of the students in the writer’s literacy class scored poorly on the following reading comprehension instruments: the Standardized Test for the Assessment of Reading (STAR), the Science Research Associates test (SRA), and a reading selection from the Jamestown Signature Reading Series. Failure to succeed on these tests can be discouraging for adolescents and can cause them to develop negative attitudes towards the concept of reading as a whole.

For several months, the writer read multitudinous pieces of educational literature from credible sources (e.g., Middle …

Educators’ Perceptions Of The Purposes, Procedures, And Goals Of The Gifted Education Programs In Suffolk Public Schools, Phyllis L. Sharpe

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Suffolk Public Schools implemented gifted education programs to meet the needs of students with exceptional abilities and to comply with state mandates. Baseline data were needed to complete an evaluation of these programs. This study sought to examine the perceptions of the gifted education programs among Suffolk Public Schools’ educators. Specifically, this study consisted of 23 interviews with central office and building-level administrators, gifted education teachers, and general education teachers on the elementary and middle school levels and review of archival data. Analysis of these data addressed the perceptions of the programs’ purposes, goals, identification practices, instructional practices, and expected …

Dna Identification Databases: Legality, Legitimacy, And The Case For Population-Wide Coverage, David H. Kaye, Michael E. Smith

Faculty Scholarship

Over the past decade, law enforcement authorities have amassed huge collections of DNA samples and the identifying profiles derived from them. Large DNA databanks routinely help to identify the guilty and to exonerate the innocent, but as the databanks grow, so do fears about civil liberties. Perhaps the most controversial policy issue in the creation of these databases is the question of coverage: Whose DNA profiles should be stored in them? The possibilities extend from convicted violent sex offenders to all convicted felons, to everyone arrested, to the entire population. This Article questions the rationales for drawing the line at …

Promoting Social Emotional Intelligence In Elementary School Children, Beryl Irene Bailey

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to provide educators with a curriculum embedded program to prevent, curtail, or reverse the negative trajectory of poor social emotional development of elementary students. Third-grade students failed to demonstrate social emotional intelligence. They lacked discipline. They exhibited difficulty staying on task and working cooperatively with peers, repeatedly interrupted instruction, used negative language, did not return homework, and were often referred to the office for disciplinary action.

In a 5-week training session, teachers learned how to implement the writer’s Sowing SEEDS (Social Emotional and Educational Development of Students) Curriculum. This literacy-based program contained children’s literature aligned …

Unsigning, Edward T. Swaine

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Widespread objections to the apparently unprecedented decision by the United States to "unsign" the treaty establishing the International Criminal Court reflect concerns particular to that treaty and to U.S. involvement in international affairs. But the controversy also illuminates a genuine problem in the formation of multilateral treaties. The interim obligation for signatories, often understood as a means for maintaining a vestigial role for signature, should also be considered as an incomplete answer to ex post and ex ante commitment problems observable in the treaty context and elsewhere - incomplete, in part, because signatories can effectively withdraw from their obligations without …

Against Principled Antitrust, Edward T. Swaine

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Competition policy is on the WTO agenda for the Doha Round, but it is unlikely that it will result in any substantive international standards; the goal, instead, seems to be to agree on core principles to guide the development of national law, including transparency, non-discrimination, and procedural fairness, perhaps extending to special and differential treatment for developing countries. While there is much to commend these principles, this paper takes a deliberately contrarian view, arguing that core principles are not at all where WTO competition policy should begin. It further disputes the appropriateness of applying an emerging meta-principle of the WTO …

Does Financial Liberalization Increase The Likelihood Of A Systemic Banking Crisis? Evidence From The Past Three Decades And The Great Depression, Arthur E. Wilmarth Jr.

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Over the past three decades, leading industrial nations and many developing countries have deregulated their financial markets. Financial liberalization has produced major benefits, including more efficient intermediation of financial resources, more rapid economic development and faster growth in trade. At the same time, however, many banking crises have occurred in countries that previously adopted programs of financial deregulation. This essay provides a brief overview of banking crises in international markets since 1973, together with more detailed discussions of Japan's financial crisis that began in 1990, the U.S. banking crises of 1929-33 and 1980-92, and the challenges confronting major U.S. and …

An Evaluation Of Curricular Effectiveness In Addressing Critical Thinking Skills Among Physical Therapist Assistant Programs In New England, Elizabeth V. Fuller

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The purpose of this applied dissertation was to evaluate the extent to which Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) programs in New England addressed critical thinking skills in their curricula. Norm values were measured for two standardized measures of critical thinking and the extent to which course materials promoted critical thinking was determined using Bloom’s Taxonomy. Teaching strategies were compiled for use by PTA faculty to foster the development of critical thinking skills.

Eight of eighteen PTA programs within New England participated. Scores on the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (13.87 of a possible 34 points) were lower than those reported for …

Effective Leadership Skills: The Development Of A Professional Improvement Plan, Maxine Woodside

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation represents a study of personal and professional leadership development. The study consists of reflective chronological accountings of influences on the writer from infancy to adulthood. The analysis highlights the opportunities in the early and formative years that support the development of a professional improvement plan.

The framework of this study was based on assessment results taken from the Florida Principal Competency Assessment (Florida Department of Education, 1995) and the Educational Leadership Appraisal (A. Ellis, 1993). More specifically, previous evaluations and reflections on previous leadership positions were used as a focus of professional growth. Based upon the results …

Instructional Technology, Motivation, Attitudes And Behaviors: An Investigation Of At-Risk Learners In The Middle School General Music Classroom, Sharon A. Clark

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

In middle schools today, teachers meet many challenges. Students come to school with a wide variety of experiences and economic backgrounds. They come with varying needs and abilities. Middle school is a time of many changes for students. One of the many goals of middle school is to meet the needs of the students in academics as well as the social, physical and emotional needs.

The research question addressed in this dissertation was: What are the effects of instructional technology on motivation, attitudes and behavior of at-risk learners in the middle school general music classroom? The purpose of this study …

Providing Literacy Support For Unsuccessful Limited English Proficient Seventh And Eighth Grade Students By Increasing Access To Varied Support Strategies, Amanda Lynch

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to provide assistance to struggling limited English proficient (LEP) students at a Title I Middle School. The goal was that 25 students would have access to additional supports to improve language arts grades, reading skills, and attendance in school. Parents were invited to participate.

The solution strategies included (a) incorporating books into the homes of the target group, known as Lit Kits, (b) creating staff development for teachers, (c) providing the target group an additional hour of school each day focusing on literacy skills, homework completion, and learning strategy skills, (d) implementing a monthly family …

Training Teachers To Meet The Developmentally Appropriate Needs Of Preschool Children, Sharon R. Brown

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Teachers were having great difficulty meeting the developmental needs of the children. This was evidenced by the teachers’ restriction of unstructured playtime, lack of interaction by the teachers with the children during outdoor play, and the children’s inability to engage in probing, exploratory dialogue.

The solution strategy combined a series of trainings for teachers to learn how to engage children actively in meaningful and age-appropriate learning activities to meet their developmental needs. There were two inservice trainings for the teachers. The topics of the trainings were The Use of Outdoor Space as a Learning Environment for Preschoool Children and How …

Improving Fourth-Grade Students’ Success In Mathematics Using Multiple Strategies Proposed In The Literature, Benny Steve Lenderman

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The problem identified for this applied dissertation was that 4th-grade students were not achieving success in mathematics. The results of 3 diagnostic and achievement tests--the STAR Math Test, the Diagnostic Achievement Battery-3, and the Peabody Individual Achievement Test- Revised/Normative Update--confirmed that the problem existed. The goal for this applied dissertation was that 4th-grade students would achieve success in mathematics.

The attempt to solve the problem involved several solution strategies. Children worked in cooperative pairs and small groups as they participated in manipulativebased mathematics lessons and problem-solving lessons. They experienced reading for understanding the mathematics lessons in their reform-based textbooks. In …

Improving School Attendance Of Special Education Students Through Tangible Rewards And Concrete Incentives, Lenell Q. Navarre

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to provide concrete incentives and tangible rewards for the special education students in a high school. Mediocre attendance is a serious problem in many schools with students identified as meeting the criteria for special education. It impacts the student, school, parents, and community. Research shows that poor attendance can be associated to behavioral problems, academic failure, and leading to dropout tendencies.

The writer developed a program that provided concrete incentives and tangible rewards. Planned solution strategies to improve attendance included (a) distributing concrete incentives to students, (b) distributing tangible rewards to students, (c) forming an …

Political Agitation: Can A Political Mandate Be Used As A Catalyst For Creating A Learning Organization?, James W "Kip" Stevens

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation dealt with the efforts of the principal at Turner County Middle School to use state mandates as a catalyst for creating a learning community of teachers. The hypothesis was that the teachers’ anger at the politicians could be redirected by the principal into a unified vision of raising their students’ reading test scores on standardized tests. The principal sought to use inclusion, empowerment and co-operative peer led instruction for the mandated staff development course. The question was asked, “Can peer led staff development that has specific teacher and student outcomes outlined in advance increase student learning, resulting …

Attachment Theory And The Secondary Student: Notes To Teachers, George H. Biggs

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to provide knowledge of attachment theory to secondary teachers in middle schools and high schools. Teachers were working with students who were displaying behaviors caused by student disruptive attachment to a primary caregiver. However, the teachers, not aware of attachment theory, misinterpreted the reason for the disruptive class behavior and associated the behavior with the behaviors of students diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

The writer developed a series of monthly workshops that middle school teachers attended. The workshops focused on the following topics: attachment theory, children’s multiple foster placements, and the effects of multiple …

Identification Of Competencies Required For Clinical Education In Therapeutic Recreation With The Development Of A Continuing Education Plan To Enhance Competence Of Clinical Educators, Deborah A. Hutchins

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The applied dissertation was designed to identify the competencies necessary for the effective supervision of internship students in therapeutic recreation, and to develop a continuing education plan to enhance the competence of therapeutic recreation professionals who provide internship supervision. The competencies required of internship supervision in therapeutic recreation had not been systematically identified. This problem led to the inconsistency of therapeutic recreation professionals providing supervision to students during the internship experience that resulted in poor student outcomes. This problem has a potential effect on the overall competence of entry-level therapeutic recreation professionals.

A literature review and input from both formative …

Development Of A Comprehensive Mathematics Anxiety Intervention Program For Missouri Southern State College With A Plan For Implementation And Evaluation, Laura Schooler Adkins

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to develop a comprehensive mathematics anxiety intervention program for the preservice elementary education teachers at Missouri Southern State College (MSSC). The problem addressed was the need at MSSC for a mathematics anxiety intervention program to help hundreds of students experience increased academic and career success as a direct outcome of the intervention program.

The purpose of the project was to develop a comprehensive intervention program to prevent, reduce, or eliminate mathematics anxiety among the preservice elementary education teachers at MSSC. Three research questions provided the focus for the study: (1) How can mathematics anxiety be …

Improving The Reading And Writing Skills Of Retained Eighth Grade Students, Beverley Mckenzie

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to assist eighth grade students who were retained in improving their Reading and Writing skills. These students failed school courses and did not meet the required standards for promotion to high school. The students were previously in large classes with other low-achieving students, were not given individualized attention, were not exposed to the use of technologies, were not given adequate support services, and were not taught by experienced teachers.

The writer designed an after-school program to assist the students with Reading and Writing skills. An experienced Language Arts teacher was asked to work with the …

Performance-Centered Knowledge Management, Josephine K. Portillo

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to study a process to improve access and filter information efficiently and effectively for employees in a governmental business unit in order to decrease response time and increase customer satisfaction. The writer designed and developed a framework for a performance-centered knowledge management portal. The writer designed real-life case scenarios to determine the effectiveness of the performance-center knowledge management portal in the work setting.

Findings based on qualitative data gathered before and after employees were introduced to the portal show positive improvements in perceptions of customer satisfaction and response time.

An Overview Of Special Education Designed For Caretakers, Parents, And Professionals, Diane C. Sherkow

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This practicum was designed to provide daycare owners and directors with the required training in the area of Special Needs in order to maintain their accreditation and licensure. The module that was being used by the state for child care instruction on special needs was not current with Federal rules and regulation. A manual, materials, and activities were developed and implemented to increase the knowledge and understanding of the area of mainstreaming children with disabilities into the daycare setting. Information regarding the current rules and regulations that impact the child care center when working with special needs children was researched …