Education Commons^™

Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Exemplary National Blue Ribbon Elementary School Principals In Improving Student Learning Through Effective Coaching Conversations With Their Teachers: A Phenomenological Study, Colleen Flavin

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to discover and describe how exemplary National Blue Ribbon elementary school principals improve student learning through effective coaching conversations with their teachers. A second purpose was to explore the barriers they encountered to holding these conversations and the actions to overcome these barriers.

Methodology: This study utilized a phenomenological design. The primary source of data collection was a standardized open-ended interviews. Using inductive analysis, the data were coded and themes were identified that aligned to the research questions.

Findings: Data analysis revealed that exemplary National Blue Ribbon elementary school principals used coaching conversations …

A Quantitative Analysis Of Whether Elementary Teachers’ Science Kit Usage And Beliefs Can Predict State Science Assessment Scores, Tony E. Rice

Dissertations

The purpose of this survey was to describe and analyze the perceptions of elementary school teachers’ in a Midwestern state concerning their use of a science kit program, including to what extent a school’s state science assessment scores can be predicated from the level of science kit usage.

Prior research indicates that elementary school teachers lack the confidence in teaching science primarily because of their weak undergraduate training in inquiry-based instruction and the lack of a strong science background. Authors such as Dickerson et al. (2006) and Riggs and Enochs (2006) argued that science kits and the materials included in …

A Statistically Significant Determination From Pretest To Posttest In Knowledge Of Electrophoresis Concepts, Parker Megehee Nelson

Dissertations

The statistical significance from pretest to posttest of 109 high students constructing an electrophoresis chamber or not was explored. The students tested were from six intact biology classrooms. Three classes were treatment groups and three were control groups. The three biology teachers each taught a control and treatment group classroom. Except for building the electrophoresis chamber, students in both groups received identical instruction and testing. Pre- and posttest data was examined by means of a content valid test constructed by the researcher and biology teachers. In order to examine the statistical significance from pretest to posttest in knowledge of electrophoresis …

Reframing Lesson Plans: The Foundation For Improving Instruction, Carletta M. Noland

Dissertations

This dissertation is a policy advocacy document that boldly states that it is our moral imperative to change the current educational landscape for the students attending Milwaukee Public Schools. In advocating for such a change, it is strongly suggested that the way to accomplish this challenging task is to mandate a stronger instructional foundation by leveraging the power of thoughtful lesson planning and design. Through its own merit, public and professional opinions and research findings, a viable argument is crafted to eliminate the current policy that marginalizes the planning process by suggesting through its current language, that the planning process …

Virtual Communities Of Practice For Non-Native K-12 Spanish Educators As Professional Development, Javier Gerardo Gómez

Dissertations

Many world language and culture educators are non-native speakers of the language they teach. Although the current face-to-face professional development sessions do a good job in helping educators acquire technology tools to implement in their world language classrooms, professional development lacks in target language enrichment and providing ongoing collaboration among world language educators who are geographically dispersed. Additionally, the cost of attending state-wide, regional, and national world language professional development is very expensive and thus many world language educators cannot take part in these trainings. Consequently, many world language educators do not have the professional training they need to improve …

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 …

Observation And Coaching As A Professional Learning Model To Support The Implementation Of Co-Teaching, Mary Alice Henley

Dissertations

Purpose

This qualitative study provides a description of a professional learning model using observation and coaching for teachers who participated in training regarding co-teaching to support the implementation of co-teaching.

Method

The study involved participants who were general and special educators from grades K-12 across urban, rural, and suburban school districts in Connecticut. The study included 329 observations of 136 co-teaching teams from 44 schools in 14 districts over the course of 14 years. Classroom observations of 15-20 minutes were initiated in schools with co-teachers in their natural settings using an open-ended observation protocol recorded on the Connecticut Co-Teaching Technical …