Education Commons^™

The Sci – Dot: A New Dimension Of Scientific Innovation For Persons With Blv., Ashley N. Nashleanas Ph.D.

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Throughout history, students with blindness and low vision (BLV) have been vastly underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines with regards to both K-12 education and post-secondary endeavors (Burgstahler, 1994; Supalo, 2010). This underrepresentation of students with BLV in STEM is due to limitations in technology that allow them to access data in a laboratory setting, thus inhibiting their abilities to partake actively in data acquisition with their peers. The Sci-Dot, a multiline, refreshable braille and tactile graphics display capable of logging scientific data in real time with the support of Vernier Science Education’s (VSE) Go-Direct Bluetooth sensors, …

Innovating Education Through Design Thinking: A Case Study Of Problem-Solving Educators, Matthew Pimental

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This study aimed to identify methodologies and practices that enable innovation to thrive in the public education system. Design thinking (DT) was selected for examination given its demonstrated ability to: (a) make people and teams more innovative , (b) change institutional cultures to be more creative and solution-oriented, and (c) create conditions necessary for innovation to thrive within established organizational structures. This intrinsic case study explored the experiences of a group of educators who used design thinking to innovate solutions to the intractable problems they faced. Participants in this study were teachers and administrators who received training in DT, and …

Technology Leadership Qualities In Secondary School Principals In Nebraska Who Support Student-Led Social Media Teams, Jill M. Johnson

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study addresses secondary school principals in Nebraska who are dealing with the negative ramifications of their students’ social media interactions. To combat the problem, this study sought to identify the technology leadership qualities possessed by secondary school principals in Nebraska who support student-led social media teams. A purposeful sampling of six secondary school principals in Nebraska, who have all been practicing principals for at least three years, engaged in individual semi-structured interviews via Zoom in January 2021. The primary research question was: What technology leadership qualities are possessed by secondary school principals in Nebraska who support student-led social media …

From Barriers To Success: How Elementary School Principals Strategically Lead Schools To Become 21st Century Learning Exemplar Schools, Heather Gold

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to examine the barriers and support systems elementary principals describe, through the lens of Activity Theory, they experienced while leading their schools to achieve 21st century learning exemplar status.

Methodology: This phenomenological study examined the perceptions of 15 elementary and K-8 principals and their respective assistant principals regarding the barriers and support systems they experienced while leading their schools to achieve 21st century learning exemplar status. Participants were selected based on the criteria that they had been identified as exemplary by the Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P21); were public, non-private, …

Leadership Storytelling Of Rural School Superintendents Engaged In Change And Innovation, Tony Barrett

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

This dissertation examined the leadership storytelling uses and practices by rural, public school superintendents in North Georgia who are engaged in change and innovation through agreements with the state in exchange for flexibility waivers from Title 20 of the Georgia Code. This study was the result of the participation of five rural, Appalachian superintendents in semi-structured interviews. Two of the districts were Strategic Waivers School Systems (SWSS) and three of them were Charter Systems. The context of this study was framed by Georgia’s broad flexibility waivers which encourage school districts to promote and pursue innovative approaches in K-12 education. The …

Supporting Professional Development Through Digital Principal Leadership, William Sterrett, Jayson W. Richardson

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

A core role of the K-12 school leader is to support and nurther the growth of others. That growth is commonly thought to be at the student level. However, school leaders must also focus on the growth of their teachers. School leaders are adjusting to a world where technology has crept into many aspects of the profession. And sometimes, technology innovation comes during a time of sudden disruption, such as the COVID-19 pandemic in Spring 2020 where digital learning and leadership become the new norm, even when uncertainty and change were omnipresent. As such, while it is clear that principals …

Our Moonshot: Dighton Public Schools, Kelly Arnberger

Educational Considerations

“Through redesign you have the opportunity do whatever you choose to do to make your school reflect the needs and desires of your community. I believe our public-school teachers can do the great things we keep hearing private and charter schools do if we would just let them.” Randy Watson said something to that effect at Dighton in January, 2017. We would now have permission to make our school reflect the true mission, vision, and values of our community without constraint. Sounds great! At least many of us in attendance listening to Dr. Watson that day thought so. We chose …

The Role Of Leadership In School Innovation: A Case Study, Savannah Adkins Denning

Dissertations

Expansive research on leadership, particularly school leadership, has suggested leaders have an indirect impact on student outcomes, as leaders build a school’s academic capacity, which elevates teaching and learning (Hallinger, 2010). Though there is significant empirical research regarding school leadership, there is a lack of research investigating the intersection of leadership and innovation. In terms of innovation, “personalized learning,” has become an emerging topic among education researchers, as scholars seek to understand the potential impact personalized learning strategies have on student outcomes.

The purpose of this study was to explore how leadership interacts with innovation. This study specifically explored the …

Searching For Innovation, Creativity And 21st Century Skills: A Case Study Of A Suburban Elementary School District, Robert Alexander Serdar

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to seek out and identify the traits, attitudes and characteristics of innovative, creative and highly effective teachers within a suburban elementary school district. Participants included five elementary teachers who were identified by their colleagues as being exceptionally innovative, creative and fostering 21^st Century Skills. The research method for this qualitative case study consisted of teacher interviews, student interviews, and multiple classroom observations by the researcher. From this, seven themes, or practices, of highly innovative, creative teachers of 21^st Century Skills emerged: (1) See the Teacher as Lead Learner (2) Encourage Learner Reflection …

Leadership For Change: Insights Gleaned From One District’S Implementation Of An Educational Innovation, Crystal V. Shelby-Caffey Ph.D., Ronald A. Caffey Ph.D.

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

The research reported here is extracted from a larger study aimed at describing the challenges and barriers to implementing the two way immersion (TWI) program at Stark Elementary School (a pseudonym). While Stark’s TWI program is used as the backdrop for the current discussion the perspective taken here is to examine the actions (and lack of action in some instances) of Stark’s administrators and describe how those actions impacted other stakeholders and led to challenges during the implementation process. The findings illuminate the need for leaders to gain support for proposed changes while maintaining dialogue with stakeholders and developing other …

A Critical Examination Of Food Technology, Innovation And Teacher Education : A Technacy Genre Theory Perspective, Angela Frances Turner

Dr Angela Turner

There are many and varied forces that shape food technology curriculum, but two that emerge as significant and of specific interest to this research are the perceptions of food technology education and economic trends that influence food technology. The broad goal was to examine the extent to which food technology in secondary schooling is well placed to meet emerging policy and economic demand for food innovation expertise in the industry. With both the school sector and the professional sector each asserting that their respective perceptions of Food Technology was correct, a method for clarifying and classifying the nature of the …

The Power To Transform: Leadership That Brings Learning And Schooling To Life, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Stephanie Pace Marshall, Ph.D.

The Power to Transform is a call to re-conceive and re-design schooling. Rather than offer “best practices” or “prescriptive solutions,” it invites leaders of all ages and walks of life to think differently about learning and schooling. It illuminates the “why” and “what” of educational transformation and explores its deepest roots. It offers new language, new design principles, a new framework, and a new map for creating vibrant, imaginative and adaptive learning landscapes that integrate the dynamic properties of living systems with the generative principles of learning. It is from this natural integration that the new story of learning and …

Block Scheduling: From Possibility To Reality?, Frederic M. Muse

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines teacher practices and student learning as perceived by teachers within public high schools that have implemented block scheduling. Comparisons are made between the possibilities advanced by block scheduling advocates and the actual results as interpreted from the data gathered. Comparisons are made between teaching and learning with the traditional schedule and the manner in which it takes place with block scheduling. Open-ended questionnaires were developed for use with voluntary participants who had worked with traditional scheduling and now taught with some form of block scheduling. Participants recorded observations based solely upon personal perceptions of experiences with students …