Education Commons^™

Instructional Coaching: Improving Student Achievement And Building Teacher Efficacy, Rebecca J. Tonseth

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to justify the author's job as an instructional coach. The author was motivated by her own need to discover what an instructional coach was and how an instructional coach positively affects teacher instruction and student achievement. This project includes ideas and tools that beginning instructional coaches can use with teachers in an elementary school setting. A review of the literature was included on the effects of coaching on teacher efficacy and the effects teachers and coaches have on student achievement. This project examined the roles of the instructional coach and it provides a guide …

Creating A Schedule That Increases Instructional Time, Heather Macey

All Graduate Projects

This project was designed to help elementary schools create a master schedule that increases direct instructional time by forming large blocks of uninterrupted time for all classroom teachers. Many teachers struggle with how to structure their daily schedule. Often times there are things other than good quality instruction driving the decision of the structure of school schedules that create very choppy and ineffective schedules that do not support the best learning environment for the children. This project will combine several different approaches in scheduling taken by others that were researched and found to be effective in increasing instructional time and …

Identifying Practices That Facilitate Effective Implementation And Sustainability Of Research-Based Professional Development Strategies, Emily Victoria Bryan Kibodeaux

Dissertations

This study was designed to determine whether significant differences existed in the level of implementation of a professional development strategy, the attitude of teachers toward this professional development strategy, and the knowledge of teachers regarding this professional development strategy. After teachers were trained on the professional development strategy, three treatments were utilized in the project: administrative observations and feedback, participation in a professional learning community (PLC), or training follow-up. Twenty-four teachers from four different schools in a school district in South Mississippi participated in the project over an 8 week time period. This quasi-experimental study collected pre- and post-treatment data …

Accelerated Baccalaureate Nursing Students: Perceptions Of Success, Barbara B. Blozen

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Although there are a number of anecdotal reports on demographic characteristics and academic success of accelerated nursing students, few empirical studies have been undertaken to examine these students' success, despite this type of programs' existence for more than a decade, and only three studies have soughtto examine the perspective of the accelerated nursing student. Using Knowles' adult learning theory as a guiding framework, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore, from the accelerated nursing students' perspective, the factors they reported as contributing to their success on the NCLEX-RN. This study also examined demographic characteristics of these accelerated students. …

Improving Delivery Of Instruction Through Peer Coaching, James John Buckwalter

All Graduate Projects

Peer coaching models were studied to see if they improved teachers' delivery of instruction, and if they had a significant impact on student achievement. The research showed that peer coaching programs were successful when they were tied to a school's overall vision and mission, led by a strong principal, and kept separate from evaluation. Peer coaching was found to increase the accurate use of skills that teachers learned through professional development; however there was no evidence to show that peer coaching alone significantly effects student achievement.

Teaching About Genocide: A Cross-Curricular Approach In Art And History, Mark Thorsen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study describes the experiences of suburban area high school 10th, 11th, and 12th grade art students immersed in a cross-curricular study of the Holocaust and genocide. Three participant-educators, art teachers, and I, a history teacher, designed a two week curricular unit which was implemented in January, 2010, to increase student-participant awareness and action to address the global problem of genocide. This cross-curricular unit used non-discursive sources of testimony in a variety of forms of representation to inspire student-participant artwork.

Four research questions guided this study: How do educators use a variety of forms of representation to teach the complexities …

Students' Perceptions Of Integration Of Faith And Learning And Intentional Teaching Strategies At A Christian University, Terry Anne Lawrence

Dissertations

Purpose

This study examined Christian graduate students’ perceptions of integration of faith and learning (IFL) in an instructional context where intentional integrative strategies were used to enable IFL for students.

Method

This study used a case study design that relied primarily on qualitative sources. The case investigated included 28 graduate education students in a summer “institute” at a Christian university. The instructors and most students were of the same denomination that the university is affiliated with. Most students were experienced teachers and expressed strong personal faith. The instructors support institutional goals for faith- learning integration. Descriptive statistics from a survey …