Educational Administration and Supervision Commons^™

Teaming: Advantages And Implementation, Kevin Van Gheem

Theses and Graduate Projects

Teaching for four years, I have first-hand experience of what it is like teaching in two distinctly different types of classrooms. My first year was difficult as I was often alone in my room with little guidance or help from fellow teachers. The following three years, our school began to implement teaming and I began to see the benefits of it right before my eyes. This paper will examine some of the benefits for students, parents, and teachers. It will also discuss different types of teams or professional learning communities that can exist in a school. And finally, this paper …

Novice Superintendents And The Efficacy Of Professional Preparation, Theodore J. Kowalski, George J. Petersen, Lance D. Fusarelli

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

The preparation of superintendents is a critical component and essential element of systemic education reform. However, Cooper, Fusarelli, Jackson, and Poster (2002) remind us that, ―the process is rife with difficulties‖ (p. 242), including synchronization of preparation and actual practice, the theory-practice disconnect, the need for life-long learning, and development of an adequate knowledge base.

In light of these complexities, two facts are especially noteworthy: The vast majority of research on the efficacy of administrator preparation programs has focused on the principalship (Kowalski, 2006b), and most doctoral programs in educational administration have de facto become preparation programs for superintendents, even …

Community-Engaged Scholarship In Higher Education: An Expanding Experience, Judith A. Ramaley

Public Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

Higher education in this country has always been expected to serve the public good. Sometimes, the emphasis is on preparing educated citizens or practitioners in especially critical fields and how public service can deepen and enrich learning and prepare students to lead purposeful, responsible, and creative lives. Sometimes the focus is upon institutions themselves as major intellectual and cultural resources for a community. In this paper, based on the keynote presentation at the Community -- Engaged Scholarship for Health Collaborative's invitational symposium, the author explores four levels of engagement: the individual, the academic community and its concepts of scholarship, the …

Cognitive Preference And Ethnic Identity Among Anglo And Native American High School Students, Chad Martin Novak

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to the Office of Educational Research and Improvement: A Project of the Stanford Institute for Higher Education Research, graduation rates for Native Americans from both secondary and post secondary institutions are dismally low at 58% and 7%, respectively. Some research addresses cognitive preference and other ethnic identity, but research animating the cognitive preference---ethnic identity interplay for high school students is absent. These limitations in access to educational opportunities lead to abbreviated quality life experiences and a restriction in individual efficacy and collective agency. The following project assessed ethnic identity using Phinney's Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure and cognitive preference using …

The Effects Of Art Education On Self -Efficacy In Middle School Students, Ellen P. Mitchell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have theorized that student achievement and its contingent effects on self-efficacy are important factors in art education. There is, however, a paucity of research addressing this relationship, which in turn affects students' and educators' levels of success. Accordingly, this study was an investigation of the relationship between art education and self-efficacy in middle school students and tested the constructivist theory, as embodied in Bandera's theories on the foundations of self-efficacy beliefs. This pretest-posttest control-group true experimental design tested the relationship between the independent variable, art education and the dependent variable, self-efficacy in middle school students. The instrument, Patterns of …

Facilitating High School Student Success Through Read 180: Analysis Of Program Impact Using Measures Of Academic Progress (Map), Holly Mcwhorter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In response to its failure to meet state mandated proficiency standards in reading and mathematics over the past three years, a rural, Title I high school (LS) in South Carolina purchased and implemented the commercially available literacy program READ 180 (R180) for the 2008-2009 academic year. While previous research reported by Scholastic, Incorporated (R180) had provided support for the use of R180 in improving literacy, these studies have been criticized recently for their lack of comparable control groups, experimenter bias and lack of data from other content areas such as mathematics. The purpose of this study was to determine the …

Listen To Me! An Exploration Of The Students' Voices Regarding Homework, Gladys Landing-Corretjer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research on students' voices and perspectives regarding homework is absent from the literature. This qualitative case study explored the perspectives of 5th and 6th grade students and ten teachers' perceptions regarding homework completion. The literature review revealed 3 trends in homework, including support homework, support against homework, and homework reform. However, most of this research considers the adults' perspective. The researcher administered 46 questionnaires and conducted 12 in depth interviews using a stratified purposive sample and extreme case sampling. The questionnaires and interviews educed the participants' perceptions and practices regarding homework. The students represented 4 distinct groups: English language learners, …

Nonquantifiable Instructional Factors That Contribute To Achievement In Reading For Students In Grades 3-4 In A Midwestern Urban School District, Alice Marie Figgs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Currently some elementary students in large urban school districts are not able to perform well in school because they do not have strong reading skills. The recent No Child Left Behind (NCLB) federal legislation has supported the use of research-based instructional materials and strategies in reading to remedy this problem; however, qualitative studies exploring the specific nonquantifiable instructional factors that contribute to reading achievement in large urban school districts are still limited. The purpose of this multiple empirical case study was to explore the instructional factors that contributed to achievement in reading for students in Grades 3 and 4 at …

A Study Of Direct Instructional Spelling Strategies And Their Effect On Students With Special Needs Who Are Classified With Mild Mental Disabilities, Steven Douglas Preast

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Spelling is a challenging task for many individuals, especially for those classified as Mild Mentally Disabled. Although considerable literature exists in the areas of special education and spelling, little research is evident involving these two areas in combination. In an attempt to address this gap, the researcher conducted a single subject research study to investigate the hypothesis that direct instruction of spelling enhances the spelling skills of students with special needs. Perceptions of parents, students, and teachers on how this program impacted student spelling skills was also investigated. Quantitative data from this study was collected from the SRA Spelling Mastery …

Personality Traits, Self -Efficacy Of Job Performance, And Susceptibility To Stress As Predictors Of Academic Performance Of Nurse Education Programs, Nancy Wilson-Soga

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The United States is experiencing a shortage of registered nurses, and institutions of higher education are unable to graduate enough prepared nurses to reduce this employment shortage. A significant relationship between personality traits and academic performance has been found; however, how personality traits combine with students' self-efficacy of job performance and stress susceptibility to impact nursing students' academic performance has yet to be demonstrated. This study, grounded in the five-factor model (FFM) of personality traits, self-efficacy, and stress theories, sought to determine whether self-assessments of the NEO-Five Factor Inventory, the Nursing Practice Self-Efficacy survey, and the Susceptibility Under Stress Survey …

Effect Of Cooperative Learning And Traditional Strategies On Academic Performance In Middle School Language Arts, Susan Queen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research indicates that the use of cooperative learning techniques fosters higher order thinking and problem solving skills in students. However additional information is needed to determine how cooperative learning affects various groups of learners. Based in constructivist theory, this quasi-experimental study examined the effects of cooperative learning verses traditional teaching strategies on the academic performance of 216 6th grade language arts students in north central Georgia. The single stage convenience sample was divided into a control group that was instructed using traditional strategies; and a treatment group that was instructed using cooperative learning strategies. Pre and posttest scores from a …

General And Special Educators' Attitudes Toward Students With Severe Disabilities Included In The Regular Education Classroom, Tracie Davis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Federal legislation mandates the inclusion of students with disabilities into the regular classroom. This integration is often met with resistance from the educators. The purpose of this study was to determine teachers' attitudes toward the inclusion of students with severe disabilities in the general education classroom. The research problem addressed the attitudes of educators who are implementing inclusion practices for students with severe disabilities. These attitudes are an integral part of successful inclusion practices. The theoretical basis for inclusion can be found in Wolfensberger's normalization principle and his examination of social role valorization which support placing a person with a …

The Impact Of A First -Year Learning Community On Student Persistence: Perceptions Of Community College Students, David Gerkin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This descriptive case study explored the perceptions of former community college first year learning community participants on aspects of their learning community experience that affected their persistence in college using Astin's student involvement theory and Tinto's student persistence model as a conceptual framework. Learning communities have been shown to increase student persistence, but little is known about how they do so. A better understanding of how learning communities contribute to increased student persistence would improve learning community practice and gain administrative support for learning communities. This study used a mixed methods research design utilizing both qualitative and quantitative data. Qualitative …

A Mixed Methods Study Of Secondary Distance-Learning Students: Exploring Learning Styles, Jennifer M. Roberts

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Public education in the United States has experienced an increase in distance-learning (DL) opportunities. Because research has focused on student achievement in post-secondary DL programs, little is known about secondary students' experiences. The purpose of the current study was to explore DL applicability within secondary education. Specific research questions addressed by the concurrent mixed methods nested study included examining students' opinions and experiences in a secondary DL course and determining whether individual learning styles were addressed. Structured interviews, group discussions, and a survey were used to gather data over 2 months from 14 students in grades 9 through 12 participating …

Global Ky (Winter 2009), University Of Kentucky International Center

Global Kentucky

No abstract provided.

Ms225: 2009 Faculty Meeting Minutes, Thomas R. Cole

Thomas R. Cole, PhD Papers

Original Filename: Faculty Meeting Minutes 010709.doc. Format Details: fmt/40; Microsoft Word Document; 97-2003. See more at Thomas R. Cole, PhD Papers and its finding aid.

Honors Living-Learning Communities: A Model Of Success And Collaboration, Eric Daffron, Christopher Holland

Honors in Practice Online Archive

All too often on college campuses, academic affairs and student affairs work in near isolation from each other. In their traditional roles, academic affairs promotes students’ learning in the classroom while student affairs cares for students’ personal development outside the classroom. Yet, if higher education aspires to graduate students who can meet the challenges of the modern world, then universities have an obligation to launch collaborative projects that bring together the disparate facets of students’ lives. Living-learning communities, a model for collaboration between academic affairs and student affairs, can meet that goal (Schroeder & Mabel, 1994).

Honors Ambassadors: A Framework For Enhancing Student And Program Development, Kristy Burton, Erin Wheeler Mckenzie, Patrick Damo

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Many honors programs struggle with how to attract the best and brightest students, primarily because the students we seek often have multiple lucrative offers from highly rated institutions. At Miami University, we found ourselves in the unfortunate position of losing top-tier students to competitor programs in the region and state and thus needing to take action. Our first step was to take a critical look at the scope and type of communication we were having with prospective students. What we found was that although we offer an excellent honors program with learning opportunities that are equivalent to or perhaps better …

Paths To Knowledge As A Foundational Course In An Honors Program, Mark Vitha, Arthur Sanders, Colin Cairns, David Skidmore, Clive Elliot, William Lewis

Honors in Practice Online Archive

In this article we describe an honors course titled “Paths to Knowledge,” which was created to provide students with an understanding of the ways different disciplines create and evaluate knowledge. This is the only specific course within our honors curriculum that is required of all honors students. After seeing it evolve over several years, multiple instructors, and a variety of approaches to the theme, we believe that Paths to Knowledge may be a good model for a foundational course within an honors program.

Editorial, Volume 5 - 2009, Ada Long, Dail Mullins

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Table of Contents:

Editorial Policy

Submission Guidelines

Dedication to Earl and Maggie Brown

Editor’s Introduction by Ada Long

Stability in the Context of Change by Hallie E. Savage

Ending in Honors by Samuel Schuman

People Who Think Otherwise by Kevin Donovan

Implementing Honors Faculty Status: An Adventure in Academic Politics by Jesse Peters

Building an Honors Development Board by Scott Carnicom and Philip M. Mathis

Honors Ex Machina: Changing Perceptions of Honors through Horizontal Integration, A Case Study by Timothy L. Hulsey

Separate but Equal: Will it Work for Professional Honors Programs? by Beata M. Jones and Peggy W. Watson …

Bridging The Divides: Using A Collaborative Honors Research Experience To Link Academic Learning To Civic Issues, Alix Dowling Fink, M. Leigh Lunsford

Honors in Practice Online Archive

The National Science Education Standards assert the vital importance of the inquiry process: “Inquiry into authentic questions generated from student experiences is the central strategy for teaching science” (National Research Council 1996). Yet students in U.S. high schools have highly variable laboratory experiences, and attempts at inquiry-oriented learning are often “cookbook” activities isolated from the larger flow of science and mathematics learning (Singer et al. 2006). In the higher education environment, it is similarly uncommon for students, particularly first-year students in science and statistics classes for non-majors, to have the opportunity to practice authentic research from formulation of a research …

Honoring Experiential Education, Debra Holman, Tony Smith, Evan Welch

Honors in Practice Online Archive

In the Center for Honors, Scholars and Leadership at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC), we are actively pursuing expansion of our experiential-education offerings and are working collaboratively with a variety of community partners and key campus offices to develop, track, and promote opportunities for students. Our efforts focus on providing honors and leadership students with a variety of experiential-education placements and giving students across the campus opportunities to engage more fully in service, internships, and research. Central to our efforts is a philosophy that all students can choose to exercise honor in their academic careers not solely through outstanding …

Stability In The Context Of Change, Hallie Savage

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Last year at this time, I began to think about what I might adopt as a presidential theme. What could NCHC reasonably accomplish in 2008? If you recall, at that time we hired Liz Beck as Interim Executive Director, and one month before the conference we hired Cindy Hill. Major changes were inevitable in our organization. I began my presidency with a goal to work with the Board of Directors to establish stability in the face of these organizational changes. The goal of stability was in response to the need for a national office that would provide the resources for …

Enhancing Environmental Literacy And Global Learning Among Honors Students, Liza Davis

Honors in Practice Online Archive

In 2005, the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation (NEETF) released a summary of a decade’s worth of research into environmental literacy among Americans, collected in collaboration with Roper Reports. The report included some disturbing statistics: 45 million Americans think the ocean is a fresh-water source, for example, and only 12% of those surveyed were able to pass a basic quiz on energy awareness. As the report’s author laments, “Our years of data from Roper surveys show a persistent pattern of environmental ignorance even among the most educated and influential members of society” (Coyle v). Like most Americans, honors students …

An Honors Director’S Credo, Angela Salas

Honors in Practice Online Archive

“Finis Origine Pendet” wrote Manlius: the end depends upon the beginning. True enough. But what if we looked at a desired end to work backward and see what steps we might take to get to that place? What do we want for our children, for our students, and for the graduates of our schools? What do hope to see when we look across our desks at job applicants? What do we watch for on television when candidates for office are explaining their reasons for wanting to serve and what they intend to accomplish if elected? What do we want for …

Combining Chemistry And College Writing: A New Model For An Honors Undergraduate Chemistry Course, Donna Chamely-Wilk, Jeffrey Galin, Krista Kasdorf, Jerome Haky

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Faculty in the Departments of Chemistry and English at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) have designed and implemented an innovative, writing intensive, advanced, second-semester chemistry course combined with a laboratory component that satisfies both second semester General Chemistry and College Writing criteria. This unusual configuration differs from typical honors chemistry courses because of its “writing to learn” approach to teaching indepth scientific content, the nature of research, and research methods. The opportunity to develop this course emerged from a collaborative relationship between our institution’s Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) program and our chemistry department.

Honors Ex Machina: Changing Perceptions Of Honors Through Horizontal Integration, A Case Study, Timothy Hulsey

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Honors programs and colleges face numerous pressures from raising money to managing growth to developing and maintaining curricula. None of these challenges, however, are unique to honors. What has, unfortunately, proven to be unique to honors has been the continuing question of relevance. Over the years, “making honors relevant” has been an ongoing part of the national honors discussion.

In the fall/winter 2007 volume of the JNCHC, Ira Cohen used a Robert Burns poem to remind us that others often do not see honors as we see ourselves: “The observation by Burns clearly applies to honors: the viewpoint of those …

People Who Think Otherwise, Kevin Donovan

Honors in Practice Online Archive

The theme of my address is simple: welcome to a community of people who think otherwise. First, recognize that you are a community. That may be hard to see at first sight: you come from a wide range of various backgrounds, from big cities and small country towns, from affluent and financially struggling families, from a variety of races and creeds. However, you have much in common with each other, beginning with the talent and record of achievement that got you here. Possessing intelligence and curiosity about the world, you are also likely at one time or another to feel …

Dealing With Subjective And Objective Issues In Honors Education, Michael Giazzoni, Nathan Hilberg

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

Professionals working in higher education who are concerned with social justice need to consider questions of objectivity and subjectivity. Even though some assessments are objective and some subjective, neither kind of assessment is guaranteed to separate out the effects of socioeconomic benefits from student ability. Honors programs and colleges should therefore concern themselves with the problem of awarding membership based on test criteria because the benefits inherent to honors programs could end up being given more often to those families with extra means and therefore the ability to provide opportunities like private tutoring and test preparation classes. Such actions can …

On Class And Class, Joan Digby

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

We have a long history in America of pretending that there is no class structure. If you ask students to identify their family by class, they all say “middle-class.” I, however, teach on the “Gold Coast” of Long Island where the Fricks, Vanderbilts, and Morgans owned big properties and yachts. There is no question that they never thought of themselves as middle-class. Indeed, Joan Harrison, my colleague in the Photography Department, just produced a wonderful photo-history of a city near campus—Images of America: Glen Cove (Arcadia Publishing, 2008)—showing a distribution of population from the robber barons to waves of Italian …