Educational Leadership Commons^™

Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of The Method Used To Teach Critical Thinking Skills, Kristen L. May

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of teaching critical thinking skills through the infusion method as used by the Cinnaminson School District's Science Department. With the changing demands of society there comes a need for change in the preparation of students for the future that will be theirs. The sample population for this study was the one hundred and seven of the two hundred and forty freshman enrolled in Cinnaminson High School in the 2003-2004 school year who were taking college prep level earth science. Students were evaluated based on their performance on six activities designed …

Integrating Technology Into The Middle School Social Studies Curriculum, Dawn Stewart

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of integrating technology into the social studies curriculum on the delivery of instructional services to middle school students. The use of integrating technology for the middle school means providing teachers and staff with the opportunity to innovatively and creatively interact in the learning process and enhance learning opportunities for students as they strive to attain the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards in Social Studies. Training had been provided by the representative from the textbook publisher on how to use the supplemental curriculum materials as well as the building technology …

Evaluating The Implementation Of The Avid Program At Pemberton Township High School, Danielle T. Strother

Theses and Dissertations

Pemberton Township High School started AVID for the 2003-2004 school year. The AVID program is designed to prepare students for a college bound curriculum. The purpose of this study was to describe and evaluate the implementation of the AVID program at Pemberton Township High School. The population of the study consisted of the entire ninth grade class of 21 AVID students from Pemberton Township High School. The data was collected through the use of a six question, Likert-type survey and algebra first and second marking period grades. The survey was used to rate the AVID students' satisfaction of the five …

An Investigation Into Truancy Reduction Without Increasing The Drop Out Rate, Phillip C. Neff Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this internship was to acquire and enhance through a supervisory experience, the leadership skills necessary for a school administrator. The intern's research project focused on decreasing truancy without increasing drop out rate.

The intern analyzed data collected through the use of a survey. The survey was given to a general population of students which consisted of two different sampling strategies. One sample was a convenience sample of students from the intern's classes, the other sample was judgmental coming from the newly developed Alternative Education Program at Paulsboro High School.

The intern found several interesting correlations associated with …

K-8 Reconfiguration Of A Middle School And Its Impact On The Grade Eight Proficiency Assessment, Samuel C. Hull

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this exploratory investigation was to determine the effectiveness of the reconfiguration of a middle school to a K-8 building and its impact on the eighth grade students and their performance on the Grade Eight Proficiency Assessment (GEPA) test using a method of inquiry design. This study addresses (a) the change agents and how to handle them and (b) identifies the components and ramifications of change. Interviews, observations, and the review of material culture were used to conduct the study. The data gathered was compiled in the narrative with information being shown as tables, charts and graphs. The …

An Investigation On Implementing And Maintaining An Effective And Efficient School-Based Student Intervention Program, Derek Macchia

Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this exploratory investigation were to (a) demonstrate how to properly develop an effective student intervention program (known at West Avenue as the Alternative Support Team - AST) and (b) how to maintain its effectiveness throughout the school year. The entire staff at West Avenue School was surveyed inquiring about what attributes are necessary for an effective student intervention program. They were also asked about past experiences with a student intervention program and what they believe makes an effective student intervention program work. Feedback forms were distributed to staff members and parents concerning their experience with the newly …

Good Citizens: How Student Council Impacts Socialization Norms At Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School Complex, Darren W. Palmer

Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to learn how peer group behavior patterns among middle school students change for the better with the emergence of a student council. The setting was the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School Complex in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The school had undergone several reconfigurations to the student body in prior years. Since then it has been difficult to maintain a student body culture that was both stable and suitable for substantial academic achievement. This study was organized along the continuum of the academic calendar and interwoven within the customs and routines of the school. It took advantage …

The Impact Of The Closed Circuit Television Program On The Communication Process At The Chelsea Heights School, Stephen Lee Sabatini

Theses and Dissertations

This case study was conducted at the Chelsea Heights School in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The study required implementing a closed circuit television program for the Chelsea Heights School. The purpose of this study was to understand and measure the effectiveness of a closed circuit television program on the communication process and camaraderie at the Chelsea Heights School. The case study was designed to improve communication and camaraderie at the Chelsea Heights School. The program included the Flag Salute, Song of the Month, morning announcements, and special events.

For this case study the researcher used a small convenience sample. The …

Identifying At-Risk Students And Providing Them With Leadership Opportunities To Create A Bullying Prevention Program, Jennifer R. Baldwin

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop a bullying prevention program within Oakcrest High School. The bullying prevention program was established in accordance with the New Jersey State laws on bullying in schools. It was also created to be in accordance with regulations that determine whether or not schools qualify as a safe school.

The program identified at-risk 10^th grade girls who have had a history of discipline issues and bullying type activity during their freshman year. The program provided these students with the opportunity to be leaders within their school community and in our sending districts. In …

The Implementation Of A School-Wide Anti-Bullying Program, Toni Anne Conoshenti-Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

A safe and civil environment in school is necessary in order for students to learn and achieve high academic standards. Conversely, harassment, intimidation and/or bullying, disrupts both a student's ability to learn and a school's ability to educate its students in a safe environment. Students learn by example, therefore, school administrators, faculty, staff and volunteers are encouraged and commended for demonstrating appropriate behavior, treating others with civility and respect, and for refusing to tolerate harassment, intimidation or bullying. Through on-site research and review of current literature, I was interested in finding out students' perceptions about bullying. The thesis was designed …

The Considerations Of The Superintendent In The Development Of The School Budget During Times Of Fiscal Constraint: A Case Study, Jeffrey Witt

Theses and Dissertations

John Smith is the superintendent of Green Hill Public Schools. This case study follows John through the whole budget process from July 2011 to July 2012. An interpretative perspective was used to tell his story. Ten interviews were given from October 2011 to July 2012. Newspaper articles and the minutes from meetings were analyzed and used as discussion items in the interview questions. This study was an analysis of how he made his budget decisions in a time of fiscal constraint and the role values played in the budget decision making. The budget year started out normal with John doing …

Designing, Implementing, And Determining The Effectiveness Of A Peer Coaching Program, Catherine Russo

Theses and Dissertations

Professional development is an important part of teaching, and there are a multitude of opportunities for teachers to attend workshops and seminars on a host of topics. The purpose of this project was to determine the effectiveness of peer coaching as a valuable professional development activity for teachers. A group of twelve volunteer participants visited their partners' classrooms and provided feedback on aspects of teaching pre-determined by the teachers themselves. Participants received guidelines for deciding on a focus area during a pre-conference, recording data, and providing feedback at a post-conference. Each participant provided feedback concerning each visit and responded to …

Building A Community For Learning By Creating A School Management Team At Rittenberg Middle School, John P. Griffith

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if the formation of a School Management Team (SMT) at the Rittenberg Middle School in Egg Harbor City, New Jersey, would foster positive academic change in the subject of eighth grade mathematics. The creation of the SMT was part of a comprehensive whole school reform. The instrument used by Rittenberg Middle School to measure student achievement was called Edutest. Edutest is a comprehensive, online assessment software that provides immediate results of student performance. Results from the Edutest provide confirmation that work done by the School Management Team did facilitate improvement in mathematics …

Students' Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of Selective Physical Education, June Cioffi

Theses and Dissertations

Whether to require physical education for graduation has always been a topic of discussion among school officials. Engaged in the ongoing process of educational improvement, educational facilitators and curriculum coordinators increasingly are looking at physical education classes. One of the major objectives of physical education is to promote a lifelong involvement in physical activity.

Timber Creek Regional High School offers a selective physical education program to assist student performance and participation. Selective physical education is the next alternative to improving the atmosphere for students as well as serving as a driving force in keeping students on track and effectively participating …

Funding And Implementing A Sixth Grade Environmental Camping Trip, Stewart Potter

Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this study was to research methods to fund a sixth grade camping trip to Mt. Misery in Browns Mills, New Jersey. The local school budget was defeated, so a group of parent volunteers formed a group called P.A.N.T.H.E.R. (Parents And Neighbors Together Helping with Educational Resources) and began to think of ways to raise $32,498.10 so their children would enjoy the same experience as those students before them. The parent committee created a distributed a survey to all of the upcoming sixth grade parents on June 10, 2002. A total of 59.3% of the surveys were returned. …

Designing, Implementing, And Evaluating A Homework Policy And Its Effects On Discipline At The George L. Hess Educational Complex, C. David Evangelist

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact a new homework policy would have on discipline among sixth grade students. Over the five months of the study there were an average of 346 students involved in the project. It was determined that a new homework policy would be incorporated into the already successful behavior point system, as a means to help students grow into accountable individuals. This policy would enhance our Character Education Program by promoting student responsibility and signify to the student that his/her work is similar to an employee in their work place. Without a homework …

Understanding The Need To Transition High School Students From School To Work, Christopher Armstrong

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine what employers were looking for in recent high school graduates. The study also tried to determine if high schools were currently meeting the needs of employers. A survey was sent to one hundred employers in the Southern New Jersey area asking about the importance of skills taught in high schools. Southern New Jersey is comprised of rural and suburban communities. The most widespread industries in Southern New Jersey are construction and hospitality/gaming. The survey asked questions about the importance of academic skills, social skills, work readiness skills, and higher level thinking skills. …

Extrinsic/Intrinsic Motivational Study, Steven R. Howard

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study is to understand how extrinsic/intrinsic motivation will encourage student learning in a sixth grade learning setting. The drawing population was approximately 157 students. The sample of the study consisted of 43 sixth graders. The students were given pre-assessment and post-assessment surveys to answer. The pre-assessment survey was given in October and the post-assessment was given in February. The study consisted of control and experimental groups. Twenty-one students were in the experimental group and twenty-two in the control group. The experimental group received the four-phase study. During the pre-assessment phase, the students' responses in the experimental …

Academic Achievement Team - A School Within A School Program: Does Specialized Remediation Increase Test Scores?, Donald F. Mills

Theses and Dissertations

This research is being done to assess the tenets of the Academic Achievement Program. Those tenets being that a school within a school program devoted to those students who did not successfully complete any of the three parts of the Grade Eight Proficiency Assessment will help them to catch up and successfully pass the High School Proficiency Assessment. This program will also reduce behavior problems and absenteeism while simultaneously increasing the students' feelings of success and accomplishment. To test these tenets a set of surveys will be utilized along with report card grades for two sets of students. The students …

Alternative Discipline: "In Or Out", V. Anthony Cattani

Theses and Dissertations

The design of this project was to determine the effectiveness of the in-school suspension program at Westervelt compared to the prominent alternative, out of school suspension practiced at Westervelt, Luyber and Shauna High Schools.

The results of this study were based upon the analysis of the feedback of the stakeholders and discipline records to assess the data subjectively and objectively when feasible to determine the effectiveness of the program. The data collected revealed that Westervelt's stakeholders supported the in-school suspension program as an effective alternative to out of school suspension.

The researcher found that the majority of the suspensions assigned …

Summer School Safety Net: A Chance For All To Achieve, Denise Horton

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of summer school in raising the reading, writing, and mathematics achievement level of 41 "at risk" incoming third and fourth graders in a middle class suburban school district.

The study was conducted using modified case study methodology, participatory action research. A purposeful sample of forty-one students who were identified by their school Pupil Assistance Committees as being at-risk were selected as the study population. The intern collaborated with a team to design a summer school experience. She collected field notes and qualitative data to evaluate the program's effectiveness and to …

The Benefit Of Alternative Scheduling On A Large High School, Brian Wert

Theses and Dissertations

In 2002 the teaching staff at Washington Township High School were asked to participate in a survey that would determine what scheduling format would benefit the large population enrolled at their school. This report presents the results of an analysis of a needs assessment survey administered to the entire staff. The results of this mandatory survey were compiled manually and appear in tabular form. The analysis of the results of the teacher survey yields the following findings: most teachers felt that the "nine period day" scheduling option would best address the needs of WTHS with regard to mechanics and logistics. …

Enhancing Teacher Education Through The Use Of Technology, Tracey Reed

Theses and Dissertations

With the need for teachers in this decade well documented, state policymakers have directed much attention to programs aimed at retaining new teachers. States, school districts, and schools can ill afford to lose good teachers at a time when pressure to improve student achievement is increasing. Some states are using induction programs to help new teachers from both traditional and alternative preparation programs, make a successful transition to the classroom and stay in the profession.

The New Teacher mentoring program at Powell School offers support and guidance to new teachers through mentoring, workshops, additional training, and on-the-job assessments. The New …

Integrating The Ti-83 Plus Calculator Into The Classroom: A Workshop For Teachers, Jonathan Scott Strong

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the impact of a technology workshop involving the TI-83 Plus graphing calculator on an existing math curriculum and on teaching methodology. The workshop was developed with three goals in mind: 1) to inform teachers of the many functions of the TI-83 Plus, 2) to inform the teachers of how it could be integrated into their classroom, and 3) to promote student-based classrooms instead of teacher-based classrooms.

The entire math department was used as a sample for this project. The intern administered surveys both before and after the workshop was implemented to see …

Measuring The Sense Of Community In A Magnet School, Marianne Dell

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to measure covenantal climate within a magnet high school, and to determine if specific professional development (Project SPARC) enhanced staff commitment to the magnet school's focus. The Royal and Rossi Measures of Sense of Community were administered in the form of a questionnaire to all staff within the school both before and after Project SPARC was offered as a professional development program during the summer of 2001.

The questionnaires consisted of sixty-four statements requiring Likert-type responses. Data were grouped according to length of respondent membership on the staff of the school as well as …

Teacher Efficacy And Student Achievement Quantitative Research Study, Norma Jean Weatherly

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of high teacher self-efficacy, both teaching and personal, had upon student achievement. First, the 7th grade academic math teachers at the XYZ Middle School were asked to complete the 30-item Teacher Efficacy Scale (Gibson 1983), in order to obtain both a teacher with high efficacy (teacher-A), and a teacher with low efficacy (teacher-B). Second, ten pairs of students (ten from both teacher-A and teacher-B) of equal caliber/academic ability (based upon their Stanford 9 math score, and average in math, for 6th grade) were chosen from the two academic math classes. …

Design A Discipline Code With Staff That Reflects Board Policy And Provides A Framework For The Change Of A School From K-5 To K-4, Margaret L. Haynes

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop an acceptable set of discipline guidelines developed by the teachers for the new K-4 structure to begin the next school year. The intern wanted to determine whether a discipline code created by the teachers as stakeholders was more acceptable to the staff because it helps to improve the learning environment. The committee was comprised of one teacher from each of the K-4 levels as well as a resource teacher. The intern served as facilitator. The principal was also invited to attend the meetings. This project took about seven months to complete. The …

Mentoring As A Method For Increasing The Graduation Rate Of "At Risk" Students, Thomas Anthony Lombardo

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to improve high school graduation rates for "at-risk" students by providing every "at-risk" 7th, 8th, and 9th grade student a mentor. By matching students who have been identified as "at-risk" of failing to graduate with an adult mentor from within Woodbury High School, this intern hypothesized that the students' grades would improve and that they would begin to feel as though they were an important part of the school community.

This study attempted to measure the overall effectiveness of the mentoring program by examining Math and Language Arts grades of the mentees prior to …

Designing, Implementing And Assessing A Financial Education Curriculum In The Juvenile Justice Commission, Kathleen Kelley Michalowski

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the project is to determine the effectiveness of a financial education curriculum on the understanding and application of financial resources to begin a financial plan for the future. This study will provide insight into the current financial practices and beliefs of incarcerated youth in the State of New Jersey and the impact the financial education curriculum has on the reliance of State aid and welfare.

The data was collected through a pen and pencil survey, informal interviews and record abstraction. The sample was derived from five New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission programs and institutions. The sample was …

A Study To Design, Investigate, Implement And Motivate Parents To Become More Involved In School Activities And In The Education Of Their Children, Bibiana A. Anyanwu-Acholonu

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to define and evaluate the strategies of motivating parents to get involved in the education of their children. The subjects were selected from Sharp School, community businesses, and organizations. The criteria for the selection of the subjects were based on the diverse population of the stakeholders and outside school community interest groups. Questionnaires were administered to parents and teachers. Responses were collected. Data was analyzed and interpreted. Semi-structural interviews were conducted and recorded. Observations were preformed. The result of the observations was recorded. All information obtained from the above were assessed and compared to …