Other Education Commons^™

The Relationship Between Flexible Reading Groups And Reading Achievement In Elementary School Students, Gretchen E. H. Schlag

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the current emphasis on differentiating instruction to accommodate individual student learning needs, most reading instruction is taught primarily in static small groups or whole group settings. However, the use of flexible reading groups for reading instruction allows students to be appropriately challenged and avoids labeling a student's reading readiness as stagnant. This study examines the relationship between flexible reading groups and reading achievement of 130 fifth grade students in one elementary school. The theoretical base for the research is grounded in the constructivist theory as supported by Vygotsky and Bruner. In this quasi-experimental quantitative research study, the effect of …

The Impact Of Enrollment In A Combined Reading And Learning Strategies Course On Exceptional Students' Fcat Reading Scale Scores, Coral Kathleen Hanson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous research has shown that because remediation and support replace required and career-defining courses, exceptional students fall behind, ill equipped to act in society as autonomous adults. No Child Left Behind requires reading proficiency, so students failing standardized tests must take remedial courses. Individualized education plans often require support courses. However, there remains an important gap in the literature regarding the usefulness of reading, standardized testing, and leadership research to solve this problem. A class combining reading and support for students with exceptionalities exists at 1 high school. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the combined program …

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 …

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 …

The Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of The Phoenix Alternative Program, Jason Dethor Laffitte

Dissertations

Many school districts throughout the United States utilize alternative schools for students who have not been successful in a traditional school setting. The Phoenix Program is a second chance alternative school in Mobile, Alabama that provides educational opportunities to students who are at risk of dropping out or school or under a long-term suspension from a regular school program.

This study was conducted to determine the perceptions of the effectiveness of the Phoenix Program on students who have been suspended from their assigned school for a long term. Participants in this study included 36 principals and assistant principals, 30 students, …

Barriers In Educating Homeless Children And Youth, Gloria Elaine White Adams

Dissertations

Across America, homeless students face a myriad of barriers that impede education and school access and success of homeless children. The purpose of this study was to determine the barriers to enrollment and school success for homeless students. The ultimate goal was to provide information to parents, teachers, administrators, and school districts that could serve as a vital resource tool in educating homeless students while removing barriers.

The participants consisted of 215 certified teachers, school administrators, and homeless liaisons in 23 school districts representing the populations that provide afterschool instruction to homeless students. The study was conducted in the spring …

The Influence Of Career-Technical Student Organizations On Non-Traditional And Traditional Community College Students, Suzanne Lee Johnson

Dissertations

Student organizations have been contributing to adult education for years. The need to recruit non-traditional students and retain them is very important to the financial support of the career and technical program. If a career-technical student organization (CTSO) can encourage retention and completion of traditional and non-traditional students in a field of study, the state might realize the need to increase the funding provided to the advisers/instructors of the CTSO and the financial support of the CTSO. This study investigated what motivates a student to become an active member in a CTSO and to what extent the CTSO contributed to …

The Perceptions Of Superintendents Regarding The Need For Graduate Business Classes In Educational Leadership, Howard Leland Smith

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the comprehensiveness of educational leadership programs regarding the extent of appropriate business knowledge attained by public school administrators. Portions of the study included a discussion of current licensing practices, academic governance, basic business requirements for leadership and management, and basic financial literacy. A further purpose was to measure the perception of how the inclusion of specific business-oriented graduate education in the certification process might increase the initial success of administrators.

The literature review supported the concept that superintendents understand change management and fiscal responsibility. Survey respondents supported these concepts by indicating the …

Value Of Traditional Games, Saima Khalid

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

No abstract provided.

Summer Sessions Breakdown Of Course Dates And Time, Paul Savory

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

This report highlights an exhaustive analysis of the hundreds of Summer Session courses to develop an understanding of when they occur during the day and during which of the four academic terms. The analysis shows that the most popular time for scheduling courses is between 9:30 am and noon for each of the four summer session terms. Given the limited number of general purpose classrooms on campus, accommodating faculty preference for rooms, buildings, and computer equipment is sometimes not possible during the most in demand course times. The results also showcase the potential for having summer courses four-day per week …

Connecting Resources To Student Achievement: Assessment Of The Indeterminacy Of District Performance, Peter Simpson, Robert K. Gable, Stacey L. Kite

School Finance and Student Achievement

The purpose of this study is to conduct cluster analyses, resulting in groupings of N=113 districts based on socioeconomic status (SES), which is the independent variable and primary correlate of performance. It is a quantitative analysis of N=113 districts in Massachusetts for the period from 2000 to 2005. The study conducts cluster analyses to evaluate district performance as measured by student achievement. The problem is stated by National Research Council (1999) that: “Indeterminacy characterizes education production”. Indeterminacy is represented by variation in the N=113 districts’ performance. The groupings of performance obtained from the cluster analyses provide information about the types …

Relationship Among Essential Leadership Preparation Practices And Leader, School, And Student Outcomes In K-8 Schools, Donna Braun, Robert K. Gable, Stacey L. Kite

K-12 Education

A questionnaire was administered to school principals (N=88). The questionnaire data, along with student data, were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression to investigate the relationships among leadership preparation practices, self rated leader behavior, the school learning environment, and student achievement. After controlling for demographic variables, the amount of variance explained was incremented a statistically significant degree between: preparation practices and leader behaviors ( R2 = 5%); preparation practices and student achievement ( R2 = 5%); preparation practices and leaders’ instructional knowledge ( R2 = 6%); and leaders’ instructional knowledge and instructional practices in schools ( R2 = 5%).

Relationship Among Essential Leadership Preparation Practices And Leader, School, And Student Outcomes In K-8 Schools, Donna Braun, Robert K. Gable, Stacey L. Kite

Teacher Education

A questionnaire was administered to school principals (N=88). The questionnaire data, along with student data, were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression to investigate the relationships among leadership preparation practices, self rated leader behavior, the school learning environment, and student achievement. After controlling for demographic variables, the amount of variance explained was incremented a statistically significant degree between: preparation practices and leader behaviors (R2 = 5%); preparation practices and student achievement (R2 = 5%); preparation practices and leaders’ instructional knowledge (R2 = 6%); and leaders’ instructional knowledge and instructional practices in schools (R2 = 5%).

Horace Mann's Vision In Action: Bridgewater Normal School's Female Teachers, Casey Rekowski

Undergraduate Review

Through a close reading of Horace Mann’s archival material including official documents and speeches, this paper argues that Horace Mann expanded women’s social roles in the nineteenth century. Whether he intended such an outcome or not, Horace Mann’s agenda to improve common schools increased American women’s educational and professional opportunities. Drawing upon the popular ideology of the day, Mann articulated a detailed rationale for placing women, as “natural teachers” at the center of public education in Massachusetts when he became the first secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education in 1837. This can best be seen through his annual reports …

Introduction, Volume 26 (2008), Douglas Reimondo Robertson

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Introduction to volume 26 (2008) of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development, by Douglas Reimondo Robertson of Northern Kentucky University.

Investigating Indicators Of The Scholarship Of Teaching: Teaching Awards In Research Universities, Stacie Badran

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Results from a nationwide study of teaching awards programs in mathematics departments of U.S. research universities show that only a small percentage even offers such awards. Those that do either use ad hoc procedures and criteria for making awards or prioritize curricular contributions over instructional and pedagogical knowledge in selecting award winners. In addition, mathematics faculty reserve the term scholarship for research in the discipline rather than research on teaching of the discipline.

Points Without Limits: Individual Inquiry, Collaborative Investigation, And Collective Scholarship, Richard A. Gale

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This chapter proposes that a scholarship of teaching and learning focused on collaborative and collective inquiry can be more effective and have greater impact on student learning and the advancement of knowledge than investigations accomplished by individual faculty and students working in isolation. This conclusion is arrived at as a result of examining the work of Carnegie Scholars and the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Campus Program participants since 1998.

Assessment Of A Faculty Learning Community Program: Do Faculty Members Really Change?, Susan Polich

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

In this study, participants in a faculty learning community (FLC) program were followed to see if they had really changed their epistemological beliefs and teaching methods. Of the 39 FLC participants, 87% reported a change in their epistemological beliefs and 79% reported a change in their teaching methods. Seven participants were followed in-depth to determine if their reported changes actually occurred. Observations suggest that none of the seven appeared to have changed epistemological beliefs although all changed teaching methods. More importantly, the participants adopted their new pedagogy only when the pedagogy was aligned with their beliefs.

Easing Entry Into The Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning Through Focused Assessments: The “Decoding The Disciplines” Approach, Joan K. Middendorf, David Pace

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Students’ difficulty in mastering material can motivate faculty toward the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) if instructors’ frustration can be framed as a researchable question, and they have practical models for assessing learning outcomes. The “decoding the disciplines” approach supports this shift from reflective teaching to SoTL. By focusing on narrowly defined bottlenecks to learning, faculty define researchable questions convincing to their disciplines. The specificity of these inquiries makes the assessment of learning much easier through the application of existing tools, such as those provided in Angelo and Cross’s Classroom Assessment Techniques (1993). Example of specific assessments are provided.

Preface, Volume 26 (2008), Douglas Reimondo Robertson

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Preface to volume 26 (2008) of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development, by Douglas Reimondo Robertson of Northern Kentucky University.

About The Authors, Volume 26 (2008)

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

About the editors and authors of volume 26 (2008) of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development.

Stereotype Threat And Ten Things We Can Do To Remove The Threat In The Air, Franklin A. Tuitt, Lois Reddick

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The purpose of this chapter is to present an overview of the literature related to stereotype threat in an effort to provide faculty members and instructional developers with a better understanding of what the phenomenon is and what can be done about it in college classroom settings. To this end, we reviewed several of the major studies published on the subject between 1995 and 2005 and compiled a list of strategies that reflected both the major empirical findings on stereotype threat and our own research and experiences with faculty and students in college settings. Given the enormity of the subject, …

Faculty Development At Small And Liberal Arts Colleges, Kim M. Mooney, Michael Reder

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The notable growth of faculty development programs and centers at small institutions warrants attention before their next stages of growth. We aim to capture and convey the central issues coalescing around the professionalization of teaching and learning activities and the work of faculty developers at small colleges. While this descriptive review draws direct comparisons to other types of institutions, particularly large research and comprehensive universities that serve as the norm for our profession’s faculty development practices, its main purpose is to address the distinctive characteristics of professional development at small colleges in general and liberal arts colleges in particular. Toward …

Credibility And Effectiveness In Context: An Exploration Of The Importance Of Faculty Status For Faculty Developers, Bonnie B. Mullinix

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This study documents an emerging profile of the faculty status of faculty developers as solicited, compiled, and interactively interpreted with faculty developer practitioners. It used integrated (mixed) methodology and participatory research strategies to gather data and it shares descriptive statistical information on the various positions held by faculty developer respondents; qualitatively analyzed impressions of the importance of faculty status to their credibility and effectiveness as faculty developers; and information regarding respondents’ institutional contexts. Findings are further disaggregated across institutional contexts and sex to explore trends, differential perceptions, and other emergent issues as identified by participant researchers.

Team Mentoring: An Alternative Way To Mentor New Faculty, Tara Gray, A. Jane Birch

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Traditional mentoring programs usually have no mechanism for Protégés to learn from each other, and they often match protégés with mentors sight unseen. Team mentoring is a less hierarchical program in which protégés mentor each other in a group while searching for more permanent and personal mentors. In this program, protégés and mentors are arguably better matched because mentors are chosen by the Protégé. In addition, Protégés benefit by tapping into the wisdom of their peers. As a result, team mentoring is a viable alternative to traditional mentoring programs.

A Research–Based Rubric For Developing Statements Of Teaching Philosophy, Matthew Kaplan, Deborah S. Meizlish, Christopher O'Neal, Mary C. Wright

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Despite its ubiquity as the way that instructors represent their views on teaching and learning, the statement of teaching philosophy can be a frustrating document to write and the results are often uneven. This chapter describes a rubric created at the University of Michigan’s Center for Research on Learning and Teaching to help faculty and graduate students craft teaching statements. We describe the research that informed the creation of the rubric, talk about how we use the rubric in our consultations and workshops, and present an assessment that validates the use of the rubric to improve instructors’ teaching statements.

Meeting The Challenges Of Integrative Learning: The Nexia Concept, Jane Love

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Integrative learning challenges faculty developers to facilitate integrative and connective experiences not only for students, but for faculty as well. For many faculty, curricular requirements impede connective teaching, and the widespread assumption that connectivity must be taught on the course level also limits their ability to enrich students’ learning through diverse perspectives and interactions. Nexia is an approach to this problem based on the concept of ad hoc connectivity, or small-scale, focused, short-term connections that allow students from two or more courses to interact around points of interest to both classes. By releasing connective teaching from expensive curricular constraints, the …

The Teaching Resource Portfolio: A Tool Kit For Future Professoriate And A Resource Guide For Current Teachers, Dieter J. Schönwetter

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Extensive annotated bibliographies have guided academic researchers over several years and in various disciplines, providing key resources to assist in the development of new ideas. However, less common are published annotated bibliographies on effective teaching resources, both general to teaching across various disciplines as well as specific to each discipline, that guide the academic in the teaching enterprise. This chapter focuses on a tool, the teaching resource portfolio, that helps the graduate student preparing for an academic career including teaching, the new faculty member desiring additional teaching resources, the academic wishing to have resources that support discipline-specific scholarship of teaching …

Reflecting And Writing About Our Teaching, Mark Weisberg

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Reflecting on what we are doing can help us become better teachers and better people; yet in our increasingly busy and stressful lives, how can we find the space and time? This chapter describes and exemplifies two strategies that can help us and our colleagues become more reflective about our teaching and about our vocation: the Teachers’ Reading Circle, meeting for regular discussions of provocative texts about teaching and learning, and the Teachers’ Writing Circle, using prompts and examples of colleagues’ writing to set participants on an extended course of writing about their own teaching.

Breaking Down Barriers To The Use Of Technology For Teaching In Higher Education, Erping Zhu

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This chapter examines the most common technologies used for teaching on college campuses and the most common barriers to advanced uses of technology tools. Survey results consistently show that the major barriers to incorporating technology into higher education are lack of faculty time, faculty doubts about the relevancy of technology to disciplinary learning, and inadequate technical support for faculty projects and technology uses. This chapter, then, proposes several approaches developed and assessed by the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching at the University of Michigan for removing those barriers to technology uses in higher education. Although providing flexible technology …