ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes most of the ASU Theses and Dissertations from 2011 to present. ASU Theses and Dissertations are available in downloadable PDF format; however, a small percentage of items are under embargo. Information about the dissertations/theses includes degree information, committee members, an abstract, supporting data or media.
In addition to the electronic theses found in the ASU Digital Repository, ASU Theses and Dissertations can be found in the ASU Library Catalog.
Dissertations and Theses granted by Arizona State University are archived and made available through a joint effort of the ASU Graduate College and the ASU Libraries. For more information or questions about this collection contact or visit the Digital Repository ETD Library Guide or contact the ASU Graduate College at gradformat@asu.edu.
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- All Subjects: pedagogy
Description
The United States is facing an emerging principal shortage. This study examines an intervention to deliver professional development for assistant principals on their way to becoming principals. The intervention intended to boost their sense of efficacy as if they were principals while creating a supportive community of professionals for ongoing professional learning. The community was designed much like a professional learning community (PLC) with the intent of developing into a community of practice (CoP). The participants were all elementary school assistant principals in a Title I district in a large metropolitan area. The researcher interviewed an expert set of school administrators consisting of superintendents and consultants (and others who have knowledge of what a good principal ought to be) about what characteristics and skills were left wanting in principal applicants. The data from these interviews provided the discussion topics for the intervention. The assistant principals met regularly over the course of a semester and discussed the topics provided by the expert set of school administrators. Participant interaction within the sessions followed conversation protocols. The researcher was also a participant in the group and served as the coordinator. Each session was recorded and transcribed. The researcher used a mixed methods approach to analyze the intervention. Participants were surveyed to measure their efficacy before and after the intervention. The session transcripts were analyzed using open and axial coding. Data showed no statistically significant change in the participants' sense of efficacy. Data also showed the participants became a coalescing community of practice.
ContributorsRichman, Bryan (Author) / Puckett, Kathleen (Thesis advisor) / Smith, Jeffery (Committee member) / Foulger, Teresa (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Over 7 million students in the US choosing virtual education as they pursue their degree (U.S. Department of Education, 2021). With almost 10,000 business degrees offered online (GetEducated, 2021) digital classes now have to deliver meaningful learning experiences to prepare leaders for inherently relational challenges. This study examines how well online undergraduate students learned and connected in a 7.5-week leadership development course that used a peer coaching model. In this course design, two peer coaches met each week to process and provide feedback on the coursework. Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) suggests that learning is an individual transformation that occurs as learners move through four dialectically opposed learning modes: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation (Kolb & Kolb, 2017). Learners make meaning of their experience (like conversations or coursework) by thinking about them and developing a mental model that influences their actions which changes the way they view new experiences. In this study, I illustrate how peer coaching supports this transformative process and can help learners expand their thinking not just academically, but personally and professionally too. Moreover, peer coaches emphasize diversity by acknowledging and leveraging markedly different mental models to enhance students’ depth of learning and relating.
I used a convergent mixed-methods design in which qualitative and quantitative data were collected in parallel, analyzed separately and then merged. The reason for collecting both quantitative and qualitative data is to develop a better understanding of the effects of learning preference and affect because each type of data will provide different pieces of evidence regarding those effects. The quantitative data was collected using Qualtrics from self-report surveys using primarily Likert scales to measure learning outcomes, learning preferences, and affect as a part of class exercises. The qualitative data was collected from students’ open-ended reflection assignments about the benefits of differences in their peer coaches. The multiple regressions did not show that learning preference contrasts significantly predicted learning outcomes nor relationships. In contrast, positive affect did predict learning outcomes. The thematic analysis offered clues as to how positive affect improves both learning outcomes and the quality of the peer coaching relationship.
ContributorsReed, Rachel M (Author) / Trinh, Mai P (Thesis advisor) / Foulger, Teresa (Committee member) / Scholar, Brent (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021