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.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6
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- All Subjects: Educational Administration
- Creators: Beardsley, Audrey
Description
Given the current focus on high-stakes accountability in America's public schools, this study examined teacher evaluation specific to physical education. This study revealed current teacher evaluation practices used in physical education, perceptions of school administrators related to the value of the physical education evaluation process, and the perceptions of the physical education teachers related to the value of the evaluation process. The first phase of this study was an interpretive document analysis study conducted on four separate teacher evaluation systems commonly used within the public school system to evaluate physical education teachers. Those four systems were: Marzanos teacher evaluation model, Danielson framework for teaching (FFT), Rewarding Excellence in Instruction and Leadership (REIL), and Teacher Advancement Program (TAP). A separate evaluation instrument specific to physical education created by the National Association of Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) was used as a comparative evaluation tool. Evidence suggests that two of the four teacher evaluation systems had a high percentage of alignment with the NASPE instrument (TAP 87.5%, FFT 82.5%). The Marzano teacher evaluation model had the least amount of alignment with the NASPE instrument (62.5%). The second phase of this study was a phenomenological approach to understanding administrators' and physical education teachers' perceptions to teacher evaluation specific to physical education. The participants in this study were administrators and physical education teachers from an urban school district. An informal survey and formal semi-structured interviews were used to reveal perceptions of teacher evaluation specific to physical education. Evidence from the administrator's informal survey and formal semi-structured interviews revealed four common themes: (1) "I value PE, but I live in reality" (administrators value physical education, but practice in reality); (2) "good teaching is good teaching"; (3) "I know my limitations, and I want
eed help" (relative to teacher evaluation in PE); and (4) where's the training beef? Evidence from the physical education teacher's informal survey and formal semi-structured interviews revealed three common themes: (a) physical education is valued, but not prioritized; (b) teacher evaluation in physical education is "greatly needed, yet not transparent; (c) physical educators are not confident in their evaluator.
eed help" (relative to teacher evaluation in PE); and (4) where's the training beef? Evidence from the physical education teacher's informal survey and formal semi-structured interviews revealed three common themes: (a) physical education is valued, but not prioritized; (b) teacher evaluation in physical education is "greatly needed, yet not transparent; (c) physical educators are not confident in their evaluator.
ContributorsNorris, Jason (Author) / Van Der Mars, Hans (Thesis advisor) / Beardsley, Audrey (Thesis advisor) / Kulinna, Pamela (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
This research is a reversal of the traditional concept of the student-teaching research experiment. Instead of studying the clear and stated goal of an apprenticeship, that of a pupil learning from the tutelage of a master, the focus here is on what a mentor-teacher learns from a student-teacher. During the act of teaching a novice, what can a mentor-teacher learn about her own practice, while demonstrating it to a pre-service teacher? Using the conceptual framework of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards' Architecture of Accomplished Teaching, and using it within a framework centered around cognitive coaching and reciprocal mentoring, this action research study implemented an intervention that called for series of five cognitive coaching cycles between a mentor- and student-teacher designed to foster dialogue and reflection between them. The ultimate aim of this case study was to help determine what a mentor-teacher learned about her own practice as a result of mentoring a student-teacher. Qualitative data were collected over sixteen weeks in a charter high school. Five findings were identified created after the data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach, and four conclusions were drawn about the intervention's role in the mentor-teacher's reciprocal learning.
ContributorsMcCloy, Daniel (Author) / Beardsley, Audrey (Thesis advisor) / Serafini, Frank (Committee member) / Roen, Duane (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Drawing on a wide variety of literature from social constructionism, communities of practice and knowledge management this study brings to light the kind of support teachers will need in order to be able to use a knowledge construction model to develop a continual learning process for arts integration. Arts integration is a highly effective instructional strategy that brings active engagement, problem solving and higher levels of cognition to students. However arts integration is not easy work. It takes a great deal of planning and collaboration. In this action research study, I take the perspective of a social artist, a facilitator, who offers a framework for a group of teacher participants to dialogue, collaborate and share ideas and skills to develop arts integrated products to share with others. Utilizing a mixed methodology approach, the findings of this action research study revealed that the intervention had a positive impact on the participants. Though there were some set backs, participants reported more dialogue and shared experiences about arts integration on a daily basis, more dialogue about new arts integrate ideas, and an increased sense of collaboration in developing arts integrated products. Furthermore, the Knowledge Construction Model (KCM) concept had strength as a potential professional development model for teachers and schools interested in growing their arts integration practices.
ContributorsBenson, Robert Jason (Author) / Beardsley, Audrey (Thesis advisor) / Serafini, Frank (Committee member) / Santarelli, Denton (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
For more than 30 years, social science researchers have studied how students in online learning environments interact with each other. This has led to the development of a construct called social presence. Studies have shown that high social presence can lead to improved student retention, engagement, and satisfaction. The literature explores how social presence has been measured by faculty or researchers, but lacks insight on how other university staff can affect social presence in online graduate students. This is an action research mixed-methods study conducted by an academic advisor and attempts to measure social presence through a webpage intervention for an online graduate business program. A pre-and-posttest were conducted in a five month span, as well as semi-structured interviews with students of the program. Results suggest that overall, the intervention did not increase social presence in the program. It also suggests that social presence is developed between students in a variety of ways, and can even be developed between their academic advisor and themselves. Overall, this study acknowledges how academic advisors can explore social presence to improve academic advising techniques and interventions for their programs, while also adding to the literature a different perspective through the eyes of a university staff member.
ContributorsDelgado, Gina Michelle (Author) / Chen, Ying-Chih (Thesis advisor) / Beardsley, Audrey (Committee member) / Tu, Chih-Hsiung (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Data use in higher education continues to increase as college and university leaders aim to meet accreditor and governmental expectations to use data to improve student outcomes. However, the steady increase in data use over the past decades has not been accompanied by an increase in employee data literacy in order for employees to use the data effectively. Further, inequitable student outcomes continue to persist in higher education, and more specifically at two-year community colleges, as potentially exacerbated by a lack of employee equity-mindedness. These concurrent problems—inadequate employee data literacy and persistent inequitable student outcomes—provide an opportunity to address both with one intervention. In this critical race, mixed-methods, action research study, I piloted an online professional development course, aimed at community college employees with the purpose to build data literacy and equity-mindedness. I used Bandura’s (1989) Social Cognitive Theory as a guiding theoretical framework paired with a quasi-experimental, delayed-start research design to study the effectiveness of the course in building employee data literacy and equity-mindedness, in addition to better understanding the impacts of environmental factors (i.e., organizational culture) on the implementation of the course. Using pre- and post-intervention surveys, pre- and post-intervention knowledge assessments, and post-intervention participant interviews, I determined that the professional development course contributed to improvements in employee data literacy and equity-mindedness. In particular, the course helped increase employee self-efficacy for data use, increased employee knowledge of data use and equity-mindedness, and increased employee intent to use data in the future. I also found that the organization’s culture related to data and equity to be complex and evolving, both hindering and facilitating data use, in general, and data use specifically, to address inequitable student outcomes.
ContributorsMitchell, Dennis Shane (Author) / Beardsley, Audrey (Thesis advisor) / Ott, Molly (Committee member) / Jacobsen, Craig (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
With increasing costs of higher education, community college pathways to baccalaureate transfer degrees are attractive student alternatives to starting at a traditional four-year institution. However, disparate student outcomes, particularly for underserved student populations, continue to be a concern when considering equitable four-year degree completion rates. Previous literature demonstrates that student satisfaction and student informational capital play key roles in the success of community college transfer students to persist to four-year institutions and attain their educational and career goals. The role of academic advising in the transfer context provides a uniquely collaborative opportunity to address factors of success and student outcomes. Via this mixed methods action research study, I utilized archival student enrollment data, a student survey, and student and advisor interviews to examine an academic advising model that I created in partnership between Cochise Community College and the University of Arizona (i.e., the Colaborativo Advising for Transfer Success Model, or CATS Advising Model), whereby I assigned a singular academic advisor (i.e., a CATS advisor) a student caseload across the two institutions in a deliberate effort to facilitate successful transfer. I used a combined framework of the Model of Student Departure, Transfer Student Capital, and Appreciative Inquiry to inform the advising intervention. I found that students who received the advising intervention were significantly more likely to a) be satisfied with their transfer advising experience, b) perceive increased transfer knowledge (capital), and c) retain through transfer and university enrollment, in comparison to their peers who received advising via a more traditional transfer advising model. Importantly, the students experiencing the advising intervention were also able to articulate their appreciation and recognition of the impact of their relationship with the CATS advisors on their transfer success.
ContributorsWieland, Sarah (Author) / Beardsley, Audrey (Thesis advisor) / Smith, Stephanie (Committee member) / Urquídez, Kasandra (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022