Matching Items (12)
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- All Subjects: Educational leadership
- Creators: Wolf, Leigh
- Resource Type: Text
DescriptionThe purpose of this study is to assess to what degree employees of the Commercial Service are knowledgeable about social media. It is also a means to learn about the perceptions of social media within the U.S. government and the Commercial Service and examine its innovation culture.
ContributorsSinclair, Torunn Kathryn (Author) / Matera, Fran (Thesis director) / Phillips, Robin (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Our children come to school every day to learn, participate, and prepare for what the future will bring. Others come to school to find refuge and help from those who dedicate their lives to ensure they are well and safe. They come with their minds filled with hopes and dreams, while others walk around the hallways with their hearts filled with despair and uncertainty. Despite collaborative district efforts and improvements in student services, students continue to experience trauma related symptoms and other mental disorders at disconcerting rates. The school district reports that approximately 98% of students have experienced traumatic episodes and half of these students presented with significant distress from symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Loudenback, 2016). At this school, approximately 25% of the student body has been referred, identified and treated for socio-emotional difficulties. These rates are often higher in students with learning disabilities participating in different academic programs. This action research study was conducted to evaluate how and to what extent does implementation of a resilience-based curriculum affect students’ resilience, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms, attitudes toward school and efficacy for coping. This project was implemented over ten consecutive weeks in an urban middle school in East Los Angeles to a group of twenty students in special education. The intervention consists of ten modules each with activities and strategies designed to raise the students’ resilience and overall well-being. Resilience Theory and Social Cognitive Theory provide the framework for understanding the problem of practice and informing the intervention. Research along with professional observations regarding the vulnerability of students in special education coupled with the lack of evidence-based practices that assist in their emotional development inspired this project. This action research relied on an explanatory sequential design where qualitative results explained and supported the results from the quantitative data. Following the explanatory design, quantitative data was collected analyzed followed by qualitative data upon completion of the intervention. Data collected from web-based surveys and focus groups demonstrate that their participation in the resilience-based intervention increased their resilience, more specifically self-efficacy and problem solving skills while reducing PTSD symptoms. Results also showed students improved their attitudes toward school and ability to cope with stress. Quantitative and qualitative data merging, interpretation, and relation to both theory and research are discussed along with the study’s limitations, implication for research and practice, and concluding thoughts.
ContributorsDussan, Francisco Jose (Author) / Gee, Elizabeth (Thesis advisor) / Wolf, Leigh (Committee member) / Elsasser, Jim (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
This action research project focused on teacher retention in Adult Education programs. The study was centered on new teachers in Adult Education, as defined as having less than three years of experience teaching in the field of Adult Education. The study concentrated on growing new teachers’ senses of belonging, self-efficacy, and new teachers’ intent to return through the implementation of Talking Circles. There were four participants in this study from a local community college. They participated in four Talking Circles over a two-month period. Data collection included pre-and post-surveys, Talking Circle data, and qualitative interviews. Overall results indicate that Talking Circles were successful in fostering belonging among participants and growing self-efficacy. However, participating in Talking Circles did not impact their intent to return the following year. The data shows that income and benefits are the main factors in deciding to return. Qualitative interview data also revealed that part-time teachers feel isolation in their roles and that participants enjoyed using Talking Circles as a communication strategy. Implications for leaders are to create belonging for part-time teachers and work to meet new teacher needs, especially in the areas of professional development and curriculum and resources.
ContributorsNiu, Emily (Author) / Baker, Dale (Thesis advisor) / Wolf, Leigh (Committee member) / Cardenas, Jenni (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role a peer-driven technology acceptance model (PDTAM) in the form of a Community of Practice (CoP) played in assisting users in the acceptance of Trellis technologies at the University of Arizona. Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) technologies are becoming more common in higher education, helping to track interactions, streamline processes, and support customized experiences for students. Unfortunately, not all users are receptive to new technologies, and subsequent adoption can be slow. While the study of technology adoption literature provides insight into what motivates individuals to accept or reject new technologies, used herein was the most prevalent technology adoption theory – the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM; Davis, 1986). I used TAM to explore technology acceptance more spec user’s Perceived Ease of Use (PEU) and Perceived Usefulness (PU). In this MMAR study, I used TAM (Davis, 1986) as well as Everett Roger’s (1983) Diffusion Innovation Theory (DOI) to evaluate the impact of the CoP mentioned above on user adoption. Additionally, I added Perceived Value (PV) as a third construct to the TAM. Using pre-and post-intervention surveys, observation, and interviews, to both collect and analyze data on the impacts of my CoP intervention, I determined that the CoPs did assist in more thoroughly diffusing knowledge share, which reportedly led to improved PEU, PU, and PV in the treatment group. Specifically, the peer-to-peer mentoring that occurred in the CoPs helped users feel empowered to use the capabilities. Additionally, while the CoPs reportedly improved PEU, PU, and PV, the peer-to-peer model and the Trellis technologies still have not matured enough to realize their total value to campus.
ContributorsHodge, Nikolas (Author) / Beardsley, Audrey (Thesis advisor) / Neumann, William (Committee member) / Wolf, Leigh (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
This study applies Indigenous Oral Research Methods to amplify the voice and story of math educators working within Indigenous communities. Publicly posted podcast interviews with five participants of the Fire Circles Professional Development were used to disseminate their experiences and views of professional development programs that they had participated in. These podcasts became the oral qualitative data that was reviewed, reflected on, analyzed, and synthesized into a summary of future actions needed to improve the learning success for all students in mathematics.
ContributorsLittle Crow, Michael (Author) / Weinberg, Andrea (Thesis advisor) / Wolf, Leigh (Committee member) / Escue, Billy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
The importance of teacher collaboration and professional growth are highlighted by their inclusion in the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). In ESSA, it is recommended that teachers are provided with opportunities to collaborate and participate in learning communities. The purpose of this action research study was to address the problem of practice of a lack of teacher collaboration and professional learning community (PLC) at Sun Valley High School (SVHS); a 9th-12th grade public school in southern California. Through previous cycles of research, an online collaborative space to foster and support teacher collaboration was created; the PLC Team Hub. This study examined the attitudes and experiences of three teachers participating in a first-year, cross-curricular PLC Team and their interaction with the PLC Team Hub. Data gathered includes survey data, teacher interviews, audio of PLC Team meetings, teacher-generated artifacts, and digital researcher journal. Results suggested that the PLC Team Hub was effective in facilitating teacher collaboration and communication for these teachers. Further, teachers reported that they observed evidence of cross-curricular student engagement and learning as a result of their participation in the PLC Team Hub. Recommendations focus on the future of the innovation and the need for institutional and administrative support to continue the PLC Team Hub at SVHS.
ContributorsSzabo, Zsuzsa Zelika (Author) / Wolf, Leigh (Thesis advisor) / Markos, Amy (Committee member) / Finnell, Todd (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
It is well documented in literature that student teachers must become self-regulated learners to be effective teachers. As self-regulated learners, teachers can pass these vital skills to their students. The aim of this study is to determine if my self-regulated learning awareness and development (SRLAD) intervention which focuses on teaching student teachers SRL strategies, could impact their academic performance. The literature reviewed shows that SRL strategies can be successfully taught to adult learners through interventions. This practical action research study utilizes a concurrent mixed-method research design. Quantitative data from a pretest/posttest and pre/post MSLQ and qualitative data from student reflective journals were collected simultaneously. The findings were then triangulated to answer the three research questions. Participants were 33 undergraduate teachers reading for their degree in early childhood and primary education at the University of Guyana, Berbice campus (UGBC). Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation and inferential statistics such as the repeated measures t-test and ANOVA. Major findings showed that student teachers were self-motivated and were able to select, assess, evaluate, and use appropriate SRL strategies to suit their learning needs and context. The SRLAD intervention had a meaningful impact on the academic performance of student teachers since they recognized the numerous benefits of incorporating SRL strategies to aid their learning and academic performance. They also realized that by consistently incorporating SRL strategies into their learning, they could become self-regulated learners and, more importantly, teach these skills to their students. As such, the SRLAD intervention should be a mandatory study skill course for all first-year student teachers at the University of Guyana.
ContributorsGarraway, Yassanne Marcia (Author) / Smith, Stephanie (Thesis advisor) / Thompson, Nicole (Committee member) / Wolf, Leigh (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Second Language Learners face a unique set of challenges when it comes to the learning process. This dissertation study specifically focuses on those challenges and how to train teachers working within a co-teaching model in an international school in Bangkok, Thailand. Using the ideology proposed by Stephen Krashen as a part of his Input Hypothesis Theory and framing the results through the lens of Albert Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory, I studied the effects of a professional development model that focused on phonemic awareness, comprehensible input, and a collaborative teaching approach. Using this as my methodological framework, I found that teachers were able to improve their teaching skills and become more confident in their approach when provided with training that gave them specific responsibilities to address within the process of teaching. Through the use of pre-post surveys, interviews, and observations, I was able to examine how resource sharing and collaborative lesson planning allowed teachers to be more confident in their approach to teaching and their abilities to support students that were attending an international school that was a part of one of the most successful and academically rigorous networks of schools in the United States of America. It was through an intentional designation of tasks and a collaborative training approach that teachers were not only able to better understand the needs of their students but also find ways to work with and learn from one another in the training process. Ultimately, I discovered that allowing teachers to share resources and best practices allowed them to build quality and far more engaging lessons for their students.
ContributorsThies, Elizabeth Ellen (Author) / Nelson, Brian (Thesis advisor) / Wolf, Leigh (Committee member) / Leyba, Ashley (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
This mixed methods action research study set out to solve the problem of practice involving a faculty member’s struggle to maintain active learning teaching and strategies during the transition of face-to-face to online modalities. Using a self-developed intervention called the Active Learning Course Planning Map, a new instructional design model is presented with a case study discussing the implications of use in an online course design and development process. Additionally, the faculty perspective was explored using the Active Learning Course Planning Map that encouraged active learning through reflection and collaboration between an instructional designer and faculty member. Initial findings suggested that the use of the Active Learning Course Planning Map, along with the collaborative work with an instructional designer was an asset that helped in the planning and execution of online courses.
ContributorsStamper, Blair (Author) / Salik, Steve (Thesis advisor) / Wolf, Leigh (Committee member) / Pyke, J. Garvey (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
The purpose of the project was to explore the extent to which an asynchronous online professional development (PD) model focusing on instructor presence would improve feedback and interactions with students. The study is grounded in Community of Inquiry theory, which situates learning at the intersection of teaching presence, social presence and cognitive presence. The study aimed to improve student success by empowering instructors to integrate engaging strategies and technology tools into fully online courses. The participants were 4 higher education instructors teaching in fully online degree programs delivered to 160-200 undergraduate students. For eight weeks the 4 instructors participated in the PD. The goals of the PD were to learn strategies for improving instructor presence and integrating student engagement opportunities in a collaborative online format. Data was collected from pre- and post-intervention offerings of the instructors’ courses to determine the impact of participation in the PD. Results suggest that the PD model was an effective intervention to increase presence and engagement. Presence and engagement were found to have increased in participants’ courses. Interactive video was found to serve multiple purposes including increasing instructor presence and student engagement, facilitating feedback between instructors and students, and elevating the level of cognitive presence of students. As a result, instructors and students both indicated a perception of improved interactions and feedback.
ContributorsRomanoski, Matthew Peter (Author) / Fischman, Gustavo E (Thesis advisor) / Wolf, Leigh (Committee member) / Farmakis, Heather (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020