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Investigating a teacher evaluation system: school administrator and teacher perceptions of the system's standards of effectiveness

Description
Increasing public criticism of traditional teacher evaluation systems based largely on classroom observations has spurred an unprecedented shift in the debate surrounding educational accountability policies, specifically about the purposes for and measures used to evaluate teachers. In response to growing public demand and associated federal mandates, states have been prompted…

Increasing public criticism of traditional teacher evaluation systems based largely on classroom observations has spurred an unprecedented shift in the debate surrounding educational accountability policies, specifically about the purposes for and measures used to evaluate teachers. In response to growing public demand and associated federal mandates, states have been prompted to design and implement teacher evaluation systems that use increasingly available, statistically complex models (i.e., value-added) intended to isolate and measure the effects of individual teachers on student academic growth over time. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of school administrators and teachers within one of the largest school districts in the state of Arizona with regards to the design and implementation of a federally-supported, state policy-directed teacher evaluation system based on professional practice and value-added measures. While much research has been conducted on teacher evaluation, few studies have examined teacher evaluation systems in context to better understand the standards of effectiveness used by school administrators and teachers to measure system effectiveness. The perceptions of school administrators and teachers, considering their lived experiences as the subjects of the nation's new and improved teacher evaluation systems in context, must be better understood if state and federal policymakers are to also better recognize and understand the consequences (intended and unintended) associated with the design and implementation of these systems in practice.
ContributorsPaufler, Noelle A (Author) / Amrein-Beardsley, Audrey L (Thesis advisor) / Berliner, David C. (Committee member) / Fischman, Gustavo E (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014

Using a Web Survey to Evaluate the Effectiveness of a Podcast on Organizational Outreach for the State Bar of New Mexico

Description

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the State Bar of New Mexico's (SBNM) new podcast series, SBNM is Hear. The podcast was initially developed as a member outreach tool and a new platform for professional development and survey questions were developed to gauge the podcast’s effectiveness in these…

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the State Bar of New Mexico's (SBNM) new podcast series, SBNM is Hear. The podcast was initially developed as a member outreach tool and a new platform for professional development and survey questions were developed to gauge the podcast’s effectiveness in these two areas. An electronic survey was deployed to active members of the SBNM through email. Respondents were asked questions regarding their demographics, whether they had listened to the series, and what content they would like to hear in the future. The survey resulted in 103 responses, of which 60% indicated that they had not listened to the podcast. The results showed that listenership was evenly divided between generations and that more females listened to at least one episode. The open-ended responses indicated that the two cohorts of respondents (listeners and non- listeners) viewed the podcast a potential connection to the New Mexico judiciary. Future recommendations include conducting an annual survey to continue to understand the effectiveness of the podcast and solicit feedback for continued growth and improvement
ContributorsPettit, Morgan (Author) / Lauer, Claire (Degree committee member) / Mara, Andrew (Degree committee member) / Carradini, Stephen (Degree committee member)
Created2020-12-10

Feedback and Threat States: A Case Study of the Formal Feedback Process in the PCC

Description

In this case study, the formal feedback process of the PCC was researched to determine if the process causes a potential threat state within PCC representatives, and, if so, identify aspects of the process that are potential causes of the threat state. Researched was complete via survey, and data was…

In this case study, the formal feedback process of the PCC was researched to determine if the process causes a potential threat state within PCC representatives, and, if so, identify aspects of the process that are potential causes of the threat state. Researched was complete via survey, and data was analyzed using open coding and various quantitative methods. Based on the data obtained in the survey, a threat state was determined to exist due to the feedback process, and two potential causes were identified. A recommendation report was built from the data, and two recommendations were presented. The first recommendation was to adjust to process of how feedback is sent to a PCC rep, and the second was around how often that feedback is delivered. Also included in the recommendation report was discussion around limitations to the research and how those are potential options for future research.
ContributorsPollock, Samuel (Author) / Brumberger, Eva (Degree committee member) / Carradini, Stephen (Degree committee member) / D'Angelo, Barbara J. (Degree committee member)
Created2018-05-02
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Nonverbal Immediacy and Similarity Effects on Initial Intercultural and Intracultural Interaction: First Impressions of U.S. and Middle Eastern Students

Description
In the U.S, Middle Eastern (M.E) students often struggle with negative biases toward them and experience isolation, discrimination, and report a lack of meaningful interactions with U.S. students. Against this backdrop, this dissertation explored the impact of enacted similarity and nonverbal immediacy on social attraction and friendship-potential between same-sex U.S.…

In the U.S, Middle Eastern (M.E) students often struggle with negative biases toward them and experience isolation, discrimination, and report a lack of meaningful interactions with U.S. students. Against this backdrop, this dissertation explored the impact of enacted similarity and nonverbal immediacy on social attraction and friendship-potential between same-sex U.S. and M.E. international students during first time interactions on Zoom. A 2 (M.E. vs. U.S. confederate) x 2 (low vs. high similarity) x 2 (low vs. high nonverbal immediacy) x 2 (pre- vs. post-interaction) experimental design was employed, with participants reporting on their perceptions after viewing a profile of a confederate and then again after they interacted with the confederate on Zoom for three minutes. Pre-interaction results indicated that M.E. women were perceived as the most socially attractive, highest friendship potential, and as most likely to engage in pleasant interaction, compared to the other three groups. This finding emerged even though U.S. women rated fellow U.S. women as more similar to them than they rated M.E. women. A potential explanation is intersectionality of gender and ethnicity, with U.S. women stereotyping M.E. women as quiet, submissive, and oppressed, and therefore have sympathy for them and expect them to be kind. Post-interaction results revealed that in interactions between U.S. students, similarity impacted friendship potential but not social attraction, while nonverbal immediacy had a significant impact on both. In intercultural interactions between the U.S. and M.E. students, both nonverbal immediacy and similarity impacted social attraction and friendship potential. There were especially sharp drops in social attraction and friendship potential when the confederates enacted low levels of nonverbal immediacy. Overall, nonverbal immediacy had stronger and more consistent effects compared to similarity. Results indicate that to make positive impressions, both U.S. and M.E. students should use nonverbal immediacy cues such as smiling, leaning in, and being attentive to their interactional partner rather than looking away. Future directions include determining if findings can be generalized to face-to-face interactions and to perceptions of individuals from various cultures.
ContributorsLu, Anna Hommadova (Author) / Guerrero, Laura K (Thesis advisor) / Martin, Judith N (Thesis advisor) / Carradini, Stephen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021