Matching Items (8)
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Educational leadership
Description
Virtual Patient Simulations (VPS) are web-based exercises involving simulated patients in virtual environments. This study investigates the utility of VPS for increasing medical student clinical reasoning skills, collaboration, and engagement. Many studies indicate that VPS provide medical students with essential practice in clinical decision making before they encounter real life patients. The utility of a recursive, inductive VPS for increasing clinical decision-making skills, collaboration, or engagement is unknown. Following a design-based methodology, VPS were implemented in two phases with two different cohorts of first year medical students: spring and fall of 2013. Participants were 108 medical students and six of their clinical faculty tutors. Students collaborated in teams of three to complete a series of virtual patient cases, submitting a ballpark diagnosis at the conclusion of each session. Student participants subsequently completed an electronic, 28-item Exit Survey. Finally, students participated in a randomized controlled trial comparing traditional (tutor-led) and VPS case instruction methods. This sequence of activities rendered quantitative and qualitative data that were triangulated during data analysis to increase the validity of findings. After practicing through four VPS cases, student triad teams selected accurate ballpark diagnosis 92 percent of the time. Pre-post test results revealed that PPT was significantly more effective than VPS after 20 minutes of instruction. PPT instruction resulted in significantly higher learning gains, but both modalities supported significant learning gains in clinical reasoning. Students collaborated well and held rich clinical discussions; the central phenomenon that emerged was "synthesizing evidence inductively to make clinical decisions." Using an inductive process, student teams collaborated to analyze patient data, and in nearly all instances successfully solved the case, while remaining cognitively engaged. This is the first design-based study regarding virtual patient simulation, reporting iterative phases of implementation and design improvement, culminating in local theories (petite generalizations) about VPS design. A thick, rich description of environment, process, and findings may benefit other researchers and institutions in designing and implementing effective VPS.
ContributorsMcCoy, Lise (Author) / Wetzel, Keith (Thesis advisor) / Ewbank, Ann (Thesis advisor) / Simon, Harvey (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
ABSTRACT Education policymakers at the national level have initiated reforms in K-12 education for that past several years that have focused on teacher quality and teacher evaluation. More recently, reforms have included legislation that focuses on administrator quality as well. Included in far-reaching recent legislation in Arizona is a requirement that administrators be evaluated on a standards-based evaluation system that is linked to student outcomes. The end result is an annual summative measure of administrator effectiveness that impacts job retention. Because of this, Arizona administrators have become concerned about rapidly becoming proficient in the new evaluation systems. Administrators rarely have the explicit professional development opportunities they need to collaborate on a shared understanding of these new evaluation systems. This action research study focused on a group of eight administrators in a small urban district grappling with a new, complex, and high-stakes administrator evaluation that is a component of an all-encompassing Teacher Incentive Fund Grant. An existing professional learning time was engaged to assist administrators in lessening their concerns and increasing their understanding and use of the evaluation instrument. Activities were designed to engage the administrators in dynamic, contextualized learning. Participants interacted in a group to interpret the meaning of the evaluation instrument share practical knowledge and support each other's acquisition understanding. Data were gathered with mixed methods. Administrators were given pre-and post-surveys prior to and immediately after this six-week innovation. Formal and informal interviews were conduct throughout the innovation. Additionally, detailed records in the form of meeting records and a researcher journal were kept. Qualitative and quantitative data were triangulated to validate findings. Results identified concerns and understanding of administrators as they attempted to come to a shared understanding of the new evaluation instrument. As a result of learning together, their concerns about the use of the instrument lessened. Other concerns however, remained or increased. Administrators found the process of the Administrator Learning Community valuable and felt their understanding and use of the instrument had increased. Intense concerns about the competing priorities and initiatives led to the administrators to consider a reevaluation of the competing initiatives. Implications from this study can be used to help other administrators and professional development facilitators grappling with common concerns.
ContributorsEsmont, Leah W (Author) / Wetzel, Keith (Thesis advisor) / Ewbank, Ann (Thesis advisor) / McNeil, David (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
This mixed methods participatory action research study explored how an instructional coach influenced a state mandated curriculum adoption at a Title 1 urban middle school. The purpose of this study was to identify ways in which an instructional coach supported a veteran staff during the adoption of new curriculum standards. The instructional coach/action researcher employed a three pronged coaching approach that incorporated individual and team coaching sessions and increased networking to encourage and support the development of social capital. This study was informed using Vygotsky's Social Learning Theory, Wenger's Communities of Practice, Coleman's Social Capital Theory, and Hall and Horde's Concerns-Based Adoption Model. The study is heavily weighted in favor of qualitative data which includes participant reflections, coach individual session and team session reflections, field-notes, team meeting videos, and exit interviews. Several themes emerged supporting the use of a differentiated coaching approach, the promotion of social capital, and the identification of initiative overload as a barrier to curriculum adoption. The quantitative data analysis, pre and post study Stages of Concern Questionnaires, produced evidence that participants experienced minor shifts in their concerns relating to the adoption of Common Core State Standards. Results were used to inform coaching decisions based on individual participant needs as well as to augment the qualitative findings. Ideas for further research are discussed.
ContributorsSchwarting, Joann (Author) / Wetzel, Keith (Thesis advisor) / Ewbank, Ann (Thesis advisor) / Johnson, Lynda (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Assessments at the international, national, state, and local levels demonstrate that students’ reading scores in Arizona lack growth. Current trends in education encourage teachers to engage in close reading as a strategy to help improve reading efficacy. The close reading process helps students learn how to analyze complex text. A mixed method study examined the effect of ten weeks of instruction in close reading on the reading comprehension skills of fifth grade students. Also examined were any differential effects of close reading on literary versus informational texts. Students in an upper income public school community were taught the specifics of close reading procedures approximately four days per week for about 30 minutes daily. Research-based procedures for close reading strategies were followed. Students self-reported changes in their use of strategies prior to receiving close reading strategies and again post-instruction. Six students were interviewed and responded to journal questions concerning their use of the close reading strategies to ascertain how they made meaning from text. Results suggest that close reading was beneficial in helping students to make academic achievements in overall reading comprehension, as well as growth in literary content. Data also reflected that students used close reading strategies to make meaning out of the text and used it to influence their overall reading comprehension. The discussion focused on the triangulation of the quantitative and qualitative data and analyzed connections to current research. Also explored were implications for practice and future research, as well as limitations and the role of the researcher.
ContributorsVictor, Laura (Author) / Caterino, Linda C (Thesis advisor) / Koro-Ljungberg, Mirka (Committee member) / McNeil, David (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
This study addresses the problem of high school graduates with learning disabilities who are unprepared for higher education and the workplace because of limited exposure to career professionals and perceived barriers. The purpose of this study is to examine how a career exploration model, entitled CaMPs (Career Model Professionals) influences students’ career decision-making self-efficacy. CaMPs incorporates exposure to career role models, as well as career research and self-reflection. CaMPs proivides students with learning disabilities first-hand accounts of successful career professionals, to assist them in setting academic and career goals that are aligned to their personal strengths. This mixed methods study develops and evaluates a career based innovation for high school students and reviews the relationship between the innovation and students’ self-efficacy. Students completed a self-efficacy survey (Career Decision Self-Efficacy - Short Form: CDSE) before and after the implementation of the CaMPs program. A t-test comparing pre- and post-survey scores indicated that there was a significant increase in self-efficacy after completion of the program. Qualitative data revealed changes in students’ career interests and new considerations to their career preparation process after participating in the CaMPs innovation. This study will be useful in the development of career programs for high school students, particularly those with learning disabilities, to assist them in choosing and preparing for their future careers.
ContributorsCook, Jeffrey (Author) / Caterino, Linda C (Thesis advisor) / Carlson, David L. (Committee member) / Dawes, Mary E (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
Parent involvement in their children’s education has been a frequently sought after and highly regarded component in education that has repeatedly been identified as a significant influence that contributes to children’s success in school. Historically, Latino parent involvement has been markedly low in the United States. Researchers’ interest in Latino parents’ involvement in their children’s education has been spurred by this low level of involvement coupled with reports of significant differences in educational achievement between Latino students and students of other ethnic backgrounds. Perceptions of self-efficacy and role construction have been identified as motivators for parent involvement. The purpose of this action research study was to examine the relationship between the Espacio Iluminado Parent Engagement Program as a nontraditional Latino parent involvement opportunity and parents’ perceptions of self-efficacy and role construction as it pertains to supporting the education of their children. The foundation of the program was developed utilizing Third Space Theory (Bhabha, 1994) to generate a framework that had the potential to serve as a model for future parent involvement programs that validated the knowledge of diverse cultures and discourses and encouraged a mediation of the two. Participants’ ratings of Role Construction and Self-Efficacy were significantly improved after their involvement in the parent program. Participants also felt strongly that the program was personally valuable and useful. Future direction might include a longitudinal study to track the academic progress of children of the participants.
ContributorsBrotherton, Kathleen Scheehl (Author) / Caterino, Linda C (Thesis advisor) / Buss, Ray R (Committee member) / Weber, Christina (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
This study explored the influence of how the development of self-determination skills affected college students with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Five college students who qualified for a university-based disabilities resource program under the category of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) participated in a five session mentoring program over the course of the first 12 weeks of the fall semester. The mentoring program was designed to develop specific self-determination skills, including, self-awareness, self-advocacy, and confidence. Participants engaged in an interactive dialogue, discussing specific skills and experiences, relative to the development of self-determination skills. Pre- and post-surveys, and a post intervention interview indicated that the students reported positive results in describing that mentoring experience, and found the protocol useful in their development of self-determination skills. Implications identified for further application into practice, include (a) a deeper appreciation and review of the participants’ background and experience, (b) the development and implementation of peer-to-peer mentoring, (c) the need for more intentional collaboration with high school partners, (d) the need to expand the skills being developed, and (e), the need to expand the number of services and resources discussed. This study will be used in the exploration of a broader collegiate mentoring program geared towards students with ASD with the purpose of increasing self-determination skills.
ContributorsHarrop, Lance J (Author) / Caterino, Linda C (Thesis advisor) / Puckett, Kathleen (Committee member) / Montoya, Georgeana (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
This mixed methods action research study explores the impact of a multilevel intervention on retention indicators of special education induction teachers and the leadership capacities of the special education induction coaches and coordinator. The purpose of this investigation was to understand the impact of developing and implementing an action research study on three different levels of participants the special education induction coaches, teachers and me. A theoretical framework based upon Bandura's (1977, 1982) work in Social Learning Theory, and in self and collective efficacy informs this study. The conceptual framework developed based upon the tenets of Authentic Leadership Theory and special education mentor programs inform the development of the intervention and data collection tools. Quantitative data included results collected from the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ), Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ), and the Special Education Induction Teacher Questionnaire (SEITQ). The qualitative data included results collected from the SEITQ open-ended questions, Email Reflective Response (ERR), organic and structured focus groups, fieldnotes, and the Teachers' Final Letter. Findings include: a) I changed as a leader and a researcher, b) the special education induction coaches began to think and act as leaders, c) the special education induction teachers' retention indicators increased, d) by actively participating in the co-construction of the special education induction program, both the coaches and the teacher provided valuable insights as pertains to developing a program that supports special education induction teachers. Implications and next steps are discussed.
ContributorsImel, Breck (Author) / Wetzel, Keith (Thesis advisor) / Ewbank, Ann (Thesis advisor) / Davidson, Carter (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012