Matching Items (20)
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- All Subjects: Educational Administration
- All Subjects: Education (Higher)
- Creators: Ott, Molly
- Creators: Hermanns, Carl
Description
Federal education policies call for school district leaders to promote classroom technology integration to prepare students with 21st century skills. However, schools are struggling to integrate technology effectively, with students often reporting that they feel like they need to power down and step back in time technologically when they enter classrooms. The lack of meaningful technology use in classrooms indicates a need for increased teacher preparation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact a coaching model of professional development had on school administrators` abilities to increase middle school teachers` technology integration in their classrooms. This study attempted to coach administrators to develop and articulate a vision, cultivate a culture, and model instruction relative to the meaningful use of instructional technology. The study occurred in a middle school. Data for this case study were collected via administrator interviews, the Principal`s Computer Technology Survey, structured observations using the Higher Order Thinking, Engaged Learning, Authentic Learning, Technology Use protocol, field notes, the Technology Integration Matrix, teacher interviews, and a research log. Findings concluded that cultivating change in an organization is a complex process that requires commitment over an extended period of time. The meaningful use of instructional technology remained minimal at the school during fall 2010. My actions as a change agent informed the school`s administrators about the role meaningful use of technology can play in instruction. Limited professional development, administrative vision, and expectations minimized the teachers` meaningful use of instructional technology; competing priorities and limited time minimized the administrators` efforts to improve the meaningful use of instructional technology. Realizing that technology proficient teachers contribute to student success with technology, it may be wise for administrators to incorporate technology-enriched professional development and exercise their leadership abilities to promote meaningful technology use in classrooms.
ContributorsRobertson, Kristen (Author) / Moore, David (Thesis advisor) / Cheatham, Greg (Committee member) / Catalano, Ruth (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
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
Student tardiness has not received as much attention as absences in research on school attendance, despite the disruptions to learning it can cause. The purpose of this study was to design, implement, and study an alternative intervention—the Student Training for a Restorative Outlook for Needed Growth (S.T.R.O.N.G.) Program—to the existing punitive tardy detention practice at a high school where tardiness was a problem. The program promoted on-time behavior to school and class by utilizing positive restorative practice elements along with self-paced learning modules focused on growth mindset, goal setting, punctuality, and organizational skills. The driving force behind the creation of the S.T.R.O.N.G. Program was to determine if this intervention could support a change in students’ intent to be on time for class. Students in the S.T.R.O.N.G. Program intervention participated in three steps, beginning with individual restorative conversations and a group restorative conversation. In the second step, students engaged in learning module lessons related to growth mindset, goal setting, punctuality, and organizational skills. After each learning module, students reflected on their learning in individual journals. In the final step, students exited the intervention with a student feedback form. This mixed-methods action research study involved collecting data from interviews, surveys, and reflective journals. Thirteen students participated in the intervention and took an initial student intake questionnaire asking them about their student experiences in the existing punitive tardy detention practice. Qualitative data were coded, analyzed, and used with quantitative data to triangulate findings. The results of the study indicated that students were not in favor of the existing punitive tardy detention practice and preferred an alternative, positive tardy practice that supported self-improvement to help with their on-time behavior. Results also showed the S.T.R.O.N.G. Program to be useful and effective at teaching students information related to the constructs in the learning modules, resulting in students declaring a positive attitude.
ContributorsRobertson, Christopher Bryce (Author) / Harris, Lauren M (Thesis advisor) / Hermanns, Carl (Committee member) / Steitz, Julie (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
ABSTRACTLeading change is one of the most daunting tasks for K–12 site leaders. It is well established that the site leaders’ influence on student learning is profound, and the importance of implementing changes to improve practice is paramount. This action research study aimed to examine how a research-based professional development and coaching program could impact site leaders’ attitudes, beliefs, practices, and the teachers’ perceptions. The study occurred over 14 weeks at a public elementary school. The intervention contained two professional development sessions, which included learning and planned implementation of research-based strategies and weekly coaching sessions once the school year started. The theories that supported this study included change leadership, distributed leadership, transformational leadership, social cognitive theory, sensemaking, and literature on veteran teachers.
A mixed methods action research design using quantitative and qualitative data was gathered simultaneously through a pre- and postintervention collection. Data was gathered from Monday Memos, a staff meeting observation, staff meeting agendas, coaching field notes, the Staff Perception Survey, and interviews which were all used to analyze then address the research questions. During the qualitative data analysis, the codes were categorized, and themes were examined to determine any shifts from the initial data compared to the postintervention data. Due to the small sample size and lack of data normality on the Staff Perception Survey, instead of a conventional t test, the more conservative nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test was applied to assess pre-to-post differences. Results indicated no statistically significant differences between the pre- and postintervention survey among individual items or collective construct items (i.e., teacher voice, shared vision, removing obstacles, and building culture).
The results suggest that there was a shift in how the site leaders conceptualized their role as a leader of change through the coaching program intervention. It was expanded, hopeful, and the site leaders saw the increased weight of their role in the impact of leading change. Further, through the research-based coaching program, site leaders changed their practice regarding their consistency and both expanded and shifted change strategies. In conclusion, limitations give perspective while implications for practice and research provide for an exciting future.
ContributorsBaldwin, Jennifer Sue (Author) / Judson, Eugene (Thesis advisor) / Hermanns, Carl (Committee member) / Plough, Bobbie (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
The function and purpose of higher education has changed over the last decade. COVID-19 exacerbated that change, but well before Coronavirus exploded on the world stage, standard operations at most colleges and universities were in flux. In 2013, a New York Times article predicted many colleges and universities would shutter their doors or merge with another institution. A new paradigm for post-secondary education is emerging akin to what American community colleges have been doing since their inception; they work closely with industry and the community in which they are situated to ensure they teach skills students need to receive a living wage job upon graduation. Change and disruption have engendered problems at times tantamount to chaos in the higher education space. To make meaningful modifications in higher education, the chaos of change should be harnessed to devise a better system, as transformative chaos works its power to create a more cohesive model. Moreover, if change is not managed with expertise, it has the potential to run amok, leaving organizations in ruins. The purpose of this study was to examine how a nine-week workshop based in mindfulness and gentle movement affected College of Eastern Idaho staff members’ ability to manage constant change to see if it might augment their coping, competence, self-efficacy, resiliency and reframe the chaos of change to opportunity for their careers, their department, and the college. Mixed methods of inquiry were utilized; data sources included two pre- and post-intervention staff surveys, a focus group interview with four participants, participant journals they kept throughout the nine-weeks, and the researcher’s field notes from individual one-on-one check-ins with participants. This study demonstrated that staff members at College of Eastern Idaho had difficulty efficaciously performing their jobs because of the constant change and initiative fatigue. The study found that a nine-week Mindfulness from the Mat workshop positively impacted staff members coping, competence, self-efficacy, resiliency, and their attitudes about change. Moreover, the workshop had unexpected benefits of positively impacting participants personal lives, too. The discussion includes implications for future practice and research and potential explanations for the findings.
ContributorsBarber, Lori D. (Author) / Ott, Molly (Thesis advisor) / Henriksen, Danah (Committee member) / Redington, Lyn (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Higher education enrollment and degree attainment rates have increased in the U.S. Yet higher education has remained inaccessible to many. Low- and middle-income students and students from particular racial and ethnic backgrounds enroll and attain degrees at lower rates than their peers. To gain insight into the topic of access to higher education, I used social constructionist, critical, and socio-cognitive perspectives to conduct a descriptive, content, and discourse analysis of 1,242 articles about access to higher education published from 1994-2019 in eight influential U.S. newspapers. I also explored the historical and social context in which this coverage was situated. I found that access to higher education was considered an important topic in the articles I analyzed. I also found that while definitions of access to higher education were varied and often intersected, content related to costs and funding of higher education dominated the coverage. In addition, a tension between public and private benefits of access to higher education emerged in the articles I analyzed, as did a tension between public and private costs of access to higher education. These costs and benefits were often misaglined in coverage. The most salient benefit of access to higher education in the majority of articles was a public benefit, which primarily benefits society. However, a private entity or higher education institution was deemed responsible for covering the costs of access to higher education in the majority of articles. This research could be used to promote more nuanced coverage on access to higher education as well as policies, practices, and additional research that addresses the multiplicity of ways in which disparities in access to higher education are created, sustained, and reproduced.
ContributorsLish, Rebecca (Author) / Fischman, Gustavo E. (Thesis advisor) / Bergerson, Amy A. (Committee member) / Ott, Molly (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Promoting student engagement is a critical performance indicator for undergraduate success and is, therefore, a priority for academic institutions as they seek to improve teaching and learning practices (Meyer, 2014). Educators need to improve their instructional pedagogy by developing unique methods for engaging students with educational opportunities. Instructors who facilitate courses online face an even greater challenge in engaging students. A virtual learning community is a potential solution for improving online engagement.
This mixed methods action research dissertation explores the implementation of an online learning community and how it influences the engagement of students in distance learning environments. The primary research question guiding this inquiry is: How and to what extent does the implementation of an online learning community influence undergraduate student engagement in online courses? A sequential triangulation design was used to analyze data collected from surveys and responses collected from study participants during a synchronous online focus group. The analysis of the results of the study provide interesting insight into the online engagement of students. Key findings from the study are: 1) the inclusion of diverse perspectives is important for students and they value having opportunities to share their knowledge with peers; 2) an online learning community is beneficial for student engagement and this type of model is one they would participate in the future; 3) students experience a disconnect with peers when engagement opportunities in online discussion platforms feel insincere.
This mixed methods action research dissertation explores the implementation of an online learning community and how it influences the engagement of students in distance learning environments. The primary research question guiding this inquiry is: How and to what extent does the implementation of an online learning community influence undergraduate student engagement in online courses? A sequential triangulation design was used to analyze data collected from surveys and responses collected from study participants during a synchronous online focus group. The analysis of the results of the study provide interesting insight into the online engagement of students. Key findings from the study are: 1) the inclusion of diverse perspectives is important for students and they value having opportunities to share their knowledge with peers; 2) an online learning community is beneficial for student engagement and this type of model is one they would participate in the future; 3) students experience a disconnect with peers when engagement opportunities in online discussion platforms feel insincere.
ContributorsSneed, Obiageli (Author) / Ott, Molly (Thesis advisor) / Crawford, Steven (Committee member) / Magruder, Olysha (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
The purpose of this action research was to study the impact of managers’ roles in improving employee engagement through professional development programs and customized action plans among Merced College Student Services employees. Ultimately, the goal of the intervention was to increase levels of employee engagement among student services professionals to better thrive as a unit and for students to receive higher levels of customer service. The study was an action research study using a mixed-methods design. The participants for the qualitative one-on-one interviews were three managers, two classified professionals, and two faculty. The sampling was purposive. For the quantitative data collection, the participants of this action research study included the approximately 132 employees in the Student Services Division at Merced College.
Participants completed a pre-survey measuring their levels of employee engagement based on The Gallup Organization’s 12 dimensions of employee engagement. The survey instrument measured 12 constructs and included 36 total items. Based on the results of the pre-survey, managers within the Student Services Division participated in two professional development workshops on employee engagement. The results of the qualitative data analysis resulted in manager-developed action plans, based on the three lowest constructs from the pre-survey, for each of the departments within the Student Services Division. The customized action plans were implemented over an approximately four-month period. Upon completion of the intervention, participants completed a post-survey to assess the impact of the interventions.
The results indicated that managers who participate in employee engagement professional develop programs are able to effectively develop and implement action plans as employee engagement champions within the workplace. The post-survey scores for participants of this study did not result in improved levels of employee engagement during the four-month intervention cycle. The findings of the action research study will help develop and refine solutions to continue to improve employee engagement within higher education and other organizations.
Participants completed a pre-survey measuring their levels of employee engagement based on The Gallup Organization’s 12 dimensions of employee engagement. The survey instrument measured 12 constructs and included 36 total items. Based on the results of the pre-survey, managers within the Student Services Division participated in two professional development workshops on employee engagement. The results of the qualitative data analysis resulted in manager-developed action plans, based on the three lowest constructs from the pre-survey, for each of the departments within the Student Services Division. The customized action plans were implemented over an approximately four-month period. Upon completion of the intervention, participants completed a post-survey to assess the impact of the interventions.
The results indicated that managers who participate in employee engagement professional develop programs are able to effectively develop and implement action plans as employee engagement champions within the workplace. The post-survey scores for participants of this study did not result in improved levels of employee engagement during the four-month intervention cycle. The findings of the action research study will help develop and refine solutions to continue to improve employee engagement within higher education and other organizations.
ContributorsVitelli, Chris (Author) / Ott, Molly (Thesis advisor) / Albert, Louis (Committee member) / Duran, Benjamin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Very little information is known about the experiences of graduate students with criminal records in higher education. As such, the purpose of this dissertation seeks to understand the various factors that impact graduate students with criminal records experiences in higher education. The overarching purpose is broken down into three individual research papers. The first research paper uses a thematic analysis to assess the ways Arizona’s four-year public higher education institutions utilize their power, via written policies, to deter, ban, or prohibit college students with criminal records from actively pursuing or participating in academia. Specifically, I provide a robust overview of all the current policies practices that target college students with criminal records in traditional higher education settings. The next two papers draw its attention to how college students with criminal records navigate the academy. Specifically, I seek to understand the experience(s) of living through institutional barriers as a graduate student while possessing a criminal record using Van Manen’s Hermeneutical Phenomenology. In the last paper, I seek to understand the experience(s) of living through criminalized microaggressions as a graduate student while possessing a criminal record using Van Manen’s Hermeneutical Phenomenology. In each of these papers, limitations, implications for research and practice are included for future policy makers, administrators, and scholars.
ContributorsMcTier Jr., Terrence Stephon (Author) / McGuire, Keon M. (Thesis advisor) / Ott, Molly (Thesis advisor) / Koro-Ljungberg, Mirka (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Every year, potential graduate students hunt through websites and promotional materials searching for the perfect program to fit their needs. The search requires time and patience, especially for those future scholars who seek a doctoral program in Education Policy Studies (EPS) with a focus on interacting with the policymaking process. The primary objective of this project was to explore the promotional materials of EPS doctoral programs in order to better understand how these programs promote formalized training for students to engage with education policy and the policymaking process. I selected the top 10 EPS programs in the nation along with my own institution (Arizona State University) as the sample for this study. By reviewing their websites, I found that programs provide a comparable training description for similar careers as well as upholding similar goals in the subfield of EPS. Ultimately, the program materials revealed that while these programs advertise significant formalized training in research methods and scholarly pursuits, opportunities to actively engage with policymaking were missing from the materials. Instead, it is more likely that such opportunities occur in informal settings such as apprenticeships and working at research centers. This study provides a detailed discussion of how programs promote training opportunities to students, the types of careers that programs claim to prepare students for, and the important role that faculty projects and additional resources play in the student experience related to engagement with policy and the policymaking process.
ContributorsLong-Genovese, Stacey (Author) / Garcia, David R. (Thesis advisor) / Ott, Molly (Committee member) / Hinchey, Patricia (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014