Matching Items (6)
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- All Subjects: Educational Administration
- Creators: Basile, Carole
- Status: Published
Description
Abstract Much has been researched and written concerning the structure, attributes, and benefits of the professional learning community (PLC), yet many have found that this highly collaborative model is difficult to implement. One reason for this was that conflict among team members often limited communication and therefore halted collaboration. In an attempt to overcome conflict, the researcher introduced an intervention to five grade-level teaching teams at a suburban elementary school where staff had been struggling to develop teams into PLCs. The intervention consisted of training participants in the use of collaborative norms, and then tracking the use of these norms during team meetings, as well as gathering the teachers' perceptions on how their team was being affected by the use of the norms. Seven training sessions were conducted, each devoted to an individual norm such as pausing, putting ideas on the table, or presuming the positive, and so on. A mixed-methods action research model was utilized in gathering and analyzing the data in this study. Qualitative measures included reflection journals completed by the teachers, open-ended survey questions, and written responses in which the teachers described prior to the intervention and again after the intervention how their team: 1. Is like a PLC, 2. Is not like a PLC, and 3. Is becoming like a PLC. Quantitative measures included a survey of team communication that used questions regarding efficacy, conflict, and candor/trust. Quantitative measures also included an instrument developed as part of the System for Multi-Level Observation of Groups (SYMLOG) which is used for recording evidences of values observed in team members. Results demonstrated increases in teachers' perceptions of friendliness among their colleagues, ability to deal with conflict amicably and constructively, and in teachers' perception that they were now being listened to and understood more than they had been previously. Teachers also reported that they came to think of their team as a PLC, and began to perceive that there were benefits with respect to student achievement because they were becoming a PLC. Discussion focused on lessons learned, implications for practice, and implications for research.
ContributorsSterr, Ronald (Author) / Buss, Ray R (Thesis advisor) / Zucker, Stanley (Thesis advisor) / Roy, Patricia (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
It is common for graduate programs to be plagued by delays in on-time student completion or to experience student attrition. Students have experienced such delays in a local program at the University where I am employed as a lecturer. Therefore, this dissertation was undertaken with the aim of supporting university students at the graduate level toward successful on-time completion of their programs. This action research study was multi-phased in its approach; with data collection, and reflection driving the process for intervention delivery and subsequent evaluation. A dynamic approach which included some components of greater structure than was previously seen in the program, was designed for implementation. It was envisaged that this approach would serve as a model of support for students. The following chapters written in article format details the cycles of action research undertaken as part of this dissertation. The first article tells a story written for a wider audience. While the second article presents a more direct look at the implementation of the dynamic structured approach, and lessons learned through the experiential stories of the students. The dynamic structured approach is a framework which was created from a synergetic review of studies on the issues of attrition and delayed completion in graduate programs. The approach was therefore discussed in hopes that it can be used as a model in other graduate programs to ensure that students are supported in a holistic manner. Further, recommendations were made to bolster the approach based on the lessons learned from its initial implementation as well as through the reflections of the researcher-practitioner. The approach has built-in flexibility and is open to refinement and modification to suit the needs of varying institutions for future use.
ContributorsLord, Kara Tamara (Author) / Basile, Carole (Thesis advisor) / Buss, Ray (Committee member) / Smith, Stephanie (Committee member) / Bissessar, Charmaine (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
The current model of teaching where one teacher works individually with a group of learners in a classroom in an alternative educational setting promoted unrealistic expectations by assuming individual teachers working alone could meet the needs of all students. To address this problem, I conducted an action research study in which I explored the outcomes of a team-based teaching approach that was implemented to make the dramatic shift away from a traditional, industrial-like, one-teacher, one-classroom model that existed in the school. In the intervention, a teams-based approach was implemented where teachers worked in teams of four to collaborate on professional learning, determine students’ needs, then plan and implement instruction for the same, group of students. A sample of nine educators at Riverview High School completed the Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale (TSES) and the Professional Learning and Teacher Attitude (PLTA) survey to assess self-efficacy for instruction, classroom management, and student engagement, and professional learning and attitudes in a team-based setting. Qualitative data consisted of interview data and data from four focus groups. Findings indicated teachers using the team-based model demonstrated increases in mean scores across the five constructs. Additionally, analysis of the interview and focus group data revealed four themes emerged, including a new school culture, meaningful professional learning, collegiality through collaboration, and increased professional attitudes. The discussion focused on complementarity of the quantitative and qualitative data and how use of the team-based model transformed how education was conceived and delivered at an alternative school for at-risk students. In addition, I described limitations, implications for practice and research, and concluding thoughts.
ContributorsMendez, Gregory (Author) / Buss, Ray (Thesis advisor) / Basile, Carole (Committee member) / Oliver, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
In this dissertation I employed a culminating cycle of action research following two earlier ones to facilitate the creation of a professional learning community (PLC). My research took place at an elementary school in an urban area of the American southwest. As principal of this school I had initiated the policies and procedures that were often recommended to create PLCs. However, observations of teachers in PLC meetings indicated that conversations focused on logistical planning issues, rather than on the in-depth pedagogical discussions that characterize high functioning PLCs. To address this problem I introduced a form of peer observation into the PLC meeting. This was achieved by showing short video recordings of teachers in their classrooms. I used a mixed methods approach to investigate how this innovation influenced three constructs associated with PLC meetings: professional learning, the sharing of tacit teaching knowledge, and collaboration in the PLC.
Quantitative data consisted of responses to a survey given as a pre-, post-, and retrospective pre-test. Results showed significant gains for all three constructs between the retrospective pre-test and the post-test, but no significant gain between the pre- and post-test. Analysis of qualitative data produced four assertions. First, the process of peer observation during a PLC meeting benefitted the personal learning of teachers. Second, peer observation benefitted teacher teams' abilities to demonstrate the critical behaviors of a true PLC. Third, the process of facilitating peer observation through video recordings evoked negative emotions. Fourth, the degree to which teachers were able to learn from a video was influenced by their perceptions of the video's authenticity and similarity to their own classrooms.
In the discussion, complementarity of the quantitative and qualitative data was described and results were explained in terms of previous research and established theory. Additionally, practical lessons that were learned, limitations, and research implications were described. In a concluding section, I discussed my personal learning regarding leadership, innovation, and action research; the purpose of the doctorate in education; and strengthening connections between research and practitioners.
Quantitative data consisted of responses to a survey given as a pre-, post-, and retrospective pre-test. Results showed significant gains for all three constructs between the retrospective pre-test and the post-test, but no significant gain between the pre- and post-test. Analysis of qualitative data produced four assertions. First, the process of peer observation during a PLC meeting benefitted the personal learning of teachers. Second, peer observation benefitted teacher teams' abilities to demonstrate the critical behaviors of a true PLC. Third, the process of facilitating peer observation through video recordings evoked negative emotions. Fourth, the degree to which teachers were able to learn from a video was influenced by their perceptions of the video's authenticity and similarity to their own classrooms.
In the discussion, complementarity of the quantitative and qualitative data was described and results were explained in terms of previous research and established theory. Additionally, practical lessons that were learned, limitations, and research implications were described. In a concluding section, I discussed my personal learning regarding leadership, innovation, and action research; the purpose of the doctorate in education; and strengthening connections between research and practitioners.
ContributorsMacKinney, Bennett (Author) / Buss, Ray R (Thesis advisor) / Zucker, Stanley (Committee member) / Haghighat, Ibi (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
This multi-phase dissertation explores how student placement management software can be evaluated, selected, adopted, and diffused within a university setting, considering multiple stakeholders with varying needs and differing levels of decision-making authority. Utilizing a case study design and Roger’s Diffusion of Innovation framework (2003), the articles are proposed to generate a guide modeled to improve practice, which is the primary goal of Action Research (Barnett & Muth, 2008). These articles will chronicle lessons learned, offer considerations, and provide helpful resources to strategically adopt a software platform within a university setting. The articles are proposed as follows: 1) Selection of Field Education Management Software in Social Work (v, published May 2020) focusing on the evaluation and selection phases for Social Work programs; and 2) Toward a Decision Support Tool for Selecting Third-Party Student Management Software in Field-based Education (target journal - Springer - Educational Technology Research and Development) which will expand on previous research to a broader audience of student-placing programs and diffusing the software innovation throughout the university setting. Each article will explore a different aspect of the Action Research, the findings which emerged from the study, and provide additional insights and implications to each journal audience.
ContributorsSamuels, Kristen Mitchell (Author) / Basile, Carole (Thesis advisor) / Wolf, Leigh G (Committee member) / Hitchcock, Laurel I (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
Academic advisors play a critical role in student success within United States institutions of higher education. Although uniquely positioned to contribute to important institutional and student outcomes, academic advising is identified in the literature as an emerging profession, often delegitimizing advisor authority and limiting their contribution to institutional objectives. A review of the literature explores the history academic advising, and the current state of professionalization of the field. Additionally, entrepreneurial mindset is introduced as a framework of practice for professional agency. As a field working to professionalize itself within the higher education context, academic advisors must be able to fully participate and contribute to the process of developing innovative practices within the contexts of their institutions. This mixed-methods study drew upon proactive work behavior as defined by Hackman and Oldham to understand how academic advisors demonstrate and perceive their professional agency and ability to make decisions when working with students in the context of their role. Findings suggest professional agency as a construct exists not as a stand-alone concept, but rather as part of an ecosystem within the institution that includes layered systems, structures, and cultures which influence advisor behaviors and how they navigate decision-making. Implications include considerations for academic advising leaders and administrators, specifically related to departmental structures and advisor perceptions of their professional agency. This study contributes to the advising literature in the area of professionalization, with implications for scholarship and practice that can address gaps in the current scholarship.
ContributorsRudd, Melissa (Author) / Basile, Carole (Thesis advisor) / Kim, Jeongeun (Committee member) / Mcintyre, Lisa (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021