Matching Items (28)
Description
As the Director of Student Affairs for a developing two-year hybrid Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program, I was tasked with developing a program to support the academic success of students. Limited evidence was available on supporting students who were geographically separated from campus during most of their preparation because hybrid programs only recently emerged. Academic coaching has been used in medical education and recently in hybrid DPT programs to support students’ academic and professional development. Coaching differs from advising and mentoring because it was focused on building relationships between students and coaches to promote students’ self-reflection, growth, persistence, and agency. I used asynchronous instructional videos, in-person workshops, and an online community of practice to train and support faculty members to serve as coaches. Coach training focused on specific coaching concepts including listening empathetically, asking powerful questions, and adhering to a coaching session structure. At orientation, faculty member coaches (FMCs) met with their 8-10 students in a group setting and also 1:1 to build rapport and establish communication. Subsequently, FMCs engaged each student in a coaching session twice, during the midterm of each of the first two academic terms of the program. In this mixed methods study, I employed quantitative survey and qualitative interview methods to evaluate faculty members’ attitudes, skills, and self-efficacy for serving as a coach as well as their relatedness to students. Additionally, I explored students’ perceptions of coach support, relatedness to their coach, and relatedness to peers. FMCs demonstrated increases in attitudes, perceived skills, and self-efficacy for the key coaching concepts because of the training. They rated their relatedness to students high and reported that building connections with students was a rewarding aspect of coaching. Similarly, students rated their coach and peers highly with respect to relatedness and had positive perspectives toward coaches’ support. FMCs were challenged by the time commitment to the coaching process. Moreover, students yearned for more opportunities to connect with their coach and peers. In the discussion, I highlighted the complementarity of the quantitative and qualitative outcomes, connected the findings to theoretical perspectives, and proposed implications for practice and for future research.
ContributorsBlack, Kayla Dawn (Author) / Buss, Ray R (Thesis advisor) / Kulinna, Pamela (Committee member) / Gagnon, Kendra (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Schools across the nation have increasingly been required to fill social, emotional, and academic gaps for students. The cost to ensure the needs of students have been met has become challenging for many K-12 schools. Students in urban communities have faced additional adverse circumstances such as high family mobility, food insecurities, lack of adequate healthcare, and limited social capital. Community-school partnerships have played a critical, beneficial role in filling the needs of students when schools did not have the resources or capabilities to do so. Nevertheless, most school principals do not have tools and strategies to identify, recruit, and develop these partnerships. In this study, I created the Development of the Partnership Protocol for Principals (DP3) to help develop principals’ skills and self-efficacy to develop community-school partnerships. The DP3 protocol was made up of a series of four steps, which enabled principals to develop their agency to be successful in identifying, recruiting, and developing partnerships. The four-step process required principals to (a) conduct a needs assessment of the state of the school and its current partnerships, (b) strategically analyze potential opportunities, (c) develop pathways for partnerships, and (d) construct a plan to implement the partnership. In this study, I used quantitative and qualitative measures to assess principals' perceptions of their skills and self-efficacy for developing partnerships. Quantitative results showed increased skills and self-efficacy. Further, qualitative data complemented these quantitative results. Qualitative data also revealed partnerships benefitted students if the partnerships were aligned to academic or cultural gaps and needs of schools. In the discussion, I have described the complementarity of the data and connected outcomes to the intervention and the research literature. Moreover, I discussed limitations, implications for practice, implications for future research, and personal lessons learned. In conclusion, participation in the DP3 workshops increased principals’ skills and self-efficacy for developing community-school partnerships and DP3 exhibited potential as a means to develop skills for school leaders to support their efforts in building community-school partnerships.
ContributorsBolding Jr, Reginald (Author) / Buss, Ray R (Thesis advisor) / Rund, James (Committee member) / Weeks, Larry (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
As higher education embraces innovative educational models, support for the faculty members who must carry them out remains a vital ingredient for success. Despite this need, many institutions adopt innovations such as blended learning for all of the benefits afforded, with minimal consideration to meaningfully equip professors teaching these courses. “Faculty Learning Communities” (FLC’s) provide a powerful model of supporting and equipping faculty in their teaching practice. Nevertheless, ongoing and collaborative faculty development was historically unavailable to professors teaching undergraduate blended courses at Lancaster Bible College. Thus, the purpose of this qualitative action research study was to examine the ways that faculty perceived an FLC during the design and facilitation of a blended course. The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework guided the design and facilitation of the FLC in fall 2018, as well as providing insight into measuring how learning communities formed during the FLC and while participants taught their courses. This FLC model blended learning for participants by occurring four times on campus, with online sessions following each in-person meeting. The faculty developer provided resources and support as faculty collaborated in designing their blended courses for the spring 2019 semester. Faculty perceptions of support were gathered in a focus group at the end of fall semester. During the spring 2019 semester, the faculty developer observed both on-campus and online sessions of the blended courses and led a second focus group about faculty perceptions of effectiveness and support. Qualitative data sets included video recordings of the FLC, focus groups, and class observations, field notes, and screenshots of online environments during the FLC and courses. Findings demonstrated substantial evidence of CoI measures of social presence, cognitive presence, and teaching presence were present in both the FLC and participants’ courses. These results affirmed the CoI framework provided a meaningful platform for faculty development. Additionally, participants perceived the FLC as supportive for their blended teaching practices, making direct mentions of support and indicating belief that broader institutional change be implemented toward this end to enhance faculty development opportunities. Limitations and implications of the study, as well as desired future research were explored.
ContributorsHarbin, Justin (Author) / Rotheram-Fuller, Erin (Thesis advisor) / Foulger, Teresa (Committee member) / Clawson, Penny (Committee member) / Buss, Ray R (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
In the United States, the profession of Law Enforcement is facing a workforce crisis. There are fewer applicants applying for policing jobs than there was just a decade ago. To worsen the problem, many officers are leaving the profession in less than five years. The Arizona State University Police Department is no exception to this problem. Police employees leave the department for a variety of reasons but among them is a conflict with their supervisor in the area of organizational justice. There is a gap in the training of first-line supervisors in policing as a whole as it pertains to organizational justice and how to implement it within their workgroups. Organizational Justice Theory includes the constructs of distributive justice, procedural justice, informational justice, and interpersonal justice. This mixed-methods study tested the assumption that organizational justice training with first-line supervisors at Arizona State University Police Department would have an effect on their self-efficacy and implementation of organizational justice practices and therefore improve relationships with their subordinates. Results of the study showed a single eight-hour class on Organizational Justice had no effect on the self-efficacy or implementation of organizational practices by first-line supervisors within the timeframe of the study. Like the supervisors, there was also no statistically significant effect on the employees and their belief that their supervisors were practicing organizational justice within their workgroups.
ContributorsThompson, Michael Lloyd (Author) / Judson, Eugene (Thesis advisor) / Buss, Ray R (Committee member) / Scott, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
The purpose of this action research study was to help medical students normalize feelings of shame related to academics and to respond to these feelings in more adaptive ways. Several cycles of research informed this study, which investigated the influence of an educational innovation. The innovation focused on helping medical students understand feelings of shame, foster self-efficacy in shame resiliency practices, and encourage help-seeking behaviors. In short, the study sought to understand how these medical students responded to feelings of shame related to academic performance before and after participation in the educational innovation. A total of 14 second-year medical students participated in this concurrent mixed-method study. The educational innovation was designed by this action researcher and informed by Brené Brown’s shame resilience theory. Three sources of data were used to answer the research questions, including a pre- and post-innovation survey, interviews, and student journals. Major findings suggested that the educational innovation was effective in enhancing the study participants’ knowledge of shame, increasing perceptions of self-efficacy in the practices related to resiliency to feeling of academic shame, as well as, promoting help-seeking behaviors. The data also revealed a range of academic shame triggers identified by these medical students. This action research study validated the need to normalize feelings of shame and support medical students developing practices for resiliency to this powerful feeling.
ContributorsCoudret, Dude Joseph (Author) / Chen, Ying-Chih (Thesis advisor) / Buss, Ray R (Committee member) / Hartmark-Hill, Jennifer (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
To address national technology standards for PK-12 educators and accreditation requirements, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College has developed an approach to preparing its teacher candidates by infusing technological learning experiences in its preparation programs. Faculty members have been expected to teach with technology, model various levels of technology integration, and provide their students with appropriate learning to develop their digital pedagogy skills. Part-time faculty members have been responsible for teaching courses with these requirements but often lacked access to professional development opportunities and support. The lead technology strategist in the college determined these part-time instructors needed improved strategies for knowledge development, support, and networking. Thus, an online community of practice was created as a potential solution to this problem of practice. This mixed methods study examined how part-time instructors participated in an online community of practice (OCoP) housed in two digital platforms, Canvas and Slack. Elements of the OCoP included learning sessions and resources based upon the Teacher Educator Technology Competencies (TETCs), the Technological Pedagogical Content (TPACK) framework, and elements integral to communities of practice. The investigation included measuring the influence of the OCoP on participants’ technology knowledge, technology skills, technology use, and technological self-efficacy. Participants were part-time faculty members responsible for teaching courses in various teacher preparation programs in the college. Data from the study included survey data, Canvas and Slack analytics describing use, lesson analyses and observational notes, and interviews. Results suggested the OCoP was an effective intervention for the purpose of providing digital connections for part-time faculty to develop professionally with respect to teaching with technology. Participants displayed an increase in TPACK, TETC, and self-efficacy construct scores and demonstrated development in technology knowledge, technology skills, technology use, and technological self-efficacy. The discussion focused on describing the complementarity of the quantitative and qualitative data, explaining the findings in relation to the literature, and presenting limitations, implications for practice and research, lessons learned, and conclusions.
ContributorsDonner, Jodie (Author) / Buss, Ray R (Thesis advisor) / Henriksen, Danah (Committee member) / Lindsey, LeeAnn (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
High school students' perceptions of teaching and their intention to choose teaching as a profession
Description
This study was conducted to (a) explore high achieving high school students' perceptions of the teaching profession, (b) examine the influence of these perceptions on intentions to teach, and (c) test a recruitment suite of tools to determine the effectiveness of recruitment messaging and strategies. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) served as the theoretical framework for this study. Using the TPB allowed examination of students' behavioral, normative, and control beliefs as well as their attitudes, subjective norms, and efficacy and how those components affected intentions to teach. Participants included high school seniors in the top 20% of their class. A mixed methods approach was employed to identify how the characteristics that students value when considering a profession were aligned with those they believed to be true about the teaching profession. Additionally mixing methods allowed for a more thorough exploration of the matter and an in-depth depiction of perceptions and intentions to teach. Results from a confirmatory path analysis showed students' perceived behavioral control, a measure of efficacy, and attitudes toward teaching were predictive of intention to teach and accounted for 25% of the variation in intention to teach scores. A series of exploratory structural equation models was developed to examine additional paths that might be useful in understanding students' intention to teach. Three additional, important paths were found among TPB variables that accounted for an additional 14% of the variation in intention scores. Additionally, these paths had implications for recruitment practice. Five themes emerged from the qualitative data--status, societal importance, influences of important others, teaching as a backup option, and barriers. The discussion focused on implications for recruitment practice and research, limitations, and conclusions. The following conclusions were drawn: (a) students must be provided with knowledge about the teaching profession to overcome stereotypical beliefs, (b) recruitment must begin much earlier, (c) parents must be better informed about teaching, (d) use of a longer recruitment process with multiple touch points must be used to inform and inspire students, and (e) students must be provided with practice teaching opportunities and systematic observational opportunities, which can foster increased efficacy for teaching.
ContributorsCruz, Crystal (Author) / Buss, Ray R (Thesis advisor) / Barnett, Joshua (Committee member) / Bentz, Matthew (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
This dissertation investigates the impact of a pedagogical class and a Community of Practice (CoP) on the implementation of reading strategies by faculty at a community college. It explores the types of reading strategies instructors plan to use, their integration into classroom practices, the factors enabling or impeding this implementation, and the influence of attitudes, social norms, and perceived behavioral control on their intentions to use these strategies. The study employs a mixed-methods research design, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methods. The findings reveal that instructors intend to adopt various reading strategies, with the pedagogical class and CoP playing significant roles in their professional development and instructional practices. The research identifies enablers and barriers to implementing reading strategies, highlighting the importance of supportive institutional contexts, professional development opportunities, and reflective teaching practices. By examining the application of reading strategies in the context of community college instruction, this dissertation contributes to the broader understanding of effective teaching practices and faculty development in higher education.
ContributorsMatthesen, Cathy Jeane (Author) / Dorn, Sherman (Thesis advisor) / Buss, Ray R (Committee member) / Brooks, Eric (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024