Matching Items (5)
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- All Subjects: Collaboration
- All Subjects: Online Learning
- Creators: Buss, Ray R
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
In any instructional situation, the instructor's goal is to maximize the learning attained by students. Drawing on the adage, 'we learn best what we have taught,' this action research project was conducted to examine whether students, in fact, learned college algebra material better if they taught it to their peers. The teaching-to-learn process was conducted in the following way. The instructor-researcher met with individual students and taught a college algebra topic to a student who served as the leader of a group of four students. At the next step, the student who originally learned the material from the instructor met with three other students in a small group session and taught the material to them to prepare an in-class presentation. Students in these small group sessions discussed how best to present the material, anticipated questions, and prepared a presentation to be shared with their classmates. The small group then taught the material to classmates during an in-class review session prior to unit examinations. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered. Quantitative data consisted of pre- and post-test scores on four college algebra unit examinations. In addition, scores from Likert-scale items on an end-of-semester questionnaire that assessed the effectiveness of the teaching-to-learn process and attitudes toward the process were obtained. Qualitative data consisted of field notes from observations of selected small group sessions and in-class presentations. Additional qualitative data included responses to open-ended questions on the end-of-semester questionnaire and responses to interview items posed to groups of students. Results showed the quantitative data did not support the hypothesis that material, which was taught, was better learned than other material. Nevertheless, qualitative data indicated students were engaged in the material, had a deeper understanding of the material, and were more confident about it as a result of their participation in the teaching-to-learn process. Students also viewed the teaching-to-learn process as being effective and they had positive attitudes toward the teaching-to-learn process. Discussion focused on how engagement, deeper understanding and confidence interacted with one another to increase student learning. Lessons learned, implications for practice, and implications for further action research were also discussed.
ContributorsNicoloff, Stephen J (Author) / Buss, Ray R (Thesis advisor) / Zambo, Ronald (Committee member) / Shaw, Phyllis J (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
During the last 25 years, the academic research environment has become increasingly competitive, with those seeking grants contending for over $83.7 billion, available from primarily six federal agencies. Notably, this increased competition occurred at the same time states have cut support for public universities. To deal with decreases in state support, university leaders and administrators have adopted “new managerialist” approaches that capitalized on three elements obliging early-career engineering faculty members to ‘win’ more federal funding. These three components include (a) leveraging the probationary period during promotion and tenure to stimulate grant production, (b) seeking revenue beyond tuition and operations to support the institution, and (c) augmenting faculty resources by including professional grant writers/support personnel who collaborate with early-career faculty members to mitigate challenges of increased competition for grants by providing domain and implicit knowledge to aid the engineers in grant development. The promotion and tenure process has become particularly challenging for early-career engineers because of the highly competitive federal research landscape.This mixed-methods action research (MMAR) study was conducted to examine the effects of an intervention designed to provide on-demand, online grant writing professional development using a set of five modules. The modules focused on providing information about five constructs related to grant development or grant writing, including requirements, processes, skills, attitudes, and self-efficacy. For three of the five modules, participants demonstrated modest or moderate increases in quantitative scores for the constructs based on survey data. During semi-structured interviews, early-career engineering faculty members revealed candid thoughts about the modules, grant writing, and the “need” to obtain grants as part of their professional lives. Four themes emerged from the qualitative data, including Knowledge, Online Learning, Grant Writing Process, and Winning the Next Grant. The discussion focused on connections between the quantitative and qualitative data, explaining the findings based on the theoretical frameworks, limitations, implications for practice and research, and included a summary.
ContributorsKessel, Monica L. (Author) / Buss, Ray R (Thesis advisor) / Mertler, Craig A (Committee member) / Ban, Heng (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
Online education is unique in part for the relatively high degrees of autonomy afforded learners. Self-direction and self-regulation, along with support, are essential for students to succeed. The site of this action research project was a new, small online public charter school for middle and high school students, Foothills Academy Connected (FAC). The purpose of this action research project was to develop an online learner support system that was built around mentorship and based on the four areas identified by the Educational Success Prediction Instrument (ESPRI) (Roblyer & Davis, 2008); thoroughly document the process; and examine its influence on students and the researcher. This study was focused on: (a) identifying students’ main challenges with online learning, (b) identifying students’ perceptions about additional supports that would improve their schooling experience, and (c) examining the process of engaging in mentorship by the emerging mentor, herself.
The study employed a mixed methods research design. Research instruments included a questionnaire adapted from the ESPRI that marked the start of the study period, visual autoethnographies, interviews, extensive research journaling to document interactions with students and parents/guardians, and a second questionnaire. The research results showed that the “emerging mentorship approach” was a worthwhile innovation for augmenting the FAC online learner student support system. In particular, developing individual student profiles based on this varied data and responding to those students’ needs were accompanied by detailed documentation to develop a mentoring approach that could be used subsequently. A finding of the research was that the ESPRI would not have been effective alone in determining a student profile and responding only on that basis. The ESPRI areas of inquiry were helpful when used in conjunction with the other data to frame students’ needs and formulate personalized plans to support struggling online learners. Online learner support literature provided scant detail on the personal experience of the individual adopting the mentor role. In this study, it was determined that the process of becoming a mentor was uncomfortable and nonlinear, and it challenged the self-directedness and boldness of the action researcher as she worked in this new role as mentor.
The study employed a mixed methods research design. Research instruments included a questionnaire adapted from the ESPRI that marked the start of the study period, visual autoethnographies, interviews, extensive research journaling to document interactions with students and parents/guardians, and a second questionnaire. The research results showed that the “emerging mentorship approach” was a worthwhile innovation for augmenting the FAC online learner student support system. In particular, developing individual student profiles based on this varied data and responding to those students’ needs were accompanied by detailed documentation to develop a mentoring approach that could be used subsequently. A finding of the research was that the ESPRI would not have been effective alone in determining a student profile and responding only on that basis. The ESPRI areas of inquiry were helpful when used in conjunction with the other data to frame students’ needs and formulate personalized plans to support struggling online learners. Online learner support literature provided scant detail on the personal experience of the individual adopting the mentor role. In this study, it was determined that the process of becoming a mentor was uncomfortable and nonlinear, and it challenged the self-directedness and boldness of the action researcher as she worked in this new role as mentor.
ContributorsEdwards, Clea (Author) / Buss, Ray R (Thesis advisor) / Archambault, Leanna (Committee member) / Kennedy, Kathryn (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
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