3543 research outputs found
Sort by
Practicum Methods and Research: East County Fire & Rescue EOP Scope
No full textEast County Fire & Rescue (ECFR) operates in and around the city of Camas, Washington. This small fire and rescue entity is tasked with a plethora of daily responsibility ranging from medical emergencies to forested emergency issues. Because ECFR is tucked in with Vancouver Fire & Rescue as well as the Camas Fire Department, they are reliant upon each other in emergency situations to carry out mitigation, response, reaction and recovery strategies. Having a detailed Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) that includes hazards analysis, capabilities assessments and other concepts of operations is essential to having every operating entity on the same page, reporting to the correct appointed officials. The EOP also details mutual aid requests for state and federal resources as well as East County operational scope statistics. The organizational structure provides first response and mitigating parties the ability to correctly report information to the right people as well as provide a structure for decision making during emergency situations. It is the responsibility of the Incident Commander (top of the organizational structure) to have heard all necessary information to make decisions on immediate operations
Local/State Emergency Management Relationships
No full textOregon is challenged with a regional liaison program that is understaffed, underfunded, and not a primary role within the Oregon Office of Emergency Management (OEM). This paper is going to examine what Oregon’s program could look like if the “regional liaison” was stand-alone position for several staff or at least a primary role within Oregon OEM. Programs from other states will be used for comparison in order to help build the picture. There are many challenges to the current program as well as creating a permanent liaison position - those will be briefly looked at. Lastly, some recommendations will be provided regarding how to overcome the challenges and what are some actions that can be taken to create an effective liaison program within Oregon OEM. Oregon currently has an ad hoc group of emergency managers stepping in to the role of a regional liaison as a side job to their already full workload
Faubion slates Aug. 29 opening
No full textExcerpt:
Back to school takes on a whole new meaning this month for students at the new Faubion School + Concordia University, a 3 to PhD® community.
The grand opening is Tuesday, Aug. 29, from 3 to 5 p.m. at 2930 N.E. Dekum St. A brief program begins at 3:30 p.m., and neighbors are welcome. Learn more at 3toPhD.org
Teacher Perception of Cooperative Learning Strategies Impacting English Learner Engagement and Academic Performance Levels
No full textThis study was conducted to determine teacher perceptions of cooperative learning strategies affecting the engagement and academic performance levels of English language learners. The purpose of this study was to explore if cooperative learning strategies increase the academic performance of English learners within their English courses. Guided by the theories of Dewey (1938), Vygotsky (1978), and Piaget (1926), which are derived from elements of cognitive, developmental, and democratic theories that focus on the benefits of group discourse, this study examined how communication and collaboration impact academia. The study revealed that high school English teachers perceived the effectiveness of cooperative learning strategies positively impacted English language learners’ academic performance and engagement levels. Seven English teachers participated in the study. These teachers completed two questionnaires, one at the beginning of the study and one at the end of the study, participated in a cooperative learning lesson observation, and completed an interview with the researcher. The questionnaires, interviews, and observations were coded using Excel and NVivo software and were used to determine the teachers’ perceptions on how cooperative strategies impact English language learners’ engagement and academic performance levels. The results indicated that teachers perceive cooperative learning strategies have a positive impact on English language learner engagement and academic performance. The benefits of this study reveal the positive impact cooperative learning strategies have on English language learners and reflect that teachers perceive these strategies to be useful in their classrooms
Teacher Perceptions of an Evaluation Process: A Qualitative Case Study
No full textThe purpose of this study was to explore teachers’ perceptions of the evaluation system currently used in their district. This study was guided by the following research question: How do teachers perceive the teacher evaluation process in a Midwestern Teacher and student Advancement Program (TAP) school? The theoretical foundations used in this study were Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory and Kirkpatrick’s four levels of evaluating training programs. The researcher learned that Midwestern teachers in a TAP school perceived the evaluation system to have impacted their teaching in a positive manner and, at the same time, contributed to their stress level. Thirteen teachers participated in the study. Data sources included questionnaires, interviews, observations, and focus groups. The questionnaires, interviews, and observations were coded and used to determine the teachers’ perceptions of the evaluation system. The results indicated that teachers perceived the system both positively and negatively. The findings of this study indicated that a positive impact of the evaluation system had a positive impact on teaching. Further, the researcher uncovered negative perceptions that might be addressed
Teacher Self-Efficacy in Writing and Instructional Choices: A Correlational Study
No full textThis quantitative study focused on examining the relationship between teacher self-efficacy and their use of writing practices in teaching writing. Participants included elementary kindergarten through fifth grade teachers in a large school district in northeastern United States. The following research questions guided this study: Is there a statistically significant relationship between overall teacher self-efficacy and the amount of time teachers spend using specific practices in writing instruction? Is there a statistically significant relationship between teaching self-efficacy factor of personal self-efficacy and the amount of time teachers spend using specific practices in writing instruction? Is there a statistically significant relationship between teaching self-efficacy factor of general teaching efficacy and the amount of time teachers spend using specific practices in writing instruction? The study was conducted online and combined two previously used surveys. The results of this study indicated that there is a small but statistically significant correlation between both Teaching Efficacy and Personal Teaching Efficacy and the use of many instructional practices in writing. This study did not show any correlation between General Teaching Efficacy and any of the writing practices surveyed. There was no correlation between Teaching Efficacy and practices designed to connect writing to the home environment
Teachers’ Perceptions of Professional Development on the Effective Integration of Technology to the Classroom
No full textThe purpose of this research study was to determine differences between teachers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of professional development related to the integration of technology into the curriculum with respect to teachers’ years in education, highest degree level earned, and self-assessed technology usage level. Technology integration is a problem among teachers in northwestern New Jersey because educators are held accountable to state technology standards through student test scores and students are not performing well on the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career tests. A review of literature examined professional development activities related to the integration of technology into the curriculum.
The results revealed that teachers with novice level experience have greater perceptions of the effectiveness of professional development related to the integration of technology into the curriculum than experienced teachers. The perceptions of the effectiveness of professional development related to the integration of technology into the curriculum does not differ with respect to the highest degree earned by the teacher. There is a moderate positive relationship between teachers’ self-assessment of their use of technology in class and their perception of related professional development effectiveness
Online Orientation: An Investigation of Its Effect on Graduate Students’ First-Course Retention
No full textThis mixed-methods study targeted one semester of 428 graduate-level students in the fall of 2016 who completed, or did not complete the five quizzes in a non-mandatory, online orientation to determine the impact of the orientation from enrollment through first-course retention. From the total population of 428 graduate-level students’ contact information, 53 students were not found in any orientation, but were listed as completing their first course, and were removed, resulting in 375 students who received a weekly email over a five-week period with a link to voluntarily participate in the study. This resulted in a convenience sample of 108 students included those who agreed to participate in the study. As noted in the study, 110 of 375 students completed orientation within the semester, while 265 of 375 students did not complete the orientation, with 71 of 108 non-completers who agreed to participate in the study compared to 37 of 108 completers. Phone interviews were established from 5 of 8 students from the convenience sample who did not complete their online orientation and who failed their first course. Student completion of the orientation was compared to first-course retention rates, and a generalization of Fisher’s Exact Chi Square used to evaluate the efficacy of the orientation program on retention with the grade of an A or B at the graduate level. This allowed for an exact analysis of tables with more than two rows and/or columns, and evaluated whether orientation completers and non-completers differed in their perceptions of the online master’s program orientation, academic performance, and subsequent retention from enrollment through the end of their first course. The quantitative data revealed that the generalization of Fisher’s Exact chi square analyses showed no statistical significance
The Impact of Testing Context of Computer-Adaptive High Stakes Testing on the Performance of Elementary Students of Poverty
No full textThe purpose of this study was to determine the impact of testing context, on the academic performance of third-grade students, with a particular interest in schools of poverty. Testing context is the use of technology as a tool in computerized-adaptive standardized testing, students’ technology skills, and the adequacy of school computer lab facilities. Using a causal-comparative design, the researcher examined 54 northwestern elementary schools, ranging in classification from “not applicable under Free Meal by Direct Certification” (low poverty schools) to 95% applicable (high poverty schools). The study found a positive relationship between teachers’ rating of testing conditions and the performance of third graders on statewide-standardized computer-adaptive tests in math and language arts. The study found a negative relationship between teachers’ rating of testing conditions and the level of poverty of a school. Additionally, the study’s findings included a predictive relationship between the teacher’s rating of testing conditions and student performance (pass/no pass) on standardized computer-adaptive tests in Math
Judicial Education for State Appellate Court Judges: A Regional Collaborative Strategy
No full textSpecialized judicial education would help supreme court justices and appellate judges of state judicial systems face the unique challenges inherent in their positions. The decisions of appellate judges become the law in their jurisdiction by virtue of the legal maxim of stare decisis. Since their decisions carry such immense weight, appellate judges must strive for excellence in judicial decision-making and opinion writing. As caseloads expand, they must manage to deliver justice within greater constraints of time and budget. Many decisions are controversial and may lead to election challenges. In turn, state judicial elections, especially those at the supreme court level, have become more akin to traditional political elections, even in states where appellate judges are elected on non-partisan or retention ballots. Supreme court justices are often responsible for the administration of the court system, presenting budgets to state legislatures and governors, and proposing legal reform measures to improve the function of the court. [excerpt