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Urban school leader development and preparation for leadership roles
No full textKirk, Darius L.
This study aimed to understand how urban school leaders perceive and benefit from their preparation and training programs designed to prepare them for their current leadership roles. This will help to find ways to overcome leadership challenges in urban schools and help urban principals keep their students by improving their goals, policies, administrator involvement, and community development. I used the qualitative case study method, survey, focus groups, and semi-structured interviews of 10 principals to conduct the research. One significant result of this study is that all of the people who took part in the focus groups and semi-structured interviews and who had worked as urban school leaders for many years felt that their graduate programs did not fully prepare them for their jobs. These deficiencies were: (1) lack of urban school leadership presence and perspectives on graduate leadership teaching staff, (2) lack of discussion on urban culture and community, (3) lack of discussion on future professional development, (4) lack of coursework on grant writing for urban schools, (5) lack of good discussion of fiscal management in urban settings and (6) lack of discussion on how to manage school district politics, both within a school district and between school districts. The results of this study suggest that graduate educational leadership programs need to update their curricula to include more material related to urban educational leadership. In addition, the agenda should align its curricula with the aspect of Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory within the lens of school leadership. The following steps include introducing some ideas for discussion and coursework in graduate programs in educational leadership
A narrative inquiry : Exploring the lived experiences of traditional-age first-generation students in the sophomore year following the completion of a first-year seminar
No full textWarren, Sharyn L.
After completing the first-year seminar, this qualitative research study explored traditional first-generation students' lived experiences in their sophomore year. The second year of college is primarily viewed as challenging and difficult for sophomores. Nevertheless, colleges and universities tend to provide less support to sophomore students than they provided in their first year. This narrative inquiry used Schaller’s sophomore development theory as the theoretical framework to understand the lived experiences of ten students at a private liberal arts college in the Midwest. The research data were derived from in-depth individual interviews. In addition, an analysis of the qualitative data was used to understand their experiences in the second year. The study's findings showed that traditional-age first-generation sophomores move through developmental stages and need support beyond the first year.
Furthermore, the study revealed that while these students underwent developmental changes and met academic expectations, the support and guidance lessened. The findings provide higher education leaders with information about this population of students, offering suggestions on programming and services to promote persistence and retention relevant to traditional-age first-generation students
Ownership in the classroom
No full textBates, Marquilla
This paper addresses the effects of how Covid-19 has impacted elementary school students, specifically ones in Special Education. Covid-19 is a global pandemic that affected the world mentally and physically. This pandemic has had a huge effect on the education school system and impacted all students, specifically students of low-income and students who have disabilities. These students were not able to access all of the tools that they will need in order to be successful as if they were in the classroom.
Now that we have returned in person, I have noticed that many students are having a hard time adjusting to simple classroom tasks and responsibilities. What we are seeing is that the students have become codependent on their teachers and peers. They are lacking the advocacy skills, motivation and confidence of being successful in the classroom. Returning in person from remote learning has been difficult for many of the students that I work with. I will be discussing the experiences of 8 third graders, their lack of completing assignments and how they were able to have a different perspective about school
Relationships matter : The positive impact of strengths-based leadership coaching on technical college faculty engagement/
No full textRaad, Brenda K.
This research project investigated the impact positive psychology-enriched, strengths-based coaching relationships, occurring between an associate dean and faculty had on faculty engagement. It has been established that positive psychology methods and focus on strengths can influence productivity, employee engagement, and performance. Coaching within various (instructional, military, business, and athletic) contexts has been proven to increase satisfaction and engagement, yet there remains virtual silence on whether leadership coaching could be effective in higher education contexts. Through a one-sample, quantitative, pre-post design with supplemental qualitative questions, this collaborative action research project considered the impact coaching relationships have on faculty engagement and investigated the central problem of faculty engagement with their leader (associate dean) and their college. Gallup Q¹²® and TalentKeepers® engagement survey results were utilized to measure impact on engagement. A brief narrative questionnaire was used to understand the experience of strengths coaching from the faculty perspective. A faculty team at a mid-sized Midwestern technical college participated in an academic year focusing on learning individual and team strengths, application of those strengths, and interventions aimed at improving the relationship between faculty and leader. The results demonstrated significant positive impact and revealed strengths-coaching between a leader and faculty can increase satisfaction with their college and their leader
The cognitive, social, and behavioral effects of midday meditation and napping on sleep deprived adolescents
No full textDatta, Ankita
In this classroom improvement project, I plan on exploring the effects of napping and meditation on sleep-deprived adolescents. I teach students aged 14 through 18 and often find that being tired or falling asleep comes in the way of learning for students with excellent learning potential. After considering solutions for this issue, I narrowed down my options to methods that may be within my locus of control, or in other words, practices that I can implement during school rather than asking students to change their at-home, daily habits. After researching the biology of sleep, I communicate the importance of adequate and restorative nighttime sleep and its role in long-term memory consolidation, learning, and overall mental health. The negative effects of sleep deprivation are also discussed, as well as the potential solutions that scientists around the world have studied. With the 90 minutes I have with my students, I determined the most favorable and efficient method to introduce naps and meditation to strengthen my sleep-deprived students' memory and mood. The implementation of 15-20 minute naps has improved students’ moods, as conveyed through a self-reported survey given to students. Results showed that although students reported improved mood and behavior, the study was administered for too short of a time to display any significant improvements in memory and learning
Accessibility for neurodiverse teachers
No full textGherardini, Cassandra L.
Despite representing a large portion of the population and the student body, neurodiverse teachers only account for approximately 0.5% of the education workforce. This inquiry-based capstone project aims to identify why disabled teachers, particularly those who are neurodivergent, are not represented and what can be done to increase disability representation among educators through a comprehensive literature review. I use my own lived experience as a disabled educator with ADHD to inform my research practices. The literature review covers common themes of neurodivergent teachers as assets, ableism in the workplace, the paradox of self-disclosure, challenges on the job, and accommodations in the private sector. Finally, suggestions for improved job accessibility and disability awareness are provided, and the role of institutional ableism is discussed
Changing the tune of classroom behaviors : A case study in a rural Indiana middle school examining the effects of preferred ambient music in a special education classroom
No full textMcGinnis, Johnny W.
Studies examining the effects of music and human behavior are in no short supply. There have been numerous studies utilizing music to influence decision-making, enhance athletic performance, and provide therapeutic relief. There are current gaps in the research existing with utilizing student-selected music to study their classroom behaviors. The purpose of this study was to examine how the playing of student selected ambient music within a rural Midwestern middle school would affect the students’ classroom behaviors. In this study, behaviors are defined as noticeable student actions. This study was seeking how the students behaved within their 40-minute guided study hall classroom when ambient music of their choice was introduced. To examine how classroom behaviors would be affected with ambient music introduced, student participants were observed in their natural setting, a 40-minute guided study hall, for four weeks. After each of the weeks, the control week and three weeks of ambient music, students participated in a focus group to discuss their behaviors. Results provided 11 subthemes grouped into four broad categories all dealing with students’ self-identified reasonings for their off-task behaviors. Only one of these had any mention of the ambient music. Participants made little connection to their self-identified behaviors and their selected ambient music. Despite the participants making little connection to their behaviors and the ambient music, the ambient music served as a gateway to the voices of the students. Through the student selected ambient music, participants were more willing to discuss their classroom behaviors, emotional health, and levels of personal stress. Not only did the music of choice connect to individual student identity and emotional health, student participants were more willing to discuss self-identified behaviors, stress, and emotions than in weeks without the ambient music of their choice
From content to relevant: The impact of culturally relevant teaching and content area training
No full textFahey, Danielle
The purpose of this classroom improvement project is to determine the impact of culturally relevant activities on student learning. Using a survey with a mix of Likert response scale questions and optional, open-ended questions, 42 middle school students provided feedback about how relevant they felt the work they were doing in school and science class was to their everyday life. They also provided feedback about how important it was to them that the work they were doing in school related to their everyday lives. Quantitative research from this project shows that on average, students who felt that the work they were doing in class related to their everyday lives scored a higher final grade in class. Additionally, patterns in qualitative written responses in combination with quantitative analysis shows that despite some students' science knowledge and mastery of (NGSS) standards, students who felt as though the class was not relevant to their everyday lives also did not see themselves using the content in their future life or career. In the twenty-first century, there is a need for more students to pursue careers in the growing field of STEM. This classroom improvement project seeks to improve student learning (measured by average summative assessment data) and attitudes and beliefs about science (measured by study survey responses) in 2021-2022 by incorporating more culturally relevant activities into the teacher’s classroom management strategies and curriculum
The impact of student feedback
No full textKatherns-Gallardo, Alexia
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected children in numerous ways. One of these ways is their education experience. With many students attending school virtually, socialization has decreased and students have had less opportunities to engage with each other in class. Additionally, students are receiving feedback virtually, and many are required to look at this feedback independently outside of class time. Research suggests that increasing student discourse and utilizing meaningful feedback can improve academic outcomes. This classroom improvement project aims to determine how increasing student discourse centered on student to student feedback can improve their confidence levels and eventually their academic outcomes. In this study, students in a virtual classroom were given opportunities to utilize a rubric in student discussions in breakout rooms to provide peer feedback. While the initial results do not show improvement in student confidence, the results comparing exit tasks from prior to the classroom improvement change indicate that student to student feedback has the potential to improve academic performance