<p> Introductory biology courses at two-year, open enrollment colleges in America are presented in a variety of different course delivery formats. Traditionally, most students have enrolled in seated or face-to-face (F2F) lectures and laboratories. There is increased demand for courses presented online or in a hybrid format, although some studies report higher attrition rates, and lower grades for these course delivery formats. The purpose of this study was to examine if there were academic differences among F2F, hybrid, or online introductory biology courses by analyzing precourse and postcourse assessment scores, final grades, attrition rates, and students' perceptions of course satisfaction. This study was grounded in the social constructivist conceptual framework and followed a mixed method design. Four research questions guided the study which involved the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data. The study involved 354 adult students enrolled in three, open enrollment, two-year institutions in Southern Missouri. Statistical analysis indicated significantly higher mean gain scores on postcourse than precourse assessments, regardless of location or course format. There was a significant difference in final course grades for students enrolled in online courses compared to those in F2F or hybrid sections; students enrolled in online sections also had a significantly higher attrition rate. Seven focus groups were conducted, and students completed online surveys indicating their satisfaction level. This study had direct application to the design, implementation, and assessment of introductory biology courses and provided insight into students' academic success and perceptions of course satisfaction with introductory biology classes. </p>

<p>The purpose of this thesis was to study how and to what extent ISO 9000 quality standards management certification is taught on the undergraduate level in courses in California ABET-accredited 4-year engineering programs. The level of knowledge of the standard among graduates is of concern because well-educated engineers are important to the future of businesses in the global economy, and the ISO 9000 series is an enduring standard of global significance. An email survey was conducted of over 2000 undergraduate engineering professors who are currently teaching in public and private California universities. The overview of responses indicates that, although the majority of professors have over 10 years of teaching experience and a past background in industry, ISO 9000 series certification is not widely understood, taught, or valued. Engineering students and their future employers are clearly not gleaning the benefits of learning this valuable global standard. </p>

<p> The identification of effective teaching is a continuous and challenging task. This study was an investigation of the relationship among the teacher evaluation, student perception surveys, and student growth scores of students in grades 3 through 8. The entire population of the small district was included in the study. The sources for this study were the North Carolina Educator Evaluation System (NCEES), Educator Assessment Score (EVAAS), and student perception surveys. The purpose was to identify traits of effective teachers from these meaningful sources or among the combinations of these sources. The teachers' EVAAS index was used for all calculations. The index was calculated by dividing how much progress the teachers' students made compared to other students across the state by the standard error for the population. </p><p> The data were analyzed using <i>t</i>-test, Pearson product-moment correlation, and multiple regressions. The results showed statistically significant correlations between the teacher evaluations performed by school administrators and the students' perceptions from the surveys. There were no significant correlations related to student growth scores. Multiple regressions disclosed a significant statistical finding in these areas: the combination of NCEES standard 4 (facilitation of learning), and student perception characteristics of a challenging, engaging classroom where their input is important are predictor of student growth scores (EVAAS). Additional research is needed to validate and expand upon these findings.</p>

<p>The topic of educational spending and its connection to student achievement was long-debated before charter schools entered the conversation. With the rise in government spending on education, particularly charter school funding, the financial debate has strengthened and evoked much controversy. Though the Tennessee Department of Education (TNDOE) had some of the most demanding charter school laws in the country in 2011, it wasn&rsquo;t immune to the firestorm of debate as the number of open charters grew to forty-nine during the 2012&ndash;13 school year. Along with the charter school movement in Tennessee came the issuing of charter school grants. To assist in the opening of charter schools in the state, the TNDOE began distributing $600,000&ndash;700,000 allotments of a $22 billion United States Department of Education Charter Schools Program (CSP) grant. Charters could apply for a CSP grant to offset start-up costs associated with opening a charter to supplement the basic education funding (BEP) given to each school based on student enrollment. </p><p> This research evaluates the CSP grant spending in six Tennessee charter schools serving grades 5&ndash;8 during each year of the three-year life of the grant while evaluating spending patterns into the categories of instruction, supplies, facilities, and technology. While evaluating only CSP grant spending in the school&rsquo;s total budget, findings from this research suggest that year one targeted spending in the area of instruction from CSP grants in Tennessee has a positive correlation with student achievement and school sustainability. </p>

<p> The phenomenon of the disproportionate representation of students of color in special education programs has been a concern amongst educational scholars over the last four decades; especially in the category of emotional disturbance. Qualitative research that explores actual districts as well as the programs they implement is needed to assist practitioners within the nation's TK-12 districts. The purpose of this study was to investigate what policies and procedures districts have revised or implemented to reduce referrals for special education placement, as well as compare state required improvement plan documents across participating districts. This study focused on California TK-12 districts that have been identified as significantly disproportionate in one or more disability categories by the California Department of Education. In-depth interviews of directors of special education were used as the research design approach to gain an understanding of the root causes of disproportionality as well as explore policies and procedures to reduce inequitable referrals. The findings were analyzed through the researcher-created conceptual framework of factors that reduce disproportionality. These factors include: access to effective instruction, sufficient resources, culturally responsive schools, equitable referral procedures, proper use of tests, and trained teachers. </p><p> Clear themes emerged around the conceptual framework. The findings revealed that inequitable referral and assessment procedures, cultural incompetency, inconsistent pre-referral interventions, and a lack of accountability were contributing factors that led to disproportionality for the participating districts. The study also revealed that ongoing and frequent professional development and inter-district collection of referral, suspension, and intervention data has a positive effect on monitoring disproportionality. Recommendations for policy-makers and practitioners aimed at developing cultural responsive practices that provides support for students of color prior to referrals for special education assessment.</p>

<p> The term <i>management by walking around</i> (MBWA) has been used in the business setting by chief executive officers as a method of checking in with their employees and monitoring the continuing work of the business. President Lincoln practiced this same theory by getting out of his office to see the troops. The classroom walk-through is an educational technique used to monitor instructional teaching practices and curricular decisions by teachers. This mixed-methods research project was designed to study the effectiveness of a walk-through process to improve instruction through the perceptions of building administrators and classroom teachers. The walk-through program studied was Look 2 Learning (L2L). L2L is nonevaluative and collects data from talking with students about their learning rather than through the observation of teachers. Data are collected by teachers and building administrators and cumulative data are shared through a reflection process. Perceptions of L2L were collected through a Likert-scale survey, an open-ended question, and interviews from elementary and secondary educators. The data were collected from elementary teachers, secondary teachers, elementary building administrators, and secondary building administrators from two large school districts in the western states. Generally, educators were positive about L2L. Elementary educators were generally more positive than secondary educators. All groups agreed that classrooms were visited more since the implementation of L2L, data from L2L were used to discuss instructional strategies, most teachers were open to other teachers visiting their classrooms, and professional development activities had resulted from the implementation of L2L. Elementary building administrator, secondary building administrator, and elementary teacher perceptions were positive that the implementation of L2L had increased their knowledge about instruction.</p>

<p> This research study was conducted to determine the impact of determine the perception of classroom teachers and building principals as to the effectiveness of required Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum in both core and non-core subject areas. Both core and non-core classes are presently required within the study school district to incorporate reading and writing strategies in their content areas. The researcher wanted to study the process to prepare administrators and teachers to work successfully with the advent of required common core standards for curriculum development. Strategies used in the study will help gather information to inform the preparation of administrators and teachers who adopt the Common Core State Standards in the area of Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum. This research study was conducted to determine the impact of determine the perception of classroom teachers and building principals as to the effectiveness of required Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum in both core and non-core subject areas. Both core and non-core classes are presently required within the study school district to incorporate reading and writing strategies in their content areas. The researcher wanted to study the process to prepare administrators and teachers to work successfully with the advent of required common core standards for curriculum development. Strategies used in the study will help gather information to inform the preparation of administrators and teachers who adopt the Common Core State Standards in the area of Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum. </p><p> This report was meant to extend the discussion between the effectiveness of reading and writing strategies in middle schools and preparing teachers for the Common Core State Standards. The author used a mixed method research design to find answers to her questions.</p>

<p> The Role of Research Consortia through the Eyes of Principals No Child Left Behind legislation calls for educational leaders to use evidence to inform practice. Principals are charged with improving student achievement by adjusting resources and policies based on most recent evidence and research available to them. A research consortium is an institution that partners with a school district to engage in ongoing research for the purpose of improving practice. </p><p> The purpose of this study was to understand principals' perceptions of research consortia associated with their district and to discover how principals used evidence produced by consortia. The overarching question of the study was "How do principals learn about and utilize evidence produced by research consortia associated with their district." </p><p> To address my research question, I interviewed 22 principals in two school districts that work with research consortia. The participants included 10 Baltimore City Public School principals and 12 Chicago Public School principals. The Baltimore Education Research Consortium (BERC) is associated with Baltimore City Public Schools. The University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research (CCSR) is associated with Chicago Public Schools. </p><p> Using an interpretivist interview design, four major findings emerged from this study: (1) principals, who are aware of the evidence produced by research consortia, use it to inform practice and decision-making, (2) principals do not have many direct interactions with researchers in the consortia and do not see a pathway to connect with researchers in the consortia, (3) principals who knew about the research consortium in their district have positive perceptions of it, however some principals are skeptical of survey data regardless of the source, and (4) principals in this study explained that consortia do address the evidence to practice gap, but principals did not see an opportunity to contribute to research design.</p>

<p> The focus of this study was to examine a high school online learning experience. This study used Hattie's (2009, 2012, 2014) four levels of feedback to determine the most frequent levels of feedback provided to online learners. This study also determined if a correlation existed between students' perceptions of the amounts and levels of feedback they received from their instructor and overall course satisfaction. The four overarching questions addressed in this study were as follows: What levels of feedback (task, process, self-regulation, personal) are an online teacher using when responding to student work? At what level are students satisfied with the quality and quantity of feedback they are receiving from their online teacher? At what level are students satisfied with the online course? What correlation exists between satisfaction with feedback quality and quantity and overall course satisfaction? This study yielded findings that most online teachers in this particular high school online learning program provided the lowest levels of feedback: level one (task) and level four (personal). This study also showed a positive correlation at a statistically significant level between students' perceptions of the <i> amount</i> of feedback they receive and overall course satisfaction, as well as a positive correlation at a statistically significant level between students' perceptions of the <i>levels</i> of feedback received and overall course satisfaction. This study revealed there was a stronger correlation between students' perceptions of the <i>amount</i> of feedback they received and overall course satisfaction than the <i>level </i> of feedback they received. Overall, it was determined there is a need for continued professional development in the area of navigating between different feedback levels.</p>

<p> In Service-Learning (S-L) partnerships, universities and community organizations exchange resources and influence. Community engagement scholars Cruz and Giles proposed that relationships within S-L partnerships serve as units of analysis for the study of community outcomes of engagement. Yet, the scholarship of engagement lacks a suitable instrument to assess such relationships. This study brings together two lines of scholarship-relationship studies within community engagement and cocreational studies within public relations-to address the problem of assessing the community outcomes of S-L relationships, and it applies Cruz and Giles' ideas about using relationship analysis to assess community outcomes when it considers the perspectives of representatives of nonprofit organizations relative to their relationships with S-L students. Specifically, this qualitative study applies public relations theory to the problem of assessing project-based S-L relationships.</p>