<p> The call for the reform of public education in the United States of America has come from stakeholders of all kinds. This study compares two seemingly opposing approaches to the reform of public education. The bureaucratic approach is represented by the mass adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The grassroots approach is represented by the International Society for Technology in Education Standards for Students (ISTE Standards-S). It was important to identify and analyze an instructional practice with enough potential rigor to meet the demands of both the CCSS and the ISTE Standards-S. The study analyzed the potential ability of Project-based learning (PBL) to meet the needs of both approaches. From the varied literature on PBL, six "Common Components" were identified and rewritten as standards using the revised Bloom's taxonomy. Once the Standards of PBL were written, all three sets of standards were quantified using a combination of the revised Bloom's Taxonomy and Gallia's Synonyms List. Following quantification of the standards, they were compared using a single factor ANOVA to determine if there was a difference between the cognitive processing levels of each set of standards. The cognitive processing levels of the Standards of PBL were found to be significantly higher than that of the CCSS. However, no significant difference was found between the Standards of PBL and the ISTE Standards-S. These findings support the claim that using the Standards of PBL in the classroom will meet the cognitive processing demands of the CCSS. The results of this study will allow teachers in Common Core states to utilize the instructional strategy of PBL as a means for meeting the cognitive processing needs of the CCSS.</p>

Education departments are faced with the challenge to ensure that materials presented to them by various Learning and Teaching Support Materials (LTSM) developers are evaluated for possible approval, selection and inclusion into catalogues. This is in line with the principles of the United Nations Commission for Human Rights as stipulated in article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1998). The process of evaluation is scaled down to regional, national, provincial, district and school level within the South African milieu. It is standard practice for education departments to use an evaluation instrument with specific criteria, train educators as evaluators and asses the effectiveness of the evaluation process. I have been motivated to undertake this research because of my interest in investigating whether the instrument used by Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) to evaluate LTSM, builds capacity among evaluators of materials yield reliable, objective results upon their evaluating the LTSM. Thus this study is concerned with evaluation of the effectiveness, efficiency and impact of the evaluation instrument itself. The three concepts, according to Boulmetics & Dutwin (2000: 5), are collectively termed levels of programme evaluation. The unit of analysis of the study is the Foundation Phase evaluators’ experiences. The topic is examined from the theoretical perspective of Evaluation theory and Metatheory (Scriven, 2003, Stufflebeam, 2003; Stake, 2003), educational evaluation in Africa (Omolewa and Kellaghan, 2003) and social constructivism as the educators are encouraged to work in a collaborative, participative fashion using the instrument. The argument of this inquiry is that discourse, social involvement and collaboration are essential in the evaluators’ engagement with the instrument and enable them to construct their knowledge by utilizing existing and new knowledge. As primary users educators as evaluators are engaged in and formpart of the context, input, process and product evaluation to attain their values (Stufflebeam, 2003). Evaluators are stakeholders and therefore, in this study, fulfil what Stake (2003) refers to as stakeholder evaluation or connoisseurship evaluation. Evaluators also respond to key issues and problems that they experience at the evaluation site in what Stake (2003) refers to as responsive evaluation. A questionnaire-based survey, observations and interviews were conducted to collect data. I will engage with the works of authors on evaluation of systems, materials, programmes and projects at different levels and this implies something further than mere voting and requires the participants to deliberate (House and Howe, 2003). Evaluators of LTSM are given knowledge on evaluation in a social, interactive manner that promotes discourse. Lincoln (2003) refers to the participative evaluators as a community of knowers. To this study, I also contribute my experience as an education specialist and also my early experience as a teacher. Although I worked as a high school teacher, I was appointed to work in GDE District and Head Office as an education specialist. This exposed me to Foundation Phase educators/ practitioners. I made use of that social and dialogic relationship for the benefit of the study. The study concludes with findings illustrating that: educators are willing to perform the function as part of their work; the instrument encourages collaborative evaluation; the instrument is a core element for the evaluation process; and that evaluators need some assistance when evaluating LTSM. Based on the findings, I make recommendations for, among other things, the GDE to be more conscious of the significance of this process and to formalize relevant LTSM structures. / Mr. W.A. Janse van Rensburg

Abstract not available.

Abstract not available.

Audio-visual education is a rapidly developing area of education in California. This tremendous growth would in itself preclude using criteria for evaluating audio-visual services which did not adjust to the growth of the program. The problem of this thesis is the result of this changing situation. Are the criteria that evolved during the years 1947-50 and used by officials of the California State Department of Education for evaluating audio-visual services at the county level a satisfactory measure of the county audio-visual services required by today’s demands?

<p>Peer assessment is used by health care professionals as a way to share knowledge and evaluate the performance of colleagues. Peer assessment is used widely in medical education as a preparatory tool for students, but peer assessment research in athletic training education is lacking. Athletic trainers are healthcare providers with a similar skill-set to physicians, thus, athletic training education can benefit from the use of peer assessment. Athletic training educators need to research the use of peer assessment as an evaluation tool in order to better prepare students to practice as healthcare professionals. This study investigated the accuracy and reliability of undergraduate athletic training students in their ability to assess their peers. This quasi-experimental study used between-group and within-group designs to answer the research questions. Junior-level students, senior-level students, and their instructors were enrolled as participants. Each student group&rsquo;s ratings of clinical skills and professional behaviors were compared to instructor ratings to measure accuracy, and each student group&rsquo;s ratings were compared for reliability. Cohen&rsquo;s kappa coefficient measured inter-rater agreement for all statistical analyses. Both groups of students were accurate raters (<i>p</i> &lt; .05) of their peers on clinical skills, but only the senior-level students were accurate in rating professional behaviors. Both groups of students were reliable in rating their peers on about half of the clinical skills. The senior-level students were also reliable in evaluating professional behaviors, but the junior-level students were not. The data for this study showed high levels of observed agreement for most clinical skills, subscales and the professional behaviors, but some items had low Cohen&rsquo;s kappa values, most likely due to a known paradox that occurs with the kappa statistic. As the first study in athletic training education to use undergraduate students, live data collection, and rating of professional behaviors, the findings were promising for future research. Future research needs to include training in peer assessment, use of repeated measures, and comparison of instructor scores in order to better understand peer assessment in this population. Additionally, there is a need to establish consistent, quality measures in peer assessment research, including those used in athletic training education. </p>

<p> This research was designed as an autoethnographic study using the researcher's own reflections, observations, and experiences to determine if smaller high schools are better for inner-city students than a large high school learning environment. Autoethnography is increasingly used as a research method, pushing the boundaries of qualitative inquiry by focusing on a phenomenon in the life of the researcher as the central aspect of study (Fetterman, 2010). Based on interviews, student and teacher surveys, and personal journals and diaries, the study focused on my work as a teacher in a large inner-city high school in a California school district. The large high school was converted to three smaller schools in 2003. Told in vignettes that describe my perceptions and the perceptions of the other participants in my study regarding the conversion from large to small schools, selected stories document the factors that led to my conclusions. The key issue in this study, then, involved the perception of the stakeholders as to whether small schools were more advantageous for student success. </p><p> My study revealed some interesting facts about small schools. Small schools foster closer relationships between the adults and students and among the students themselves. As a result, students feel more engaged with the school community, and these close relationships are accompanied by greater mutual respect. It seems that it is difficult to be abusive to others who you know and value which the students themselves recognized. </p><p> For years, before the implementation of the small school concept, Clark High School's campus was riddled with crime. The student body lived in California, in an area plagued with violence and poverty and all the social ills that accompany this environment. Safety has always been an issue for parents, teachers, and students. I have clearly demonstrated that, when it comes to small schools, students in urban areas benefit from a safer environment. For example, I did not witness the number of fights or shootings that I did when Clark was a large school. Also, after Clark High School converted into three small schools, there was a decrease in student suspensions.</p>

<p> This applied dissertation was designed to identify the characteristics of students enrolled in a GED^&reg; preparation program who transitioned to postsecondary programs at the same institution after passing the GED^&reg; test. The characteristics studied included age; gender; ethnicity; prematriculation scores in reading, language, and math in the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE); and hours spent preparing for the GED^&reg; test in an open-entry, open-exit remedial laboratory environment. </p><p> Through the use of binary logistic regressions to answer the research questions, a prediction model was constructed. The variables that are able to predict an increased likelihood of transition to postsecondary programs were being between the ages of 16 and 24 at the time of enrollment in the GED^&reg; program and having an ethnicity category of Asian, White/Caucasian, Hispanic, or Black/African American as opposed to the category of <i>No Report.</i> The variables that significantly predicted a lessened likelihood of transition to postsecondary programs were a grade equivalent of less than 8.9 in the prematriculation TABE reading, language, and math scores. Spending less than 16 hours preparing for the GED^&reg; test was also found to lessen the likelihood of transition. </p><p> The findings of this study are important to adult education practitioners, tutors, teachers, and administrators who are responsible for GED^&reg; programs. Through application of the prediction model in a similar environment, supportive and interventional mechanisms can be created to increase the number of GED^&reg; earners who transition to credit, college preparation, and vocational programs.</p>

<p> Abstract not available.</p>

<p> California's Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment program (BTSA) is a high stakes induction program; a new teacher's completion of a BTSA induction program leads to the California clear credential. The cornerstone of the BTSA induction program is the mentor, also known as a support provider. Mentors provide a variety of services to new teachers including individualized formative assessment of practice and ongoing reflection on teaching skills. Effective mentors are critical to the success of new teachers and foundational to the induction program. Although BTSA programs are mandated by state induction standards to assess the quality of services provided by their support providers, the standards do not define quality. BTSA programs are free to create their own assessment criteria and assessment methods. </p><p> This qualitative, descriptive study (a) examined the perceptions of BTSA program directors on the relationship between established forms of mentor criteria, methods of formative assessment, and formative feedback provided to mentors and (b) identified those components of mentor assessment that are perceived by BTSA program directors to be valuable in assessing mentor effectiveness. </p><p> The study found that BTSA directors placed import on assessing mentors for personal dispositions, such as attitude and responsibility, as well as the quality of their work with their novice teachers. Directors perceived that formative feedback from either the BTSA director or peers was important in increasing mentor effectiveness. The directors' perceptions of valued components of mentor assessment were shaped not only by the requirements regarding mentor assessment contained within Induction Standard 3 (California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 2008), but by local culture, district goals, and existing models of educator assessments within each organization. </p><p> BTSA directors, who led programs in high performing schools, valued assessing a mentor's ability to build relationships with novices for the purpose of advancing the novices' teaching practice and were more likely to endorse mentor self-assessment and reflection as major components of assessment. Conversely, BTSA directors who operated programs in under-performing schools valued mentor assessment components that evaluated the mentor's ability to effect and advance the teaching practice of the novice. The latter programs perhaps provided mentors with more specific, explicit feedback.</p>