The purpose of this study was to determine the degree to which i-Ready® Reading Instruction (a computer adaptive testing program) predicted Florida Standards Assessment English Language Arts (FSA ELA) scores for low performing students (Level 1) compared to those who are on grade level (Level 3). Participants included students in seventh grade at a central Florida school district who participated in i-Ready® Reading Instruction and who had previously scored a Level 1 or Level 3 on the FSA ELA. A hierarchical multiple regression was run to determine the impact of the interaction effect between prior year FSA performance level and time spent in i-Ready® Reading Instruction, while controlling for teacher-level and other student-level variables. Regression analyses indicated that prior year FSA ELA performance level did not moderate the degree to which time spent in i-Ready® Reading Instruction predicted FSA ELA score gains. Additionally, when the interaction term was removed from the regression, time spent in i-Ready® Reading Instruction did not predict FSA ELA score gains.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a computer adaptive mathematics program, i-Ready® Mathematics Instruction in Central Florida School District (CFSD) using a variety of quantitative analyses. In particular, students in the fifth grade at CFSD were examined in relation to the gains made on their end-of-year statewide mathematics assessment, known as the Florida Standards Assessment (FSA Math). Per i-Ready®, students who use i-Ready® Mathematics Instruction for a minimum of 45 minutes per subject per week for at least 25 weeks show significantly greater gains than those who do not (Curriculum Associates, 2017b). Therefore, two propensity score matching methods (one considering the multilevel structure of the data) were examined and compared to split students into the following two comparison groups: those who used the program with fidelity and those who did not. Next, a series of multilevel models, using both propensity score matching methods, and dependent t-tests were examined to evaluate the effectiveness of i-Ready® Mathematics Instruction. In conclusion, the use of the multilevel propensity score matching technique yielded a better fit for explaining the variation in relation to gains students in the fifth grade made on the FSA Math assessment. Additionally, i-Ready® Mathematics Instruction did positively impact fifth grade students in Central Florida School District who used the program with fidelity with relation to their FSA Math score gains, compared to those who did not use the program with fidelity.

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Teacher emotional intelligence (EI) plays an important role in teachers’ professional lives. After surveying the topic and the gaps in the relevant literature, I conducted three studies to advance our current understanding of teachers’ EI. The first study involved a meta-analysis review that examined the relationship between K-12 teachers’ EI, self-efficacy, and burnout. It found that there is a significant positive relationship between K-12 teachers’ EI and teacher self-efficacy as well as a significant negative relationship between teachers’ EI and teacher burnout. The second study involved developing and testing the Teachers’ Emotional Intelligence Scale (TEIS), which measures teachers’ EI in their professional settings through self-perspectives. Among a sample of 328 K-12 in-service teachers, results showed that TEIS had a 4-factor model for teacher self-dimension and a 5-factor model for teacher-student interaction dimension. Both dimensions appear to exhibit reasonable levels of convergent and discriminant validity and Cronbach alpha estimates appear adequate for general research purposes. The third study, a mixed-methods study, aimed to examine teachers’ EI in a Chinese context and validate TEIS. The qualitative findings not only indicated the importance of teachers’ EI, but also supported the second study’s teachers’ EI conceptualization in China. For the quantitative study, data from factor analyses provided evidence for the 5-factor model and two dimensions solution. High internal consistency estimated as well as preliminary evidence of convergent and discriminant validity of TEIS scores show its promise as a reliable and potentially valid measure for teachers’ EI. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to conduct a program evaluation of an after-school reading intervention program for reluctant readers. The program is part of a school district initiative to help young students establish positive, productive habits and dispositions toward reading. Program participants included teachers in the after-school program and parents of students who participated for two years. The evaluation questions were designed to assess the perceptions of those stakeholders on the benefit of the program for student participants. Both teachers and parents perceived that the program benefited students' receptive vocabularies. Teachers found that the program significantly improved students' ability to read independently for longer and longer periods of time. Likewise, parents noticed that their children were more willing to initiate reading at home, while many also found that their children would persist at independent reading because they were enjoying it more. The program was credited with improving elements of students' self-efficacy in reading, such as confidence, persistence, and positive emotional responses to challenging tasks. Goal-setting, as a subset of self-efficacy, was a less obvious outcome of the program. Small, relaxed and supportive after-school learning environments where students developed strong relationships with peers and their after-school teacher helped to make the program enjoyable for students and optimized outcomes. Recommendations for further study on the program outcomes at other schools and quantitative outcomes after more years of program implementation are included.

Through discussion with the membership, Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association identified an issue at gameday environments. The fans, especially parents, were causing fan issues at athletic events. This program evaluation focuses on Gameday the DIII Way training program. Gameday the DIII Way is a program where the NCAA and the Disney Institute partnered to create a training for the DIII membership that focuses on dealing with poor fan behavior. This program evaluation is grounded in a pragmatic paradigm. For this program evaluation, an online survey was sent to a sample population of the participants. The research focused on how administrators, administrators/coaches, coaches, and others in the athletic department perceive the quality of the training, whether participants learned skills to handle fan behavior issues, and explored whether the training encourages participants to help create a policy at their home institution. The results indicated that the quality of the training is good, some skills were learned and there are policies in place at institutions consequently. Recommendations include that the NCAA needs to do more in-depth research on the role of coaches and others at a gameday event and on how policies are working at institutions. Additionally, the training should better distinguish the roles of coaches and others during an issue with fans. Training needs to provide more information about conflict resolution and handling crowd behavior. Finally, the NCAA needs to change how they distribute the survey, to enhance the validity of research.