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Instructional coaching and influences on program implementation by elementary principals and instructional coaches: A qualitative case study James F. Swoger Abstract A shared vision between the instructional coach and principal aligned with district policies and programs is essential to the success of instructional coaching. The purpose of this study was to explore the way principals and instructional coaches envision the role of the instructional coach within the school and the influences within the school that impact the implementation of instructional coaching. The two research questions guiding this study were: How do principals and instructional coaches envision the role of the instructional coach? What influences the implementation of instructional coaching in schools? Guided by Creswell and Creswell's (2017) Framework for Research, the principals and instructional coaches from nine schools within one defined cluster of one school district were interviewed for this qualitative, multiple case study. Transcripts were sorted by interview question and position to support the two research questions. There were 10 findings identified. Findings for Research Question 1 include instructional coaches work with the principal to clarify the mission and visions of the school, communication between the principal and coach and the coach and teachers is vital, instructional coaches need high quality professional development, and the instructional coach is tasked to lead other school-based initiatives. Findings for Research Question 2 include that the instructional coach is critical to building capacity, providing individualized coaching, supporting professional learning communities, and building trust. Findings also noted staffing challenges, time, and competing priorities influence the implementation of instructional coaching. These findings led to six implications including that school districts should provide planning support for principals and instructional coaches to work together to clarify the mission and vision of the school, principal preparation programs should provide professional learning on working with instructional coaches, districts should prioritize high quality professional development for instructional coaches to include individualized coaching and trust building, coaches should continue to build capacity of all staff and provide novice teachers coaching cycles, and school divisions should clearly define the role of the instructional coach. These findings and implications may be of interest to district leaders, principals, instructional coaches, and aspiring instructional coaches to better understand instructional coaching and influences on program implementation. / Doctor of Education / Instructional coaching and influences on program implementation by elementary principals and instructional coaches: A qualitative case study James F. Swoger General Audience Abstract A shared vision between the instructional coach and principal aligned with district policies and programs is essential to the success of instructional coaching. The purpose of this study was to explore the way principals and instructional coaches envision the role of the instructional coach within the school and the influences within the school that impact the implementation of instructional coaching. The two research questions guiding this study were: How do principals and instructional coaches envision the role of the instructional coach? What influences the implementation of instructional coaching in schools? Guided by Creswell and Creswell's (2017) Framework for Research, the principals and instructional coaches from nine schools within one defined cluster of one school district were interviewed for this qualitative, multiple case study. Transcripts were sorted by interview question and position to support the two research questions. There were 10 findings identified, findings for Research Question 1 include instructional coaches work with the principal to clarify the mission and visions of the school, communication between the principal and coach and the coach and teachers is vital, instructional coaches need high quality professional development, and the instructional coach is tasked to lead other school-based initiatives. Findings for Research Question 2 include that the instructional coach is critical to building capacity, providing individualized coaching, supporting professional learning communities, and building trust. Findings also noted staffing challenges, time, and competing priorities influence the implementation of instructional coaching. These findings led to six implications including that school districts should provide planning support for principals and instructional coaches to work together to clarify the mission and vision of the school, principal preparation programs should provide professional learning on working with instructional coaches, districts should prioritize high quality professional development for instructional coaches to include individualized coaching and trust building, coaches should continue to build capacity of all staff and provide novice teachers coaching cycles, and school divisions should clearly define the role of the instructional coach. These findings and implications may be of interest to district leaders, principals, instructional coaches, and aspiring instructional coaches to better understand instructional coaching and influences on program implementation.

Since the 1980s, researchers have suggested that principals are an integral part of school effectiveness through their actions as instructional leaders. Standardized testing and strict accountability, which heavily influence today's public schools, make principals responsible for student achievement. They fulfill this responsibility by influencing and guiding the quality of teaching and learning in their schools. The purpose of this study was to measure how high school principals influenced change in teachers' instructional practices; however, other factors influencing classroom instruction surfaced. A two-step methodology was used. The first step was a qualitative study in which interviews with 9 principals and 9 teachers from high schools across the country were conducted. The purpose of this step was to collect data that helped develop a questionnaire that was used in a quantitative study. The constant-comparative method was used to analyze data collected from the interviews. The influence of principals on change in teachers' instructional practices was limited. Several other factors emerged as influences on teachers. The original theory was modified and the new theory guided the development of the questionnaire. Step two of the methodology was a quantitative study in which a questionnaire was distributed to a national sample of teachers. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyze data collected from the questionnaire. Two of the five predictor variables were significantly related to change in teachers' instructional practices. The strongest predictor of change in teachers' instructional practices was pressure influences. External growth influences was the other variable significantly related to change in teachers' instructional practices. The remaining variables, administrative influence, peer influence, and self/family/student influence, were not predictors of change in teachers' instructional practices. Issuing directives, one of the pressure influences, was the only principal influence significantly related to change in teachers' instructional practices. Results indicated that teachers were influenced by many variables, many of which are outside of the principal's control. / Ed. D.

Throughout the last 30 years, there has been a movement to use computer technology in schools to enhance teaching and learning. In recent years, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has mandated that states have a long range strategic educational technology plan that describes the many facets of their technology integration efforts (2002). However, at this time research indicates that technology integration in classrooms is still low tech and infrequent (Cuban, 2001; NCES, 2005a). The purpose of this quantitative study was to gain insight into a teacher's use of computer technology with students in K-5 general education public school classrooms across the state of Virginia. Eleven independent variables (e.g., teaching philosophy, professional development, hardware proficiency, software proficiency) and 2 dependent variables (i.e., frequency and application of technology integration) were selected based on a review of literature and input from educators. A questionnaire, designed to measure variables, was field tested for validity and reliability then administrated to teachers. The population of the study was approximately 16,500 K-5 general education public school teachers from the state of Virginia with active e-mail addresses in the Market Data Retrieval (MDR) database. A systematic sample of 1,400 K-5 teachers was selected from the MDR database. Teachers' responses rendered 313 usable questionnaires. Analysis of the data revealed that the majority of independent variables (8), with the exception of 3 independent variables (i.e., technical support, student to computer ratio, technology integration support), yielded significant correlations with the dependent variable frequency of technology integration. Whereas, all independent variables (10), with the exception of technical support, yielded significant correlations with the dependent variable application of technology integration. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to determine whether the 11 independent variables were significant predictors of variation in the dependent variables (frequency and application of integration). The results of both regression analyses rendered significant models for the prediction of variation in frequency and application of integration (R2= .16, R2=.39), respectively. The researcher concluded that the predicted variance (R2= .16) of regression model 1 was too small to be considered a viable model for the predication of variation in frequency. Whereas, regression model 2 predicted a greater level of variance (R2=.39), thus it was considered a good predictor of variation in the application of technology integration. Three of the 11 independent variables (i.e., software availability, teaching philosophy, and software proficiency) were among the variables that were significant predictors of variance in the application of technology integration. The strongest predictor was software availability followed by teaching philosophy and software proficiency. Teachers who reported moderate to low variety in the application of technology integration also reported moderate access to software, moderately low software proficiency, and use of instructional practices that were consistent with constructivism. / Ph. D.

<p> Challenges in the implementation process of a new undergraduate nursing curriculum are multifactorial. Utilizing constructs of Hall&rsquo;s (2013) Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM), and Oreg&rsquo;s (2003, 2006) Resistance to Change Scale, the study examined faculty members&rsquo; personal concerns and resistance to change, regarding implementation of a new curriculum. The study is quantitative research, using correlational statistical analysis and use of descriptive statistics. Senge&rsquo;s Leadership Theory and Wegner&rsquo;s Community of Practice Theory formed the theoretical framework for the study. The study included participation from 11 BSN nursing program faculty from several universities in the United States that adopted a new conceptual-based nursing curriculum. Results of statistical testing showed no relationship between faculty profile scores for adoption along a change continuum and the study variables as objective measures. However, recommendations for follow-up research include qualitative research and further analysis of study demographic data not originally used in the study.</p>

<p> For many years, two international schools in Southeast Asia have had, as part of their high school curricular program, annual extended cross-cultural service-learning Outdoor Education (OE) trips in which the entire student bodies participated. The purpose of this study was to identify the educational and character development benefits to students experiencing the OE programs. The study sought to identify and describe from the students&rsquo; perspectives how the OE programs contributed to the students&rsquo; growth in social-emotional and character development (SECD), 21^st-century skills, and their schools&rsquo; global learning outcomes (GLOs). Additionally, the study sought to determine which components of the OE programs the students perceived as contributing to their growth. In this ethnographic intrinsic case study, the methodology for gathering data employed reflexive photography and photo elicitation interviews that resulted in photos submitted by students documenting their OE experiences, photo journals they kept during the trips, and transcripts of the interviews conducted soon after their trips. The student data were categorized and hand coded to identify 33 themes arranged in an explanatory schema. From the student data, 15 design-and-activity components were identified that facilitated 14 resultant design and activity outcomes. Additionally, four distinctive themes highlighted the importance of providing students with opportunities to experience collaboration, service, spiritual input, reflection, close communal living, reciprocity, and natural beauty. The components and outcomes were compared to the five aspects and selected character traits of SECD, selected 21^st-century skills, and each of the school&rsquo;s GLOs. The results of this study showed that students perceived that growth in SECD, 21^st-century skills, and their schools&rsquo; GLOs was attributable to the 15 identified components. These components worked together to create challenging conditions and tasks that students experienced, performed, and learned during the OE program. A science course analogy can be applied to OE. In this analogy, students get the lecture portion of the course at home, school, and church, while the laboratory portion is experienced through OE. During OE, students have opportunities to apply and practice the knowledge and skills they have been learning in the lectures. </p>

<p> This multiple-case study examined three teachers&rsquo; formal and peripheral engagement across multiple years of a three-year, professional development project. Collaborative support focused on applying the standards for effective pedagogy to the redesign and implementation of elementary instruction, in an effort to increase equity and inclusion for all diverse learners within general education classrooms. The complex contexts of teaching within psychosocial school systems influenced teachers&rsquo; active and limited engagement in a variety of collaborative support activities. Negative intersubjective perceptions generally influenced limited engagement. Long-term participants sought active engagement in collaborations perceived to support continually improved instruction, while responding to their challenging contexts, and relevant to their instructional obligations and classroom needs. Examination of longitudinal data revealed a substantive process of cyclical collaborative support through which teachers engaged collaboration to process and prioritize relevant challenges, explored ideas to apply effective pedagogy in the redesign and implementation of instruction, observed improved classroom outcomes, and sought further opportunities for continual improvement. Ongoing engagement in this cyclical process of collaborative support helped teachers mediate the influence of complex challenges across the teaching profession. Conditions that sustained long-term engagement included an iterative process of redesign for collaborative activities, which enabled support to be most responsive to teachers&rsquo; available time, and most relevant to teachers&rsquo; observed classroom needs and instructional obligations. In addition to proximal propinquity, psychosocial propinquity with the standards for effective pedagogy and trusted collaborators, along with engaging activities perceived to provide positive, collegial support, had significant influence on participants&rsquo; active, ongoing engagement. Administrator involvement during the third and final year of the project influenced significant changes in the design and delivery of collaborative support, including mandated and structured expectations for participation. This led to intersubjective perceptions of increased challenges, negative collegial interactions and an interruption of support provided across the first two years of the project when there had been no administrator involvement. Implications suggest future professional development should take the complex psychosocial contexts that influence teachers into account and respond flexibly to teachers&rsquo; capacity to engage while focused on relevant obligations and classroom needs.</p>

<p> In today&rsquo;s global world, higher educational institutions and businesses are increasingly making use of virtual world learning environments to foster collaborative opportunities for adult students and employees across geographic boundaries, space, and time. Often, however, organizations place the responsibility for learning new skill sets on their adult learners. As a consequence, educators and employers alike argue this new, more complex virtual environment can create a steep learning curve for novice adult learners, causing frustration at the increased time it takes for novices to acquire necessary skills and confidence within the environment. This paper documents the ongoing creation and design of a new adult learner-focused, self-paced, structured skills-based curriculum and virtual world learning environment with situated, virtual world activities for novice adult learners. The primary focus of this project is to move the adult learner from novice to a more experienced user of virtual world environments. </p>

<p>The purpose of this study was to determine if the implementation of a standards-based grading system has an effect on classroom instruction. In particular, how does the implementation of a standards-based grading system impact the teaching methods, curriculum, differentiation, and formative assessments being used in classrooms? The researcher identified five schools in the Southern Illinois area that have adopted the standards-based grading system and chose eleven teachers to participate in this study through purposeful convenience sampling. This study used a phenomenological qualitative approach. There were two methods used in order to collect data including face to face interviews and document analysis. The findings of this study are significant to any district who is considering changing their grading system from a traditional grading system to a standards-based grading system. Through six major themes that emerged, this study shows that by switching to a standards-based grading system multiple parts of the classroom are impacted including the teaching methods, content, differentiation, and formative assessments. The six major themes included: teaching methods have been modified to better adjust to the standards-based grading system and include a larger variety of approaches, teaching methods are more of a response to student need than a pre-planned approach to teaching, the curriculum and content being taught in the classroom have better alignment to the standards, teachers have a greater awareness of both the curriculum and standards that are being taught at their grade level, as well as at other grade level, teachers have a better understanding of the individual needs of students and have used differentiation to meet these unique needs, and the use of formative assessments have increased in order to adjust for more fluid groupings being used in the classroom.