Tem havido um crescente interesse na inserção de atividades envolvendo programação física em ambientes educacionais, e há diversos trabalhos publicados que comentam sobre os benefícios propiciados por tais atividades, inclusive como forma de incentivar a criatividade em sala de aula. Entretanto, são ainda escassas as publicações científicas que apresentam análises empiricamente fundamentadas relacionadas à avaliação dos efeitos de atividades de programação física no desenvolvimento do potencial criativo de estudantes. A presente pesquisa investigou como a introdução de atividades de programação física no Ensino Fundamental II, a partir de uma abordagem que privilegia processos de exploração e experimentação, impactou o potencial e sentimento criativo dos estudantes. O currículo proposto, baseado no referencial teórico construcionista, foi elaborado com o objetivo de engajar cada estudante e de contribuir para o desenvolvimento de seu potencial criativo, confiança criativa e de novas perspectivas sobre o mundo e sobre si mesmo. Foi identificada a necessidade de adaptar e desenvolver materiais para a aplicação do currículo proposto, e para isso foi criado um kit de programação física, bem como novos recursos de aprendizagem. O currículo foi aplicado a partir de sucessivas reformulações em duas escolas particulares e em uma escola da rede pública. Durante a aplicação do currículo, além das observações em sala de aula e de conversas periódicas com os estudantes, foram utilizados três instrumentos de coleta de dados: (1) realização de entrevistas, (2) aplicação de questionários de percepção criativa e motivação para a aprendizagem e (3) aplicação de um teste de pensamento divergente. Os instrumentos (2) e (3) foram aplicados também a um grupo controle, com pré e pós-teste. A partir da análise das observações de sala de aula e das conversas realizadas com os estudantes, foram identificadas estratégias que podem auxiliar na implementação de currículos introdutórios de programação física no Ensino Fundamental II, bem como os desafios encontrados durante a aplicação da proposta. Os resultados indicam que o currículo proposto teve impacto positivo na criatividade dos estudantes, bem como em sua confiança criativa e motivação para aprendizagem. Os resultados sugerem ainda que os estudantes que participaram das atividades desenvolveram novas perspectivas a respeito de si mesmos e do mundo ao seu redor. / There has been a growing interest in introducing physical programming activities in educational environments, and there are several published works that comment on the benefits provided by such activities, stating they can provide a way to stimulate creativity in classrooms. However, there are still few scientific publications that present empirical analysis related to the evaluation of the effects of physical programming activities on the development of the creative potential of students. This research investigated how physical programming activities, designed from a tinkering approach, influenced the potential and creative feeling of Elementary School students. Our curriculum, based on the constructivist theoretical framework, was elaborated with the goal of engaging every student, and to develop their creative potential and creative confidence. Given the need to adapt and develop materials for the application of the proposed curriculum, we created a physical programming toolkit, as well as new learning resources. This curriculum was applied from successive reformulations at two private schools and one public school in Brazil. In addition to observing students\' behavior in classrooms and periodic follow-up interviews with them, three data collection instruments were used: (1) interviews, (2) questionnaires about creative self-efficacy and motivation for learning, and (3) a divergent thinking test. The instruments (2) and (3) were also applied to a control group, with pre and post tests. We share the learnings that emerged from the activities, the difficulties found during the development of the curriculum, and strategies that may help with the implementation of introductory physical programming curricula in Elementary School. The results indicate that the application of the activities had a positive impact on students , as well as in their creative confidence and motivation for learning. The results also suggest that students have developed new perspectives about themselves and about the world around them.

This case study explores what differences exist between two online course models by investigating the results of a student end-of-course evaluation survey and teacher communication logs in two online high school courses. The two course models were designed with different types and levels of interaction, one with high levels of student content interaction, the second with high levels of student-content and student-teacher interaction. The majority of research on interaction in online learning has been conducted with adult learners at the university level. There is far less literature focusing on K-12 online learning while investigating interaction, student satisfaction, and teacher time investment. This case study addresses this gap by exploring the results of 764 student surveys and investigating the teacher time investments of four teachers. In this study the students' perception of their learning experience in both models met the online program's acceptable levels. In some dimensions of the course evaluation, the interactive course had a higher rating that was statistically significant. The teacher communication logs showed a higher teacher time investment in the more interactive courses, with the highest time investment coming from reaching out to inactive students. Due to the shortage of available literature in K-12 online settings regarding interaction, student satisfaction, and teacher time investment, the author recommends additional research in these areas. By continuing to research and understand better about K-12 online learners, this understanding could influence the development of course interaction standards, assist designers in building better courses, and ultimately lead to higher satisfaction for students.

abstract: Public institution facility operations and maintenance is a significant factor enabling an institution to achieve its stated objectives in the delivery of public service. To meet the societal need, Facility Directors must make increasingly complex decisions managing the demands of building infrastructure performance expectations with limited resources. The ability to effectively measure a return-on-investment, specific to facility maintenance indirect expenditures, has, therefore, become progressively more critical given the scale of public institutions, the collective age of existing facilities, and the role these institutions play in society. This research centers on understanding the method of prioritizing routine work in support of indirect institutional facility maintenance expense through the lens of K-12 public education in the state of Arizona. The methodology documented herein utilizes a mixed method approach to understand current facility maintenance practices and assess the influence of human behavior when prioritizing routine work. An evidence-based decision support tool, leveraging prior academic research, was developed to coalesce previously disparate academic studies. The resulting process provides a decision framework for prioritizing decision factors most frequently correlated with academic outcomes. A purposeful sample of K-12 unified districts, representing approximately one-third of the state’s student population and spend, resulted in a moderate to a strong negative correlation between facility operations and student outcomes. Correlation results highlight an opportunity to improve decision making, specific to the academic needs of the student. This research documents a methodology for constructing, validation, and testing of a decision support tool for prioritizing routine work orders. Findings from a repeated measures crossover study suggest the decision support tool significantly influenced decision making specific to certain work orders as well as the Plumbing and Mechanical functional areas. However, the decision support tool was less effective when prioritizing Electrical and General Maintenance work orders. Moreover, as decision making transitioned away from subjective experience-based judgment, the prioritization of work orders became increasingly more consistent. The resulting prioritization, therefore, effectively leveraged prior empirical, evidence-based decision factors when utilizing the tool. The results provide a system for balancing the practical experience of the Facility Director with the objective guidance of the decision support tool. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Construction Management 2019

This study examined existing K-12 online teacher preparation programs in the United States to ascertain the degree to which teachers are prepared to function in online/blended classroom learning environments. This study used a content analysis approach. Research specifically targeted online teacher preparation programs implemented in institutions of higher education. The researcher collected data from state offices of education and institution deans through email surveys inquiring about the existence and capacity of K-12 online teaching endorsements, course descriptions and other course documents.

Incorporating off-grade items within an on-grade item pool is often seen in K-12 testing programs. Incorporating off-grade items may provide improvements in measurement precision, test length, and content blueprint fulfillment, especially for high- and low-performing examinees, but it may also identify some concerns when using too many off-grade items on tests that are primarily designed to measure grade-level standards. This dissertation investigates how practical constraints such as the number of on-grade items, the proportion, and range of off-grade items, and the stopping rules affect item pool characteristics and item pool performance in adaptive testing. This study includes simulation conditions with four study factors: (1) three on-grade pool sizes (150, 300, and 500 items), (2) three proportions of off-grade items in the item pool (small, moderate, and large), (3) two ranges of off-grade items (one grade level and two grade levels), and (4) two stopping rules (variable- and fixed-length stopping rule) with two SE threshold levels. All the results are averaged across 200 replications for each simulation condition. The item pool characteristics are summarized using descriptive statistics and histograms of item difficulty (the b-parameters), descriptive statistics and plots of test information functions (TIFs), and the standard errors of the ability estimate (SEEs). The item pool performance is evaluated based on the descriptive statistics of measurement precision, test length and exposure properties, content blueprint fulfillment, and mean proportion of off-grade items for each test. The results show that there are some situations in which incorporating off-grade items would be beneficial. For example, a testing organization with a small item pool attempting to improve item pool performance for high- and low-performing examinees. The results also show that practical constraints of incorporating off-grade items, organized here from most impact to least impact in item pool characteristics and item pool performance, are: 1) incorporating off-grade items into small baseline pool or large baseline pool; 2) broadening the range of off-grade items from one grade level to two grade levels; 3) increasing the proportion of off-grade items in the item pool; and 4) applying variable- or fixed-length CAT. The results indicated that broadening the range of off-grade items yields improvements in measurement precision and content blueprint fulfillment when compared to increasing the proportion of off-grade items. This study could serve as guidance for test organizations when considering the benefits and limitations of incorporating off-grade items into on-grade item pools.

Improved understanding of teacher retention depends on systematic research on working conditions, teachers' perceptions of their work environments, and the effect of condition-of-work variables on organizational commitment. The examination of organizational commitment in K-12 teachers is a construct with implications for long-term relationships in complex organizations and a significant predictor of retention. This study examined the extent to which empowerment, innovation, professionalism, perceived level of interpersonal conflict, and participation were associated with teachers' organizational commitment at six K-12 sites in one Midwestern state. Of 2,732 teachers invited to participate, 1,463 completed the survey, for a total response rate of 54%. Overall, there was substantial evidence supporting a relationship between organizational commitment and empowerment, innovation, and professionalism. There was also some evidence of a contextual relationship between organizational commitment and perceived levels of conflict and participation. Increased conflict in varying relationships resulted in decreased organizational commitment, and increased participation in varying situations resulted in increased organizational commitment. This study's exploration of organizational commitment may inform administrative practices designed to target teacher attrition. Educational leaders may utilize the results to better understand issues concerning teacher retention and attrition and thereby improve teacher working conditions, and strengthen the educational environment for students.

The purpose of this case study was to examine teachers’ perceptions of what factors are most influential to the successful integration of technology. In the Junior High with the highest technology usage in a preexisting statewide technology initiative, data were collected from six teachers and one administrator through interviews and observations. Teachers primarily highlighted factors related to support and product functionality as influential. This study also examines factors such as change management, learning environment, and student motivation to understand the relationship of these factors to teacher perceptions of factors that influence technology integration. Though many influential factors emerged that all seemed highly interrelated, the most common theme that emerged across all factors was that letting teachers show each other how to use the technology to make life easier and improve learning for students may result in higher levels of technology integration.

The role of philanthropy in K-12 public education has historically ebbed and flowed in relation to public expenditures. Early K-12 education philanthropy peaked during and after the Civil War when philanthropists supported education for emancipated slaves through initiatives like Freeman’s Bureau, Slater Fund and Rosenwald Schools until state and federal governments assumed responsibility (Bremner, 1988; Finkenbine, 2003; Fleishman, 2009; Mays, 2006; Stephenson, 2012). With sufficient public support, K-12 education philanthropy did not see its next major wave of investments until the 1990s, with significant increases occurring after 2000. From 2000-2010 the number of education related grants from major national philanthropists increased from 1,200 to 2,600, and the amount of total funding, $486 million to $843 million (Reckhow & Snyder, 2014, p.3). The latest wave of education philanthropy occurs at the intersection of two key events: Funding challenges for public education and increasing philanthropic resources particularly among a new generation of philanthropists. While significant philanthropic resources have poured into K-12 public education, they are more likely to support changes in education policy than to provide direct support to the schools (Ferris, Hentschke, & Harmssen, 2008; Greene, 2015). In addition, rural communities receive very little support from national education philanthropy. Vermont is a rural state with a relatively successful K-12 public school system that faces significant funding challenges (Pache, 2017; Valley News, 2015). The questions at the core of this research are what role does philanthropy play in Vermont K-12 public education and what role might it play? To answer these questions, the literature provides a foundation by exploring the history of philanthropy in general, and specifically education philanthropy. Further literature review examines the current trends of using philanthropy to shape national education policy and fund programs that compete with public education. A gap in the research on rural philanthropy and rural K-12 education philanthropy provides the impetus for the focus on the rural schools in Vermont. The study focuses on two geographically defined regions in Vermont that utilize two different models of place-based philanthropy to support their public schools. The two case studies include interviews with 24 participants with backgrounds in and knowledge about education and philanthropy. In addition, document review was used to support and triangulate the findings. The findings, presented for each case and in a cross-case analysis, reveal the effective and unique ways these two rural areas use philanthropy to support its K-12 public schools. One model was regional with a focus on broad program support through use of local nonprofits, while the second model was town specific and provided direct support to the local schools. Both cases demonstrate the challenges and opportunities associated with place-based philanthropy. The conclusion offers further information on how schools and communities might develop their own place-based philanthropy.

The education sector is at high risk for information security (InfoSec) breaches and in need of improved security practices. Achieving data protections cannot be through technical means alone. Addressing the human behavior factor is required. Security education, training, and awareness (SETA) programs are an effective method of addressing human InfoSec behavior. Applying sociobehavioral theories to InfoSec research provides information to aid IT security program managers in developing improved SETA programs. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine through the theoretical lens of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) how attitude toward the behavior (ATT), subjective norm (SN), and perceived behavioral control (PBC) affected the intention of computer end users in a K-12 environment to follow InfoSec policy. Data collection was from 165 K-12 school administrators in Northeast Georgia using an online survey instrument. Data analysis occurred applying multiple linear regression and logistic regression. The TPB model accounted for 30.8% of the variance in intention to comply with InfoSec policies. SN was a significant predictor of intention in the model. ATT and PBC did not show to be significant. These findings suggest improvement to K-12 SETA programs can occur by addressing normative beliefs of the individual. The application of improved SETA programs by IT security program managers that incorporate the findings and recommendations of this study may lead to greater information security in K-12 school systems. More secure school systems can contribute to social change through improved information protection as well as increased freedoms and privacy for employees, students, the organization, and the community.

Contemporary K-12 educational leaders must fulfill many roles and responsibilities similar to those fulfilled by traditional business leaders. There is, however, a lack of information about the business-oriented competencies of K12 educational leaders in comparison with business executive norms. This lack of information places K-12 institutions at risk of selecting leaders who are not capable of accomplishing institutional goals and objectives, improving the efficiency and sustainability of business operations, meeting stakeholder expectations, managing social responsibilities, and improving the educational foundation of the next-generation workforce. Grounded in leadership theory, this nonexperimental study included the California Psychological Inventory 260 assessment to capture leadership scale values of 20 K-12 educational leaders in the United States. A 2-tailed, 1-sample t test was used to examine the difference between the leadership scale mean of the sample (n = 20) and the leadership scale mean test value of 62 as measured by the Center for Creative Leadership within a group of business executives (n = 5,610). Using a 95% confidence level, the calculated leadership scale mean value for the sample was 61.96 (p = .982). Although no significant difference existed between the leadership scale means, the identification of gaps in business-oriented leadership competencies indicates that some K-12 leaders may require additional professional development. The findings from this study may influence positive social change by providing human resource and hiring managers with knowledge about using leadership scale measurements to improve the selection and professional development of K-12 educational leaders