Racial segregation and an achievement gap persist despite the promises of Brown vs. Board of Education (1954). In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, public schools are 83% Black, while nearly one-third of all children attend private schools which are 86% White. South Boulevard (SB) Foreign Language Academic Immersion Magnet Elementary is a counterexample because it has achieved integration and academic achievement well above district and state averages on high stakes tests. This research explores the culture of SBs immersion magnet program in relation to its success as an integrated public school with high student achievement and explores the factors that motivated a diverse set of parents to choose public education over private education. This one-year ethnographic case study of SB is based on document analysis, interviews, and participant observation. In-depth interviews were conducted with 53 students, parents, school faculty, district administrators, and school board members. Using purposeful sampling, participants were selected who represented diverse backgrounds and perspectives. On-site participant observation (including classes, recess, lunch, PTO activities and meetings, and school board meetings) was conducted for one academic semester and follow-up observations the following semester. The data were broken down into units of meaning that served as themes that were first subjected to a systematic content analysis and then the constant comparative method. SBs achievement of integration and academic achievement is a counternarrative to dominant narratives that focus on the achievement gap and deficit models of minority culture. The primary explanation for SBs success is the unique culture created by the immersion curriculum. SB has a culture of academic rigor in which teachers have high expectations of all students. The second language creates a new culture of power that equalizes cultural and linguistic differences that may privilege or marginalize students elsewhere. SB has a culture of multiplicity that values diverse perspectives and includes a unique immersion subculture in which all students are equal participants. SB has a culture of community characterized by trusting relationships between members of the school community that emerge out of commitment to the immersion curriculum rather than geographical boundaries.

This case study investigates the implementation of the Louisiana Comprehensive Curriculum English Language Arts in selected first grade classes. The teaching of the specific language arts skills, listening, speaking, reading, and writing, as directed the the Comprehensive Curriculum is examined. Four first grade teachers from a large urban school district, from an original sixteen first grade teachers, are observed during the hour and a half literacy instruction block once a week over a period of four weeks. These same four teachers are interviewed one-on-one by the researcher during the two interview sessions. Three themes developed throughout the observation from all four classes: phonics instruction, reading instruction, and language arts instruction. The investigation determined that this sampling of grade one teachers were implementing the Comprehensive Curriculum English Language Arts by means of integrating the instruction into both the phonics instruction and reading instruction.

This mixed method research was designed to examine the effects of cross-age mentoring in an inter-institutional online learning community. The research questions focused on the impact of mentoring on high school students confidence in their information seeking skills, perceptions of their information seeking standards, and the application of these standards to an information seeking task. Also of interest was the dialogic interaction between the students at the two sites, the impact of the facilitator on the process, and the university students perceptions about their experience. The participants included 26 students (mentees) enrolled in an American history class at a rural high school and 18 pre-service teachers (mentors) enrolled in an introductory educational technology course. Mentoring groups comprised of four-five high school students and three-four pre-service teachers interacted via a synchronous online courseware system. Both classes met at the same time of the day, twice weekly, allowing for synchronous interactions. The project was implemented over a five week period during which pre- and post-tests of information seeking confidence and standards were administered and students were engaged in their information seeking tasks. During the course of the project the online interactions were archived and saved for later analysis. Results revealed that there was no change in the high school students confidence in their information seeking abilities. The assessment of their evaluative standards revealed that they became more aware of the importance of evaluating the accuracy of information they located. In addition, a positive correlation was found between their understandings of the importance of evaluating information to determine its relevance to the task at hand and the disposition toward a more expert approach to seeking information. Performance on the information seeking task was positively influenced by conceptual scaffolding provided by both the facilitator and the pre-service teachers. Feedback that encouraged the high school students to consider conceptual issues was discovered to be most effective. The findings from this research contribute to the literature on cross-age mentoring between higher education and K-12 students as well as providing insights about strategies that influence students abilities to locate, evaluate, and synthesize information.

This study examined the skills that e-learners considered essential to the creation of a technology-rich school community. The focus was upon the skills that acting district and school administrators deemed essential to becoming an effective e-leader. The quantitative investigation associated with this study consisted of a researcher created survey based upon the International Society of Technology Educators (ISTE) National Educational Technology Standards for Administrators (NETS-A). The intent of this survey was to obtain a list of skills that the participants felt were necessary for administrators to obtain in order to be effective leaders. These skills are categorized into both theory-based and operational. The qualitative investigation examined interview data from one-on-one interviews. The interviews were conducted in order to obtain a greater insight into the views of school-based and district-based administrators in terms of technology leadership. The intent of this study was to investigative and gather information in order to create online self-paced professional development opportunities for school and district administrators.

The use of e-learning has been extended beyond simply providing access to information to providing the ability to learn collaboratively via an interactive learning environment. The ability to create an online collaborative and interactive environment is a challenge. This study strove to examine the most effective design and facilitative strategies for fostering student learning and participation in hopes to make design and implementation of online discussions easier and more efficient for teachers. The primary goal of this study was to understand how the degree of instructor presence influenced students perception of learning and how students engaged in deeper levels of learning in an online collaborative learning environment. More specifically, the study explored the relationship between design and facilitative strategies in online discussions and student participation, student learning, and students perceptions of their online learning experience. An embedded, multiple-case study design was used. Three completely online classes taught by the same instructor were chosen for this study (n = 55). During the Fall 2007 semester, data were collected from observations, discussion transcripts, teacher interviews, student surveys and student grades. Quantitative data included student responses on a perception survey, final course grades, and the frequency of discussion posts. Qualitative data included on-going observations, on-going teacher interviews, open-ended questions on a student perception survey, and discussion transcripts. Results showed that the teachers role in online discussions is influential to student participation and learning. More specifically, certain strategies such as participation requirements and question design were related to an increase in participation and learning. Factors such as addressing students by name, providing immediate feedback, providing on-going communication, and providing individual attention may have also contributed to student learning. The findings of this research are consistent with that of previous studies. Consequently, they add merit to the importance of teacher presence in online learning, particularly in the areas of course structure and question design. Implications for practice are discussed.

The GREAT (Gifted Readers Enhance Academic Talent) Reading Project is a quasi-experimental, between-group study that evaluated a 13-week before-school student tutoring/mentoring reading and literacy program. The study examined the effects of the intervention on reading achievement for each group involved, including high-ability gifted fifth grade mentors, high-ability gifted first grade protégés, and above-average first grade Scholastic Academy protégés. Its primary goal was to improve academic achievement for above-average students in order to help them formally qualify for gifted services. The secondary goal was to promote and assess academic growth for high-ability students already in the gifted program. Mentor/protégé pairs met 3-4 times per week under the monitoring and supervision of certified elementary school teachers. Student pairs interacted as necessary to accomplish learning tasks such as decoding, fluency, and critical reading skills that promote reading comprehension. Pairs read and discussed picture books, chapter books, childrens magazines, and/or assigned books or stories. Some flexibility existed in the program, based on student interest and materials available. Control groups received traditional reading instruction instead of tutoring. The subjects included above-average and high-ability first and fifth grade students. The treatment group consisted of approximately 20 first graders and 20 fifth graders. First graders and fifth graders were paired for compatibility. A similar sized control group was chosen from other gifted sites. Criterion sampling (qualification to participate in the gifted/talented program in the local public school system) was used to select the treatment and control groups. The Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests, Fourth Edition, a standardized, norm-referenced instrument used to assess reading achievement, was used as a pre- and posttest to assess growth in reading. One-way (for the fifth graders) and Two-way ANOVA (for the 1st graders) was used to determine the effectiveness of the intervention for each group of participants. Surveys were administered to each grade level of the treatment group to evaluate the social validity of the intervention, in an attempt to determine the social significance or importance of the goals, the social appropriateness of the procedures, and the social importance of the effects or outcomes (the personal benefit) for the participants.

University faculty are increasingly challenged to integrate technology into their teaching to meet the needs of technology-savvy students today. The purpose of this dissertation is to introduce and examine an instructional design model, the Fusion Model of Instructional Design, for designing and implementing more effective faculty development programs in technology integration. The model builds on positive aspects of participatory design (Vincini, 2001), rapid prototyping (Tripp & Bichelmeyer, 1990), and Kellers (1983) ARCS model of motivation. Key characteristics of the Fusion Model are participation of early adopters in the design and implementation of training, recursive training of early adopters first and then the remaining faculty within one department or a small number of related departments, and on-going formative evaluation through brainstorming and discussion. Two studies were conducted to examine the perceived value, usability, and effectiveness of the Fusion Model in a small southern university. For both studies, the participants were trained on various components of a popular course management system. Study 1 was conducted with two departments for the purpose of piloting of the model. Survey data were collected in Study 1. Study 2 was conducted with two additional departments for further evaluation of the model. Data from Study 2 were collected using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Qualitative data were collected through interviews of faculty participants and the university technology facilitator and the researchers observation journal. Results of these studies indicate that the use of Fusion Model of Instructional Design was perceived favorably and produced positive outcomes. Both the technology facilitator and the faculty participants reported positive attitudes toward the training designed, developed, and implemented using the model. The technology facilitator was pleased with the value, usability, and effectiveness of the model because the model allowed for greater faculty participation, customization of the training, and modifications of the sessions when needed. The faculty were pleased because using the model allowed them input in their training which resulted in more participation, more targeted training and support with colleagues in the same department. In a follow-up survey, faculty reported a significantly higher level of technology integration in their teaching and student learning.

This study investigates the use of Digital Storytelling as an intervention to improve the academic performance and social interactions of a sixth grade student with High-Functioning Autism. Qualitative methodology, using an inductive approach informed by grounded theory, was employed throughout this exploratory case study. Three separate data sources, consisting of document analysis, interviews, and participant observation, contributed to the findings of this study. Triangulation of inquiry methods enhanced the validity and rigor of this investigation. The findings from this inquiry indicate that Digital Storytelling was beneficial to the participant in this exploratory case study. Engaged student processes and critical analysis of writing was observed throughout this intervention. The flexibility of Digital Storytelling was responsive to the learning style of preference of the participant in this study. Implications from this investigation are discussed at length. Recommendations are given for future efforts to replicate and expand the findings of this study.

The purpose of this study was to examine disparities in the receipt and retention of the TOPS scholarship in Louisiana. Specifically, the study examined why some schools are more successful than others in preparing students for TOPS eligibility, what impact availability of quality core curriculum courses has on TOPS eligibility, the ways the State can improve eligibility for lower income students, and the reasons why many lose their awards. The research utilized a sequential mixed methods QUAN/QUAL approach with multiple levels of analysis (school, cohort, and student). Matched pairs of outlier schools (one with a high rate of TOPS receipt and one with a low rate) were compared using quantitative and qualitative measurements and analyses to answer the research questions. Major findings included: the equitability of access to the TOPS scholarship is questionable; some schools serving lower income students do a better job of TOPS preparation than others; most of Louisianas high schools offer the required TOPS core curriculum courses, but some mostly rural and small schools lack the materials and instructors necessary to offer these courses; and the State needs to promote the TOPS Tech Award as a positive alternative for high school graduates. Recommendations from the study include: the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) should ensure that schools clearly communicate the TOPS core course requirements to all students and parents on an annual basis starting at the middle school level. BESE needs to guarantee that all high schools can offer the required core courses. BESE and the agency overseeing financial aid should assist school districts in sponsoring regular ACT exam preparatory workshops. The TOPS Tech Award requires more focus. The Board of Regents should encourage universities and colleges to provide both merit-based and need-based scholarships to deserving students.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita posed serious challenges to school systems as children displaced by the storms attended schools across Louisiana and in most of the states of the Union. This qualitative case study examined the administrative challenges of one school district that received over 6,800 new students in less than a month. Research questions posed in the study focused on the planning, placement, and support of displaced students, the leadership of the superintendent and principals in integrating displaced students into the district and schools, which problems arose, and whether any policies or procedures were changed as a result hurricane-induced mobility. An oral history methodology was used to examine the problem from an organizational learning perspective. The case study utilized an embedded single case design to examine the efforts of the central office and several schools to integrate thousands of students into the district. Two distinct leadership styles emerged as driving forces in shaping the responses at the central office and within the schools. Evidence of transformative leadership practices combined with practices focused on maintenance of the status quo and attention to administrative detail served to stabilize the district through the year. Although no permanent administrative changes resulted that year the district and schools evidenced great flexibility in taking on temporary duties, satisfying state and federal mandates, and addressing the needs of the displaced families. District and school staff managed to create a welcoming, inclusive climate with clear expectations of high achievement for all students, both displaced and indigenous. Test scores in several of the study schools declined, but the average school performance scores of the district improved. The single greatest problem faced by the district was the mobility of students during the year. Recommendations for practice and a model of crisis planning are proposed. A model of emergent themes from the data suggests similar patterns across schools and the district office.