Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Educational support system'

Many districts and schools are having difficulty implementing Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) in school settings. This quantitative study set out to examine the stage of MTSS implementation schools are at and identify factors from the implementation science framework that account for the different reported student outcomes related to MTSS implementation. The results of the responses from 135 school principals in California revealed, most schools were in the initial implementation stage. While implementation drivers of competency and organization were significant predictors of MTSS student outcomes, the leadership driver was found not to be a significant predictor of student outcomes. Very few schools are using a formal evaluation of implementation of MTSS practices or involving parents in the planning and evaluation of MTSS. Additionally, the results revealed that schools have most elements of evidence based practices (EBPs) for academic difficulties, but less EBPs are in place for students who are either at-risk or have emotional behavioral difficulties. A majority of the respondents indicated that there is majority buy-in among the school staff regarding implementation of MTSS. Based on the results of this study, recommendations for Policy, Practice and Research were thematically presented, in the areas of 1) Family engagement, 2) Program evaluation, 3) Budget allocation, and 4) Technical assistance to effectively implement MTSS for sustainability and student outcomes.

Educational reform movements set ambitious goals for student learning. Numerous factors contribute to students achieving these goals. It has been widely understood that “the increasing emphasis on quality of teaching and learning has placed new demands on staff development, and the search for models and methodologies which are promising for professional development of academic staff has become an important agenda in itself” (Ho, A.,2001 P.35). Effective changes in practice require a great deal of learning on the part of teachers and an even greater amount of support and guidance from administrators (Borko, 2004, Putnam & Borko, 2000).

Problematic practices in hiring and staffing make it difficult, albeit impossible, to provide an equal distribution of qualified teachers in high poverty districts and schools serving minorities. Contributing to the problem of teacher inequality and underqualified teachers is the phenomenon of out-of-field teaching- a term in reference to certified or qualified teachers who were teaching a subject in which they had no formal qualification or training (Hobbs, 2013). These teachers often receive little training and support and therefore find it difficult to experience success.

Through qualitative interviewing this study seeks to explore the perceptions of out-of-field teachers and mentors and understand how they make meaning of their experiences. Five themes emerged from the study: ineffective training and professional development, desire for success, buy in, time, and support.

Teachers and mentors want professional development that is meaningful to the work they do in the classroom. Educators, especially those teaching out-of-field, need training that is intense, focused and content oriented. Buy in is vital to any professional training. Out-of-field teachers want to be included in the decision-making as to what professional development they receive.

From this study, it was learned that it is a teacher’s priority to make sure they are teaching content standards from day-to-day. The participants identified a lack of support as an inhibitor to that implementation. This concern for the lack of professional support among the participants bares out much of the research (Borko, 2014. Hobbs, 2015, Darling-Hammond, 2002, Ingersoll, 1999). Out-of-field teachers are highly committed to the students and communities they serve. With focused and intense training, close monitoring, time to observe skilled content area teachers, and strong support from building and district administrators, out-of-field teachers can become effective educators when teaching outside their area of expertise.

My dissertation explores how elicited gestures can support 6th grade students’ understanding of nonlinear dynamics of complex systems. My hypothesis is that elicited gestures make these patterns salient to the student, who learns about these quantitative dynamics via embodied mechanisms. To elicit these gestures, I designed a computer simulation called the Embodied Simulation of Population Dynamics (ESPD). The ESPD elicits bimanual gestures to represent nonlinear changes between two quantities. I explore how the learning from elicited gestures can take place at three different granularity levels. First, I compare the ESPD versus a non-embodied instructional intervention. This comparison tests whether physical movement has an effect on learning. Second, having compared individual learning, I examine the effect elicited gestures have in the way a group of students build situated meaning of graphical representations. Third, I explore a measurement model of students’ enacted movements using the ESPD log data. With the log data, I measure the student ability to enact the elicited gestures. Results show (1) statistically significant higher learning gains for students in the ESPD condition; (2) students in the ESPD condition spontaneously used more complex, action-laden gestures to convey their understanding of the quantitative dynamics; and (3) the ability to enact the elicited movement predicts learning gains. Findings from this dissertation will be useful to researchers, teachers, and designers who want to include elicited gestures as part of their instructional approach with early middle school students.

This study explored the relationship between a National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) College Readiness Program (CRP) Grant and student achievement outcomes in Advanced Placement (AP) courses and on AP Exams in four Alaska high schools. A logistic regression model returned the odds of students obtaining an A or B versus a C, D, or F in an AP course, and earning a passing score versus a failing score on the exam. The results indicate there are more frequent significant differences in exam scores than in course grades based on the independent variables in the regression model. Free-and-reduced lunch (FRL) status and a school’s location were the most frequent predictors, followed by gender, grant status, and ethnicity. The lack of difference in AP course grades suggests that non-White, female students receiving FRL, attending an urban high school with the grant may be able to achieve at levels comparable to their more advantaged peers. Furthermore, the percent growth in exam pass rate at the grant schools in the study was higher than the non-grant schools and similar to other state-level studies of the NMSI CRP grant. Beyond the consistent increases in exam pass rate at grant schools, enrollment also grew by 13% for underrepresented students at the urban grant school and by 6% at the suburban grant school. These results can be understood in context of Bioecological Systems Theory, which posits that individuals who experience interactions that underlie development in one environment, which they have not routinely experienced in other environments, will show greater development. In light of this study, this means underserved students may be able to close to the achievement gap to their more affluent peers if they have the necessary academic support. As a result, this study supports reducing barriers to advanced course enrollment, and creating systems to extend time for classroom instruction and teacher professional development.

This study consisted of a mixed-methods comparative analysis of the implementation of the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) in public school districts in the state of Missouri. The researcher surveyed nine public school districts similar in demographics of socio-economic representation, free and reduced lunch percentage, and average daily fund expended to educate students. One district administrator responsible for the implementation of MTSS represented each school district. In the qualitative component of the study, the researcher utilized an original electronic survey to gather insights into the unique implementation path each district employed. Coding and analysis resulted in identification of themes, similarities, and differences. The researcher interviewed 2 state-level leaders integral in the design and implementation recommendations from a state-level perspective. Coding and analysis of interview responses resulted in identification of similarities and differences in state and district-level implementation of MTSS. The quantitative component of study included collection and analysis of secondary data obtained from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education via the Missouri Comprehensive Data System. The researcher obtained and analyzed elementary achievement and student attendance data to determine a difference within districts with full and partial implementation of MTSS. Through analysis of the qualitative surveys and interviews, the researcher found unique implementation paths among the study districts. All nine study districts implemented differently and none utilized a recommended path or blueprint. District implementations varied from perceptions held among the state-level leaders interviewed. Through analysis of the quantitative component of the study, the researcher identified no difference in achievement and student attendance in districts deemed full implementation in comparison to partial implementation. The researcher recommended continued attention to successful implementation of MTSS at state and district levels. Future attention with focus on increased technical support and funding at the state level held the promise of prompt, appropriate supports to students who struggle in the academic, behavioral, and social skill areas.

During the autumn project we explored how mobile technologies could be used to improve collaboration in distance education in developing countries. During this study we identified the importance of discussion groups. In this thesis continuing from the autumn project I traveled to Uganda and administered interview on the BED students in order to understand better how discussion groups are formed and managed, hence understanding better the activities technology can support. In this study we used different methods of data collection. Since we had already done a study in the previous semester we used some the information we hd gathered before to inform us about some aspect. We also used a questionnaire as earlier mentioned and observation since we were in Uganda during a face-to-face session. We presented the results which informed us and we characterised the discussion groups in two that is assignment discussion group and general discussion group giving the characteristics of each in detail. In the results presentation we grouped the chapter into major sub section that need support. We then anaylsed the data collected were we present it in form of scenarios without technology support. In this chapter we have different possibility when Markus whats to create group, join group, leave a group, etc. In here we identify some activities that need support e.g. group management, coordination, communication and collaboration. We then presented the services in the design chapter in use cases and described the different use cases. These use cases helped us to know the detail functionalities that we need to support. There after we developed demonstration prototype to demonstrate some of the functionalities of the design. Though we would have liked to have every thing on our demonstration prototype we just did a few services to demonstrate what we needed. We then evaluated our demonstrator aganist the scenarios we had earlier in the analysis by trying to see how the demonstrator solve some of the problems Markus encounted.