This study examined a differentiated, bottom-up approach to school improvement planning through exploration of the qualities that make up a highly effective school department team as it related to their ability to create and meet a student-centered, data driven high achievement goal. While there are a multitude of factors that affect the ability…

The intent of this mixed-methods case study was to examine the practices, processes, and associated factors of a school-based team mandated by the district for the purpose of supporting freshmen students during their first year of high school. The study utilized the Theory of Change theoretical framework with the logic model as a reference for…

Student success and campus safety are two key issues in higher education. Efforts to maximize both issues are the focus of campus administration. Behavioral Intervention Teams (BITs) are implemented as a dual mechanism to improve student success and campus safety. BITs increasingly are becoming best practice and an essential component in…

Students spend little time completing tasks when deadlines are far off; however, they tend to increase their work amounts as deadline approaches. This phenomenon, which is called deadline rush, can be modeled by exponential distributions. Deadline reactivity, represented by a rate parameter of the exponential distribution, parameterizes individual…

Individual readiness assurance tests (iRATs) are frequently graded in team-based learning (TBL) classrooms, with the goal of incentivizing individual pre-class preparation. The purpose of this study was to determine whether shifting to an ungraded iRAT process affects student preparation and learning, as measured using assessment scores, and…

The role of the K-12 principal is one that is vast and diverse in its range of responsibilities. This qualitative study examined the current challenges specifically facing small rural school district principals and the access available to support for professional growth in that role. McREL's Balanced Leadership Framework was used as the…

Focus groups and interviews can help to determine teachers' perspectives on classroom management. The problem with special education in the United States is that teachers are not prepared for specific classroom challenges, and their perceptions of classroom management have not been thoroughly documented. Gaps in the literature included teachers'…

Identifying approaches that make science and engineering education broader and more inclusive is core to discipline based education research. Both fundamental and applied research are important in advancing a STEM education that retains the necessary scientists of the U.S.'s future. Thus, the major goal of this work was to evaluate and describe…

This qualitative phenomenological study explored the approaches of newly appointed principals in New York State to build capacity through their Instructional Leadership Team (ILT). Interviews were conducted with 16 newly appointed principals to dive into their lived experiences using ILTs in their schools. Two approaches were identified: general…

Students' academic success and wellbeing are interconnected, yet university classrooms rarely promote mental health. To bridge the divide between academic and social-emotional learning, I introduced a classroom intervention titled the Care Bear Connection, during which students were required to post a message in Slack offering support to their…

The examined problem was principals' lack of soft skills such as teamwork and adaptability, which can affect student achievement. Specifically, this qualitative research explored how principals used soft skills such as teamwork and adaptability to influence student achievement scores with a qualitative phenomenological design. The ABC Public…

The effects of transitions impact students across academic levels in many ways. The transition to high school can be a vulnerable time; moreover, it may be an optimal time for preventive interventions. As students matriculate and transition from middle to high school, a concentrated effort must be made to improve the practices to best support…

The primary purpose of this study was to assess if there was a difference in a general education course embedding affective soft skills badging compared to a course that did not. This study was initiated due to calls for general education reform. The practice of affective soft skills badging in general education courses has the promise to reform…

This dissertation study explores the implementation of Project-Based Learning (PBL) in first-grade classrooms and its impact on student engagement. The study emphasizes the importance of collaborative grade-level teams and teacher support in successfully implementing PBL. The study adopts a mixed-methods approach and takes place in a small rural…

This mixed-methods study addresses the perceived impact of working in Professional Learning Teams (PLTs) on teaching practices and student achievement in biology. The study replicates Roberts's (2010) study. Success in biology is important to the nation because it aligns with national efforts to prepare students to compete in global markets.…