2020 Doctoral Capstone Projects

The Capstone Project completed is designed to aide the Bellefonte Area School District in students attaining grade level reading expectations by the third grade. The researcher studied the reading data for the district’s current second grade students. The data that was analyzed was Fountas and Pinnell BAS data and AimswebPlus assessment data. The primary grade level teachers of the district were also surveyed to in order to determine the different reading intervention strategies being used in classrooms, data that teachers are analyzing, and their impressions of Fountas and Pinnell Classroom. The BAS and AimswebPlus data were cross referenced with the teacher survey data to identify effective reading instructional strategies that are being utilized in classrooms and share these strategies with the other teachers across the district. The researcher found that teachers are using a wide array of data points and a variety of instructional strategies in their classrooms. The research that was completed has shown a need for a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) for its students. The Capstone Project will support the efforts to establish a MTSS program in all elementary schools for the district.

Academic programs at the high school level need to be data-driven. A work study/release program is no exception to this premise. The Forest Hills School District recognized a need to evaluate and examine the effectiveness of the work study/release program at the Junior-Senior High School. Stakeholders were asked to complete a perception survey in order for the researcher to gain insight as to the various stakeholder’s perceptions of the current program. Four groups were surveyed: parents, staff, employers, and former students that had participated in the work study/release program while enrolled at Forest Hills. The data was analyzed through qualitative means to identify common themes and trends in the stakeholder’s perceptions. An action plan was developed with the goal of making the work study/release program more appealing for the students at Forest Hills. A focus on increased communication, skill acquisition and gaining work experience, and pre-program training for all stakeholders, developed from the analysis of the perception data.

This study was designed with the goal of informing a decision for the South Butler Primary School to adopt standards-based report cards or to continue with traditional report cards. School districts in Western Pennsylvania that had already adopted standards-based report cards were studied. A questionnaire was created that was designed to answer three research questions regarding standards-based report cards. The first research question was designed to learn more about the challenges of implementing standards-based report cards. Research indicated that there are several challenges, but solutions to these challenges are readily available. The second research question was designed to learn more about academic benefits students receive when a standards-based report card is in place. While a correlation between high standardized test scores and standards-based report cards could not be shown, there was evidence that students and teachers are more focused on standards when a standards-based report card is in place. The final research question was designed to learn more about whether a standards-based report card better informs an end user when compared to a traditional report card. It was clearly shown through this research that a standards-based report card does better inform an end user when compared to a traditional report card, however the end user must be well educated on the topic.

The purpose of this Capstone Research Project was to determine whether targeted technology professional development increased communication, employee engagement, beliefs about change, and strategic planning among teachers. These four areas of growth were named in a survey disseminated to all staff members within the study site’s district during the 2018-2019 school year by an independent education consultant. The intervention, including a cohort-based sampled, which allowed teachers to engage in co-planning, co-teaching, and sharing days was designed after reviewing previous studies that showed promising results with in-person support. Surveys created by Apple, interviews conducted by the researcher, and informal conversations were data sets that showed the following: teachers’ perceptions of recognition (communication, employee engagement, beliefs about change), teachers’ perceptions of technology (communication, employee engagement, and strategic planning), elements of student learning (beliefs about change and strategic planning), and the frequency of student product creation (beliefs about change and strategic planning).

A key component of the Pittsburgh Public Schools’ five-year strategic plan includes professional learning practices. Incorporating collaborative teams as part of the Professional Learning Community (PLC) within our schools is essential to achieving the outcomes outlined in the strategic plan. This research study considers the impact of collaborative teams within the PLC structure on teacher instructional practices. The goal of this research study was to determine whether PLCs have an impact on teachers’ abilities to refine their instructional practices based upon the results of data, student needs, and ongoing collaboration with their colleagues. The effectiveness of the PLC intervention at Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy was determined based upon three research questions: How do PLCs ensure that teachers make changes to instruction based upon the results of data and student needs? What role do professional learning communities have in the future academic success of students? Have professional learning communities provided ongoing opportunities for teachers to work with colleagues to refine teaching practices? A quantitative approach for data collection was used throughout this research study, and the two data collection instruments used were the SoCQ and the PLCA-R. The analysis of data collected suggests that teachers at Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy are implementing collaborative practices as part of the PLC intervention and making changes to instruction based upon the collective learning that is occurring with their collaborative teams.

This Capstone Project investigates the relationship between the use of Edmentum's Courseware Math Library software and students' math achievement in the middle school mathematics classrooms of a small school district in southwestern Pennsylvania during the 2019 -2020 school year. Grade level data was collected regarding the use of a supplemental math software program called Edmentum's Courseware Math Library. Data on students' mathematics achievement was collected from the Study Island Benchmark Assessments version 4 that acted as a pretest and posttest. The data were compared to determine mean differences in achievement between the students who were provided the Edmentum Courseware Math Library in a blended learning environment ( experimental group) and those who did not ( control group). Data were analyze using a two-sample ttest for independent samples to determine the possible relationship between the use of the Courseware Math Library and students' math achievement on these measures. The Capstone Project results can be utilized to inform school educational leaders as they invest in technology tools and integrate technology into the mathematics classroom. Regardless of using Edmentum's Courseware Math Library in 2019-2020, the achievement of the experimental group was not significantly higher than that of the control group. Several variables should be taken into account, such as limited data, teacher training in blended learning and the Edmentum Courseware Math Library and time intervals that the students access the modules. Another factor that could have played a significant role in the results is the interruption of the educational process due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak that forced the school to enter into a Continuity of Education plan that altered the blinded learning environment for a part of the project.

Using teacher evaluation score averages, Instructional Rounds data, and student assessment score averages from the Northwest Evaluation Association Measures of Academic Progress (NWEA MAP) assessment at two elementary school campuses in a large West Texas city, this research study investigated the affects that effective professional development planning and teacher effectiveness had on student achievement. This study is a quantitative action research project utilizing archival data from the 2018 – 2019 school year as a baseline, as well as 2019 – 2020 data collected throughout the entirety of the research study. The data was collected after each professional development training in order to identify the utilization of the targeted instructional strategies implemented to analyze the relationship between teacher evaluation scores and the implementation of targeted professional development. NWEA MAP assessment averages from students were collected and analyzed in order to identify the relationship between the implementation of effective professional development and targeted instructional strategies, and teacher evaluation scores. The results of this research study indicated an increase in teacher evaluation score averages with increased usage of the targeted instructional strategies and fidelity to the professional development trainings. In addition, the findings indicated that groups of students and teachers had higher increases in overall teacher evaluation averages and student NWEA MAP Rasch Unit (RIT) score averages when implementing the targeted instructional strategies with more fidelity to the professional development trainings. Also, the results indicated consistency at both campuses in the use of the teacher evaluation rubric, since both of the focus campuses in his research study used the same teacher evaluation rubric and received the same calibration training at the beginning of the 2019 – 2020 school year. The recommendations discussed within this research study include; encouraging fidelity to the professional development training and the implementation of the targeted instructional strategies, including additional campuses to add more teachers and students to the focus groups, additional time parameters, and a structured testing protocol in order to have a testing environment conducive for student concentration. In addition, it was recommended to include individualized teacher evaluation scores and student NWEA MAP RIT scores to identify more individualized increase or decreases on teacher evaluations and student assessment scores.

For years, students with mental health diagnoses have encountered many barriers in their respective education programs. Teachers and other professionals have been unsure and unaware of many of the successful strategies to engage these students in learning and providing essential skills for success in life. All too often, medication has become the primary way to alter behaviors and symptoms of students who suffer from mental health issues. This study focuses on a group of students who have at least one mental health diagnosis. Through reviews of literature, a historical timeline is presented on strategies provided to these students, as well as a definition and overview of many of the common types of mental health diagnoses. Students are observed in both the traditional classroom environment and the Fab Lab. The purpose of this study is to determine if student behaviors, attendance, and mental health symptoms can be minimized and altered in the Fab Lab setting which could promote more learning opportunities. The study also includes analyzing teacher and social worker perceptions on both learning environments.

Behavior problems impact student performance and the overall climate of a school building. Current school codes of conduct and discipline programs do little to improve behavior. Schools need a way to put interventions in place to help students who show behavioral difficulty. These interventions need to be supportive rather than punitive. The research questions; 'how do behavioral interventions impact student behavior and school climate in third through fifth grade students?' and 'how do teachers perceive the impact and effectiveness of the intervention?' provide the basis of the study. The purpose of this research study is to determine how Check-in/check-out as a behavioral intervention impacts student behavior and school climate. Student behavior was charted daily to monitor their progress toward goals established at the onset of the program. Students also completed the School Climate Survey {La Salle, McIntosh, & Elaison, 2018) before beginning the intervention and at the conclusion of the study timeframe. Teachers also completed a survey at the conclusion of the intervention to determine its impact from their perspective. The data was analyzed by looking for trends in behavior, trends in climate ratings, and trends in teacher ratings to determine effectiveness. The data showed that the intervention was effective from the teacher's perspective, had inconsistent results between increasing student positive behavior and decreasing negative behavior, and had no positive impact on the school climate rating. Further research is need to determine ways to increase behavioral consistency and to determine other factors contributing to school climate rating.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to analyze the predictors of teacher absences between the 2016-19 school years and the impact of teacher absences on student achievement scores at Derry Township School District (DTSD), a school district located in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The objectives of the study included: (a) an analysis of the predictors of teacher absenteeism, (b) examining the costs associated with teacher absenteeism, (c) analyzing the impact on student achievement, and (d) recommendations to reduce the frequency of teacher absences and the associated costs. The desired outcome of this action research project was to provide substantial recommendations to DTSD and other public school systems to meaningfully address the problems associated with teacher absenteeism. The results of the study indicated that more than 62% of teachers at DTSD were considered to be chronically absent. The cost associated with securing substitutes between the 2016-19 school years exceeded $2.1 million. In addition, the substitute fill rate in the district continued to decline. Although, the study determined that there were little to no significant differences between the achievement scores for students instructed by chronically absent teachers and those who were instructed by teachers who miss fewer than 10 days. The results of the study suggested that significant relationships between the number of teacher absences and student achievement scores did not exist. However, the demographic variables of age, gender, and years of experience were all determined to be significant predicators of teachers absences.