2024 Doctoral Capstone Projects

Currently, the Knoch School District lacks effective professional development opportunities for our staff and suffers from a high call-off rate on in-service days. This Capstone Research Project sets out to understand effective professional development strategies that can be implemented within the school district. This includes reviewing how the district currently provides professional development for teachers and determining which of these opportunities are effective. It sets out to answer four questions: 1) What topics does the staff believe are most important when it comes to receiving professional development? 2) What would make staff more likely to participate in professional development that is offered by the district? 3) What style of professional development opportunities do teachers believe impacted their classroom instruction? 4) How does the professional development meet the objectives of the district’s vision? Data collection tools that will be applied include surveys, feedback forms, and call-off rates on the professional development days. These tools will provide both qualitative and quantitative data for review. At least three different models of professional development will be implemented throughout the school year. After each of these, a feedback from will be completed by participants. Both the surveys and professional development feedback forms include Likert scale-type and multiple-choice questions and will allow for some open-ended responses. Moving forward, all of the data collected will be used to create a district-wide professional development plan.

This research project aimed to investigate the impact of Whole School Cluster Grouping on student achievement, student growth, and teacher efficacy. The primary purpose was
to explore innovative strategies to meet the diverse needs of all students in a comprehensive educational setting. The study employed a mixed-methods research design, integrating both quantitative and qualitative data to provide a holistic understanding of the intervention's effects. Pre- and post-intervention quantitative data were collected from standardized test scores in English Language Arts and mathematics across grades 1 through 4. Qualitative data were derived from teacher efficacy surveys and narrative responses, providing insights into teacher experiences and perceptions. The analysis included comparing pre- and post-intervention achievement and growth percentages, as well as examining changes in teacher efficacy ratings. The results of Whole School Cluster Grouping indicated mixed impacts on student achievement and positive impacts on student growth. Teacher efficacy showed marked improvement in areas such as student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management, suggesting that Whole School Cluster Grouping positively influenced teachers' confidence and effectiveness. Overall, the findings suggest that Whole School Cluster Grouping has the potential to enhance educational outcomes but requires careful implementation to address challenges and optimize its effectiveness.