Browsing by Author "Moody, Pamela Neil"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Considerations in Building an Elementary Makerspace Lab
    Marinoble, Mark Anthony (Virginia Tech, 2019-04-05)
    Globalization and technology have placed a recognizable pressure on both employers and educational institutions. Entry-level employees must be adaptive, innovative, collaborative, and have strong problem-solving and communication skills. To prepare students for the future workforce, schools must revisit existing practices and find new ways to foster innovation as the gap between the new skills students need verses what is being taught in public schools continues to grow (Bybee et al, 2006; Wagner, 2012). One way to increase students' interest and skills in STEM education is by incorporating makerspaces into schools. Makerspaces are physical spaces where people have opportunities to build and construct objects based on their own personal interests. Makerspaces foster the innovative ideas and skills students need upon graduation. This qualitative case study investigates why educational leaders decided to launch a makerspace lab and how school leaders established a model makerspace lab at an elementary school. The purpose of this study was to document and describe the change process connected with the implementation of the makerspace lab, how leaders navigated various obstacles, perceptions of the change process, and lessons learned from educators. The findings show that school leaders experienced a novel concept after visiting an extraordinary model makerspace program which demonstrated a unique approach to developing the innovative capacity of young learners. These experiences created a transformational moment in school leaders that motivated them to be change agents and launch their own makerspace lab. School leaders developed community partnerships with an engineering university, a Fortune 500 company, an education community foundation, and a large school district to make this work possible. Together, these educational and business collaborators created a model elementary makerspace model that is one of the first of its kind on the east coast and currently services students from other schools in the region. The findings further discuss the importance of community partnerships, inviting other schools to participate, having a model program to emulate, having the right people, and how a school initiative became a district opportunity.
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    Predicting Graduation from Prior Academic Achievement, Attendance, and Behavior: A Quantitative Analysis
    Nitowski, Robert Jude (Virginia Tech, 2023-06-05)
    The purpose of this study was to analyze high school graduation rates from prior academic achievement, attendance, and behavior in one school system over 4 years. The study addressed three questions, which of the students included in this study dropped out of high school, how exclusionary discipline affected students' attendance at school and their ability to graduate. In addition, for the students who dropped out, what was their exclusionary discipline rate, what was their chronic absenteeism rate, and what was the leading cause of students not graduating on time? By examining specific predictors, we can gain insight into why some students fail to graduate high school on time or drop out early. Keeping track of essential indicators such as attendance, behavior, and academic achievement in the classroom will increase the likelihood of students graduating after 4 years of high school. Using the comparative case study approach, this study compared four cohorts of students who graduated from one urban high school. A correlational, nonexperimental design was used. After the data were analyzed, using descriptive statistics and mean averages of the variables, it was discovered that, across three of the four study cohort clusters, there was a consistent overrepresentation of Hispanic male English language learners (ELLs) who experienced some type of exclusionary discipline, and who failed their Standards of Learning English reading/writing and mathematics assessments leading to them dropping out of school. As a result of tracking students' academics, attendance, and behaviors, schools can design professional development for teachers and school administrators to identify at-risk students early and assist them in preventing failure. In the mid-Atlantic region of the United States, academic warning indicator systems must be more representative of diverse student populations. This research supplements past fieldwork on this topic.
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    A Study into How Elementary School Principals Across Virginia Reduce or Eliminate Exclusionary Discipline for Students with Disabilities
    Jacks, Andrew Michael (Virginia Tech, 2019-06-18)
    Students with disabilities are highly at-risk for administrative disciplinary actions that remove them from school for misconduct. School leaders have the authority and expertise to reduce the amount of these removals by reconsidering their current methods for discipline, reflecting on how these affect their students, and making changes to student consequences. The purpose of this study was to determine what highly skilled principals in the field have found to be the most effective strategies in reducing or eliminating out-of-school suspensions for students with disabilities. This insight is invaluable to the discussion on next steps to close the discipline gap between special education and regular education students. This study used a Delphi model for research building consensus through three rounds of surveys. This input was collected from a panel of 15 principals from 13 school divisions across Virginia that were identified as having already achieved success in eliminating out-of-school suspensions for students with disabilities. The panel concluded that principals must ensure a positive relationship with every student, use alternative, logical, and authentic consequences, and identify and implement individualized supports and accommodations when addressing student misconduct to eliminate out-of-school suspensions for their students with disabilities. Principals should implement practical strategies that proactively build positive relationships and help them better understand the child as an individual in order to reduce or eliminate suspensions in their schools.
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    What Virginia Principals Should Know and Be Able to Do to Minimize Special Education Disputes Between Parents and Schools. A Delphi Study
    Moody, Pamela Neil (Virginia Tech, 2014-04-27)
    Today's schools face a mounting number of court cases resulting from conflicts between parents of children with special needs and educators tasked with meeting those needs (Osborne, 2009). Principals have the enormous responsibility to ensure appropriate services to educate students with disabilities and, as special education leaders, require a skill set that includes knowledge of current laws, litigation, student learning needs, and how to support parents' decision making rights and responsibilities. A gap is evident between what principals know about special education leadership and case law and what principals are doing in the field. The purpose of this study was to identify effective actions and behaviors that support Virginia principals' leadership in special education decision making. More specifically, the study examined what can be done to minimize special education disputes between parents and schools and identify principals' skill sets to minimize special education disputes. Two concurrent Delphi studies were conducted with 16 member panels; stakeholders with familial responsibilities to children with disabilities and professional experts with responsibility to special education compliance participated. A final round exchanged findings between the panels. The study identified a list of best practices for Virginia school principals to support special education leadership and decision making.