With today's technology, Extension professionals have a variety of tools available for program evaluation. This article describes an innovative platform called VoiceThread that has been used in many classrooms but also is useful for conducting virtual focus group research. I explain how this tool can be used to collect qualitative participant…

From an improvement research perspective, this study explores strategies used to implement a school-wide vocabulary intervention into language arts instruction at an urban elementary school. Academic language time, an innovative change in the instructional delivery system, allots time and structure for deliberate teaching of cross-disciplinary…

The purpose of this multi-method qualitative study was to collect data for a future development of an in-service training program for new teachers employed by Lake Forest Academy (pseudonym). New teachers of children with special educational needs faced challenges teaching in this Middle East country in addition to those faced by the new general…

This mixed method exploratory case study was used to explore the effect data overload has on project management, how data overload affects project management effectiveness, how prepared program office staff is to manage multiple projects effectively, and how the program office's organizational structure and data management systems affect project…

This article describes original research to determine reasons graduate students do not complete requirements for a Master's (M.Ed.) in Middle Level Education degree at the Southeastern University. Since the program's initial cohort the graduation rate has decreased. Program faculty was concerned about the increasing difference between the number…

iMentor's College Ready Program is a unique approach that combines elements of school-based mentoring, whole school reform, and technology in an effort to help students develop the full suite of knowledge, behaviors, and skills they need to complete high school and enroll and thrive in college. iMentor partners with high schools that serve…

Evaluations should be issues driven, not methods driven. The starting point should be priority programs to be evaluated or policies to be tested. From this starting point, a list of evaluation questions is identified. For each evaluation question, the task is to identify the best available method for answering that question. Hence it is likely…

This dissertation was designed to examine and assess the effectiveness of the ClassScape formative assessment tool on the planning, implementation, and evaluation of instruction at a rural middle school in western North Carolina. The teachers had the ClassScape program for 3 years, but were not using the program to plan future instruction. The…

Background: This article reports on an evaluation study of a project seeking to develop the use of position-linked datalogging with primary pupils in environmental science contexts. Purpose: The study sought to find out the extent to which the project had developed: (1) participant teachers' confidence in using datalogging as an everyday part of…

Two methods used to collect follow-up data on vocational education graduates to determine their postgraduate occupational and educational activities are (1) to ask the graduates themselves and (2) to ask the teachers to report the status of their graduates. The objective of this study was to compare data that was collected using each method and…

Action research in the Cobb County (Georgia) school district is described. This research is being conducted in the district under three main approaches: (1) co-researcher projects addressing central level issues; (2) district-wide projects; and (3) school-focused action research, including minigrants to teachers. The first three…

A transfer-of-training design was used to evaluate the contributions of simulator training with synergistic six-degrees-of-freedom platform motion to aerobatic skills acquisition in the novice pilot. Thirty-six undergraduate pilot trainees were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: motion, no-motion, and control. Those in the control…

This study assessed the nature of response bias in a two-stage data-collection design (telephone interviews followed by a questionnaire mailing), which was used to examine the effectiveness of a state-level pharmaceutical assistance program for the elderly. Demographic and health factors affecting response (N=1,705 elderly persons) are discussed.…

A five-year study was undertaken to investigate the relative effectiveness of pre-retirement education (PRE) programs. Project staff identified for study three methodologies (the lecture series, the discussion group, and the "facilitated interaction" model) and four contexts for sponsor-settings (the employer, the education, the…

A study was conducted from March 1976 through June 1980 on the application and feasibility of a computer micro-system as an interactive tutorial instructional tool in a self-contained classroom. Literature on computer assisted instruction (CAI), hardware, and software was examined. Individualized CAI materials for industrial arts and technology…