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National Louis University Digital Commons@NLU Dissertations 12-2015 A Three Part Dissertation: Evaluating A High School District Extended-period Mathematics Program Using Frequent, Unannounced, Focused, And Short Classroom Observations To Support Classroom Instruction Utilizing Classroom Observations To Inform Teaching And Learning: A Policy Advocacy Document Lawrence T. Cook National Louis University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.edu/diss Part of the Educational Leadership Commons Recommended Citation Cook, Lawrence T., "A Three Part Dissertation: Evaluating A High School District Extended-period Mathematics Program Using Frequent, Unannounced, Focused, And Short Classroom Observations To Support Classroom Instruction Utilizing Classroom Observations To Inform Teaching And Learning: A Policy Advocacy Document" (2015).edu/diss/147 This Dissertation - Public Access is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons@NLU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@NLU. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@nl.

A THREE PART DISSERTATION: EVALUATING A HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT EXTENDED-PERIOD MATHEMATICS PROGRAM USING FREQUENT, UNANNOUNCED, FOCUSED, AND SHORT CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS TO SUPPORT CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION UTILIZING CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS TO INFORM TEACHING AND LEARNING: A POLICY ADVOCACY DOCUMENT Lawrence T. Cook Educational Leadership Doctoral Program Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of Doctor of Education in the Foster G. McGaw Graduate School National College of Education National Louis University December, 2015 Copyright by Lawrence T. Cook, 2016 All rights reserved DISSERTATION ORGANIZATION STATEMENT This document is organized to meet the three-part dissertation requirement of the National Louis University (NLU) Educational Leadership (EDL) Doctoral Program.

The National Louis Educational Leadership Ed.D is a professional practice degree program (Shulman, Golde, Bueschel, & Garabedian, 2006). For the dissertation requirement, doctoral candidates are required to plan, research, and implement three major projects, one each year, within their school or district with a focus on professional practice. The three projects are:  Program Evaluation  Change Leadership Plan  Policy Advocacy Document For the Program Evaluation, candidates are required to identify and evaluate a program or practice within their school or district. The program can be a current initiative, a grant project, a common practice, or a movement.

Focused on utilization, the evaluation can be formative, summative, or developmental (Patton, 2008). The candidate must demonstrate how the evaluation directly relates to student learning. In the Change Leadership Plan, candidates develop a plan that considers organizational possibilities for renewal. The plan for organizational change may be at the building or district level.

It must be related to an area in need of improvement with a clear target in mind. Candidate must be able to identify noticeable and feasible differences that should exist as a result of the change plan (Wagner, Kegan, Lahey, Lemons, Garnier, Helsing, Howell, & Rasmussen, 2006). In the Policy Advocacy Document, candidates develop and advocate for a policy at the local, state, or national level using reflective practice and research as a means for supporting and promoting reforms in education. Policy advocacy dissertations use critical theory to address moral and ethical issues of policy formation and administrative decision making (i., what ought to be).

The purpose is to develop reflective, humane, and social critics; moral leaders; and competent professionals, guided by a critical practical rational model (Browder, 1995). Works Cited: Browder, L. An alternative to the doctoral dissertation: The policy advocacy concept and the policy document. Journal of School Leadership, 5, 40-69.

Utilization-focused evaluation (4th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Reclaiming education’s doctorates: A critique and a proposal. Change leadership: A practical guide to transforming our schools.

San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Acknowledgements I thank my wife, Catherine, for allowing me to work long nights and weekends while she kept house and cared for our children. She has been a rock throughout this entire process. I know I appeared to always have it together; however, your support helped me focus on the work that needed to be accomplished.

Thanks and gratitude goes to my mentor and friend, Dr. Thank you for encouraging me to enroll in college and becoming a first generation university graduate. Thanks for supporting and growing me throughout my entire professional career. Thanks for the time and energy you have given me throughout this doctoral process.

I truly appreciate all you do. I thank my dissertation chair, Dr. Tina Nolan, for all the meetings, telephone conferences, updates, revisions, suggestions, advice, and support. I would also like to thank all the program professors for their time, energy, and professional and educational perspectives and insights.

So, thank you Dr. Harrington Gibson, Dr. Vicki Gunther, Dr. Norman Weston, Dr.

Elizabeth Minor, Dr. Jack Denny, Dr. Richard Best, and Dr. Finally, I would like to thank my program colleagues for the support, discussions, perspectives, and insights given.

I have grown personally and professionally in our time together. Thank you Ruqia, Carol, Diallo, Jodi, Brad, Craig, Patricia, Michelle, Marcella, Anthony, Lisa, Erin, Cynthia, Hanan, Nicole, Guillermo, Sharon, William, John, Tamara, Christine, Zipporah, Gladys, and Paige. This work is dedicated with love to my Catherine and my children Lauryn Trinity Lawrence IV Logan EVALUATING A HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT EXTENDED-PERIOD MATHEMATICS PROGRAM Lawrence T. Cook Educational Leadership Doctoral Program Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of Doctor of Education in the Foster G.

McGaw Graduate School National College of Education National Louis University December, 2015 Abstract This paper involved evaluating the extended-period mathematics program of Above Average Means High School (AAMHS, pseudonym). This study used quantitative and qualitative methods of inquiry to investigate the effectiveness of the extended-period mathematics courses offered at AAMHS. Specifically, statistical measures on placement test data, end-of-the-year standardized test data, and survey data to evaluate its validity were used. In addition, teacher interviews and classroom observations to find characteristics of the program beyond only measured values were conducted.

Although this study showed that the students in the extended program scored higher on standardized tests, the findings were not statistically significant. i Preface Lessons learned in year one were equitable education for all students, instructional leadership, and engaging more stakeholders in the decision making processes. Wagner’s (2008) concept of the 21st century curriculum and the seven survival skills solidified my belief that educational entities should focus more on students learned it rather than I taught it. More importantly, to ensure that all students learn at high levels, supports must be scaffold, the environment needs to promote equity and access, and students required to participate in the most rigorous course of study.

Thus, the implementation of a high-quality core curriculum and an establishment of an accountability system with action steps is necessary for high-academic achievement for all students. Administrators are to be seen as instructional leaders and required to engage in leadership training and coaching. In the role of the instructional leader, administrators are obligated to utilize data to implement programmatic changes, and data should be used to determine the types of professional development opportunities. In addition, qualitative and quantitative data are necessary—numbers alone do not always completely represent a concept, an idea, or a program.

Other lessons learned in year one when evaluating programs or initiating change involved engaging key stakeholders in the planning processes and recognizing the roles stakeholders would play in the process. Further, teams must consist of members with complimentary skills and be treated with dignity and respect. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT i PREFACE ii LIST OF TABLES v SECTION ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 Purpose 1 Rationale 2 Goals 3 Research Questions 6 SECTION TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 7 Introduction 7 Various Schedules 7 Scheduling Observations 9 Discipline and Student Conduct 9 Teachers’ Training 10 Instructional Strategies 10 Student Achievement 12 Curriculum 13 SECTION THREE: METHODOLOGY 16 Research Design Overview 16 Participants 16 Data Gathering 17 Data Analysis Techniques 19 iii SECTION FOUR: FINDINGS AND INTERPRETATION 21 Introduction 21 Findings 21 Test Score Data 21 Summary of Test Data 28 Classroom Observations 28 Teacher Survey 30 Teacher Interviews 31 Expectations for Student’s Learning 31 Instructional Strategies 32 Communications with Parents 33 Instructional Leader Interviews 33 Professional Development Expectations 34 Instructional Strategies 34 Observing Classroom Instruction 34 Interpretation 35 Meaning of the Results 35 SECTION FIVE: JUDGMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS 36 Judgment 36 Recommendations 37 REFERENCES 39 iv APPENDICES APPENDIX A: Extended-Period Mathematics—Teacher 46 APPENDIX B: Extended-Period Mathematics—Instructional Leader 49 APPENDIX C: Extended-Period Mathematics—Teacher Interview 50 APPENDIX D: DBL Students for CP Comparison 51 APPENDIX E: CP Students for DBL Comparison 53 v List of Tables Table Page 1: AC Students for DBL Comparison 23 2: DBL Students for DBL Comparison 23 3: AC Students for CP Comparison 24 4: CP Students for AC Comparison 25 5: DBL (Two or More) Students for CP Comparison 26 6: CP Students for DBL (Two or More) Comparison 27 vi SECTION ONE: INTRODUCTION Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine whether the implementation of the Excellence Achievement for Some High School (EASHS, pseudonym) extended-period mathematics program increases student achievement for low-performing students in mathematics. The extended-period mathematics program caters to students who experience difficulty in mathematics.

Specifically, these students are given an additional 225 minutes of instruction per week compared to a regular period of mathematics. Most of the learning, guided practice, instruction, and assessments take place in the classroom. The Excellence Achievement for Some High School believes that when students are given more instruction and seat time, students will be actively engaged and learn more content; hence, increasing their mathematical achievement. This belief is supported by Rolfhus and Ackerman (1999) who report that it is alleged that learned intelligence has a stronger correlation to success in schools, then innate intelligence.

Marzano (2004) also supports the EASHS notion when he purported that schools must dedicate the time, resources, and academically enriching experiences to enhance the academic background knowledge of students. The single most important factor in student achievement is the quality of classroom instruction (Marshall, 2013; Marzano, Frontier & Livingston, 2011). Further, every student must have access to rigorous, grade-level curriculum and highly effective initial teaching (Buffum, Mattos, & Weber, 2010). Thus, EASHS gives students with deficits in mathematics access to grade-level and rigorous curriculum through its extended-period mathematics program.

Students are provided with extended time and 1 other resources to learn and engage in mathematics to improve their mathematic achievement. Students are expected to follow the same scope and sequence as regular- period college preparatory level students, and they are expected to take the same common assessments and final exams. I propose to increase the awareness of the extended-period mathematics program and the impact it has on students’ achievement. Rationale In the fall of 2004, the lowest and basic mathematics track was eliminated at EASHS.

This elimination resulted in the increase range of students’ ability and skill set to do mathematics. Consequently, many students failed algebra, geometry, and advanced algebra at worrying rates. Students were expected to meet rigorous academic standards with few supports in place, and teachers received little to no training in differentiated instruction. However, students and teachers were held to the high academic standards and expectation of the college preparatory mathematics curriculum.

About three years ago, the number of students who failed the core mathematics course significantly declined. It has been touted that the students who were enrolled in the extended-period mathematics courses were outperforming the students in the regular- period courses on common assessments and final exams; thus, earning better marks. At the same time, it was discussed that although students enrolled in the extended-period courses outperformed students enrolled in the regular-period course on criterion-based assessments that the extended-period students made little to no gains on norm-referenced assessments. This program evaluation is important to me and other stakeholders because a great deal of time and other resources are invested in it.

If the program is found to be 2 significantly impactful to the mathematical achievement of underperforming students, then the program may be replicated in the other departments where students are struggling with college preparatory curriculum. However, if the study produces findings that display no significant improvements, then recommendations for improving the program’s efforts need to be communicated and provided.