Superintendents’ Perceptions Regarding the Supervision and Evaluation of Principals in a Rural State

The goals for this mixed methods study were to examine superintendents’ perceptions regarding their own supervision and evaluation of principals in a rural state. Five research questions guided the mixed methods inquiry. An online survey tool was used to gather perceptions from superintendents regarding their own evaluation and supervision of principals. Participants solicited included all 48 superintendents from a rural Mountain West state. Out of the participants solicited 23 superintendents agreed to participate (48% response rate). Results from this study provided implications for those who train superintendents and those who supervise and evaluate principals. Keywords: superintendents, principal supervision, principal evaluation, principal

An Analysis of Superintendent and Principal Perceptions Regarding the Supervision and Evaluation of Principals

The goals for this study were to examine principals’ perceptions regarding their own supervision and evaluation and compare to superintendents’ perceptions regarding the supervision and evaluation of principals. Three research questions guided the inquiry: (1) What are the perceptions of principal and superintendents’ regarding their own supervision?; (2) What are the perceptions of principal and superintendents’ regarding their own evaluation?; and (3) What are the differences in perceptions of principal and superintendents’ regarding supervision and evaluation? This study followed a descriptive format and used a 20 item on-line survey to measure principal and superintendents’ perceptions regarding critical elements in their own supervision and evaluation cycle. Out of the participants solicited, 102 principals agreed to participate (37% response rate) and 23 superintendents agreed to participate (48% response rate). Results indicated overall superintendents and principals were in agreement regarding 19 out of 20 statements describing the supervision and evaluation of principals. In addition, there was a significant difference in both supervision and evaluation perceptions between superintendents and principals. Results from this study provide implications for those who supervise principals, as well as for those who train superintendents

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Using wordle in counseling ethics education

There are educational techniques that can positively impact teaching in the counseling profession. This paper describes an educational technique using Wordle. Wordle is word cloud visualization of text and is used in research and education. We present the use of Wordle in counselor ethics education to show how it can illustrate change in thinking and, ultimately, learning

Development and Validation of the Sense of Online Community Scale

This study focused on the development and validation of the Sense of Online Community Scale (SOCS), which includes 28 Likert-type scale items across six subscales: (a) program community, (b) program academic activities, (c) program social activities, (d) institutional academic activities, (e) institutional social activities, and (f) affiliation. The validation process included an implementation with 293 learners enrolled in online programs at a higher education institution in the eastern United States. The model was evaluated with and without outliers, and results show that the model aligned well with the SOCS. The means of all items except one exceeded 3.5 on a 5.0 scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Time in an online program was not a statistically significant predictor of the validation model, though most of our participants were in the first or second year of their degree programs. Findings demonstrate that the SOCS is a reliable and valid instrument that other researchers may use to investigate community in online environments on both the program and the institutional level

Online University Students’ Perceptions of institution and Program Community and the Activities that Support Them

Abstract The twenty-eight item Sense of Online Community Scale was completed by 293 online students at a midsized southeastern United States university to ascertain community importance and activities associated with its formation and maintenance on the program and institutional level. A large majority of these students believed that a sense of community was important and that a sense of belonging, affiliation, and trust were valuable for community formation. Participants also believed that program and institutional activities, both academic and social, played key roles in community formation. However, academic activities (e.g., advising, program milestones, writing centers, library support) were rated as more influential than social activities (e.g., get-togethers, online games, institution sporting events). When demographic characteristics were considered, non-White participants rated their sense of affiliation with their program/institution higher than White participants. Participants who lived within a one-hour commute to campus (51% of our sample) rated institutional social activities higher than those who lived farther out. Doctoral students rated program activities as more conducive to community formation than masters, and graduate certificate students and undergraduate students rated affiliation to their program/institution higher than master’s and graduate certificate students

Integrated STEM for Teacher Professional Learning and Development: “I Need Time for Practice”

This study compares three pre-collegiate teacher professional learning and development (PLD) integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) experiences framed in astronomy. The study is set in the western United States (USA) and involves 60 pre-collegiate teachers (in the USA these are K-12 teachers) over the course of three years (June 2014–May 2017). During the PLDs, astronomy acted as a vehicle for pre-collegiate STEM teachers to increase their STEM content knowledge as well as create and implement integrated STEM classroom lessons. The authors collected quantitative and qualitative data to address five research questions and embraced social constructionism as the theoretical framework. Findings show that STEM pre-collegiate teachers are largely engaged with integrated STEM PLD content and embrace astronomy content and authentic science. Importantly, they need time to practice, interpret, translate, and use the integrated STEM content in classroom lessons. Recommendations for PLD STEM teacher support are provided. Implications of this study are vast, as gaps in authentic science, utilizing astronomy, PLD structure, and STEM integration are ripe for exploration

Loop Sequence Context Influences the Formation and Stability of the i‑Motif for DNA Oligomers of Sequence (CCCXXX)₄, where X = A and/or T, under Slightly Acidic Conditions

The structure and stability of DNA is highly dependent upon the sequence context of the bases (A, G, C, and T) and the environment under which the DNA is prepared (e.g., buffer, temperature, pH, ionic strength). Understanding the factors that influence structure and stability of the i-motif conformation can lead to the design of DNA sequences with highly tunable properties. We have been investigating the influence of pH and temperature on the conformations and stabilities for all permutations of the DNA sequence (CCCXXX)₄, where X = A and/or T, using spectroscopic approaches. All oligomers undergo transitions from single-stranded structures at pH 7.0 to i-motif conformations at pH 5.0 as evidenced by circular dichroism (CD) studies. These folded structures possess stacked C:CH⁺ base pairs joined by loops of 5′-XXX-3′. Although the pH at the midpoint of the transition (pH_mp) varies slightly with loop sequence, the linkage between pH and log K for the proton induced transition is highly loop sequence dependent. All oligomers also undergo the thermally induced i-motif to single-strand transition at pH 5.0 as the temperature is increased from 25 to 95 °C. The temperature at the midpoint of this transition (<i>T</i>_m) is also highly dependent on loop sequence context effects. For seven of eight possible permutations, the pH induced, and thermally induced transitions appear to be highly cooperative and two state. Analysis of the CD optical melting profiles via a van’t Hoff approach reveals sequence-dependent thermodynamic parameters for the unfolding as well. Together, these data reveal that the i-motif conformation exhibits exquisite sensitivity to loop sequence context with respect to formation and stability