UMD Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3
New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a given thesis/dissertation in DRUM.
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
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Item A Study of the Instructional Consultation Facilitator Role(2015) Vaganek, Megan Michelle; Rosenfield, Sylvia; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Consultation teams have been used in schools as a vehicle for increasing student performance and teacher skills. Like other evidence-based interventions, consultee-centered consultation models require attention to the complex process of implementation in order for one to expect results. The IC Facilitator is a key factor in the successful implementation of IC Teams. The purpose of the current research is to expand upon a previous interview study and other research on facilitators. The skills, beliefs and characteristics of other team facilitators and implementers of innovations have influenced implementation in a variety of contexts Using a survey, the study assessed the perceived importance and the changeability through training and experience of the beliefs, knowledge, facilitator characteristics, tasks and implementation skills of IC Team Facilitators. The beliefs, characteristics, and skills included in the study have been shown to have a relationship with implementation and leadership in other fields and lines of research. Chi square tests of independence explored differences in rating patterns between groups of facilitators based on training and experience. No significant group differences were found between novice and veteran facilitators or between those who led teams through phase 2 or phase 3 of implementation. Supplemental analyses explored the demographics of the respondents and the beliefs, knowledge, skills, tasks, and characteristics considered essential to the job. Items rated as essential by a majority of participants were presented. The study has implications for improving and enhancing training and selection of facilitators in order to improve implementation and utilization of Instructional Consultation Teams. Limitations included the response rate to the survey, and considerations for the statistical analysis. Future directions were addressed including exploring associations between item importance and outcomes, such as turnover, utilization, and level of implementation. Future research may also address the relationship between rating of importance and competence and training methods to best teach the essentials. Other research methodology, such as observations and rank ordering skills may provide additional information about the facilitator role.Item The Instructional Consultation Facilitator: A Job Analysis(2012) Vaganek, Megan Michelle; Rosenfield, Sylvia A; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Teams have become a primary vehicle for problem solving and decision-making in schools, but research on team leaders in schools is weak. Instructional Consultation (IC) Teams is a team-based early intervention program aiming to improve student achievement through changes in teacher beliefs and enhancement of teacher practices. The leader, or IC Facilitator, is a driving force of the program, responsible for team training and maintenance. A job analysis, conducted using a review of IC literature and training materials (known as a content analysis) and interviews with 12 facilitators, resulted in a comprehensive list of statements regarding tasks, knowledge, skills, abilities and attributes, and performance standards that characterize the job. Interview-generated statements are consistent with those outlined in training materials. Facilitators in this study also reported participation in additional tasks, outside of the expected role. Implications for training and recruitment and, limitations and directions for future research were explored.Item Effect of Instructional Consultation on Academic Achievement in Third Through Fifth Grade(2011) Maslak, Kristi Samantha; Strein, William; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The present study evaluated the effect of Instructional Consultation (Rosenfield, 1995) on the academic achievement of third through fifth grade students. Students whom teachers did (n = 201) and did not (n = 8119) select as the focus of consultation were balanced on their estimated propensity to be selected using logistic regression of observed covariates. Multilevel modeling compared students in the two treatment conditions on teacher assigned grades and standardized measures of reading and math, net of prior achievement. A small, but statistically significant negative effect of the program (d = -.13) was found for standardized measures of math. No significant differences were found on the other outcome measures. Limitations include model misspecification, missing data, and treatment diffusion.Item An Experimental Evaluation of the Effect of Instructional Consultation Teams on Teacher Efficacy: A Multivariate, Multilevel Examination(2009) Koehler, Jessica Robyn; Gottfredson, Gary; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Teacher efficacy, the extent to which teachers feel they can influence student learning (Berman, McLaughlin, Bass, Pauly, & Zellman, 1977), has been repeatedly linked to important student and teacher outcomes (Gibson & Dembo, 1984). Although the results of many studies support the claim that teacher efficacy is an important educational construct, few studies have investigated interventions to influence these teacher beliefs. The current study evaluated whether a specific teacher intervention, Instructional Consultation Teams (IC Teams), positively affected teachers' sense of self-efficacy as measured by two efficacy instruments. Participants included 1203 in-service elementary school teachers in 34 elementary schools within a large suburban school district--17 randomly assigned to the IC Team intervention and 17 assigned to the control condition. Because teachers are nested within schools, hierarchical linear modeling was utilized to evaluate whether scores on measures of teacher self-efficacy were influenced by IC Teams. A multivariate model was also used to evaluate the effects of IC Teams on both measures, simultaneously. The results imply that IC Teams significantly increased teachers' scores on the efficacy scales. The current study provides one of a few attempts to evaluate the effects of a specific school intervention on teacher efficacy within an experimental framework.Item The Effect of Instructional Consultation Teams on Teachers' Reported Instructional Practices(2007-11-26) Kaiser, Lauren Tracy; Rosenfield, Sylvia A; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)A primary goal of Instructional Consultation Teams (IC Teams; Rosenfield & Gravois, 1996) is that students' problems will be prevented or resolved through the provision of services to the adults who serve them. The assumption is that teachers will improve instructional planning, delivery, management, and assessment (e.g., matching instruction to student levels) as a result of working with a colleague through a collaborative problem-solving relationship, or working in a school building in which norms of collaboration and problem-solving with a focus on instruction have been developed. The efficacy of IC Teams for improving instruction has not yet been rigorously evaluated. The current study assesses teachers' self-reported frequency of use of good instructional practices in assessment and delivery of instruction to evaluate the effect of instructional consultation services on instruction in a sample of 977 teachers. Because teachers are nested within schools, multilevel analysis was conducted to control for nonequivalence and to correctly model the error structure of the data. Elementary school teachers in 11 schools that have implemented IC Teams for two or three years were compared with teachers in 17 non-equivalent schools that have never implemented IC Teams and teachers from 17 schools with one year of implementation. Results of multilevel analyses indicate that there are no significant differences in instructional practices between schools with or without IC Teams, but that teacher characteristics, such as years of experience and grade level of instruction, do explain some of the variance in teacher practices. Implications and limitations of the study are addressed.Item Teacher's Changing Perspective on Student Concerns during Instructional Consultation(2005-12-07) Hillegass, Megan Elizabeth; Rosenfield, Sylvia; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship and degree of specificity between teachers' reported concerns at three points in the Problem Identification process of Instructional Consultation. Although previous research has documented the types of teacher referral concerns commonly seen in special education and other consultation models, the research regarding this issue in Instructional Consultation Teams is limited. This research is drawn from a sample of 67 case manager/teacher dyads during the 2001-2002 school year. Descriptive statistics on the types of referral concerns at all three points are provided. The relationships between referral concerns and demographic characteristics of the student (gender, grade level, and ethnicity) are discussed. Finally, patterns in the specificity of concern descriptions are analyzed. Implications for future research and training in Instructional Consultation are considered.Item English Language Learner Special Education Referral and Placement Outcomes in Instructional Consultation Teams Schools(2004-12-17) Silva, Arlene E.; Rosenfield, Sylvia; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The present study serves as an examination and documentation of referral and placement outcomes of English Language Learner (ELL) cases in Instructional Consultation (IC) Teams schools. Archival data from 838 cases (12% of which were ELL cases) within five mid-Atlantic public school districts implementing IC Teams were analyzed for outcomes using logistic regression. Results included statistically significant differences in ELL versus non-ELL student initial team referral (IC or other prereferral intervention team) and ultimate IEP Team referrals. Initial referral concerns also differed significantly between ELL and non-ELL students. IC Teams were found to be more effective than existing prereferral intervention teams in decreasing the special education referrals of ELL and non-ELL students. The results of the present study serve as a foundation for future research in the areas of at-risk ELL students and their referrals to prereferral intervention teams and special education.