2020 Doctoral Capstone Projects

Payne, Robert Anthony.

According to a report published by ed.gov (2019) there are currently 7,136,00 unfilled jobs in the United States. The gap in available jobs and individuals to fill those jobs has never been greater. A large portion of these unfilled jobs are in the area of skilled trades. Apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships are avenues many times used to fil...

Improving Student Employability Through a Pre-Apprenticeship Program in Career and Technical Education: Developing a Pre-Apprenticeship Program : a Doctoral Capstone Project.

Pappas, Jason E.

The purpose of this research project was to investigate a method for a small rural school district to provide fiscally responsible, effective, and personalized professional development to all of its staff members. The use of social media, such as Twitter, has allowed teachers the ability to connect with other educators, develop professional lear...

Is Social Media, as a Professional Learning Development Tool, Beneficial for Teachers?: a Doctoral Capstone Project.

Marks, Daniel E.

This study focused on understanding how middle school teachers' perceptions influence the implementation, sustainability, and effectiveness of a SWPBIS program. Research focused on measuring the effectiveness, sustainability, and barriers to implementing a SWPBIS program. Research also examined school climate, teacher perceptions and attitudes r...

Middle School Teacher Perceptions Regarding School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions Supports (SWPBIS) :: a Doctoral Capstone Project.

Emili, Alyssa L.

The purpose of this capstone research was to develop a formal process for onboarding professional employees in the Easton Area School District. The Easton Area School District is the twenty-first largest school district in the state of Pennsylvania with 75 teachers qualifying as newly hired professional staff as defined by this study. This resea...

Onboarding : Developing a System for Newly Hired Professional Staff within the Easton Area School District: a Doctoral Capstone Project.

O'Donnell, Scott Lawrence

Paraprofessionals play an integral role in the academic, social, and emotional growth of students in a K-12 setting. However, they may not have the necessary skills, background, or education to effectively implement academic, social, and emotional supports for students that diminish their overall effectiveness. Moreover, special education parapr...

Perceptions of Special Education Paraprofessionals' Effectiveness in Supporting the Academic, Social, and Emotional Needs: Special Education Students : a Doctoral Capstone Project

Hobson, Mary Kay

In today’s educational world, teachers have been asked to acquire skills that support students with a variety of learning needs with little to no professional development to help them be effective. Personalized professional learning is a shift in how educator’s traditionally have been provided new learning, from sit-and-get, to a nontraditional ...

Personalized Learning in Professional Development: Empowering Teachers Through Choice and Ownership of Learning Opportunities: for Personal Growth : a Doctoral Capstone Project

Besch, Daniel R., Jr.

The Capstone Project completed is designed to aide the Bellefonte Area School District in students attaining grade level reading expectations by the third grade. The researcher studied the reading data for the district’s current second grade students. The data that was analyzed was Fountas and Pinnell BAS data and AimswebPlus assessment data. Th...

Primary Elementary Interventions for Students: a Doctoral Capstone Project.

Vasas, Curt P.

Academic programs at the high school level need to be data-driven. A work study/release program is no exception to this premise. The Forest Hills School District recognized a need to evaluate and examine the effectiveness of the work study/release program at the Junior-Senior High School. Stakeholders were asked to complete a perception survey i...

Reimagining the Work Study/Release Program at Forest Hills to Increase Appeal for Students a Stakeholder's Perspective: a Doctoral Capstone Project.

Mandalas, Gregory.

This study was designed with the goal of informing a decision for the South Butler Primary School to adopt standards-based report cards or to continue with traditional report cards. School districts in Western Pennsylvania that had already adopted standards-based report cards were studied. A questionnaire was created that was designed to answer ...

Standards-Based Report Cards Benefits and Challenges: a Doctoral Capstone Project.

Donley, Bartholomew Ira.

The purpose of this Capstone research study is to uncover and analyze factors that are resulting in a consistent academic decline for students who are transitioning from sixth grade at Bobtown Elementary School to seventh grade at Mapletown Jr/Sr High School. Research will focus on comparing PSSA (Pennsylvania System of School Assessment) math a...

A Study on the Academic Impact of Transitioning from Elementary to Junior High School in the Southeastern Greene School District: a Doctoral Capstone Project.

Manzo, Lisa J.

The purpose of this Capstone Research Project was to determine whether targeted technology professional development increased communication, employee engagement, beliefs about change, and strategic planning among teachers. These four areas of growth were named in a survey disseminated to all staff members within the study site’s district during ...

Targeted Technology Professional Development: a Doctoral Capstone Project.

McNeil, Shawn Marvin Lee.

A key component of the Pittsburgh Public Schools’ five-year strategic plan includes professional learning practices. Incorporating collaborative teams as part of the Professional Learning Community (PLC) within our schools is essential to achieving the outcomes outlined in the strategic plan. This research study considers the impact of collabora...

Teacher Perceptions of Professional Learning Communities : A Study of the Relationship Between Professional Learning Communities: and Teacher Instructional Practices : a Doctoral Capstone Project.