Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Ohio University, 2020, Business Administration

Reflection has been identified as a key success factor for entrepreneurs, as thinking critically about successes and failures results in improved strategy. Reflection, therefore, is a valuable skill for undergraduate educators to instill in entrepreneurship students. Despite the increasingly prevalent use of reflection in curricula within higher education, designing, executing, and effectively evaluating reflection assignments remains a challenge. One of the primary challenges of implementing reflection assignments is the "lack of effective structures to help instructors from diverse disciplines guide students through reflection" (Ash and Clayton, 2004: 138). This study makes recommendations on the effective implementation of reflection assignments and provides a sample reflection framework for a course centered around developing the reflection competency. Data from students and program directors at Ohio University is examined, and recommendations are made based on the data and a review of the literature. The study found assignment design to be a determining factor in how deeply students reflect. To enhance students' depth of reflection, recommendations are made on how to strategically frame the assignment to students; ask deep, probing questions in the prompt; use the format most effective for achieving course goals; and how to cultivate a conducive culture for reflection.

Committee: Luke Pittaway (Advisor) Subjects: Business Education; Curricula; Curriculum Development; Education; Entrepreneurship; Higher Education; Management

EdD, University of Cincinnati, 2018, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Urban Educational Leadership

This qualitative interview, group level assessment methodology-based, and self-reflection study examined the phenomenon of teacher evaluation from the perspectives of teachers within a local school district serving several suburban communities situated in the metropolitan area of Cincinnati, Ohio, as well as from the professional perspective of the researcher. The rationale for this research study came about as a response to the emergent trend in the United States of implementing of new professional performance evaluation systems within K-12 public education focused on teachers. Absent from the development of these new professional performance evaluation systems was the presence of teacher voice within their development. Research study findings consistent across a review of the literature, thematic analysis of two rounds of interviews of eight teachers, followed by a group level assessment activity with two teachers, and a self-reflection by the author of this research study suggested central themes associated with teacher voice consisting of Teacher Perceptions of Evaluation, Evaluation Validity and Reliability, and The Role of Mentoring in the Context of Evaluation. The implications of these themes suggest several potential areas for additional inquiry and action on local as well as state policy fronts. These include providing additional balance and support for the principal as evaluator and instructional leader, improving alignment between evaluators' professional backgrounds and the teachers they evaluate, expanding mentoring and related support for teachers, promoting greater awareness of inequities within professional relationships and practice, and focusing political action and advocacy to give teachers voice within current and future professional performance evaluation policy decisions.

Committee: Miriam Raider-Roth Ed.D. (Committee Chair); Mary Brydon-Miller Ph.D. (Committee Member); William Gary Pack Ed.D. (Committee Member); Constance Kendall Theado Ph.D. (Committee Member); Vicki Plano Clark Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Evaluation