A Man in the Middle

1
A Man in the Middle

• Mickey Blackwell
• Marshall University Portfolio Presentation
• September 27, 2006

2
Introduction-A Man in the Middle

• Entered the MU program in 2004.
• In the middle of my program
• Working at a middle school
• Middle aged
• Middle management
• In the middle of a nervous breakdown

3
Professional/Academic Pursuits

• RESEARCH ACTIVITY Merit Software Implementation
  at Horace Mann Middle School. Spring, 2005.
• CO-TEACHING LS 510, Dr. Jerry Jones. The
  Principalship. Spring 2004 2005.

4
Merit Software Research Project

• A research project was developed to investigate
  the effects of Merit Software on the achievement
  of middle school students.
• Seventh and eighth grade students were involved.
• Students were tested twice weekly for a nine week
  period.

5
Merit Software Project

• Student achievement was measured using WESTEST
  scores as pre- and post-tests.
• 109 students were involved throughout the process.

6
Co-Teaching LS 510

• Classes taught in the Spring of 2004 and 2005.
• Responsibilities included designing class
  presentations, coordinating class objectives,
  reviewing student work, and communicating with
  students.

7
Co-Teaching LS 510

• Four presentations were designed
• 1. The Role of the Principal
• 2. Budgeting and Finance
• 3. Curriculum
• 4. Facility Design and Maintenance

8
SCHOLARSHIP

• ARTICLE Intervention that Adds Up The Impact
  of Merit Software on Standardized Test Scores of
  Middle School Students.
• PRESENTATION Technology Making a Difference in
  Schools Merit Software Research. West Virginia
  Middle Level Education Conference. Spring 2006.
• PRESENTATION Outlooks in Education. West
  Virginia Superintendents Conference. Summer
  2006.

9
Software Research Article

• A nineteen page research article was created by
  Dr. Jones, Dr. Securro, Danny Cantrell and Mickey
  Blackwell.
• The article consists of an abstract,
  introduction, review of literature, research
  questions, project setting, procedures, study
  design, findings, recommendations and references.

10
Software Research Article

• Duties included information acquisition,
  co-writing, editing and collaboration of ideas.
• Article published July 2006 in the Journal on
  School Educational Technology.

11
Presentation 1- Technology Making a Difference
in Schools West Virginia Middle Level
Education Conference. Spring 2006.

• Presentation information included research
  findings from two middle level Merit Software
  studies.
• Collaborative presentation with Dr. Jones, Dr.
  Securro, Linda Jarvis and Mickey Blackwell.

12
Presentation 2- Outlooks in Education. West
Virginia State Superintendents Conference.
Summer, 2006.

• Collaborative presentation with Trecia Peterson,
  Bill Chapman, Gary Cook, Lisa Hines, Keri
  Starcher, and Mickey Blackwell.
• Presentation information included a six concept
  presentation of ideas facing educators.

13
Conclusion-Portfolio Requirements

• Thirty-six total hours completed towards the
  major.
• Twelve hours completed in the research area.
• One research project, one published article, two
  statewide presentations
• Two courses co-taught to more than fifty students.

14
Conclusion-Collaborations

• Writing of articles with individuals from
  Marshall and West Virginia State Universities.
• Monthly meetings with Dr. Toth, Dr. Jones and
  Alister Izat.
• Co-teaching with Dr. Jones and George
  Aulenbacher.
• Mentoring twelve Kanawha County teachers in
  Marshall Universitys Leadership program
  (Masters level).
• Meetings and conferences with Ben Weintraub,
  Owner, Merit Software.

15
Conclusion-Technology

• WEB-CT Studies
• SPSS Software
• Internet and Electronic Research
• Electronic Publishing
• PowerPoint Presentations

16
Recommendations

• Incorporate portfolio requirements to class
  activities.
• Create learning teams/support groups of students.
• Add pro-active counselors for support of
  students.
• Pair research classes with leadership studies
  projects.

17
Reflections

• The addition of available information on the
  website and the changes in technology since I
  began the program is amazing.
• All classes had benefit for me, but I really
  enjoyed Computerized Research with Dr. Securro
  and the Superintendency with Dr. Jones. Two of
  my last classes.

18
Reflections

• The best learning situations were those
  applicable to my personal situation.
• I greatly enjoyed meeting students outside of
  Kanawha County.
• The collaborative activities created positive
  support groups and offered new networkings.
• Im still here!