As the number of older Americans double in the next forty years, it will be important to delay the decline in cognition. The aim of this paper is to describe the feasibility and acceptability of a six-week cognitively stimulating program focusing on visual arts (Picasso, Andrew Wyeth, and Carl Warner), music (Bach and Franklin), and travel…

Providing employees of all classifications with the opportunity to develop as leaders is a critical component in the successful attainment of organizational goals and competitive organizational advantage. Effective leadership development programs offer the tools, experiences, and resources needed to cultivate the important skills and abilities…

This dissertation closely examines the model of a suburban northern Delaware alternative program. The researcher determined how well this program successfully prepared 52 scholars to successfully transition forward into a comprehensive school. Each student in the study was removed from the comprehensive school and enrolled into the alternative…

Locally and nationally, English Learners (ELs) struggle to achieve parity with their monolingual peers in reading. In addition to second language-related considerations, ELs' efforts to succeed in reading may be thwarted by poverty, trauma, interrupted education, barriers to effective instruction and parental engagement, limited parental…

High-quality career and technical education (CTE) and work-based learning opportunities can support students along a pathway to credential attainment, employment and upward economic mobility through intentional skill development and experiential learning. CTE concentration in high school can increase graduation rates while helping students build…

LXD Research was engaged by 95 Percent Group to conduct a third-party, mixed-methods efficacy study of their 95 Phonics Core Program (95 PCP) to evaluate the impact on fourth and fifth grade literacy outcomes over the school year 2023-2024. LXD analyzed the formative assessment data from i-Ready, focusing on overall scale scores, subdomains, and…

The purpose of this study was to implement a redesign of developmental education at Delaware Technical Community College and to evaluate its effectiveness in improving overall First Time Ever in College (FTEIC) student success through gateway English and math completion, fall-to-fall persistence, and narrowing or closing of opportunity gaps…

This study investigates the efficacy of cooperative quizzes in reducing test anxiety and improving course success rates among community college students. Test anxiety was measured using a mini-SPIN survey provided by the RECAPER project. Twenty students completed pre-semester and post-semester surveys. Statistical analyses revealed no significant…

Teacher residencies offer promising alternatives to traditional educator preparation programs. Research points to three primary benefits: higher retention of teachers in the field, greater demographic diversity among teachers prepared through residency programs, and the potential to increase student achievement. At a time when enrollment in…

The Agricultural Act of 2014 authorized $200 million for the development, implementation, and evaluation of up to 10 pilot projects to test innovative strategies to reduce dependency on and increase employment among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants. The 10 States that received grants were California, Delaware, Georgia,…

Background: We assess the impact of School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs) on National Performance Measures (NPMs) related to health care access and utilization among Medicaid-insured youth in Delaware. Methods: Our retrospective analysis of Delaware's SBHC program data linked with Medicaid claims during 2014-2016 for 13 to 18-year-olds assessed…

This Education Leadership Portfolio (ELP) focuses on addressing the increasing need for more racial diversity in the Delaware teacher workforce. It is a multi-dimensional effort to meet the increasing need for and supply of teachers of color in the state. Therefore, the scope of this ELP centers around the University of Delaware (UD) College of…

Research for Action has studied statewide Promise programs since 2017, with in-depth analysis in four states--Delaware, Nevada, Oregon, and Tennessee. Our research in these states includes an extensive review of legislative and policy documents; 146 interviews with policymakers, institutional leaders, and high school staff; site visits to 8…

Environmental health literacy (EHL) is a relatively new discipline and is gaining importance as the environmental justice movement is embraced in the United States through state and federal government programs. With the expansion of EHL programs throughout the country, and with more states incorporating EHL education into the K-12 curriculum,…

This Educational Leadership Portfolio (ELP) addresses the issue related to children's screen time and indoor sedentary behavior. Research shows that young children need to have time outside in nature to ensure holistic development in the twenty-first century. The overarching goal of this work is to reduce the extent of children's indoor sedentary…