Browsing by Author "Lynham, Susan, advisor"

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Open Access
A study of university staff in relation to the alignment of organizational environment and informal learning
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014) Frock, David J., author; Lynham, Susan, advisor; McKelfresh, David, advisor; Smith, Ken, committee member; Warner, Mark, committee member
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Open Access
In the round: supporting teachers' authentic professional learning
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Strand, Matt, author; Lucero, Rod, advisor; Lynham, Susan, advisor; Cooner, Donna, committee member; O'Donnell-Allen, Cindy, committee member
This is a study of teachers' authentic professional learning at a public school in Poudre School District in northern Colorado. At Polaris Expeditionary Learning School, teachers and administrators have developed a form of school-based instructional rounds referred to herein as PLC rounds (professional learning community rounds). In PLC rounds, Polaris teachers visit their colleagues' classrooms in teams to observe and interact with the host teacher and students. Afterwards, observing teachers reflect on their observations and interactions and engage in professional dialogue about how the experience might inform their practice. These dialogues become part of a larger conversation across all rounds teams in service of school improvement. Despite increased interest in school-based instructional rounds as a professional learning approach, a theory-research gap persists. This study draws upon teachers' lived experiences by encouraging them to reflect on their participation in PLC rounds. Through interviews and analysis, a theoretical framework is constructed to explain this dynamic phenomenon. The study distinguishes the PLC rounds approach from other forms of instructional rounds, outlines its key components, articulates teachers' professional learning experiences, explores this learning in relation to the strengthening of the professional learning community, and identifies practices that support and hinder their professional learning. In addition, it contributes insights for local practice at Polaris, considerations for interested schools and/or school districts, and recommendations for future research.
Open Access
Teachers' lived experiences of responsible leadership: a transcendental phenomenological study
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018) MacTaggart, Ryan, author; Lynham, Susan, advisor; Frederiksen, Heidi, advisor; Coke, Pamela, committee member; Hughes, Blanche, committee member
Research regarding Responsible Leadership seems to be dispersed, making it difficult to understand the construct's place in leadership literature and the construct's role in theory and practice. There also seems to be a lack of the teacher voice in informing general school leadership and Responsible Leadership of schools. In response, this study intended to address Responsible Leadership from the perspective of middle school teachers. The purpose of the study was to construct a shared essence of five middle school teachers' lived experiences of the phenomenon of Responsible Leadership in order to inform theory and research of the construct as well as middle school leadership practice. This study was grounded in the constructivist paradigm to understand and analyze description of Responsible Leadership. Descriptive phenomenology served as the methodology. Data were collected and analyzed according to the processes of transcendental phenomenology with an additional use of mental models as tools for meaning making. The theory of Responsible Leadership for Performance (Lynham, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004), constructed as a system of inputs, process and outputs, framed the study. The processes of the system in the theory were described as 3Es: effectiveness, ethics, and endurance. Thus, participants were asked to describe Responsible Leadership through each of the 3Es. The findings from this study represented the participants' shared descriptions of what they have experienced as Responsible Leadership and how they have experienced it in the context of middle schools in a western state of the United States. Shared textural descriptions of what participants experienced included Responsible Leadership as: diligence for physical presence and engagement in education; opening Responsible Leadership to more people through humility, listening, and building teams; a dedication to development for teachers and formal leadership; taking ownership of the leadership role; showing a genuine care for teachers as people and professionals; consistency in behavior and treatment; fortitude for tough situations; guidance from values and vision; and desirable outcomes for teachers. The shared structural descriptions of how participants experienced Responsible Leadership included: time in the profession, occupational background, leadership exposure, and leadership in formal positions. Additionally, the data were revisited to seek associations between participant descriptions and specifics of the 3Es to inform the Responsible Leadership for Performance theory. This three-pronged analysis led to a shared essence of Responsible Leadership from the lived experiences of the five participants. Ensuing recommendations are provided for theory, research, and practice. First, suggestions for research include: further inquiry into Responsible Leadership, honoring the value of the teacher perspective, constructing meaning through mental models, and understanding school leadership as a set of parallel systems. Second, implications for informing and refining theory are provided. Last, the practices of multiple stakeholders of the school leadership system are discussed including: state level leaders, formal school leaders, teachers, parents and community members, and those who develop future school leaders.
Open Access
Theoretical analysis of the philosophy and practice of disciplined inquiry
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Hutchins, Shaun D., author; De Miranda, Michael, advisor; Lynham, Susan, advisor; Wickens, Christopher, committee member; Clegg, Benjamin, committee member
This dissertation theoretically examined the process of disciplined inquiry in the social sciences from its philosophical foundations to its extensions into practice. Key to conceptualization of disciplined inquiry were two regulative ideals: the commitment to the concepts that define the possibility of experience and the commitment to processes for combining the concepts of experience. The paradigm theory of Lincoln, Lynham, and Guba (e.g., Lincoln & Lynham, 2011; Lincoln, Lynham, & Guba, 2011) provided a sophisticated explanation of the possibility of experience that inquirers can commit to when engaging in disciplined inquires. Review of literature revealed an inadequacy in the state of theoretical understanding of processes for combining the concepts of experience. To develop a theoretical agenda of research for disciplined inquiry, the literature on paradigm theory and theory building was analyzed. A historical analysis of paradigm theory revealed milestones in more than 40 years of inquiry focused on conceptualization of the theory. A reverse engineering analysis theoretically examined paradigm theory and its milestones identified from the historical analysis for key features of the theoretical process. A revised conceptualization of disciplined inquiry was presented and a theoretical agenda for developing the underlying theoretical framework for the processes of combining the concepts of experience was outlined.