Kimberly Moreno of Paterson, N.J., has successfully defended her doctoral dissertation at the College of Saint Elizabeth to earn an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership.
“I am extremely impressed and grateful for the direction and guidance provided by all of my professors,” says Moreno. “I have such appreciation for the one-on-one attention that I received. I have had such a wonderful experience in terms of course work and personalized attention that truly made the process worthwhile. I would wholeheartedly recommend this program to others. The support and structure of the program is one of a kind.”
The title of her dissertation is, “STEM Educators’ Integration of Formative Assessment in Teaching and Lesson Design.” Moreno, who is currently is serving at the N.J. Department of Education as the Health Science Career Cluster Lead through the Intergovernmental Loan Program, researched the importance of evaluation to measure student progress and the effectiveness of instruction for STEM, science, technology, engineering and mathematics, educators.
Moreno’s dissertation examined the STEM educators’ perceptions regarding the professional development they received in the area of formative assessment. Formative assessment refers to a wide variety of methods that teachers use to conduct in-process evaluations of student comprehension, learning needs, and academic progress during a lesson, unit, or course. Additionally, Moreno’s study explored the use of formative assessment during daily instruction and how it may impact future teacher instruction.
When analyzing the data, Moreno discovered formative assessment is used extensively during daily instruction and to guide lesson planning. She also found that formative assessment influences teacher instruction day-to-day and there is a direct correlation when it reveals a need for “re-teaching.”
Moreno earned her Bachelor of Science in biology from Montclair State University and her Master of Education in special education from Grand Canyon University.
The doctoral program at CSE, which is dedicated to preparing leaders who are committed to social justice and ethical practice, began in August 2007. Integrated into all course work and learning activities are the central values and beliefs necessary for school leaders to function as morally purposeful stewards for their school communities. This philosophy of servant leadership represents a major shift from the traditional paradigm of school leaders as managers of resources, which is so prevalent in today’s practices.
Mary Colleen Robinson has a communication degree with a concentration in journalism and is currently working as the PR/Social Media Specialist at the College of Saint Elizabeth.
