The Positive Impact Of Nontraditional Instruction Programs On Student Achievement

Distance learning is not a new phenomenon, nor is it ineradicably associated with the internet and online scholarship. Institutions of learning have appreciated the potential educational benefit of being able to teach students, regardless of geographical location, for more than two hundred years. Distance learning was accessible as early as the 18th century, in the form of mailed correspondence courses. Instructors conveyed assignments via mail to students, who then completed the work and mailed them back for scoring.

These primitive methods of distance education constrained the communication between instructor and student and rendered timely and efficacious feedback on completed work impossible. As new communication technologies became

Nontraditional instruction programs operate on the assumption that distance learning as an alternative to classroom instruction will positively impact student learning and achievement since learning continues without the interruption of school cancellations. However, studies concerning the effect of snow days on student learning and achievement are extremely limited, and no research is currently available on the impact of nontraditional instruction programs on student achievement. It is essential to conduct additional research and gain an understanding of the relationship of technology leadership and nontraditional instruction programs on elementary, middle and high school student achievement. This new application of distance learning allows students to continue learning uninterrupted by school cancellations. It is not known, however, whether these programs result in increased students learning and academic achievement. Since leadership perceptions and attitudes impact the design and implementation of new initiatives like the nontraditional instruction program, technology leadership has the potential to influence the impression of nontraditional instruction programs on student achievement. Therefore, it is also necessary to assess the relationship between technology management and nontraditional

The null hypothesis, therefore, states that there is no relationship between technology leadership and overall student achievement among schools participating in the nontraditional instruction program. Data from the 2009 Principal Technology Leadership Assessment survey will be compared to the accountability performance scores among participating schools using independent sample t-tests to determine if there is a significant relationship between administrative technology leadership and student performance on state assessments among schools participating in the nontraditional instruction program. The statistical analysis that will be exercised to determine what relationship, if any, exists between principals’ level of technology leadership and school accountability indices during participation in the nontraditional instruction program is the independent sample t-test. The Independent sample t-test is indicated when two measured groups are different. The Alpha levels to be used to determine statistical significance have not yet been determined. P < .05 to reject the null and determine significance in the study.

The researcher will conduct this study with the following assumptions:

• All respondents will answer survey questions honestly.

• All schools are implementing nontraditional