Education Commons^™

Importance Of School Library Programs, Cynthia Strong

SPU Works

Within the discipline of library science, over 20 research studies have been done in the United States attesting to how high-quality school library programs contribute to improved academic achievement. On the other hand, in the fields of education, school counseling, administration, and school leadership, and so on, there is a dearth of scholarship and recognition of the positive impact librarians and library media program have on student success. This conceptual paper first presents an overview of the empirical research on school library programs and the positive impact they have on the academic achievement of students in the United States. Second ...

The Effect Over Time Of A Video-Based Reflection System On Preservice Teachers’ Oral Presentations, Michael Cavanagh, Matt Bower, Robyn Moloney, Naomi Sweller

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

We report the development of preservice teachers’ oral presentation performance based on a technology-mediated Video Reflection system. Participants video-recorded oral presentations and uploaded them to an online blog to view and reflect on their performance and that of their peers. Four presentations by forty-one participants were analysed using a range of criteria based on what we call the Modes of Communication (voice, body-language, words and alignment between them) and the Constructed Impression of the communication acts (confidence, clarity, engagement and appropriateness). Results indicate a significant improvement across all criteria with a decreased rate of improvement for later iterations.

‘The Sacred Spark Of Wonder’: Local Museums, Australian Curriculum History, And Pre-Service Primary Teacher Education: A Tasmanian Case Study, Peter Brett

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article explores the intersections between museum learning – in a distinctive Tasmanian setting, the possibilities of a new national History curriculum, and the evolving views and professional practices of pre-service primary teachers at one Australian university. Following a brief overview of the framework for local and Australian history that is embedded in the ACH, the relevant literature around museum education, and the specific museum context, the article draws upon a survey of second year pre-service primary teachers’ views towards history, museums, and a pedagogical planning task and analyses features of students’ work. It concludes with some wider reflections on the ...

Are You Ready To Be A Mentor? Preparing Teachers For Mentoring Pre-Service Teachers, Angelina Ambrosetti

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The use of mentoring has nowadays become a predominant practice for the professional placement component of pre-service teacher education programs. Research however has identified that being an effective teacher doe not make you an effective mentor. The present research investigated the role of professional development in the preparation of mentor teachers for their mentoring roles. Specifically, this paper presents the findings of a pilot mentoring preparation course that engaged mentor teachers in developing their knowledge about the nature and process of mentoring, and the roles of mentors and mentees. Data about changed understandings of mentoring and changed mentoring practices of ...

The Multilingual Reality In American Business, Zachary Z. Lim

University of Tennessee Honors Thesis Projects

No abstract provided.

Graduation Rates: A Comparison Of College Graduation Success Rates Of Dual Enrollment Versus Non-Dual Enrollment Students In The Community College, Kathy O. Thacker

Theses and Dissertations

Dual enrollment programs are designed to offer students academic opportunities and college access, along with the potential to decrease the amount of time it takes to complete a college degree and to lower the cost of college. This study was a comparison of college success rates for dual enrolled and non-dual enrolled students at a community college. The research study compared graduation success rate data from four consecutive years of high school graduates through the completion of their associate degrees. Five research questions were assessed. RQ1: Was there a statistical difference in the percentage of dual enrollment participants attending the ...

School Culture: Teachers' Beliefs, Behaviors, And Instructional Practices, Chantarath Hongboontri, Natheeporn Keawkhong

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This mixed-methods research project documents the school culture of Hope University’s Language Institute and reveals the reciprocal relationship between the school culture and the instructional practices of the English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers in this particular institute. Altogether, 62 EFL teachers agreed to complete a questionnaire. Of these, 14 participated in semi-structured interviews and classroom observations; 2 agreed to be interviewed but did not allow their classrooms to be observed. Quantitative data demonstrated strong correlations among eight social organizational variables of a school culture. Qualitative data further revealed the influences of a school culture on these teacher ...

A School System And University Approach To Reducing The Research To Practice Gap In Teacher Education: A Collaborative Special Education Immersion Project, Christine R. Grima-Farrell, Jan Long, Robyn Bentley-Williams, Cath Laws

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This research is a response to the call for more effective practice based knowledge on ways to build inclusive cultures that assist the translation of research-to-practice. It reports on the factors identified in literature as being significant to the successful translation of research-to-practice and seeks to identify important sources of influence from an undergraduate teacher perspective.

By investigating a collaborative school system and university generated Special Education Immersion Project, specifically designed for undergraduate teachers, a number of factors are presented as contributors to the gap between research and practice. They include the importance of linkages between teacher preparation programs and ...

Autoethnography And Teacher Education: Snapshot Stories Of Cultural Encounter, Maureen F. Legge

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In this paper I discuss how I framed and wrote an autoethnographic personal narrative of my lived experience as a New Zealand physical education teacher educator in the presence of two cultures, Māori and Pākehā. Central to my qualitative study was writing as a method of inquiry. Using this method I wrote a series of descriptive ‘snapshot stories’ derived from field experiences, over an 11 year period, that involved close and prolonged encounters with physical education teacher education (PETE) students in tertiary classrooms and 4 day marae stays. The storied accounts served as data for self-reflexivity about my role as ...

An Investigation Of Western Australian Pre-Service Primary Teachers' Experiences And Self-Efficacy In The Arts, Geoff W. Lummis, Julia Morris, Annamaria Paolino

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The arts are crucial in developing our multi-sensory interpretation of culture. With the introduction of the Australian National Curriculum in the arts, there is cause to reflect on teacher education courses, and pre-service teachers’ ability to deliver the new curriculum. Reflection on students’ experiences in the arts may provide insight into improving teacher education. A mixed methods study was conducted with first and fourth-year Bachelor of Education primary students at a Western Australian university, to determine students’ arts experiences prior to and during the course. Fourth-year graduating students were also asked to reflect on their self-efficacy to teach the arts ...

Macro-Scaffolding: Contextual Support For Teacher Learning, Marion Engin

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

A socio-cultural theory of learning places importance on the social and cultural context of the learning as well as the interaction between a more expert other and the learner. Scaffolding at the level of interaction may be defined as micro-scaffolding, and support which can be found in the context of the learning can be referred to as macro-scaffolding. This paper reports on research carried out in a pre-service English teacher training context which explored macro-scaffolding. Findings suggest that support at the macro-level includes the shared understanding of accepted practices of the training context in terms of what is considered ‘good ...

Promoting Social And Academic Attainment Through Emotional And Social Skills Development, Aiden Carthy, Sinead Mcgilloway

Conference Papers

No abstract provided.

Can't Get No (Dis)Satisfaction: The Statecraft Simulation's Effect On Student Decision Making, Chad Raymond

Faculty and Staff - Articles & Papers

Simulations are often employed as content-teaching tools in political science, but their effect on students reasoning skills is rarely assessed. This paper explores what effect the Statecraft simulation might have on undergraduate students perceptions of their decision making. As noted by the psychologist Daniel Kahneman (2012: 203), decisions are often evaluated on the basis of whether their outcomes are good or bad, not whether a sound reasoning process was used to reach them. A survey was administered at multiple points in an international relations course to gauge students satisfaction with the decision-making processes and outcomes in their respective teams during ...

Committed To Memory: Remembering "9/11" As A Crisis Of Education, Karen Espiritu

Open Access Dissertations and Theses

This study considers the pedagogical significance of mourning and remembrance in the context of the commemorative culture surrounding the “9/11” attacks on America, which have stimulated recent explorations of what it might mean to commit to ethical remembrances of the dead. Critical of “9/11” memorial discourses that provide justifications for heightened “homeland” security and military mobilization in the “War on Terror,” this project not only addresses the educative force of memorial-artistic responses in creating meaning out of mass deaths, but also dissociates the concept of the public memorial as foremost an apparatus of the state, private corporations, and ...

Executive Appointment 54-057; Appointment Of The Associate Justice, William J. Warmke, Scott Sandoval

Executive Branch Publications

No abstract provided.

Opportunities Taken, Lost Or Avoided: The Use Of Difference Of Opinion In School Decision Making, Bridget M. Leggett, Glenda Campbell-Evans, Jan Gray

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In this paper the authors report on an exploratory investigation into the use of disequilibrium and difference of opinion in decision-making in schools, based on the experiences of Master of Education students in their own university. From examples provided by the participants the authors identify the factors that contribute to the positive use of difference of opinion, and those that limit or constrain its use. They then discuss the implications of the findings for the curriculum of the degree in which the participants are enrolled.

Investigating Mandatory Peer Review Of Teaching In Schools, Jacinta Brix, Peter Grainger, Angela Hill

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Accountability agendas are influencing the secondary education sector. Analysis of student achievement, student feedback mechanisms and personal reflection are forming part of these agendas as methods of teacher evaluation. Additionally, and more recently, teacher evaluation through ‘peer review’ is emerging as a tool for evaluating teacher quality. Peer review of teaching encompasses educators working and learning together to improve teaching practices and student learning. A plethora of literature currently exists on peer review of teaching for formative purposes. While there are a number of studies examining the role of peer review of teaching within higher education, there are very few ...

Establishing Positive Relationships With Secondary Gifted Students And Students With Emotional/Behavioural Disorders: Giving These Diverse Learners What They Need, Trevor Capern, Lorraine Hammond

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The relationships between teachers and their students play a vital role in the creation of positive learning outcomes and environments for all learners, but particularly for those individuals with diverse needs. This study examined the teacher behaviours that contributed to positive student-teacher relationships with gifted secondary students (GS) (N=58) and with secondary students with Emotional/Behavioural Disorders (EBD) (N=40) in Western Australia. Valued teachers’ behaviours were identified through a mixed-methods approach that included surveys and student focus groups. The data indicated that GSs valued teacher behaviours that promoted cordial and friendly interactions between teachers and students to the ...

Beginning Teacher Support In Australia: Towards An Online Community To Augment Current Support, Nick Kelly, Shirley Reushle, Sayan Chakrabarty, Anna Kinnane

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper describes opportunities to improve the current support provided to beginning teachers in Australia. It holds that there is a need for approaches that go beyond school-based induction and support. The paper presents data from a survey of beginning teachers in Queensland, with aims to determine current access to support and perceptions about gaps in support. It uses these findings alongside existing evidence to make arguments, that some beginning teachers are effectively unsupported and that universities have the potential to play a greater role in beginning teacher support. Further results are used to suggest guidelines for developing a national ...

Research And Reflective Practice In The Esl Classroom: Voices From Sri Lanka, Andrzej Cirocki, Sujeewa Tennekoon, Alicia Pena Calvo

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Modern language education favours the model of a reflective teacher-researcher who is engaged in both individual and collaborative curriculum revision and teaching-learning environment improvement. The present paper addresses the issue of classroom research and reflective practice in current ESL pedagogy and teacher professional development. The theoretical introduction is followed by research findings recently gathered from Sri Lankan ESL teachers. The study aimed at ascertaining the extent to which Sri Lankan ESL teachers are involved in classroom research and discussing various reasons why they assume or do not assume the role of a teacher-researcher. The study reports interesting findings, calling for ...