Digital Commons Network^™

Examining Teacher Efficacy In An Urban School District Through An Induction And Mentoring Program, Vonda Kim Scipio

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Induction and mentoring programs are being implemented throughout the nation by school districts as intensive professional development for new teachers. These programs are designed to accelerate the development of novice teachers as a strategy to improve the academic achievement of preschool to 12th-grade students. In an effort to assess the relative importance of school-level factors that might further such teachers' growth, the purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of three cohorts of mentored teachers with respect to five working conditions: (a) colleagues' contributions to new teachers' professional growth; (b) principal support of new teachers' professional growth; (c) …

An Evaluation Of Student Achievement Before And After Training In Response To Instruction In A Rural School District, Caroline T. Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to provide research in examining the difference in student achievement in reading and math through the quantitative data collection of North Carolina EOG scores for students in third through fifth grade from one high poverty and high performing North Carolina public school district before and after implementation of RtI. The population of this study included all students in the public school system who participated in EOG testing during the 2009-2012 school years in grades 3-5. Data collection was carried out using the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Testing and Accountability website to …

Common Core State Standards And Technology Integration: A Study Of Teachers' Experiences After Professional Development, Angela V. Christopher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

At the time of this research, implementation of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) represented a fundamental shift in the way teachers were to provide instruction. The standards were designed to emphasize rigorous content and disciplinary practices that required higher order thinking, depth of knowledge, and adaptive application at each grade level. Expectations for high quality, student-centered technology integration were also embedded within some of the standards. The purpose of this research was to examine the perspectives of K-8 teachers after professional development and their experiences changing instructional practices for CCSS and technology integration. This phenomenological study was guided by three …

Exploring The Relationship Between Professional Development And Student Achievement, Tamora Lashawn Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract The purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between professional development and student achievement by addressing three major standards of professional learning: content, process, and context. This study included 276 teachers from 28 middle schools. Data from this study was gathered using the Standards Assessment Inventory (SAI) survey instrument designed by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) and publicly available achievement data from the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP), a criterion-referenced achievement test. The Standards Assessment Inventory (SAI) was used to examine teachers' perceptions of professional development at the school level.The overall purpose of this study was …

Investigating Variability In Teaching Performance...Seeking Pathways To Excellence, Francine Endler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teacher learning is critical to student learning (Darling-Hammond, 2002, 2010). The work documented here is driven by an investigation of a long-standing and complex problem of educational practice: the inequitable learning opportunities for students that result from variability in the selection, learning and placement of practicing and aspiring teachers. A multidisciplinary perspective is used to situate the problem of practice theoretically, within a body of empirical research, and within a context of educational practice. Among the perspectives used to examine the problem of practice are theoretical frameworks that support the claim that the problem is a matter of social justice. …

Educators' Perceptions Of Twitter For Educational Technology Professional Development: A Uses And Gratifications Expectancy Model, Douglas C. Strahler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the years, the practice of professional development amongst educators has evolved to adapt to the needs of a changing society and a shift to online professional development (OPD) opportunities has become popular for meeting the needs of educators. As a result, social media platforms, like Twitter, have grown in popularity as outlets for OPD; however, little research has been conducted to evaluate why educators are seeking professional development opportunities through social media platforms.

This exploratory study proposed to examine how educators' uses and gratifications expectancy of Twitter for professional development influences their perceived e-learning experience. In addition, it sought …

Defining And Building Excellence: A Model For Professional Development At Arete Charter School, Shloe Kerness

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the U.S., there is increased awareness that what teachers know and are able to do play a significant role in the achievement of their students (Sanders & Rivers, 1996). Consequently, there is an unprecedented interest in improving instruction, a job that is normally assumed by the schools and school districts where teachers are employed. However, long-established professional development options provided by school districts usually fail to have any significant positive impact on teachers' instructional practices and often have the unintended consequence of making teachers feel more like workers on an assembly line than professionals doing emotionally complicated work (Borko …

Replacing The "Raise Your Hand To Speak" Rule With New Social And Sociomathematical Norms In An Elementary Mathematics Classroom, Lisa Brooks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study documents the establishment of new social and sociomathematical norms in a second grade classroom. The teacher allowed students to speak directly to one another without having to raise their hands first during whole group mathematics instruction. Reform efforts in mathematics and the standards for mathematical practice contained in the Common Core State Standards call for students to discuss their reasoning with each other. Data were collected through interviews with the teacher and students, field notes, and video-recorded lessons over the course of 23 days. An online survey tool was utilized to share selected video of the teacher's …

Meeting The Needs Of Students Through A Targeted Professional Development, Anthony Copelin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study presents a complex problem of practice occurring at Primrose Elementary school [pseudonym]. A large portion of Primrose Elementary School's population has been unable to meet Florida's state reading proficiency standards over the last twelve years. Students of Primrose Elementary have a poor foundation in language on which to build vital reading skills. Consequently, students cannot overcome this deficiency because teachers lack the content knowledge to meet the students' language and subsequent reading deficiencies, in spite of 12 years of reading professional development. This dissertation in practice will propose the use of targeted professional development to address below grade …

A Comparison Of Teachers' Beliefs Of The Use Of Inquiry Teaching, Origin Of Knowledge Of Inquiry Teaching, And Student Achievement Between International Baccalaureate And Non-International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme Schools, Lucy Haddock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of improving student achievement is of paramount interest to all public schools. The focus of this research was to determine the difference between inquiry based teaching strategies and student achievement. Additionally, the researcher investigated the origin of inquiry based teaching knowledge and International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IBPYP) affiliation. IBPYP affiliation was studied due to the nature of the IBPYP as an inquiry based philosophy of teaching. The McGill Strategic Demands of Inquiry Questionnaire (MSDIQ) was used to determine teacher beliefs of inquiry based teaching strategies. Student achievement was measured using Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test 2.0 (FCAT 2.0) …

Building Educator Capacity In Support Of Student Achievement On Florida's United States History End-Of-Course Assessment, Stacy Skinner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Florida's United States History End-of-Course (EOC) Assessment performance outcomes are scheduled to impact student course grades, educator evaluation scores, and school grades. A professional learning plan to improve teaching and learning in support of student achievement on the Assessment does not exist. Neither Florida Statute nor the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) facilitate or fund professional learning in support of these influences. This dissertation in practice proposes the use of the U.S. History EOC Assessment Professional Learning Series to build educator capacity in support of student achievement on the Assessment. Implementation of professional learning could address the disparity between the …

Instructional Coaching Relationships: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Deanna Marie Elizabeth Fougere

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With the recent adoption of the literacy/instructional coaching model in many Ontario school boards, there is a need to further examine the coaching relationship between the coach and coachee and how it creates a space conducive for professional learning to occur. This study adopted a qualitative approach using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to examine the lived experience of instructional coaching and the instructional coaching relationship in the secondary school setting from a strengths-based perspective. Three instructional coaches and three corresponding coachees in a southwestern Ontario school board participated in semi-structured interviews. The notions of trust, growth, and power and resistance …