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Effective Teaching Of African American Students Who Receive Special Education Services., Nancy Stone Bealmear Dec 2006

Effective Teaching Of African American Students Who Receive Special Education Services., Nancy Stone Bealmear

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an examination of effective teaching of African American students who receive special education services by teachers who are either National Board Certified Teachers or Highly Qualified Master's Level teachers. It begins with an overview of the history of special education in the United States and the current conditions of special education. It then covers the matter of overrepresentation of African American students in special education and the various contributors to that problem. The conceptual framework is to examine the self-efficacy and best practices of National Board Certified Teachers or Highly Qualified Master's Level teachers from middle and …


Mindful Teachers: Case Studies Of Intermediate Teachers And Their Mindful Teaching Practices, Christine Edwards Sherretz Dec 2006

Mindful Teachers: Case Studies Of Intermediate Teachers And Their Mindful Teaching Practices, Christine Edwards Sherretz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For generations, educational philosophers, parents, business people, and practitioners have argued that public schools promote mindless standardization that stifles creativity, curiosity, and enthusiasm for learning. The case has been made that instead of mindlessness, schools should be a place where mindful individuals can flourish. Langer (1989, 1997) described mindful individuals as displaying the following characteristics: (a) openness to novelty, (b) alertness to distinction, (c) sensitivity to different contexts, (d) awareness of multiple perspectives, and (e) orientation in the present. Langer (2000) states that mindlessness might be described as a lack of these attributes. The purpose of this research was to …


Autoethnographical Inquiry Into Joyful Teaching: Explorations With National Teachers Of The Year, Camille Lowe Shirah Dec 2006

Autoethnographical Inquiry Into Joyful Teaching: Explorations With National Teachers Of The Year, Camille Lowe Shirah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Presently, schools in the United States are held within the tight grip of No Child Left Behind, signed into law in 2001. Since accountability is high, some teachers experience burnout and succumb to disenchantment with the profession (Palmer, 1998). Others find their commitments to education so diminished that they abuse their position and fail terribly in their charge to educate our youth. There are some, however, who find ways to continually affirm and sustain their commitments to education. Within the following autoethnographical inquiry, the lives of three National Teachers of the Year are examined with the hope of finding out …


Investigating Professional Development In Technology For Literacy Teachers, Michanne Hoctor Edd Aug 2006

Investigating Professional Development In Technology For Literacy Teachers, Michanne Hoctor Edd

Dissertations

Citrus Heights (a pseudonym) School District is an award-winning exemplar of technology integration. This small urban district has focused its resources on the re-design of its K-8 classrooms and curriculum to support educational reform through the use of technology, including hardware, software, and teacher professional development. Current best practices suggest that while staff development may begin with conventional in-service training, it should move quickly beyond to efforts that support teachers’ development as professionals involved in decision-making, inquiry, and leadership in their classroom teaching. In order to develop as professionals, teachers specifically need help and support in integrating new knowledge and …


Teacher Factors That Influence Student Achievement: A Study Of Third And Fifth Grade Teachers, Jewelle L. Harmon Jul 2006

Teacher Factors That Influence Student Achievement: A Study Of Third And Fifth Grade Teachers, Jewelle L. Harmon

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Student achievement is of the highest concern for the government, educational administrators and parents. Researchers have looked at several possible student factors that affect student achievement. However, very little research has been done on teacher factors and their relationship with student achievement. The current study looked at the relationships among teacher absence, teacher job satisfaction, work-family conflict, family/work conflict, teachers' attitudes towards achievement measures, and their correlation with Virginia's standardized measure of student achievement; the Standards of Learning (SOLs). District differences in student achievement were also examined. Three school districts in southeastern Virginia accepted the invitation to participate. …


Deaf Japanese-Americans During World War Ii, Mikhael Rosenberg Jun 2006

Deaf Japanese-Americans During World War Ii, Mikhael Rosenberg

Theses

Many teachers are using primary source documents in their social studies classrooms to compliment the standard issued textbooks. Primary sources include, but are not limited to: govenunent documents, pictures, posters, documentaries, and personal interviews. Research shows when teachers use primary sources in their instructions, their students become more engaged with the course. Research shows when teachers use primary sources in their instructions, their students become more engaged with the course. Furthermore, there is a positive correlation between student engagement in the course and student achievement in the class. When historical primary sources related to deaf individuals are used to supplement …


An Examination Of The Relationship Between The Presence Of Critical Components Of Classroom Positive Behavior Support And Student Behavior, Gregory S. Ern Jun 2006

An Examination Of The Relationship Between The Presence Of Critical Components Of Classroom Positive Behavior Support And Student Behavior, Gregory S. Ern

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between the presence of classroom components of positive behavior support and student behavior outcomes. Data were collected using the Tool for Assessing Classroom Level-Positive Behavior Support (TACL-PBS) developed by Ern (2004) to assess the presence or absence of critical components of positive behavior support at the classroom level. Descriptive data on the instrument including the internal consistency, interrater agreement, and concurrent validity were analyzed and are included in this report. Forty classrooms from ten diverse elementary schools in three school districts were selected to participate in this study. Office discipline …


What Teachers Want To Know: A Systematic Review Of Action Research Theses Related To K-8 Mathematics And Science, Bridget Steele Jan 2006

What Teachers Want To Know: A Systematic Review Of Action Research Theses Related To K-8 Mathematics And Science, Bridget Steele

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The research conducted was a systemic review of 88 action research masters theses from a teacher enhancement program for K-8 mathematics and science at the University of Central Florida and the teachers that performed the studies. The purpose of this study is to synthesize existing research results of a collection of master's theses from a teacher enhancement program for K-8 mathematics and science teachers in order to arrive at meaningful conclusions regarding teachers' research interests and classroom practices. Also, the study will help teacher educators who deliver the teacher enhancement program to improve the effectiveness of the program. A summary …


Effects Of Selective Attention On Preschool Teacher And Child Behavior, Keri Leigh Altig Jan 2006

Effects Of Selective Attention On Preschool Teacher And Child Behavior, Keri Leigh Altig

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Teachers of preschool-aged children influence the development of preschool-aged children. As more children are enrolled in preschool centers, teachers of preschool-aged children need to be equipped with many strategies to encourage child development. One way teachers can encourage child development is to provide activities and structure so the child will engage with the environment; This study examined the effects of training teachers of preschool-aged children to use selective attention and how training effected child engagement during circle time activities. Two classrooms in each of two preschool centers were selected. Teachers were trained on how to use the selective attention approach …


Exploring The Relationship Between Teachers' Beliefs In Mathematics And Their Instructional Practice, Michelle Vander Veldt Jan 2006

Exploring The Relationship Between Teachers' Beliefs In Mathematics And Their Instructional Practice, Michelle Vander Veldt

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study explored the relationship between teachers' beliefs about mathematics and their instructional practices. The personal epistemology of the case study elementary mathematics teachers was documented and analyzed to provide evidence of the connection between teachers' beliefs and practice in an elementary school setting; This study was grounded in a theoretical framework of epistemological world views, particularly the comparison of belief across three epistemological world views: (1) the realist, (2) the contextualist, and (3) the relativist. Three areas of beliefs are addressed in this study: (1) beliefs about curriculum, (2) beliefs about pedagogy, and (3) beliefs about assessment. Through analysis …


The Effects Of Perceived Teacher Empowerment On Student Achievement, Florence Barker Aitken Jan 2006

The Effects Of Perceived Teacher Empowerment On Student Achievement, Florence Barker Aitken

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived levels of teacher empowerment in schools showing an increase of student outcomes as well as a decrease of student outcomes on standardized proficiency tests in reading/language arts and mathematics over a three-year period. The relationship between the levels of teachers' perceived empowerment to student achievement was studied as well as specific dimensions of teacher empowerment connected to student outcomes. The instrumentation used in this study was the School Participant Empowerment Scale (SPES) that was developed by researchers Short and Rinehart (1992) and contained six theoretical dimensions of teacher empowerment: (a) …


The Use Of Formative Evaluation With Online Courses By Teachers At The Secondary Level, David Alvin Garner Jan 2006

The Use Of Formative Evaluation With Online Courses By Teachers At The Secondary Level, David Alvin Garner

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This case study investigated the use of formative evaluation by three teachers who designed and delivered online courses at the secondary level. Formative evaluation involves collecting data that could be used to improve the effectiveness of the design and delivery of a course. Teachers were observed teaching the courses they designed for one quarter and then were given a workshop introducing them to formative evaluation techniques. They were observed for another quarter to determine if their delivery or design practices changed. Additional data were collected through interviews and through the analysis of course-related artifacts that included emails, journal entries by …


A Study Of West Virginia P-12 Teachers' Use Of The Internet As A Professional And Instructional Tool, Sandra Lee Orr Jan 2006

A Study Of West Virginia P-12 Teachers' Use Of The Internet As A Professional And Instructional Tool, Sandra Lee Orr

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study examines West Virginia P-12 teachers’ use of the Internet as a professional and instructional tool. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to gather descriptive data. Based on an extensive review of the literature, the researcher developed survey included 30 questions on the use of the Internet by teachers as a professional tool and by their students as an instructional tool. Two hundred forty-two West Virginia P-12 public school teachers participated in the study with fourteen participating in interviews. Interviews provided anecdotal information of teachers’ experiences in finding, creating, and using the Internet for professional and instructional activities. Findings …


A Study Of The Qualities Of Effective Mentor Teachers, Eileen Mooney Cambria Jan 2006

A Study Of The Qualities Of Effective Mentor Teachers, Eileen Mooney Cambria

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

A STUDY OF THE QUALITIES OF EFFECTIVE MENTOR TEACHERS The purpose of this study is to identify the attributes of teachers who are master teachers and exemplary mentors. This qualitative inquiry was designed to shed light on the values, attributes, beliefs and practices of these individuals as they relate to the art of teaching and mentoring novice teachers. A stable faculty provides schools with a strong support structure that enables students to achieve high levels of instruction and new teachers the high quality of mentoring needed during the first phase of their careers. Recruiting new teachers to fill the void …


A Case Study Of The Writing Consultant As A Professional Development Model For Elementary School Teachers, Shirley E. Martin Jan 2006

A Case Study Of The Writing Consultant As A Professional Development Model For Elementary School Teachers, Shirley E. Martin

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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A Case Study Of Public School Secondary Teachers Of English, Supervisors Of English, And School Administrators Awareness And Implementation Of Issues Of Moral Education Within The Canon Of Literature Presented In The Classroom Setting, Dennis M. Flynn Jan 2006

A Case Study Of Public School Secondary Teachers Of English, Supervisors Of English, And School Administrators Awareness And Implementation Of Issues Of Moral Education Within The Canon Of Literature Presented In The Classroom Setting, Dennis M. Flynn

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Personalization For English Learners At A Small Conversion High School, Mary Jewell Edd Jan 2006

Personalization For English Learners At A Small Conversion High School, Mary Jewell Edd

Dissertations

One of the most notable ways in which large, comprehensive high schools are working to meet the needs of the increasing numbers of English Language Learners (ELLs), and other students who may be struggling with academics, is by subdividing into smaller schools. One of the most appealing features of small schools is their emphasis on personalized instruction for students. While it takes many forms, personalizing education means knowing all students well and designing curriculum that meets their individual needs. Personalized learning environments hold enormous potential for improving the educational experiences, and even very lives, of English learners. The purpose of …