Education Commons^™

The Power Of Story In Developing A Cycle Of Efficacy For Teachers And Students, Melissa Renee Ewing

Theses and Dissertations

There is scarce nationwide evidence of the impact of instruction on student achievement in the area of writing (Coker et al., 2018; Persky et al., 2003; National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2002). Standardized writing assessment has shifted to text-dependent analysis, which requires students to read and analyze a passage and then compose an essay in response to a text dependent prompt. This type of writing requires students to understand how and why authors make decisions and then support a claim with analysis. This multiple-case, action research study followed three elementary teachers as they reflected on a journey resulting in transformation …

Peer Observation And Feedback As A Professional Development Structure, Malisa Dawn Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

In American schools, teachers seldomly have time to see each other teach resulting in missed opportunities to learn and grow from one another. Participants engaged in peer observation and feedback in order to determine the effectiveness of this professional development structure on practitioner growth, teacher efficacy, and overall teacher satisfaction. Data was collected from multiple sources that indicated several themes of growth resulting from the peer observation and feedback cycles including an increase in flexibility and willingness to have others in classrooms, new practitioner thinking and application to classroom practice, and the expansion of influence on highly effective teachers on …

Teacher Self-Efficacy Levels In Providing Reading Instruction To Students In Kindergarten Through Second Grades, Rebekka Powers

Doctor of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy levels of kindergarten through second-grade teachers in their ability to provide reading instruction to students with a focus on the five foundational areas of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. In addition, the study sought to make recommendations as to how the district of study can enhance teacher efficacy in delivering reading instruction, as well as assist the district in providing instructional resources and teacher professional development that increase teacher efficacy levels in reading instructional practices. A mixed method approach was used to conduct this study. Data were …

A Generic Qualitative Study Of Primary Grade Reading Teachers' Challenges And Personal Teaching Solutions, Jennifer Lynn Nunes

Theses and Dissertations

Not all children enter school with the same skill set. Teachers of young children know this. Despite this, schools prescribe curriculum and pacing guides as well as assessments that may fit only a subset of students’ instructional levels. Teachers are left to determine the best way to meet the student and mandated requirements. Teachers from two elementary schools from a neighborhood area were interviewed about their perspectives and how they manage instructional expectations to help students learn grade level expectations.

The following research questions were addressed.1. How and why do teachers report adapting literacy instruction for students who are deficient …