Education Commons^™

Place-Based Education: An Impetus For Teacher Efficacy, Tamara Chase Coleman

Dissertations

This research investigated professional development in place-based (PB) methodology on the efficacy of science teachers. While teachers are expected to use best practices they do not always implement them due to a lack of efficacy in implementation. A professional development program (PD) was designed to increase confidence among teachers planning to incorporate PB methods. Place-based education (PBE) is recognized as a best-practice among professional educators. PBE includes the selection, design and engagement with science using the geographic place as the content. The literature reports that student learning and teacher efficacy will improve when teachers are prepared effectively in PB practices. …

The Evaluation Of Impact The South Carolina System For Teacher And Student Advancement Professional Development Model Has On Teacher Dispositions, Andrew Hooker

Education Dissertations and Projects

Education is continually looking for ways to increase student achievement. This is appropriate because the goal of education is to increase student achievement. Student achievement has continued to be unpredictable throughout the country due to the many factors which present themselves throughout the educational process.

The purpose of this dissertation was to look at a specific professional development model, South Carolina System for Teacher and Student Advancement (SCTAP), to measure the impact this model had on teacher dispositions. The following research question guided this study: To what extent does the SCTAP professional development model impact teacher disposition within the following: …

An Investigation Of Special Education Teachers' Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of A Systematic 7-Step Virtual Worlds Teacher Training Workshop For Increasing Social Skills, Natalie Christina Nussli

Doctoral Dissertations

This study describes how a systematic 7-Step Virtual Worlds Teacher Training Workshop promoting inquiry, experiential learning, and sociocultural theory guided the enculturation of 18 special education teachers into three-dimensional virtual worlds. The main purpose was to enable these teachers to make informed decisions about the usability of virtual worlds for students with social skills challenges, such as students with autism. Mixed-methods data analysis and triangulation were based on the analysis of seven instruments. Six of the seven steps of the intervention received high ratings indicating its viability for teachers' professional development opportunities