Education Commons^™

Seasons Of Learning: Rural Indigenous Teacher Preparation, Dani O'Brien, Josh Montgomery, Bezhigogaabawiikwe Hunter, Niizhoobinesiikwe Howes, Waasegiizhigookwe Rosie Gonzalez, Manidoo Makwe Ikwe, Kevin Zak

The Rural Educator

We, four teachers in Ojibwe or majority-Ojibwe schools and three teachers in teacher preparation at a small ecologically focused liberal arts college, tell stories to reorient ourselves, centering place in ways accessible to our emerging practice. In these narratives, anchored in the seasons, we describe our challenges and successes in adapting education programs to better evoke the lifeways that predominate in our shared part of rural northern Wisconsin immersed in the lands of the Ojibwe. We relied on experiences, both ours and of Ojibwe learners, to illuminate the rhythms of our place and the seasons of learning defined by boreal …

Developing Horizontal Expertise With Professional Learning Communities In Social Studies Teacher Preparation, Charles Tocci, Ann Marie Ryan

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

As teacher education programs become increasingly organized around accreditation and licensure standards, finding opportunities to be responsive to teacher candidates' needs and interests has become more difficult. This paper traces the evolution of a professional learning community for secondary social studies teacher candidates as a key feature of one teacher education program and analyzes the collaborative projects designed for the purpose of developing horizontal expertise. We find that professional learning communities can serve as dynamic spaces to co-construct learning experiences with candidates in ways that prepare them for future professional learning as practicing social studies teachers.

Examining Elementary Teacher Perceptions And Experiences Of Transitioning From Knowledge-Based To Inquiry-Based Social Studies Standards, Benjamin Stephen Pinnick

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Elementary educators are responsible for the earliest years of student learning in a public setting. The amount of content students are expected to master continues to grow in scope, and the methods that are utilized shift to align with educational research and social momentum. After a decade of Common Core policies, social studies education in elementary schools has become a deemphasized subject. Reading and math, as well as science, have taken a greater precedence in today’s classrooms.

Yet, expectations for the creation of knowledgeable and participatory citizens continue to serve as a goal in elementary schools. Conceptualization of citizenship form …

Using Avatars To Address Teacher Self-Efficacy, Chancey Bosch, Trevor Ellis

Journal of Global Education and Research

Technology-enhanced learning continues to provide opportunities for increased interventions in educational programing. For teacher education programs, novelty pales in comparison to providing meaningful instruction and enduring outcomes. The use of avatars has provided integration of research evidence that increases intended behaviors; however, research is lacking on teacher self-efficacy change via an avatar experience. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between teacher self-efficacy and avatar use in a teacher education program. A relational study using both parametric and non-parametric designs for four different samples indicated a significant relationship between avatar intervention and teacher self-efficacy in classroom management, …

Support For Teacher Candidates And The Edtpa, Dia Gary, Dylan Thomas, Joseph Miller

Journal of Global Education and Research

Equipping new teachers in today’s society is a noble and challenging task. Of late, many additional licensing standards for teachers create additional responsibilities for universities that provide pedagogy, knowledge, and content for teacher candidates. Identification of best practices that support teacher candidates on the Educative Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) is of interest to many teacher education programs. The purpose of this research was to analyze whether incorporating a mock edTPA had beneficial results on the passage of the edTPA. This study spanned fourteen ten-week quarters and included 688 teacher candidates who were preparing to become certificated teachers at a university …

An Examination Of Motivation And Teacher Identity In Minority High School Students Enrolled In A Career And Technical Education Teacher Preparation Program, Elizabeth M. Aguila

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative research describes the measures of motivating factors, through a social learning lens, that empower minority high school students in a CTE program to develop a teacher identity through time in clinical teaching practice. This quasi-experimental study found interactions between student motivation, teacher identity, and student achievement through an early clinical practice intervention used in SCHOOL A ECE 1. A comparison group, SCHOOL B ECE 2, was used to measure any effect of a community of practice framework on these factors. The present study also used a non-teacher education program, SCHOOL A BIO 1 to measure if motivation and …

Music Therapy’S Role In The Education System, Madison Riley, Tori L. Colson, Moriah Smothers

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

Music therapy is a lesser-known and used related service, yet it provides significant benefits to students that have language, behavioral, and social needs. This article reviews the literature on music therapy, discusses its historical and theoretical roots, and examines its use in educational settings. Special attention is given to therapeutic practices that are geared toward students on the autism spectrum because their social and communication needs are often a good fit for music therapy practices. Recommendations on using music therapy in special and general education classrooms are also made. Additionally, recommendations for including music therapy content in teacher preparation programs …

Pre-Service Teachers’ Perspectives On How The Use Of Toon Comic Books During Guided Reading Influenced Learning By Struggling Readers, Ewa Mcgrail, Alicja Rieger, Gina M. Doepker, Samantha Mcgeorge

Gina Doepker

The study presented in this article examines the use of comic books, specifically the TOON comic books during guided reading instruction. The instruction was provided to struggling readers by the Literacy Center at a comprehensive university in southeastern United States. What most pre-service teachers in this study agreed upon was that comic books served as an effective tool for getting their students interested in reading. Reading comic books with tutors as partners in conversation with the struggling readers in this study was also a powerful medium for facilitating students’ literacy skills development, particularly in the areas of reading fluency and …

Preparing Elementary Writing Teachers: An Inquiry-Driven, Field-Based Approach To Instruction, Lisa K. Hawkins, Nicole M. Martin, Jennifer Cooper

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

Pre-service teachers’ [PSTs] preparation for teaching writing is foundational to writing instruction in elementary schools and children’s writing. Prior research has identified elements in writing-focused methods coursework that support their preparation. In this article, an innovative component in a stand-alone writing teacher preparation course that incorporated the research-based elements is showcased: a process for deconstructing and modeling inquiry-driven writing pedagogy. This process includes five phases: (1) using mentor texts during initial immersion, (2) using mentor texts to study structure, (3) using mentor texts to study writer’s craft, (4) using mentor texts to study sentence structure, sentence fluency, and language, and …

We Would If We Could: Examining Culturally Responsive Teaching Self-Efficacy In A Middle School Mathematics Methods Course, Jamaal R. Young, Jemimah L. Young, Brandon L. Fox, Earl R. Levingston Jr., Alana Tholen

Faculty Publications

Despite mounting evidence of the pedagogical importance of culturally responsive teaching, many teachers do not implement culturally responsive practices in their classrooms. The purpose of this study was to investigate pre-service mathematics teachers’ culturally responsive teaching and outcome expectancy in order to inform teacher preparation in mathematics methods courses. Participants completed the Culturally Responsive Teaching Self-efficacy Scale (CRTSE) and the Culturally Response Teaching Outcome Expectancy (CRTOE) Scale. Results suggest that middle school mathematics teachers were only moderately efficacious in their ability to implement culturally responsive teaching practices, despite strong beliefs in the instructional utility of culturally responsive teaching practices.

Developing Children’S Physical Literacy: How Well Prepared Are Prospective Teachers?, Judith Dinham, Paul Williams

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

While the known health impacts of sedentary lifestyles have focused attention on children’s outdoor activity, the development of their physical literacy – the physiological, social, cultural, cognitive, expressive, and psychological dimensions of their physicality – is much less in focus.

Developing children’s physical literacy is embedded in the Early Years Learning Framework and Primary curriculum: Health and Physical Education, and the performing arts subjects within The Arts. This study asks “How well prepared are pre-service teachers to implement a program that contributes to developing children’s physical literacy?”

This mixed methods study includes an environmental scan of BEd courses at 12 …

Pre-Service Teachers’ Perspectives On How The Use Of Toon Comic Books During Guided Reading Influenced Learning By Struggling Readers, Ewa Mcgrail, Alicja Rieger, Gina M. Doepker, Samantha Mcgeorge

SANE journal: Sequential Art Narrative in Education

The study presented in this article examines the use of comic books, specifically the TOON comic books during guided reading instruction. The instruction was provided to struggling readers by the Literacy Center at a comprehensive university in southeastern United States. What most pre-service teachers in this study agreed upon was that comic books served as an effective tool for getting their students interested in reading. Reading comic books with tutors as partners in conversation with the struggling readers in this study was also a powerful medium for facilitating students’ literacy skills development, particularly in the areas of reading fluency and …

Preparing Elementary School Teachers To Learn From Teaching: A Comparison Of Two Approaches To Mathematics Methods Instruction, Rossella Santagata, Cathery Yeh, Janet Mercado

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Teacher preparation programs face a significant challenge in determining how to design learning experiences that develop the combination of knowledge, practices, and dispositions needed for effective classroom teaching. Time constraints and the theory-practice divide are two well-documented concerns. We introduce the conceptual framework and design elements of a video-enhanced mathematics methods course that targets these concerns. The course centers on systematic reflection and analysis of practice intended to foster career-long learning. We then examine the impact of this course on several facets of learning-from-teaching competencies, including teacher knowledge, beliefs, and practices. Sixty-two pre-service teachers, enrolled in a one-year post-bachelor elementary …

Using Multimodal Modules To Address Pre-Service Teachers’ Knowledge Gap In Learning To Teach English Language Learners, Guofang Li, Denisse M. Hinojosa, Lindsay Wexler, Yue Bian, Jose Manuel Matinez

TAPESTRY

Researchers have argued that teacher education programs fail to prepare effective teachers for the increasing English language learner (ELL). In response to the under preparedness of pre-service teachers (PSTs) for ELLs, the authors designed a six-module online lab course for a group of 22 TESOL minor PSTs. The content of the modules included knowledge of ELLs and their parents, the socio-political context of teaching ELLs, and strategies of teaching knowledge and content to ELLs. PSTs reported they benefited from the learning opportunities these modules provided, including: familiarizing them with the challenges ELLs faced, the importance of and ideas for involving …

Why “Correcting” African American Language Speakers Is Counterproductive, Alice Lee

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

In this article, I address the topic of AAL usage in the classroom, particularly the line of thinking that assumes “correcting” the language is what will “set students up for success” in the future. By providing some abbreviated information on how children acquire language, I explain how AAL “correction” is actually counterproductive for student “success”—in both language acquisition and learning. Additionally, I will offer practical suggestions for how AAL can be incorporated in curriculum and instruction.

Site Joint Sig Symposia: A Collaboration Between The K-12 Online Learning Sig And Distance Learning Sig: How Higher Education And K-12 Online Learning Research Can Impact Each Other, Rick Ferdig, Leanna Archambault, Kerry Rice, Margaret Niess, Trisha Litz, Amy Garrett-Dikkers, Aimee Whiteside, Michael Barbour, David Marcovitz, Antoinette Davis

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Facilitated by Rick Ferdig of Kent State University and editor of JTATE, this Symposia brings together the work of the K-12 Online Learning SIG and the Distance Learning SIG communities and focuses on presentations from scholars in the field whose work has implications for both higher education and K-12 online learning. This Symposia will have nine panelists who will each present their work and then talk specifically about how their work can inform both K-12 and HE. Included in the list of Higher Education-focused panelists are Trisha Litz of Regis University, Maggie Niess of Oregon State University, Antoinette Davis of …

Getting Off The Fast Track For The Long Haul: Becoming A Teacher, Ariel Sacks

Occasional Paper Series

Explores the author's path into the teaching profession.

Preface: Alternative Routes To Teacher Certification, Jonathan Silin

Occasional Paper Series

A growing research literature on non-traditional pathways suggests the complexity of the task ahead. Alternative Routes to Teacher Certification is our report from the front lines. We wanted to offer new teachers the opportunity to tell their own stories in their own words.

Supporting Teachers In Arts Integration Strategies To Foster Foundational Literacy Skills Of Emergent Bilinguals, Christa Mulker Greenfader, Shelly Vanamburg, Liane Brouillette

Journal of Pedagogy, Pluralism, and Practice

Oral language skills are essential to the future literacy of students in kindergarten and first grade, especially emergent bilinguals (EBs). Yet, U.S. teachers receive few professional development opportunities that prepare them to use effective strategies for promoting oral language development. Since teacher education is compartmentalized into curricular silos, methods for literacy instruction are taught in one course, methods for arts instruction in another, and so on. This article argues that well-designed arts integration can meet a key need of young, linguistically diverse students by providing opportunities for oral language practice across content areas. Experimental evidence that arts-based instruction benefits the …

A Mixed-Methods Study Of A Teacher Preparation Program: Preservice Teachers' Perceived Preparedness To Integrate Technology Effectively, Erin Banks Davis

Education Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which preservice teachers within a teacher preparation program perceived themselves to be prepared to integrate technology, specifically examining the level of confidence preservice teachers perceive themselves to have towards TPACK-related skills needed to integrate technology into their instruction. Participants in this research study were solicited based on their enrollment in the selected teacher preparation program within the last 5 years; also included were current seniors enrolled in their final semester before degree completion. This research study contains a sample size of 20 participants from a small, private university in …

Possibilities And Challenges Of Teaching Integrated Math And Social Studies For Social Justice: Two Teacher Educators' Collaborative Self-Study, Paula P. Guerra, Sohyun An

Georgia Educational Researcher

In this paper, we—one mathematics teacher educator and one social studies teacher educator—describe a project where we collaborated to model teaching integrated mathematics and social studies for social justice in our methods courses. We encountered varied challenges in our efforts to prepare teacher candidates for social-justice-oriented lessons. These challenges included teacher candidates’ perception of authority/credibility of their professors who were foreign females from the “Third World”, teacher candidates’ deficit views on minoritized students, and the limited time and resources for teacher collaboration in teacher education. Despite these challenges, we believe this kind of project is necessary to move forward in …

Exploring Stakeholders' Perceptions Of The Evaluation Of Early Fieldwork Experience In An Undergraduate Teacher Preparation Program, Amber R. Peacock

Theses and Dissertations

This study is a qualitative meta-evaluation of the early field experience (EFE) program at a small, private, undergraduate teacher preparation program in Virginia focusing on the perceptions of preservice teachers, cooperating teachers and course instructors about the EFE evaluation objectives, evaluation experience, and resulting data usage. The EFE evaluation protocol at the study site is explored using a participatory-oriented evaluation model that solicited the perceptions of stakeholders. Analysis of EFE evaluation documents and semi-structured interviews with the stakeholders were conducted to explore the extent to which (1) official EFE objectives are congruent with the EFE evaluation, (2) the intended evaluation …

Learning To Teach Mathematics And To Analyze Teaching Effectiveness: Evidence From A Video- And Practice-Based Pre-Service Course, Rossella Santagata, Cathery Yeh

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Although emerging consensus exists that practice-based approaches to teacher preparation assist in closing the distance between university coursework and fieldwork experiences and in assuring that future teachers learn to implement innovative research-based instructional strategies, little empirical research has investigated teacher learning from this approach. This study examines the impact of a video- and practice-based course on prospective teachers’ mathematics classroom practices and analysis of their own teaching. Two groups of elementary prospective teachers participated in the study—one attended the course and one did not. Findings reveal that the course assisted participants in making student thinking visible and in pursuing it …

Cebs Magazine: The College Of Education And Behavioral Sciences At Wku, Fall 2013, Charles S. Evans Dean, Pam Pierce, Editor-In-Chief

College of Education and Behavioral Sciences Publications

No abstract provided.

Culturally Proficient Teachers, Lori R. Piowlski

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Action needs to be taken by teacher preparation programs to prepare culturally proficient educators who are able to deliver equitable instruction and inspire all students to strive for greatness if the achievement gap is to be closed. Existing literature mainly describes the importance and urgency to prepare future teachers for the changing demographics with classrooms across the United States. There is not significant literature on how it is being done. Therefore the purpose of this qualitative study was to discover how university teacher education programs are preparing teachers to be culturally proficient. A cross-reference of data collected from Adequate Yearly …