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Teacher Education and Professional Development

Portland State University

Theses/Dissertations

Educational change

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Education

Middle School Teacher Beliefs About Classroom Diversity And Their Influence On Differentiated Instructional Practices, Marcus Fredrick-Lynn Wenzel Jun 2017

Middle School Teacher Beliefs About Classroom Diversity And Their Influence On Differentiated Instructional Practices, Marcus Fredrick-Lynn Wenzel

Dissertations and Theses

Diversity across U.S. classrooms is on the rise which is leading to renewed calls for teachers to meet individual learning needs. Studies indicate the failure to address individual learning needs can lead to higher rates of student disengagement, off-task behaviors, and diminished learning outcomes. Differentiated instruction is an approach to teaching that meets the growing diversity of individual learning needs by considering students' readiness, interest, and learning styles. Differentiated instructional approaches help teachers meet individual learning needs by allowing them to modify instruction as needed. However, despite the apparent benefits of differentiated instruction, teachers are hesitant to abandon other educational …


The Effects Of An Overnight Environmental Science Education Program On Students' Attendance Rate Change For Middle School Years, Jennifer Elizabeth Basham Dec 2015

The Effects Of An Overnight Environmental Science Education Program On Students' Attendance Rate Change For Middle School Years, Jennifer Elizabeth Basham

Dissertations and Theses

Programs that engage middle students in participatory, real-world, and hands-on field based instruction can be a powerful asset to the educational experiences for students; motivating and inspiring some to appreciate and value school in a different way. Overnight environmental science programs have a unique opportunity to support students by creating experiences where students can participate in learning in vastly different ways from what they may engage with in the traditional 4-walled classroom, while concurrently developing a relationship with the natural world. Decreasing educational budgets and increased need to substantiate educational programs in terms of their impact on students has added …


School Reform And Coaching: Identifying Structures For Successful Implementation Of A Data Informed Decision-Making Program, Kristan D. Parman Aug 2015

School Reform And Coaching: Identifying Structures For Successful Implementation Of A Data Informed Decision-Making Program, Kristan D. Parman

Dissertations and Theses

During the past 50 years, the landscape of education shifted from a rank order model to a system where all students are expected to achieve at a minimum level. This led to reforms in the way schools operate and teachers teach. One change to teaching is the use of data to inform instructional practices and student groupings. The need for teachers to increase their data use and change their instruction has prompted the need for professional development practices to be more effective. Coaching has been shown to be an effective professional development strategy to help teachers transfer new skills into …