Education Commons^™

Comparing The Pedagogical Thinking Of More Successful And Less Successful Adult Esl Instructors Using Stimulated Recall, Jason Paul Roberts

Theses and Dissertations

This paper reports a study that examined the pedagogical knowledge (knowledge and beliefs related to the act of teaching) of two more successful and two less successful adult ESL instructors during planning teaching and post teaching reflection. The verbal reports of their teaching were compared to previous studies (Gatbonton, 2000, 2008; Mullock, 2006) that used stimulated recall to categorize adult ESL instructors' pedagogical thoughts during their instruction. The comparison showed that the previous categories were inadequate to cover the data. Additional codes were added in order to codify all the data after which patterns and themes emerged that overarched the …

The Effects Of Reflective Thinking On Middle School Students’ Academic Achievement And Perceptions Of Related Instructional Practices: A Mixed Methods Study, David Denton

Theses and Dissertations

The problem investigated in this study was whether instructional practices, which characterize reflective thinking, aided in the alignment of curriculum, instruction, and assessment at the classroom level. Participants included 259 seventh grade students, 126 female and 133 male, from 10 intact social studies classrooms. The investigator used an explanatory mixed methods design, which included a quantitative and qualitative phase.

The first phase involved testing the effects of an intervention, administered for 23 days, on students’ academic achievement according to a content-specific test. In addition, this phase involved a questionnaire used to assess student perceptions of the intervention. Results of the …

Pathways To Reflection: Exploring The Reflective Analytical Practices Of Novice Teachers, Emily Hayden

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This mixed methods study explores reflective practices of novice teachers teaching in a University Reading Clinic. Novices’ reflective practices are compared to those of experienced teachers in a pilot study. A theoretical model of novices’ reflective practices is developed and tested. Twenty-three novices wrote structured reflections after each teaching week. Theoretical coding identified six themes: Description, Confidence, Locus of Control, Adaptations, Discourse,Transfer. Graduated scoring and ANOVA explored trends, correlations, effects among themes. Confidence followed a significant linear trend. Adaptations, Discourse, Transfer followed significant quadratic trends. Significant correlations were found between Description-Discourse, Locus of Control-Discourse, Locus of Control-Adaptations, Discourse-Adaptation Slope. Significant …

Reflective Practice: The Teacher In The Mirror, Celes Raenee Rayford

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

With the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, administrators have faced extreme pressure to provide professional development to teachers to enhance their skill and knowledge base, make school improvements, and increase student achievement. Research indicated that critical reflection leads to lasting school change and professional growth of teachers. However, few studies examined reflection using the principles of adult learning and reflective practice theory. In this study, this perspective was explored using three distinct ways of reflecting in combination with various reflective practice models.

The purpose of this study was to describe the perceptions of elementary administrators …

Innovative Reflection Tools For Hrd Training, Development, And Education, Susan R. Madsen, Katherine Tunheims

Susan R. Madsen

The English word reflection is derived from reflectere, “to bend back” – as a mirror bends back the light, making apparent what is otherwise hidden or mysterious (Johnson, 2006). Reflection bends the light of our experiences back into our minds, to consider what the experience was about and what it meant. Reflection is also a critical element in transformational learning opportunities that should be part of effective training, development, and educational experiences (e.g., courses, workshops, programs). Since developing people is seeded in learning, HRD educators, scholars, and/or practitioners continuously work to understand the most effective methods and techniques to assist …

Increasing Teachers' Metacognition Develops Students' Higher Learning During Content Area Literacy Instruction: Findings From The Read-Write Cycle Project, Margaret Sauceda Curwen, Roxanne Greitz Miller, Kimberly A. White-Smith, Robert C. Calfee

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Success in the 21st century, for individuals and societies, requires competence in comprehending and communicating in the academic disciplines--the natural sciences, history, geography, and more. The Read-Write Cycle (RWC) Project, a three year longitudinal research study conducted from 2005-2008 in ten public elementary schools in southern California, explored the effectiveness of curriculum and instructional strategies that integrate literacy with disciplinary knowledge with the simultaneous goals of: (1) enhancing students' literacy outcomes; and (2) broadening and deepening knowledge of the content area. Funded by the U.S. Institute of Education Sciences, the RWC Project concentrated over years one and two on 1,024 …