Education Commons^™

Learning From The Teaching Practices Of Successful Teachers Of Latina And Latino Students, Glori H. Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The achievement gap between White students and students of color has long been a concern of educators. It is well established that critical pedagogy and culturally relevant teaching practices increase the possibility of academic achievement for ethnic minority students; yet, throughout the U.S., the implementation of such practices has been less than optimal. It is also clear that some teachers are doing an excellent job of teaching students of color. However, it is not clear what those teachers are doing and what their practices look like, particularly in secondary classrooms and for Latina/o students—the fastest growing ethnic ...

Adoption, Adaptation, And Abandonment: Appropriation Of Science Education Professional Development Learning, Max L. Longhurst

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Understanding factors that impact teacher utilization of learning from professional development is critical in order maximize the educational and financial investment in teacher professional learning. This study used a multicase mixed quantitative and qualitative methodology to investigate the factors that influence teacher adoption, adaption, or abandonment of learning from science teacher professional development. The theoretical framework of activity theory was identified as a useful way to investigate the phenomenon of teacher appropriation of pedagogical practices from professional development. This framework has the capacity to account for a multitude of elements in the context of a learning experience. In this study ...

How Arizona Community College Teachers Go About Learning To Teach, Carolyn J. Hamblin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This mixed-method study used a survey and semistructured interviews to learn how new Arizona community college teachers learned to teach, how available certain learning experiences and effective professional development activities were, how valuable teachers perceived those learning experiences and activities to be, and if there were any factors that underlie how new community college teachers learned to teach. The survey questioned whether 26 learning experiences were available to new community college teachers, and whether they had participated in professional development activities conducted using critical reflection, peer group conferencing, professional development cases, and active learning. All of these activities were available ...

Sources Of Authority For Leadership And Instructional Technology Coaches' Diffusion Of High Access Teaching And Learning, Gregory M. Proffit

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study used a theoretical framework to explore the leadership of three schoolbased instructional technology coaches (ITCs). The researcher employed typical qualitative fieldwork methods by compiling observation notes, interview transcripts, and archival documents for data analysis. This research and dissertation were also placed in context with the tenets of diffusion research.

The collected evidence was analyzed with a theory that proposes five sources of authority for leadership: bureaucratic, psychological, technical rational, professional, and moral. The study presents four major findings: First, ITCs do not use bureaucratic or moral sources of authority for leadership. Second, the coaches are aware of and ...