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Teacher-Created Student Growth Assessments Used For Teacher Evaluation And The Effects On Teacher Efficacy, Perry A. Finch
Teacher-Created Student Growth Assessments Used For Teacher Evaluation And The Effects On Teacher Efficacy, Perry A. Finch
Dissertations
The landscape surrounding teacher evaluation is changing as teacher accountability becomes more prevalent in this process. This study looks at how teacher-created student growth assessments (SGAs) for teacher evaluation affects teacher efficacy with respect to instructional practice. Survey data were collected from 110 kindergarten through eighth-grade teachers; additional data were gathered from three interviews. A majority of these teachers reported the work in creating SGAs benefitted their instructional practice. Teachers reported increased knowledge in learning standards, curriculum development, and assessment literacy as a result of creating their own SGAs. Qualitative findings suggest that when teachers are provided an opportunity to …
What Happens In The Classroom?: How School Culture Influences And Impacts Professional Development And Teacher Practice, Dawn Kasal Finley
What Happens In The Classroom?: How School Culture Influences And Impacts Professional Development And Teacher Practice, Dawn Kasal Finley
Dissertations
Schools spend a great deal of time, resources, and money seeking ways to both understand and increase student achievement on state standardized test that scores have become the customary measure of a school’s quality and success. Due to this narrow focus on standards and testing becoming more and more central in education, schools and teachers often do not implement the pedagogical strategies that work to increase student learning and thinking (Burke, 2010; Langer, 2001; Christenbury & Kelly, 1983; Nystrand, 1997; Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). In addition to a lack of focus on pedagogical practices, schools often ignore the impact culture …
Introducing Classroom Labeling As An Innovative Method To Inform Educational Practice, Roberta Lynn Crawford
Introducing Classroom Labeling As An Innovative Method To Inform Educational Practice, Roberta Lynn Crawford
Dissertations
In-service seminars and one-shot workshops are the primary methods used for the on-going professional development of instructors, but these methods have been shown to be ineffective and an inadequate way to provide teacher training (Winton & McCollum, 2008). Classroom labeling is proposed as a way of providing knowledge utilization and an alternative to in-service education for preschool teachers by intentionally applying layers of information directly to the learning environment through visual displays, usually in the form of posters. Instructional exhibits typically have only been used to enhance the learning experience of the children. Through the use of classroom labeling, adult …
Virtual Communities Of Practice For Non-Native K-12 Spanish Educators As Professional Development, Javier Gerardo Gómez
Virtual Communities Of Practice For Non-Native K-12 Spanish Educators As Professional Development, Javier Gerardo Gómez
Dissertations
Many world language and culture educators are non-native speakers of the language they teach. Although the current face-to-face professional development sessions do a good job in helping educators acquire technology tools to implement in their world language classrooms, professional development lacks in target language enrichment and providing ongoing collaboration among world language educators who are geographically dispersed. Additionally, the cost of attending state-wide, regional, and national world language professional development is very expensive and thus many world language educators cannot take part in these trainings. Consequently, many world language educators do not have the professional training they need to improve …
Principals’ Perspectives On The Professional Development Process And Its Outcomes, Sara Kathleen Moore
Principals’ Perspectives On The Professional Development Process And Its Outcomes, Sara Kathleen Moore
Dissertations
This study examined principals’ perspectives on the professional development process and its outcomes. Principals are in the best position to ensure a connection between research-based best practices and what actually happens in the classroom, but there is little research on how principals actually select professional development for their staff in the field. This study was conducted in a Midwestern state using data gathered from public elementary school principals in the form of a survey. The sample included all K-5 and K-8 elementary principals on record with the state department of education, with 242 principals responding. It examined how much control …