Education Commons^™

Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions Of Their Abilities For Technology Integration: A Mixed Methods Case Study, David James Mulder

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This case study was developed to understand pre-service teachers’ perceptions of their abilities to integrate technology into the classroom, and to understand their perceptions of how those abilities developed. The case that was investigated in this study is the teacher preparation program at a small comprehensive college located in the upper Great Plains region of the United States. Utilizing a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, both a survey as well as semi-structured interviews provided data to understand pre-service teachers’ perceptions of their preparation for technology integration. The TPACK framework for technology integration (Mishra & Koehler, 2006) and self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 1986, …

A Mixed-Methods Study: Self-Efficacy And Barriers To Participation In Workplace Wellness Programs, Massiel Perez-Calhoon

Dissertations

America needs a healthy workforce to sustain the country. The scourge of obesity continues to plague Americans despite government initiatives such as the Affordable Care Act and wellness programs in the workplace to combat this epidemic. However, despite initiatives to make America healthy, barriers continued to impede the nation’s health. Lack of awareness and sensitivity to what motivates individual participants versus group participants built formidable barriers to accessing all workplace employees equitably. The purpose of this study was twofold. First, the intent of this study was to explore the relationship between self-efficacy and the impact on participation and engagement when …

An Exploratory Case Study Of Hospitality Students’ Perceptions Of Experiential Learning, Joe Askren

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore how students described the curriculum in the Introduction to Food Production class and how they perceived the curriculum prepared them for their future in the hospitality industry. The exploratory questions that guided the study were how do students describe the experiential learning curriculum in the Introduction to Food Production course, what ways do students perceive the curriculum in the Introduction to Food Production course prepares them for their future in hospitality industry, and what changes in the curriculum do students think might improve the Introduction to Food Production course and why? The …

Impact Of Mindset On Literacy: What Happens To Literacy Skills When A Growth Mindset Is Taught To First Graders, Katherine Saia

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine the type of mindsets held by first graders and to determine what happens when they are exposed to ways to have a growth mindset. The goal is to see what happens when children use a growth mindset when asked to engage in challenging literacy activities. First graders were first evaluated using a mindset survey and reading levels were determined. Logic puzzles were given and timed to determine if work effort matched that of the mindset survey. Students showed a change in mindset and growth in reading abilities. Implications for future research are …

Passion For Teaching: Self-Efficacy Of Elementary Special Education Teachers Who Have Persisted In The Special Education Teaching Field For At Least 5 Years., Lisa Diane Stewart

Education Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenology study was to gather perceptions of elementary general curriculum special education teachers who have persisted in the special education teaching profession past the 5-year mark. Based on Bandura’s (1977) Social Cognitive Concept of Self-Efficacy Theory, this study sought to understand self-efficacy in elementary general curriculum special education teachers who have remained in special education for at least 5 years. Lived experiences of nine elementary general curriculum special education teachers were gathered through three in-depth interviews. Follow-up interviews provided rich, thick description and member checking was utilized to triangulate the data.

Improving The Computational Thinking Pedagogical Capabilities Of School Teachers, Matt Bower, Leigh N. Wood, Jennifer W.M. Lai, Cathie Howe, Raymond Lister, Raina Mason, Kate Highfield, Jennifer Veal

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The idea of computational thinking as skills and universal competence which every child should possess emerged last decade and has been gaining traction ever since. This raises a number of questions, including how to integrate computational thinking into the curriculum, whether teachers have computational thinking pedagogical capabilities to teach children, and the important professional development and training areas for teachers. The aim of this paper is to address the strategic issues by illustrating a series of computational thinking workshops for Foundation to Year 8 teachers held at an Australian university. Data indicated that teachers' computational thinking understanding, pedagogical capabilities, technological …

Elementary Teachers' Perceptions Of Self-Efficacy When Using A Scripted Reading, Misty Leigh Mukherjee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers report that implementation of scripted reading programs has been inconsistent. Although administrators need to understand teachers' experiences with scripted reading instruction to make decisions about best practices for implementation of those programs, little research on those experiences exists. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand and describe teachers' lived experiences and self-efficacy when using a scripted reading program. Bruner's constructivist theory, the concept of pedagogical content knowledge, and self-efficacy theory were used to frame the study. Eight elementary teachers in Grades K-3 from the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States each completed 4 individual interviews. Template-based iterative …

Self-Efficacy: Understanding African American Male Students Pathways To Confidence In Mathematics, Lisa Ann Williams

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation is about the stories of African American male undergraduate students who have experienced success in mathematics. Bandura’s (1997) social cognitive theory and Tillman’s (2000) culturally sensitive research approach which promotes qualitative methods, recognizes ethnicity, and positions culture as central to the research were applied. Student interviews, parent interviews, teacher interviews, and mathematical autobiographies were used to investigate African American men self-efficacy, the sources of their beliefs, and societal factors that impacted their motivation and academic achievement in mathematics.

The descriptive portraits and the interviews revealed five broad themes: (1) college experiences, (2) K-12 experiences, (3) access and equity, …

A Quasi-Experimental Research Study Examining The Impact Of Reflection On Self-Efficacy In Graduate Design Students, Christina Marie Chateauvert

Wayne State University Dissertations

While the concept of reflection is not new to education, researchers suggest that students be given more space to engage in meaning-making activities (Sambrook & Willmott, 2014). In recent years, there has been an increased emphasis placed in education on self-reflection. In part, because of Donald Schön’s (1983, 1987) work on reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action. Schön’s view of reflection-in¬-action puts students in the “midst of action,” reshaping the problem or experience, and making fresh decisions to guide next steps. Reflection-on-action allows students to think back on what has occurred and how that experience will shape future decisions. Taking a similar approach …

Improving Literacy For Diverse Low Socio-Economic Status Middle School Students, Vivian Fowler Means

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In an urban district, Surfside School personnel were concerned that student literacy proficiency levels were low during 2011-2014 and teachers had not been able to close the achievement gap despite a focus on literacy practices and literacy professional development (PD) provided by the district. The purpose of this case study was to explore the perceptions of teachers and administrators in relation to the best instructional practices for increasing self-efficacy when teaching literacy skills and related literacy PD for teachers. Knowles' andragogy theory and Vygotsky's social learning theory formed the theoretical foundation of this study, which hold that PD should provide …

Special Education Teachers' Voices On Co-Planning In A Suburban School District, Corinne Jeffers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Limited co-planning between special education and general education co-teaching partners has been documented in professional literature as a significant problem. Special education teachers do not adequately co-plan for the implementation of accommodations for students with disabilities educated in the general education classroom. The purpose of this study was to collect and analyze the perceptions of special education teachers in one suburban elementary school district in the United States regarding co-planning with regular education teachers. The theory of self-efficacy was utilized as the conceptual framework to understand how teachers' beliefs and experiences influenced planning and goal setting for special education students. …

Exploring The Impact Of Postgraduate Preservice Primary Science Education On Students’ Self-Efficacy, Christina Maria Norris

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The effectiveness of science teaching in primary school is dependent upon teachers’ self-efficacy to teach science. Low self-efficacy has been linked to avoidance of teaching primary science; therefore, preservice teacher self-efficacy requires fostering to have graduates keen to teach primary science. Through an embedded mixed method intrinsic-case study, this research explored the impact of postgraduate preservice primary science education on students’ self-efficacy. This research examined the postgraduate students’ self-efficacy as the lens to determine the effectiveness of the design and pedagogical instruction of the unit and its tutors. Data sources included the use of pre/post surveys encompassing the Science Teaching …