Education Commons^™

The Relationship Between Teachers’ Beliefs And Observed Practices: The Voices Of Two Head Start Teachers, Stephani Michelle Phelps

Masters Theses

This study examined Head Start teachers’ interactions with children in relation to teachers’ beliefs about decision making and roles in various classroom activities. The purposes of this study were to (a) document preschool teachers’ verbal interactions with children and (b) explore the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and their classroom practices. Participants were from two Head Start classrooms in East Tennessee, which included two teachers and 40 children ranging in age from 3-5 years. Approximately two hours of focal child observations were completed for each child over the course of 7 months. Observations captured teachers’ interactions with focal children. Two semistructured …

The Algebraic Thinking Of Mathematics Teachers In China And The U.S., Qintong Hu

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine U. S. and Chinese secondary mathematics teachers’ knowledge and beliefs. To give insights into cross-national differences in student achievement, this study investigated teachers’ content knowledge about quadratic equations and functions, teachers’ knowledge of students’ errors about quadratic equations and functions as well as teachers’ beliefs about students’ mathematical learning abilities.

Twenty Chinese high school teachers and twenty U.S. high school teachers participated in the study and finished the specific designed survey. The teachers’ responses were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Analysis results revealed that more Chinese teachers than U.S. teachers correctly employed a …

Insights Into The Beliefs And Practices Of Preservice Elementary Mathematics Teacher Educators: A Naturalistic Inquiry, Linda Ann Arnold

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this naturalistic inquiry was to explore and analyze aspects of the reported beliefs and practices of a group of preservice elementary mathematics teacher educators. Until now, researchers have had little understanding of beliefs and practices of teachers in elementary mathematics methods classrooms, despite the fact that teacher educators’ beliefs and practices have profound effects on what happens in thousands of classrooms every day. The qualitative research in this study offered insights with the potential to inform higher educational practice in regard to the preparation of elementary mathematics teachers and mathematics teacher educators. Participants were six professors and …

The Impact Of Beliefs And Curricular Knowledge On Planning For Science: A Multisite Case Study Of Four Teachers, Jessica L. Horton

Doctoral Dissertations

This descriptive multisite case study details how the beliefs and curricular knowledge of four science teachers in a southeastern school district affected their planning for science instruction.

Through the analysis of interviews, think-aloud planning records for one unit of instruction, and related documentation, categories were identified and connections drawn to how their beliefs and knowledge influenced planning for instruction.

The four teachers in this study jointly expressed certain beliefs about how students best learn science. They expressed beliefs that students best learn science through hands-on activities, through discourse, and by building the student’s knowledge base. The teachers also expressed beliefs …