Education Commons^™

Figuring It Out: The Self-Efficacy And Self-Empowerment Of Secondary Ela (English Language Arts) Teachers Of Writing, Alma M. Vera

Dissertations

Knowing how to write well has been linked to college and career success and learning to write well is reliant on the effectiveness of highly prepared teachers of writing. However, secondary ELA (English Language Arts) teachers of writing report that they were not prepared to teach writing in their pre-service teacher preparation programs or in-service professional development. Based on personal experience, such educators engage in their own professional learning in the teaching of writing to meet their students’ needs (grades 9-12). This explanatory sequential mixed methods study sought to identify the professional learning choices made by in-service secondary ELA teachers …

Not Just Another Professional Development Session: Implementing Effective Social Justice Aligned Professional Learning For Educators, Jessica Bitting

Dissertations

In schools today, teachers are part of a learning environment in which they are the teachers of their students, as well as students themselves. There are a plethora of traditional models for professional learning, however, professional learning is often disconnected from the realities of the classroom or lacks the elements necessary to lead to practical application. Being able to implement effective social justice aligned professional development is particularly critical in our current climate in which students of color are marginalized and are not receiving the same educational opportunity as their white peers. Through the use of autoethnography, the author shares …

Examining District Administrators’ Professional Development Decision-Making Processes Concerning New Special Education Teachers, Sarah J. Bacalia

Dissertations

New special education teachers face an abundance of challenges from day one that directly correlate to student outcomes (i.e. classroom management, instruction, curriculum, school culture and operations, test preparation and administration, state standards, parent relations, and interactions with other teachers). District administrators, (i.e. superintendents, assistant superintendents, curriculum and instruction directors, directors of student services, special education directors, and special education supervisors) play an important role in determining how to best use their districts' professional development time and resources to support new special education teachers as they work to continually improve student outcomes. Therefore, professional development should be a purposeful endeavor. …

Teacher Evaluation Practices And Policy Implications: Effective Strategies For Changing Instruction, Scott Grens

Dissertations

This study is a program evaluation of the effectiveness of teacher evaluation practices in a small suburban elementary school district in Illinois from 2017-2019. The primary research question explored in this program evaluation is whether and to what extent the teacher evaluation process is changing teacher practices in Washington School District 25. Employing a qualitative research methodology, with data gathered from teacher interviews, school administrator interviews, and document analysis, this study identified several key components to the improvement of instructional practices for teachers. Policy implications and recommendations highlight the importance of the following: a common instructional framework, staff involvement in …

Alignment Of School Improvement Plans With District Professional Learning Plan: A Policy Advocacy Document, Scott Carlson

Dissertations

This paper advocates for a local policy connecting a standards-based district professional learning plan to individual school improvement plans for the purpose of improving targeted instructional behaviors and student learning outcomes. Currently, my district’s school improvement plans follow a general template focused on student subgroup deficits and standardized test scores with little emphasis on professional learning aligned to educator and student outcomes. A local policy that aligns school improvement plans with a district professional learning plan would be consistent with recommendations from the Illinois P-20 Council (2017) and help the local school board understand how a district professional learning plan …

A Change Plan For District Professional Learning And Teacher Collaboration In The Area Of Elementary English Language Arts Instruction, Scott Carlson

Dissertations

This change plan used Wagner et al.’s (2006) framework to assess the arenas of culture, context, conditions, and competencies of a small suburban school district to create a plan for professional learning and teacher collaboration in the area of English Language Arts instruction. However, a backmapping approach could be used to plan professional learning in any subject area. Building on the judgments and recommendations from my program evaluation, I hope to move the school district toward a more comprehensive model of transformational learning. A secondary goal of this change plan is to build the capacity of the district’s staff development …

A Program Evaluation Of District Professional Learning Practices Using The Standards Assessment Inventory, Scott Carlson

Dissertations

This paper details an evaluation of a school district's professional learning program for the purpose of understanding major patterns and important nuances that give shape to staff development. The perceptions of teaching staff were compared to Learning Forward’s Standards for Professional Learning (2011) using the Standards Assessment Inventory-2. The research design followed a single-case study approach with a combination of survey and focus group methodologies. The goal was to determine to what extent the teaching staff perceive the impact of district professional development on their professional learning community. Teachers were also asked how we might strengthen our current learning designs. …

A Plan To Improve Implementation For Professional Learning For Teachers That Is Sustainable And Effective, Kenyatta Starks

Dissertations

Every school seeks to heighten student achievement. Committed and skilled teachers are instrumental in reaching this goal. Focused professional learning opportunities help support the ongoing growth of all staff. Unfortunately, a number of factors, including finances, teacher turnover, and an absence of trust, work against efforts to implement sound professional learning strategies with fidelity at Lady Academy.

This change plan sought to develop a sustainable plan to address that issue. Surveys with fourth-grade teachers revealed several key steps that must be taken. First, professional learning should be individualized for teachers but developed collaboratively. In addition, Lady Academy should work to …

Ongoing Professional Learning Opportunities, Christie L. Mcmullen

Dissertations

As an answer to a lack of policy around follow up training between CRS Center Staff and school systems across the country, a policy needs to be created around providing follow up training opportunities nationally. This policy provides a repeatable, consistent model for CRS Center staff members to use with each school implementing CRS across the nation. This paper outlines the policy for allowing teachers to see other teachers implementing CRS strategies in their schools, therefore increasing the use of these strategies in classrooms nationally. This process will be applicable for school districts that works with CRS nationally. This policy …

Wicor Walkthroughs And Teacher Practice, Christie L. Mcmullen

Dissertations

Watching experts execute their craft allows for learning. In four schools, this type of learning, teachers watching one another teach, was made available and the feedback from those interviewed showed positive results. This paper explains the process each school used for allowing teachers to watch others teach and the results that they got in the process. This program evaluation was designed to provide guidance to principals on some specific ways to ensure that they can avoid pitfalls if they were to employ a similar strategy with their staff. Teachers using high yield strategies with confidence in their classrooms has the …

One Instructional Leadership Team’S Journey Through A Professional Learning Cycle, Elizabeth A. England

Dissertations

Schools often set a large number of goals, making it difficult to plan, support, monitor, and match strategic levers in a systematic way. This study narrates the actions and findings of one instructional leadership team as they implement an eight week cycle of professional learning around a single focus. Scripted observations of teachers and students, achievement data, student work samples, as well as exit slips with action items recount the team members’ perspectives and experiences. The team chronicled its journey, which proved to be one of inquiry, trial and error, reflection and retooling. The study closes with highlighting the changes …

A Delphi Study: Teachers’ Perceptions Of Benefits, Prerequisites, Facilitators, And Barriers Of Peer Observation For Professional Learning In Secondary Public Schools, Melissa R. Bazanos

Dissertations

A Delphi Study: Teachers’ Perceptions of Benefits, Prerequisites, Facilitators, and Barriers of Peer Observation for Professional Learning in Secondary Public Schools

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore secondary-school teachers’ perceptions about the instructional and cultural benefits of engaging in peer observations for professional learning in secondary schools. This study also sought to clarify the prerequisites, facilitators, and barriers to implementing peer observations as perceived by secondary-school teachers.

Methodology: The Delphi method was utilized in order to gather perceptual data from an expert panel of secondary-school teachers that have engaged in peer observations at various schools in Riverside …

The Influence Of Teacher Leadership And Professional Learning On Teachers’ Knowledge And Change Of Instructional Practices In Low Performing Schools, Christen Conklin Topolinski

Dissertations

A cross-sectional survey was utilized in this study to explore the perceptions of teacher in low performing schools. These perceptions concerned the influence of teacher leadership and professional learning on their changes in knowledge and instructional practices. Research advises that in order to help students grow, teachers must engage in professional learning activities which help them to develop and master new instructional strategies (Bredeson & Scribner, 2000; DuFour & Marzano, 2012; Harrison & Killion, 2007). Research also suggests that distributed leadership can have a positive influence on the professional culture in a building, creating a positive learning environment for both …

Teachers' Perceptions Toward Required And Self-Directed Professional Learning, Marla Kay Lambert Hutton

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a difference in the opinions of elementary, middle, and high school teachers concerning teacher required or self-directed professional learning. Additionally, the study investigated differences in teaching experience, professional development in a series compared to in a single meeting, workshop, or conference, rather than ongoing professional learning, and whether the teachers’ perception for professional learning is similar to their administrators’ perception for teachers’ learning.

Research findings indicated there was a relationship between teachers’ preference for professional learning and their years of teaching experience and their level of teaching (elementary, middle, …