Education Commons^™

Professional Development For Teaching In The Digital Age: Addressing Teachers’ Digital Competency, Blanca Nery Ibarra

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify teachers’ digital skills proficiency gaps in order to determine preparedness for teaching in the digital age. Using a survey research design helped identify teachers’ digital skills self-confidence, attitudes towards the use of technology in the classroom, and current uses of technology for instructional purposes. The participants in this research study consisted of 320 middle school teachers from a border school district in south Texas. The data was collected using a survey instrument consisting of the TPSA C-21 and researcher-developed items. The data was analyzed using the Spearman-rank order correlation to describe the …

Qualities Of Transformational Learning In The High School Orchestra Classroom: A Heuristic Study, Linda F. Versprille

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

High school orchestra students demonstrate a high degree of comfort in the orchestra classroom by spending out-of-class time in the room. Climate inventories do not address the constituents’ particular to the experience of the orchestra student. This heuristic phenomenological study explored the identification and description of qualities of transformational learning in the high school orchestra classroom that contributes to a positive classroom learning environment. Six seasoned high school orchestra directors with a minimum of ten years of experience participated in semistructured interviews to recall events during their high school years or as a teacher. Each was able to provide anecdotal …

Civic Engagement And Service Learning For Medical Students: A Phenomenological Study Of Transformation, Roy Rodriguez

Theses & Dissertations

Service learning is an effective academic technique that emphasizes integration of course instruction with outside community service and allows for a more enriched learning experience by promoting critical reflection. With medical students encountering a growing diversity in patients, service learning is essential in linking academic learning with their community experiences. This study was conducted at a local medical school using service learning programs in underserved communities. The purpose of this study is to understand the experience medical students had in a service learning program involved in some underserved communities. This study implemented a phenomenological research design in which semi-structured interviews …

Exploring Racial Literacy In Middle Level Teacher Preparation: A Case Study, Deborah H. Mcmurtrie

Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, approximately 82% of teachers are white and middle-class, yet their students are strikingly diverse and becoming more so. The mismatch between teachers’ and students’ racial backgrounds is important because teachers who have limited experience with students of color may misinterpret their students’ unfamiliar behaviors and make stereotyped assumptions from a deficit perspective. It is well documented that U.S. schools systematically marginalize and fail many children of color. Disparities in funding, access, and achievement in education are intimately tied to race. Everyday practices in schools perpetuate inequities, but the actual processes can be hard to see. If …

Transformational Learning In A First Year Western Australian Bachelor Of Education Primary Course, Clare Christine Freeman

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In this study the experiences of commencing first year Bachelor of Education (Primary) students were investigated. A mixed methods approach was used consisting of an online survey and 12 questions that were asked in interviews with students who agreed to be interviewed. The online survey data was developed using QualtrixTM software and the results of the survey responses were analysed using the available features in QualtrixTM. The survey responses indicated that students were motivated to become teachers however they found the academic study work load difficult. To accommodate the study load required students to find several hours in an already …

An Exploration Of A Blended Learning Cohort Through Social Network Analysis, Kelley Charlene Bliden

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies: Doctoral Research Projects

The following technical report is a social network analysis of online threaded discussions from three blending learning cohorts. The purpose of this social network analysis was to explore graduate level blended learning cohorts by investigating how the relationships and interactions among individuals shape and affect the overall cohort,to explore the evolution of each cohort overtime,and to investigate facilitator interactions within the blended learning program and how their contributions shaped and affected the network.

The threaded discussions were coded and analyzed based on literature about social network analysis, constructive-developmental theory, holding environments, and transformational learning theory. Eight selected weeks of discussions …

The Nature Of International Cross-Cultural Experiences As Articulated By U. S. Secondary Teachers, Kirsten A. Barnes

Doctor of Education (EdD)

The purpose of this microethnographic qualitative study was to explore the nature of international cross-cultural travel experiences as articulated by U.S. secondary teachers, through in-depth personal interviews and personal self-reflections. The purposive sample included eight licensed secondary teachers from a rural high school in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, who had traveled internationally with each having more than 16 years of teaching experience. Through the two interviews and reflective journal entries of each participant, I explored the nature of international cross-cultural travel experiences: (1) how did participants describe their international cross-cultural travel experiences (2) what did international cross-cultural travel experiences …

Moving Forward On Common Ground: A Mixed Methods Exploration Of National Standards, Sharon Kay Cogan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

There is extant literature regarding teacher professional development; however, there is limited research in the area of "high-quality" teacher professional development practices which are advocated for at the government and district levels based on Learning Forward's (formerly National Staff Development Council - NSDC) guidelines for school reform.

The intent of this proposed research study is to examine the professional development practices of three elementary schools in a large urban area in the southwest region of the United States, and how well the professional development practices align with Learning Forward's national standards for constructing effective professional development. Administrators and teachers anonymously …

Transforming Perspectives Through Service-Learning Participation: A Case Study Of The College Counts Program, James O. Peacock

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A case study has been conducted on the College Counts program, a well-integrated service-learning program, to examine the experiential learning of 10 former participants. It was the objective of this investigation to view the learning of 10 college students, through the lens of transformational learning, as they reflect on their experiences as participants in the College Counts program. Transformational learning theory was used as a lens to determine if high school students have the ability to engage in transformative learning. Students reported in their own voices transformative learning in one or more of the following forms: increased cultural inclusiveness, commitment …