Education Commons^™

Center For Academic Excellence: Annual Report 2008-2009, Patrice Hudson, Leslie G. Mcbride, Kevin Kecskes, Amy Spring, Janelle De Carrico Voegele, Michael Chamberlain, Vincent Schreck

Community Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Since its inception in 1994, the Center for Academic Excellence (CAE) has provided a comprehensive array of cross-disciplinary and discipline-specific development activities in support of the educational function of the university. The Center has a dual mission of faculty development in teaching, learning, and assessment and in the development of community-university partnerships. Th e Center is a place of innovation, a gathering place for idea generation and testing, and a place where faculty may turn for individual consultation and professional advice. Increasingly, CAE supports faculty interested in community-engaged research.

We are proud to present the 2008-2009 Annual Report of the …

Learning, Identity And Agency : Secondary Mathematics Professional Developers' Lived Experiences Of Participation And Collaborative Inquiry In Professional Learning Communities, Susan Stein

Dissertations and Theses

This study of professional development for professional developers used a narrative inquiry design to understand the lived experience of two professional developers as they participated in professional learning communities (inquiry groups), and learned to improve their practice as inquiry group facilitators. The study's purposes included: investigating professional developers' experience and practice in inquiry groups; amplifying professional developers' voices in the professional development field; and suggesting recommendations for educational leadership.

A literature review developed a framework grounded in social, situated learning theory. It revealed that professional development needed to provide teachers with opportunities to collaborate in inquiry groups to solve problems …

Being An "Other": The Significance Of Teachers' Lived Experiences In Working With Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Students, Yumiko Otsuki

Dissertations and Theses

The study's goal was to understand what contributes to the formation of teachers' perspectives regarding the education of culturally and linguistically diverse students. Its focus was to portray through teachers' stories the experiences in their lives that may have contributed to constructing who they are as people and as educators.

Four teachers from one rural district participated. Using qualitative methods, the study explores and describes incidents in teachers' lives, looking at the way their life experiences are reflected in their relationships with students. In considering ways in which those experiences may have helped shape teaching philosophies and practices, the study …

Student Atlas Of Oregon: A Classroom Atlas For Elementary And Middle Schools, Teresa L. Bulman, Gwenda H. Rice, Center For Spatial Analysis And Research. Portland State University, David Banis

Instructional Materials

Includes maps about Oregon's landscape, climate, culture, economics, historical geography, water resources, wildlife, vegetation, agriculture, population, transportation, and natural resources.

The Student Atlas of Oregon was created specifically for upper elementary and middle school students, so it is easy for kids to understand.

Literacy Leadership In Secondary Schools: A Case Study Of Teaching And Learning In Two School Districts, Gregory Berry

Dissertations and Theses

Improvement in literacy learning in secondary schools requires a dual focus: a district and school organizational leadership approach, and a classroom- and instruction-focused approach. To help close the achievement gap and improve learning for all students, whole school reform efforts must be focused on literacy. Elements of whole school reform may include professional development programs such as professional learning communities, peer coaching, and literacy coaching. The sociocultural contexts that these approaches incorporate can help improve the learning of both teachers and students and can bring about significant secondary school reform and academic improvement.

This dissertation study is a qualitative, collective, …

Using The Lesson Study Approach To Plan For Student Learning, Susan J. Lenski, Micki M. Caskey, Vincent A. Anfara Jr.

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Lesson Study approach is a method of professional development that encourages teachers to reflect on their teaching practice through a cyclical process of collaborative lesson planning, lesson observation, and examination of student learning. This results-oriented professional development model is an ideal vehicle for improving instructional practice in middle schools. Characteristically, middle schools are (a) learning communities where teachers and students engage in active learning, (b) places with high expectations for every member of the community, and (c) organizational structures that support meaningful relationships (National Middle School Association, 2003). Middle school teachers have to know their students well—who they are …

Traditional Age Students: Worldviews And Satisfaction With Advising; A Homogeneous Study Of Student And Advisors, Jose E. Coll, Peter Draves

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study sought to determine what student characteristic best predicts advising satisfaction. Outcomes of this study suggest that faculty behaviors such as discussing personal values, majors/ academic concentrations, and financial aid account for significant variance in the prediction of student advising satisfaction. This would suggest those faculties who provide developmental advising are more likely to receive positive advising outcomes. (Contains 2 tables.)

Paraprofessionals Who Work With Elementary Grade Students With Significant Disabilities In Inclusive Settings, Regina Moreno

Dissertations and Theses

The use of paraprofessional services is an established and crucial aspect in the pursuit of a free and appropriate public education for students with disabilities. Paraprofessionals are often the primary providers of instruction for students with severe disabilities yet are the least trained instructional personnel in schools. Identified competencies and necessary training content for paraprofessionals who serve students with severe disabilities are nearly absent in the professional literature.

This study extended the current literature regarding paraprofessionals who serve students with disabilities in public schools by focusing specifically on those paraprofessionals who serve students with severe disabilities in inclusive general education …