Education Commons^™

An Activity Promoting The Practice Of Quantitative Literacy For Pre– And In–Service Teachers Of Mathematics And Science, Timothy L. Sorey, Teri Willard, Duane Sholz

Numeracy

The purpose of this article is to describe a hands-on, laboratory activity that provided pre-service teachers in mathematics and science methods courses, and also some in-service mathematics teachers, with the opportunity to exercise quantitative literacy (QL) skills. The focus of the activity is electrical resistance, more particularly the resistance (in ohms) that is painted on small resistors by the use of color-coded bands, one of which is a band for % error. The activity consists of four parts. In the first, student teams familiarize themselves with the code, measure the ohmage of resistors for which the codes are visible, and …

Meeting The Demand For Accountability: Case Study Of A Teacher Education Program In China, Tak Cheung Chan

Faculty and Research Publications

To meet the demand for accountability, a teacher education program in a university located in South China has established processes at the college, the program, and the faculty levels to assure its program quality. Highlights of the processes are: involvement of stakeholders and the examination of program effectiveness. Although much has been done to help program candidates succeed, more effort is needed in the areas of program assessment and continuous improvement to assure program quality. An accountability implementation plan, a beginning teacher mentoring program, and a comparative study of beginning teacher performance were recommended to further enforce its strategies toward …

Creating Highly Qualified Teachers, Dawn L. Mollenkopf

The Rural Educator

The “highly qualified teacher” requirement of No Child Left Behind has put pressure on rural school districts to recruit and retain highly qualified regular and special education teachers. If necessary, they may utilize uncertified, rural teachers with provisional certification; however, these teachers may find completing the necessary certification difficult due to time, distance, and geographic barriers. The University of Nebraska at Kearney has been able to address this need by: (1) creating access to the university’s certification program, (2) providing professional supports, (3) tailoring assignments, projects, and field based practicum experiences and (4) building capacity for rural teachers who have …

Exploring The First Year Of Teaching Through Focus Group Discussions, Ethno-Mimesis, A/R/Tography, And Performance Ethnography, Marilyn F. Cullen-Reavill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The United States is focusing on the important and worthy goal of no child being left behind and in order to accomplish this goal, we must ensure that no teacher, including the first-year teacher, is left behind. This study explores the experiences of three first-year teachers on a monthly basis and uncovers the successes, challenges, supports, and needs that they encounter.

Five research questions guided this study: 1. What are the experiences of a group of first-year teachers and in what ways were these experiences challenging, supportive, or detrimental? 2. What are the benefits for the first-year teachers in meeting …

Curry In Cambridge: The First Year, Eleanor Vernon Wilson

NERA Conference Proceedings 2009

Exposing future teachers to challenges associated with global diversity (cultural, ethnic, religious and economic) is of major importance in the 21st century. This is a study of the first year of an international student teaching placement for American students. The paper presents the reflections and learnings of the program director of this first year program and highlights some of the challenges of such a program. The paper emphasizes the need to reflect on desired outcomes and carefully study the benefits for all involved, the English schools and teachers and faculty, along with the American students. The director reflects that she …

What Is Mathematics? An Exploration Of Teachers' Philosophies Of Mathematics During A Time Of Curriculum Reform, Kimberly White-Fredette

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Dissertations

Current reform in mathematics teaching and learning is rooted in a changing vision of school mathematics, one that includes constructivist learning, student-centered pedagogy, and the use of worthwhile tasks (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 1989, 1991, 2000). This changing vision not only challenges teachers’ beliefs about mathematics instruction but their philosophies of mathematics as well (Dossey, 1992). This study investigates the processes that four teachers’ go through as they implement a new task-based mathematics curriculum while exploring their personal philosophies of mathematics. The participants were part of a graduate-level course that examined, through the writings of Davis and Hersh …

The Impact Of Collaborative Teacher Teaming On Teacher Learning, Esther B. Dickinson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Schools have organized professional learning communities to support teacher learning and hopefully student achievement. An investigation of these learning communities may provide a description of professional teacher learning and suggest implications and implementation processes. The following question guided this inquiry: In collaborative groups, what learning is recognized by teachers and what do teachers think facilitates that learning? The qualitative study investigated how teachers that participate in collaborative teams describe the learning process. The teachers responded to interview questions following observations of team meetings. The findings reveal what teachers perceive about their learning. The findings suggest the qualities of the learning …

Role Of Positive Experiences In Teachers' Reflective Engagement: A Case Study Of Three Individual Teachers, Zeenat Ismail, Rabail Qayyum

Business Review

This study examines determinants for small business success in Bangladesh. These include: characteristic of SMEs, their management and know-how, products and services, style of doing business, financial and other resources and external environment. Such study has not been conducted before in the context of Bangladesh. Findings of the study are useful for entrepreneurs and policy makers. Study is based on survey methodology through a questionnaire administered on the employees of small firms. Data is analyzed using SPSS. Six hypotheses are proposed and tested. Most significant factors affecting business success of SMEs in Bangladesh were found to be products and services, …

Review Of Calculation Vs. Context: Quantitative Literacy And Its Implications For Teacher Education By Bernard L. Madison And Lynn Arthur Steen (Editors), Maura B. Mast

Numeracy

Madison, Bernard L. and Steen, Lynn Arthur (Eds.). Calculation vs. Context: Quantitative Literacy and Its Implications for Teacher Education. (Washington, DC: Mathematical Association of America, 2009). 197 pp. Softcover. ISBN 978-0-88385-908-7. Available free on the MAA website at http://www.maa.org/ql/calcvscontext.html

The papers in Calculation vs. Context discuss the role of quantitative literacy in the K-12 curriculum and in teacher education. The papers present a varied set of perspectives and address three themes: the changing environment of education in American society; the challenges, and the necessity, of preparing teachers to teach quantitative literacy and of including quantitative literacy in the K-12 education; …

A Values, Skills And Knowledge Framework For Initial Teacher Preparation Programmes, Sylvia Chong, Horn Mun Cheah

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The purpose of this paper is to introduce an integrated values, skills and knowledge (VSK) framework for initial teacher preparation programmes. The VSK framework articulated, in broad terms, the desired skills and knowledge components for beginning teachers, with the underlying core values permeating the programmes. The paper has two parts, the first of which details the development as well as the conceptual underpinning of the VSK framework. Part two, through a programme evaluation, discusses the validity and reliability of items developed through the VSK framework to measure the values, skills and knowledge that student teachers perceived through their initial teacher …

A Study Of Pre-Service Teachers: Is It Really Mathematics Anxiety?, Marsha Marie Guillory Bryant

Open Access Dissertations

This research study was motivated by a hypothesis, generated on the basis of formal and informal observations, personal and professional experiences, discussions with prospective teachers and a pilot study conducted by this author; that pre-service teachers have a high level of mathematics anxiety and negative attitudes about mathematics. The primary purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between mathematics anxiety and pre-service teachers. The secondary purposes of this study were to examine the relationship between anxiety and performance and to examine the relationship between math anxiety, test anxiety, and stereotype threat. A quantitative experimental research design was used …

Reflection: How Our Preservice Teachers Perceive Their Own Teaching Abilities, David W. Snyder

David W. Snyder

No abstract provided.

The Review Of Teacher Education For Languages Teachers : Final Report, Elizabeth Kleinhenz, Jenny Wilkinson, Margaret Gearon, Suzanne Fernandez, Lawrence Ingvarson

Dr Lawrence Ingvarson (Consultant)

This report produces a comprehensive national picture of the nature and effectiveness of teacher education and re-training opportunities for languages teachers. The report investigates course entry requirements, course content and structure for primary and secondary languages teachers; identifies structural impediments relating to the development of languages teachers' linguistic and pedagogical competency; and explores the potential application of the Professional Standards for Accomplished Teaching of Languages and Cultures, developed by the Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers (AFMLTA), in teacher education for languages teachers.

Relevance First: How To Engage Preservice Elementary (K-8) Teacher Candidates In A Required Geoscience Course, Priscilla Field Skalac

Faculty Scholarship – Geology

Many preservice elementary teacher candidates enter the required science content classroom with poor self-efficacy attitudes. We should take an approach that will both lead our students towards an understanding of the relevance of the content, as well as self-confidence in their ability to teach geoscience. In one of four required science content courses, Earth and Space Science for Elementary Teachers, we are achieving positive outcomes by redefining our students as our apprentices.

Evaluating Professional Preparation In Professional Practice, Marcia Fetters, Cathe Springsteen

Assessment Grants

No abstract provided.

An Assessment Of The Evaluation Process For Teacher Education Students At Western Michigan University, Lynn Nations-Johnson

Assessment Grants

No abstract provided.

Mapping The Complexity Of Computer Learning: Journeying Beyond Teaching For Computer Competency To Facilitating Computer, Renata Phelps

Dr Renata Phelps

For future generations to maximise their capability to operate within technologically driven economies, it is critical to foster computer abilities at every level of the schooling process. Teachers are central to this process. Yet, for many teachers, the need to integrate computer use in their teaching is threatening and overwhelming. This thesis argues that, given the rapid rate of technological change, skills-based approaches to computer education inadequately prepare teachers for a career of continued technological change. Effective computer education for teachers requires more than skills training. It involves changes in attitudes, values and beliefs that provide confidence for ongoing learning. …

Parts Of The Whole: Is Everything Equally Important?, Dorothy Wallace

Numeracy

Two strategies are proposed for sorting out priorities and goals in education. At the college level the column argues that goals, and therefore requirements, should be set based on the desired knowledge base of the entire population rather than the individual. At the scale of a single K-12 classroom the column argues that priority be given to content requiring most instructor intervention, describing how the structure of class time and school activities would change as a result. Implementation of these strategies would lead to more efficient use of teacher’s time and effort, better allocation of systemic resources, and clarity of …

Towards Virtual Information Literacy: Academic Librarian Integration Into Teacher Education Distance Learning Programs, Brenna Helmstutler

University Library Faculty Presentations

Having convenient, instant access to electronic library resources in academia is excellent as research can be conducted literally anywhere and at any time; however, a level of user self-direction is required for optimal results, creating the need for librarian interaction to guide the user towards acquiring this self-direction most effectively. As more institutions add online degree programs, it is essential that librarians are integrated within so that participating students have access to the same (or at least, equivalent) library resources and services as those who are on campus, and also develop sound research skills for information literacy acquisition. Although librarians …

Teacher Investment In Learner Identity, Jenelle Reeves

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

From a sociocultural perspective, teacher identity is constructed in relation to others, including other teachers and students. Drawing on positioning theory and the concept of investment, this study analyzed the case of a secondary English teacher who negotiated his teacher identity in relation to English language learners (ELLs). Findings indicated that the teacher made an investment in ELLs’ identity by positioning them as like any other student. The desired return on the teacher’s investment was a strengthened self-positioning as a natural and highly competent teacher. The implications of teacher investment in learner identity for teacher practice, learner identity construction, and …

Ten Ways To Incorporate Technology Into A Tesol Teacher Preparation Program, Audrey Cohan Ed.D, Andrea Honigsfeld Ed.D., Vicky Giouroukakis Ph.D., Maureen Walsh Ed.D.

Faculty Works: EDU (1995-2023)

A comprehensive approach for integrating technology into a TESOL teacher preparation program is described. Ten specific ways to assure constructivist technology use in teacher education are highlighted. These techniques have been synthesized into a compact model with three pillars: (a) electronic assessment system (e-portfolios for individual assessment and program evaluation), (b) teacher candidates’ technology-based course assignments and performances, and (c) Web-based instruction and communication. The authors claim that within this three-pronged model flexibility of implementation is key to success for preservice and in-service teachers.

Understanding The Practice Of Teacher Educators In Implementing The Intel® Teach Essentials Pre Service Course In Pakistan, Nelofer Halai, Ratan Salem, Nasira Gardezi

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This paper focuses on understanding the practice of teacher educators in implementing the Intel® Teach Essentials Course at four sites in the provinces of Punjab and Sindh in Pakistan. The focus is on teacher educators’ practices rather that the practice of teachers and hence the research sites selected for the study are teacher education institutions where the Intel® Teach Program is being implemented for teaching prospective teachers. A qualitative study was undertaken selecting 21 teacher educators and interviewing them on key objectives of the Intel Teach program. The findings are encouraging, and show that teachers in both rural and urban …

Processes Of Disposition Development In K--5 Teachers, Deborah A. Obara

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Educators concur that teacher competency requires more than teaching knowledge and skills; competency requires appropriate professional dispositions. The development of professional dispositions is an expected outcome of teacher education programs. Since 2002, program accreditation has been contingent on documentation that prospective teachers have met national standards for dispositions. The body of educational research on disposition assessment has been growing. Research on disposition learning and development, however, has been impeded by the prevailing conceptualization of dispositions as fixed traits resistant to change. The present study conceptualized dispositions as malleable constructs within a theoretical framework that synthesized a cognitive model of thinking …

Reading In-Between The Lines: Exploring The Experience Of Cultivating Cultural Awareness With White Teacher Candidates In A Liberal Arts University In Georgia, Holley Morris Roberts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was to explore the use of critical literacy (Freire, 1998) to assist predominately White teacher candidates in their preparation to teach diverse groups of students. Seven White females, who were born and reared in Georgia, participated in the study. These participants were encouraged to critically examine their personal, racial, and cultural roots through autobiographical papers, literature circles using African American children's books, critical reflective papers responding to the literature circles, conversations, and interviews. Three bodies of research provided the theoretical framework for the study: White identity theory (Kunjufu, 2002, McIntyre, 1997, Wise, 2008), critical literacy theory (Freire, 1974, …

Academic Librarian Integration Into Teacher Education Distance Learning Programs, Brenna Helmstutler

Brenna Helmstutler

Having convenient, instant access to electronic library resources in academia is excellent as research can be conducted literally anywhere and at anytime; however, a level of user self-direction is required for optimal results, creating the need for librarian interaction to guide the user towards acquiring this self-direction most effectively. As more institutions add online degree programs, it is essential that librarians are integrated within so that participating students have access to the same (or at least, equivalent) library resources and services as those who are on campus, and also develop sound research skills for information literacy acquisition. Although librarians have …