Education Commons^™

Teachers' Perceptions About The Types, Quality, And Impact Of Their Job-Embedded Professional Development Experiences, Delilah Mitchell

Dissertations

This study was designed to determine eighth grade teachers’ perceptions of the impact, quality, and types of job-embedded professional development activities they have participated in and the relationship to student achievement in language arts, math, or science. The researcher identified school districts with 50% or more of their eighth grade students scoring proficient or advanced on all three areas of Mississippi’s Curriculum Test, Second Edition (MCT2). Sixty-four eighth grade language arts, math, or science teachers who had been at their current school at least two years completed a questionnaire created by the researcher. Multiple Linear Regression and Pearson’s Correlation were …

Secondary Mathematics Teachers’ Literacy Professional Learning: An Amalgamation Of Adolescent Literacy, Mathematics Teaching, And Adult Learning, Janet L. Larson

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study uses practitioner research to examine secondary mathematics teachers’ learning of literacy integration practices in the context of a district-wide literacy professional development series. The author, a secondary mathematics curriculum and instruction facilitator in a large, Midwestern suburban district, engaged in a two-year partnership with seventeen Mathematics Teacher Facilitators (MTFs) who taught literacy practices to their colleagues via a train-the-trainer model. This study provides an explicit rendering of professional development practices and ongoing, job-embedded learning vignettes of six MTF’s experiences in (a) teaching literacy practices to their colleagues and (b) how they learned and enacted these practices in their …

Theory Guided Professional Development In Early Childhood Science Education, Soo-Young Hong, Julia Torquati, Victoria J. Molfese

Soo-Young Hong

The importance of early and developmentally appropriate science education is increasingly recognized. Consequently, creation of common guidelines and standards in early childhood science education has begun (National Research Council (NRC), 2012), and researchers, practitioners, and policy makers have shown great interest in aligning professional development with the new guidelines and standard. There are some important issues that need to be addressed in order to successfully implement guidelines and make progress toward accomplishing standards. Early childhood teachers have expressed a lack of confidence in teaching science and nature (Torquati, Cutler, Gilkerson, & Sarver, in press) and have limited science and pedagogical …

The Methods Course Revisited: From A Skills-Based To Multiliteracies Approach., Heather W. Allen

Heather Willis Allen

No abstract provided.

Teacher Efficacy, Preparedness, And Empathy In Working With Refugee Students, Kelley Jo Moneymaker-Lamson

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

One of the most difficult pedagogical challenges Sawtooth School District elementary teachers are currently facing is the influx of refugee students and the uncertainty as to how to best assist them in becoming both academically successful as well as comfortable in a new social milieu. The purpose of this mixed method study is to evaluate teacher efficacy, sense of preparedness and empathy in relation to working with refugee students. Teachers' sense of self-efficacy has been linked to student achievement, student motivation and students' own sense of self-efficacy. However, there is a gap in research that explores teacher efficacy, preparedness and …

A Primer For Mathematical Modeling, Marla A. Sole

Publications and Research

With the implementation of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics recommendations and the adoption of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, modeling has moved to the forefront of K-12 education. Modeling activities not only reinforce purposeful problem-solving skills, they also connect the mathematics students learn in school with the mathematics they will use outside of school. Instructors have found mathematical modeling difficult to teach. To successfully incorporate modeling activities I believe that curricular changes should be accompanied by professional development for curriculum developers, classroom teachers, and higher education professionals. This article serves as an introduction to modeling by …

The Relationship Between Implementation Of School-Wide Positive Behavior Intervention And Supports And Performance On State Accountability Measures, Adriana M. Marin, Hollie Gabler Filce

Faculty Publications

This study examined data from 96 schools in a Southeastern U.S. state participating in training and/or coaching on School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) provided by the State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG) in their state. Schools studied either received training only (“non-intensive” sites) or training and on-site coaching (“intensive” sites). Fidelity of implementation was self-evaluated by both types of schools using the Benchmarks of Quality (BOQ). Some schools were also externally evaluated using the School-Wide Evaluation Tool (SET), with those scoring 80% or higher determined “model sites.” Using an independent sample t-test, analyses revealed statistically significant differences between …

A Professional Development Program To Improve Math Skills Among Preschool Children In Head Start, Jonathan Brendefur, Sam Strother, Keith Thiede, Cristianne Lane, Mary Jo Surges-Prokop

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of providing early educators professional development experiences and activities to improve the mathematical skills of preschool children in Head Start around four domains of mathematics. Because of the need to provide necessary mathematical experiences to young children to improve their early understanding and skills and provide the foundation for future success in mathematics, we provided the treatment group of early educators with professional development and center-based activities to promote four critical areas in mathematics. By randomly selecting Head Start centers to participate as the treatment group or control group, we …

Lesson Study At The Bank Street School For Children, Ryan Harrity

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Lesson study, the primary form of professional development in Japan, is receiving increased attention in the U. S. Its efficacy in Japan is well documented, and it has been successfully implemented in the U. S. Other educator-scholars have adequately argued for its use in American schools. What is needed, however, is more documented evidence of its implementation and outcomes, as well as school-specific frameworks for conducting lesson study in various schools, especially independent schools. There has been extensive documentation of lesson study in public schools across the U. S., but none, as we know, in independent schools. This paper establishes …

Implementing Connected Math Project 2: Observable Influences Of Professional Development Activities On Reported Staff Attitudes About Implementation, Mary Lee Kappes

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Theory Guided Professional Development In Early Childhood Science Education, Soo-Young Hong, Julia C. Torquati, Victoria J. Molfese

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

The importance of early and developmentally appropriate science education is increasingly recognized. Consequently, creation of common guidelines and standards in early childhood science education has begun (National Research Council (NRC), 2012), and researchers, practitioners, and policy makers have shown great interest in aligning professional development with the new guidelines and standard. There are some important issues that need to be addressed in order to successfully implement guidelines and make progress toward accomplishing standards. Early childhood teachers have expressed a lack of confidence in teaching science and nature (Torquati, Cutler, Gilkerson, & Sarver, in press) and have limited science and pedagogical …

In-Service Teachers’ Understanding And Teaching Of Humane Education Before And After A Standards-Based Intervention, Stephanie Itle-Clark

The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which credentialed educators conceptualized, understood, and perceived humane education, as well as their intent to include humane education in personal practice and their knowledge of strategies for integrating humane education concepts into their classroom work. The group of 25 educators participated in an online eight-week professional development course and completed pre- and post-surveys. The participants consisted of educators from the United States, British Columbia, and Vietnam. Participants were 11 secondary educators, 10 primary educators, 2 substitute teachers, 1 administrator, and 1 librarian. Results indicate that after an eight-week professional …