Education Commons^™

Evolutionary Theory: Establishing Positive Learning Environments, Lawrence C. Scharmann

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

A simple but effective technique for self-assessing readiness to teach a particular topic is to explicitly reflect on the student questions, ‘Why do I need toknow this stuff?’ and ‘What’s in it for me?’ Faced with these questions, real or implied, instructional decisions should be made to better address and reflect the needs of target learners. If the teacher’s response does not have sufficient perceived relevance to the target learner, students find it quite easy to dismiss the ‘stuff’ as unimportant – something to be memorised for a test and forgotten. Preparation to teach evolution often carries with it an …

Identifying Schools As Caring Communities: Teacher Perceptions About Character Education, Jasmine Johnson

Faculty Works

This study quantified teacher perceptions and their observations of school community interactive attachments. Observed attachments through teacher perceptions classified school communities as caring. Elementary school teachers in the southern United States districts volunteered, in order to determine the significance of school-based taught or learned character education principles in comparison with caring attachments. Data were collected using the Caring Community Profile – II questionnaire, which measures the participants’ attitudes by the extent to which they agree or disagree with a statement. The results clarified the significance of character education programs that identify school communities as caring.

Additionally, the findings answered the …

Empower: An Adaptable Writing Intervention, Carly Dinnes

The Nebraska Educator: A Student-Led Journal

EmPOWER is a six-stage writing intervention designed by speech-language pathologists to improve the expository writings of school-aged children with language learning and executive function disabilities. The intervention uses scaffolded instruction to transform struggling students into independent and self-regulating writers by training the students to use a variety of supports (e.g., graphic organizers, checklists) and strategies (e.g., referring back to the writing prompt) throughout the writing process. Many key features of the EmPOWER approach to writing instruction directly support components described in cognitive models of writing, which indicates that EmPOWER is a theory-guided writing intervention that may benefit a wide range …

Insights Into Nature Of Science And Evolution Education, Lawrence C. Scharmann

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

While the public misunderstanding of evolution is in part due to religious and political motives, it is also a result of didactic teaching. Dr Lawrence C. Scharmann, Professor of Education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, specialises in science teacher education. He has been working with non-major biology and science teacher students developing strategies to enhance the teaching and learning of science theories, and in particular, evolution. Many secondary school students and undergraduates hold a dualistic worldview. This leads them to create dichotomies, albeit false ones, such as right vs wrong and science vs religion. These can obstruct their learning science …

The Hunter Lesson Plan Format And Other Teaching Recipes, Andrew P. Johnson

Elementary and Literacy Education Department Publications

The Madeline Hunter lesson plan format was popular in the late 1970's and 1980's and is still being used today (Hunter, 1982; Hunter, 2004). Hunter's original purpose here was to provide a platform that would enable educators to have conversations about effective teaching. However, it quickly moved away from being a conversational platform to becoming a teaching recipe. Schools and teacher preparation programs began to use the seven elements described in Hunter’s model of instruction to observe and evaluate teachers.

This is an except from the author's 2019 book, Essential Learning Theories and Their Applications (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield).

Seeing Mathematics Through Different Eyes: An Equitable Approach To Use With Prospective Teachers, Christa Jackson, Cynthia E. Taylor, Kelley Buchheister

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Teacher educators need to prepare prospective teachers by encouraging them to critically examine their current beliefs about the teaching and learning of mathematics while also providing opportunities for prospective teachers to develop an equity-centered orientation. Attending to these practices in teacher preparation programs may help prospective teachers observe actions that occur in classrooms and determine effective strategies that provide the opportunity to enhance all students’ access to high-quality mathematics instruction. As mathematics teacher educators, we must recognize what prospective teachers attend to as they direct their attention to various classroom events and how they relate the events to broader principles …

Iron Sharpens Iron: Co-Teaching In A Teacher Education Program, Patricia C. Kornelis, Gwen R. Marra, Ed Starkenburg

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Recently the Education department at Dordt College revamped its program. We were implementing co-teaching during our year-long student teaching experience for seniors, but we felt it would be more effective if students had experience with co-teaching before being one of the main participants. As changes were discussed, we were challenged to look for opportunities to implement co-teaching so students would benefit from it as a student as well as seeing it modeled and explained. As a result of this, Ed Starkenburg and Gwen Marra have been co-teaching an undergraduate Children’s and Adolescent Literature course. They will share their experiences of …

A Three-Year Study Of A Professional Development Program's Impact On Teacher Knowledge And Classroom Implementation Of Strategic And Interactive Writing Instruction, Kimberly A. Wolbers, Hannah M. Dostal, Paulson Skerrit, Brenda Stephenson

Theory and Practice in Teacher Education Publications and Other Works

A professional development (PD) program for Strategic and Interactive Writing Instruction (SIWI) integrating effective PD features was implemented with teachers over three years. Using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), it was examined whether length of participation in PD impacted knowledge and ability to faithfully implement. Findings indicate significant improvements with each year of PD; those who participated for three consecutive years received the highest possible ratings on knowledge as measured by the Levels of Use (LOU) and instruction as measured by the SIWI observation and fidelity instrument. Additionally, because of modifications to the PD program, it was examined …

Forces And Motion (Ps2): An Integrated K–8 Hands-On Approach Supporting The Ngss And Ccss Ela, Laura Robertson, Lashay Jennings, Huili Hong, Karin Keith, Chih-Che Tai

ETSU Faculty Works

Explore the benefits of merging experiential science and literacy instruction to deepen students’ understanding of force and motion.

The Edtpa And Pds Collide In A Culture Of Care (Coc) Model, Lori Piowlski, Elizabeth Finsness

Elementary and Literacy Education Department Publications

No abstract provided.

What Is Equity? Ways Of Seeing, Christa Jackson, Cynthia Taylor, Kelley Buchheister

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Prospective teachers must be prepared for their role in providing equitable access for learning high quality mathematics. Therefore, it is imperative that mathematics teacher educators provide opportunities to develop an equity-centered orientation in teacher preparation courses. In this study, we begin to address this issue by identifying what prospective teachers attend to in a classroom vignette of an African American male student who is above grade level in mathematics and exhibits disruptive behavior during instruction. The results of the study indicate that while participants are beginning to attend to cultural influences, most responses are focused on classroom management strategies

Providing The Fuel Needed To Blast Teacher Candidates Into Employment, Lori Piowlski, Peggy Ballard

Elementary and Literacy Education Department Publications

The 21st century learner has many facets that a teacher must be able to gleam and respond to, as identified in the increasing number of teaching standards that require teachers to meet the needs of all diverse learners through instruction and assessment that engage and encourage all students. The increasing diverse composition of students brings new challenges that teacher preparation programs must address to prepare effective teachers ready to embrace these students in a classroom that is responsive to the needs of all students. This study focuses on the program development of teacher candidates learning in block three courses (the …

“Women Made It A Home”: Representations Of Women In Social Studies, Mardi Schmeichel

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

This article explores recently published P–12 social studies lesson plans that include women to examine how attending to women is “getting done” in the field and how the lessons represent women and women’s experiences. Using discourse analysis methodologies, the author demonstrates that women have been included as topics in ways that do not work toward disrupting problematic discourses about gender norms. Through their avoidance of issues of power and patriarchy, most of the lessons fall short of addressing gender inequity—in the past or the present—in a significant way. More critical attention to women and gender in lessons, as well as …

The D.B. Weldon Library's Instruction Portfolio: A Grassroots, Team-Based Approach, Kim Mcphee, Melanie Mills, Marg Sloan

Western Libraries Presentations

In an effort to address ever-shifting staffing levels and evolving service demands, staff in the Research & Instructional Services department of The D.B. Weldon Library at Western University developed and implemented a new and strategic approach to structuring their work. The ‘Portfolio Model’ provides a framework for organizing the primary functions of the department - collections, instruction and reference - while at the same time preserving liaison at its core. Through a close examination of this grassroots effort and in particular, the achievements realized and challenges faced by the team of librarians and library assistants who together comprise the ‘Instruction …

The Effect Of Differentiated Instruction On Standardized Assessment Performance Of Students In The Middle School Mathematics Classroom, Kimberly Gail Williams

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Changing demographics, student diversity, and increased accountability have compelled educators to challenge the uniform constraints of traditional instruction and create an environment focused on individual achievement. Differentiated instruction empowers teachers to target multiple learning styles through varied themes, adapted content delivery, and assessment options. This quantitative quasi-experimental research study examined the effects of differentiated instruction on seventh grade student performance on standardized mathematics assessments using a repeated-measures design. Two independent research trials, controlling for initial group differences with 2011 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) scores, provided inconclusive assessment results. Significant differences between students who received differentiated instruction compared …

The Effects Of Technology Instruction On The Academic Achievement Of Fifth Grade Students, Karen Davis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A digital native is an individual born between 1981 and 2001, and children born after 2001 are called millennials. Educators are expected to meet the needs of today's technologically savvy students. Some researchers assert that an academic `moral panic' is taking place that lacks the empirical and theoretical knowledge to support the claims that education needs to change to meet the needs of digital natives and millennials. The problem is that considering that the majority of students today are digital natives are educators meeting the learning needs of their students. This research study focused on the use of instructional technology …

Good Teaching? An Examination Of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy As An Equity Practice, Mardi Schmeichel

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

The adoption of educational policy measures to close the achievement gap, as well as the significant amount of scholarship dedicated to the subject, are just some of the indicators that reflect the tremendous concern in education about the academic performance of students of color. Within research aimed at promoting equitable practices in education, culturally relevant teaching has emerged as a good teaching strategy to improve achievement. Using genealogical methods to examine the ways in which culture has become relevant to classroom practice, the author argues that the perceived difference from white students that made it possible to conceive of children …

Evolution And Personal Religious Belief: Christian University Biology-Related Majors’ Search For Reconciliation, Mark Winslow, John Staver, Lawrence C. Scharmann

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

The goal of this study was to explore Christian biology-related majors’ perceptions of conflicts between evolution and their religious beliefs. This naturalistic study utilized a case study design of 15 undergraduate biology-related majors at or recent biology-related graduates from a mid-western Christian university. The broad sources of data were interviews, course documents, and observations. Outcomes indicate that most participants were raised to believe in creationism, but came to accept evolution through evaluating evidence for evolution, negotiating the literalness of Genesis, recognizing evolution as a non-salvation issue, and observing professors as Christian role models who accept evolution. This study lends heuristic …

Faculty Development In Instructional Technology: A Multiple Case Study, Robson Moura Marinho

Faculty Publications

Employing the descriptive multiple case study method, this qualitative study explores the experiences of ten faculty members involved in learning about technology at a Major Pubic University in the United States. Participants shed light on the learning process in instructional technology by sharing their personal experiences, perspectives, ideas and behaviors. This paper summarizes the results of the study, making comparisons with related literature, and then discussing its practical implications and recommendations for faculty development. The findings indicate the need of a more holistic approach to faculty development programs in instructional technology.

Podcasting Essentials: Self-Paced Instruction For Instructors, Tracy Newman

SIDLIT Conference Proceedings

The presenter's handout illustrates the different principles and technologies used to develop a self-paced course for use in distributing and creating podcasts in an educational environment.

Role Of Reflection In Facilitating Teachers For Gender Sensitive Political Literacy Instruction, Sadaf Furqan

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This paper is written around the study that was initiated to analyze the challenges that students especially girls face in being developed as leaders in the political sphere. It was carried out to understand how a teacher educator could facilitate gender sensitive political literacy instruction in schools through action research. Reflection is embedded at every stage in Action Research. Reflection helps teachers in shifting the focus from what they teach to what students learn. The research process involved exploring, understanding and reflecting on teachers’ current perceptions and practices of gender sensitive political literacy instruction. Later, teachers were facilitated to teach …

Critical Pedagogy, Image Theater And The Instruction Of Diversity Education, Franklin Titus Thompson

Teacher Education Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

This interactive workshop utilizes Critical Pedagogy, Image Theater, and Forum Theater in the instruction of race, human, and gender relations. It borrows from Paulo Freire and Augusto Boal’s concept of Humanizing Education. Praxis, the dialectical relationship between thought and practice, becomes the vehicle for establishing a problem solving process that leads to “Permanent Relationships.”

Becoming A Teacher Of Literacy: The Struggle Between Authoritative Discourses, Mindy Legard Larson, Donna Kalmbach Phillips

Faculty Publications

This study describes and analyzes the influence of an ideological conflict between a teacher education program and a school district upon one pre-service teacher’s emerging identity as a teacher of literacy. Using poststructural feminism as the theoretical framework and a single case study analysis, the study illustrates how the discourse of the school district’s scripted reading program and the discourse of the university’s comprehensive literacy positions Claire, the pre-service teacher. The data analysis demonstrates how being positioned between these two competing and authoritative discourses conflicts with her understanding of reading and reading instruction. Reflecting upon the data, the research becomes …

Dusting Off The Tool Box: Tips For Trainers, Linda Labas, Michael Sandberg

Professional Development

This resource provides information to help instructors prepare, conduct, and review their presentations. It is divided into 3 sections. Within each section are subcategories with basic information and some simple resources or activities to assist instructors as they reflect upon their teaching practices and plan for a training event. The material is organized in the following way: Section 1: Things to Know; Section 2: Things to Do; and Section 3: Resources.

What You Assess May Not Be What You Get, Thomas R. Guskey

Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology Faculty Publications

Performance-based assessments may not bring significant change in instructional practice unless teachers are provided requisite time and training.