Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Place-Based Education: An Impetus For Teacher Efficacy, Tamara Chase Coleman

Dissertations

This research investigated professional development in place-based (PB) methodology on the efficacy of science teachers. While teachers are expected to use best practices they do not always implement them due to a lack of efficacy in implementation. A professional development program (PD) was designed to increase confidence among teachers planning to incorporate PB methods. Place-based education (PBE) is recognized as a best-practice among professional educators. PBE includes the selection, design and engagement with science using the geographic place as the content. The literature reports that student learning and teacher efficacy will improve when teachers are prepared effectively in PB practices. …

Documenting Elementary Teachers' Sustainability Of Instructional Practices: A Mixed Method Case Study, Bridget Cotner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

School reform programs focus on making educational changes; however, research on interventions past the funded implementation phase to determine what was sustained is rarely done (Beery, Senter, Cheadle, Greenwald, Pearson, et al., 2005). This study adds to the research on sustainability by determining what instructional practices, if any, of the Teaching SMART[reg] professional development program that was implemented from 2005-2008 in elementary schools with teachers in grades third through eighth were continued, discontinued, or adapted five years post-implementation (in 2013). Specifically, this study sought to answer the following questions: What do teachers who participated in Teaching SMART[reg] and district administrators …

Connecting With The Caribbean, Sueanne Mckinney, Linda Irwin-Devitis, Brenda Scanelli, Sharon Thomas, Andrew Casiello, Heather Huling

Distance Learning Faculty & Staff Publications

Teaching and learning mathematics can be a universal language. Our session will focus on the collaborative efforts of Old Dominion University and the Caribbean schools on the islands of St. Kitts, Dominica, Nevis and Anguilla in order to provide professional development learning opportunities in the area of mathematics. Specifically, the learning opportunity sessions concentrate on the use of manipulatives to teach conceptual understandings of mathematical ideals for the participating Caribbean schools and teachers. Preliminary data will be presented and discussed that includes the technical process, teacher understanding and participation, and mathematics self-efficacy.

Mentor Preparation: A Qualitative Study Of Stem Master Teacher Professional Development, Heather Lynn Click-Cuellar

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has required districts to staff all classrooms with highly qualified teachers. Yet, retaining certified teachers in the profession has been a national concern, especially among new teachers who leave at alarming rates within their first three years. This comes at a heavy cost to districts financially and in trying to maintain highly qualified status, but also to the continuity and effective education of students. Mentoring has been identified by many researchers as a plausible solution to reducing attrition rates for beginning teachers.

In this Dissertation, I conducted qualitative research to explore and …