Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Ungifted: Teacher Candidates’ Understanding Of Giftedness Through Literature Circles, Sharryn Larsen Walker, Wendie Lappin Castillo

Literacy Practice and Research

The purpose of this qualitative study was to analyze the reflective comments made by teacher candidates (TCs) after they participated in weekly discussions about the tween novel Ungifted by Korman (2012). The TCs attended at a regional Pacific Northwest university, majoring or minoring in various educational fields. After reading and discussing the topic of giftedness as it related to their engagement with the novel, the TCs wrote a reflective essay about their new understandings of teaching the gifted. Using the constant-comparative method, the essays from three sections of the course over a three-year period were read and reread for identifiable …

What Are The Disciplinary Literacy Complex Texts And Comprehension Habits Of Mind In Elementary (K-6)?, Stephanie Buelow, Charlotte Frambaugh-Kritzer

Literacy Practice and Research

This article spotlights complex texts and the comprehension habits of mind that elementary students may encounter across the disciplines of visual arts, performing arts, science, social studies, and mathematics.

"A Virtual Community Literacy Partnership: A Place-Based Reading And Writing Initiative Between College Of Education Students And Urban Middle School Students", Anne Katz Ph.D., Justin Hanson

Literacy Practice and Research

How can I reflect on my practice as a literacy teacher? “I want to be the type of teacher who inspires great writing from my students, and makes them yearn for more knowledge.”

As a reading professor, I am inspired by the words Justin wrote in the pre-project survey at the beginning of the semester. In the midst of a pandemic, how could I create a learning experience to facilitate a literacy collaboration with local middle school students? I planned the community literacy partnership in the context of a College of Education grant written the previous year. This format anticipated …

Critical Awareness For Literacy Teachers And Educators In Troubling Times, Patriann Smith, S. Joel Warrican

Literacy Practice and Research

The field of literacy remains assailed by a persisting discrepancy between an increasing body of literacy research that honors the diversity in students’ practices juxtaposed against a persistent system of schooling and high-stakes assessment that has not been designed to draw from underrepresented students’ literate assets. This discrepancy has created a situation where teachers often receive well-intentioned instruction from literacy educators about how to address diverse literacy needs, but then, struggle to enact this instruction in the high-stakes testing environment of classrooms and schools where they have little autonomy. We argue in this essay that critical multilingual, critical multicultural and …

Teachers’ Use Of Standardized Assessments To Monitor Learning And Its Impact On Student Reading Achievement, Eilyn Sanabria

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Reading instruction must be “intentional, systematic, and explicit” and “implemented by a knowledgeable teacher” (Ruetzel & Cooter, 2019, p. 87). The era of accountability has brought standardized assessments to the forefront of reading instruction. However, gaps about assessment-related and instructional practices and their impact on student achievement exist in the literature. The present study aims to provide needed insights on how these practices help or hinder, specifically, historically low-performing students.

Using student achievement and teacher survey data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study: Kindergarten 2011 (ECLS-K), and through the lens of data use theory (Hutchins, 1995; Spillane, 2012), hierarchical multiple …

An Examination Of Cuban-American Social Studies Teachers' Cultural Consciousness Relative To Their Identity, Educational Beliefs, And Curricular Decisions: A Critical Latino Theoretical Perspective, Victor Barrios

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to examine how five self-identified Cuban-American social studies teachers, in a city where they are viewed as the dominant culture, demonstrated ethnic and cultural identity, expressed educational beliefs on teaching and learning, promoted culturally diverse pedagogy, and approached the official curriculum relative to their cultural consciousness. This study used a qualitative research design with multiple case and cross-case analysis. Critical Latino theory was the theoretical framework employed for social and cultural categories pertinent to Latinx groups. The study found that the teacher-participants in this study reflected a dominant cultural ideology in Miami which influenced …

A Mixed Method Study Of Prospective Teachers' Epistemic Beliefs And Web Evaluation Strategies Concerning Hoax Websites, Jennifer Coccaro-Pons

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teachers need to be equipped with the tools necessary to evaluate content on the Internet and determine if it is a credible source, or a hoax website since they are expected to instruct and prepare students on how to evaluate the sites which is now a relevant phenomenon. The purpose of the mixed‑method study was to obtain an understanding of the web evaluation strategies of prospective teachers regarding the evaluation of hoax websites and how their epistemic beliefs may influence their evaluation. Another aspect of this study was to find out what outcomes resulted from providing guidance, or not to …

From Head To Head Or Heads Together? Cultivating Information Literacy In Early Childhood, Marilyn Way, Kerry Boland

ICOT 18 - International Conference on Thinking - Cultivating Mindsets for Global Citizens

From Head to Head or Heads Together? offers an interactive workshop sharing effective evidence-based pedagogical approaches to Information Literacy (IL) in the early years, particularly in redressing disadvantage. IL skills are 21^st Century skills needed by children and families to ensure inequities are challenged. Being able to find, evaluate and apply information for personal benefit is a key attribute in today's knowledge economy. IL goes beyond developing functional skills to creating attributes that enable lifelong learning. However, simply having access to digital technologies and online resources does not always equate to developing these attributes.

The 2015 Australian Early Development …

Diseño De Una Rúbrica Para Evaluar El Impacto Del Desarrollo Del Pensamiento En Los Estudiantes Unificando La Disposición Y La Competencia, Naiara Bilbao Quintana, Oihane Goioaga Buitrago, Itziar Latorre Trueba

ICOT 18 - International Conference on Thinking - Cultivating Mindsets for Global Citizens

Se presenta el diseño de una rúbrica de evaluación basándose en los aspectos comunes de a) por un lado, la competencia aprender a aprender, y b) por otro, la disposición al pensamiento, teniendo como referencia autores destacados en ambos ámbitos. A través de este instrumento, se pretende evaluar el desarrollo del pensamiento de los/las estudiantes.

Self-Coaching With Ai: Developing Thinking Skills, Thinking Dispositions, And Well-Being, Olivier Malafronte, Isla Reddin, Roy Van Den Brink-Budgen

ICOT 18 - International Conference on Thinking - Cultivating Mindsets for Global Citizens

Being motivated by the need to address the challenges of our Volatile Uncertain Complex Ambiguous world, we strive to create tools to improve people’s lives and help them become more resilient, resourceful, self-confidant, and successful.

In a digital world, we must understand how to efficiently connect to digital systems. Connecting “with AI” doesn’t mean spending more time on digital devices, but spending time in a deliberate way with purpose and intentional learning outcomes.

As a society, we want to see graduates with emotional intelligence and reflective skills in order to address global economic and social issues. As for jobs …

Creating Artful Thinkers - Transforming Research Into Practice, Onsite To Online Learning, Julie A. Carmean, Sara M. Lesk

ICOT 18 - International Conference on Thinking - Cultivating Mindsets for Global Citizens

National Gallery of Art educators Julie Carmean and Sara Lesk propose presenting about their process of transforming research into practice through creating the National Gallery’s first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), specifically for K-12 educators, using the pedagogy of Harvard’s Artful Thinking Routines and the National Gallery’s art collection. This free, international, online learning experience aims to democratize the opportunity for teachers to bring critical thinking through art to their students around the world. Participants will experience a combined onsite/online demonstration of one of their MOOC modules by, first, engaging with a work of art, using an Artful Thinking routine; …

Learning To Think...Thinking To Learn, James C. Dean Mr., Julie Pfeiffer, Nancy Famulari, Julia Connett, Briana Kaparis

ICOT 18 - International Conference on Thinking - Cultivating Mindsets for Global Citizens

How do you create a systemic school culture of THINKING? In this interactive presentation learn how 3 Miami-Dade schools are using a set of consistent visual tools to teach critical, creative THINKING and communication to all learners. This session will capitalize on connecting the visuals to the latest brain research and its implications on the developmental needs of PreK-Adult learners. Examples of practice will be highlighted by these schools.

Children’S Story Book On Thinking: Tita And Toto’S Thinking Adventures, Margarita Christofidou

ICOT 18 - International Conference on Thinking - Cultivating Mindsets for Global Citizens

The aim of this poster is to present a children’s story book on thinking. Specifically, through the adventures of Tita and Toto on earth, the author aspires to analyze what thinking is all about. At the same time, this story book uncovers the complexity of the Visible Thinking approach as it explains in simple words how certain conceptions of thinking can be implemented in real life situations. The ultimate goal of the project is to enhance people’s understanding how to apply a variety of thinking tools in multiple contexts.

A Path Analysis Exploration Of Teacher’S Effect, Self-Efficacy, Demographic Factors, And Attitudes Toward Mathematics Among College Students Attending S Minority Serving Institution In Face-To-Face And Hybrid Mathematics Courses, Nelson De La Rosa

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Graduation rates in colleges and universities have not kept up with the increase in enrollment. Lack of mathematics competence is a factor that impairs students from completing higher education studies. This problem is even more pervasive in minority groups. The existing body of research on mathematics education have not favored emerging minority populations in terms of addressing their needs for academic program completion across mode of instruction.

The study analyzed the relationship between type of instruction and the factors underlying students’ attitudes toward mathematics. Further, this study examined the effect of factors underlying the constructs of teacher’s effect and self-efficacy …

Evaluating High School Biology Modeling Instruction In South Florida: A Comparative Case Study, Feng Li

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The dissertation, with a collected papers approach, focused on evaluating the implementation of MI curriculum in high school Biology I classes in south Florida. The dissertation included the development and validation of the Biology Identity and Persistence Survey (BIPS), the connection of instructors’ teaching practices with students’ biology identities, evolution identities, and career aspirations, and the connection of instructors’ teaching practice with students’ conceptual understanding in evolution. In the first part of the dissertation study, the BIPS was validated through expert review and student cognitive interviews for its face and content validity. Confirmatory factor analysis addressed the construct validity of …

Education For Democracy: Mixed Methods Case Studies Of Teachers' Critical Thinking Dispositions And Their Teaching Styles, Maram Behairy

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Democracy does not automatically maintain itself by prescribed constitutions and procedural codes (Dewey, 1939), but rather its citizens must have certain dispositions to protect and strengthen it (Biesta, 2006). According to John Stuart Mill (1859/1991), people can tyrannize one another within the structures of a democracy, a concept he phrased “tyranny of the majority” (p. 7). To safeguard against such tyranny and to maintain a democratic way of life conducive to progress, I contend that our schools must be tasked with developing critical thinking dispositions in our future adults. The literature on education for democracy was reviewed and aligned with …

How The Use Of Subjectivist Instructional Strategies In Teaching Multiple Sections Of An Eighth Grade Algebra Class In Guyana Relates To Algebra Achievement And Attitude Changes Toward Mathematics, Jennifer Hoyte

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In Guyana, South America, the Ministry of Education seeks to provide universal, inclusive education that prepares its citizens to take their productive places in society and to creatively solve complex, real-world problems. However, with frequent national assessments that are used to place students in high school, college or into jobs, teachers resort to using familiar strategies such as lecture, recitation and test drilling. Despite their efforts, over 56% of students are failing the Grade 6 assessments, 43% failing 10th grade Mathematics and over 60% failing college algebra courses. Such performance has been linked to students’ lower academic self-concept and their …

The Effect Of Employing Cultural Criticism In The Teaching Of British Literature For Chinese Undergraduate English Majors, Yu Zhang

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The traditional literature teaching methods for Chinese English majors are formalism and biographical criticism. These criticisms use an objective approach focused on details about the author, historical context and literary mechanics to analyze literature. These methods neglect the fact that literature comprehension involves readers’ active participation. Cultural criticism, as a critical approach, considers influences that readers bring to their engagement with a given literary text. This approach is supposed to fit the classroom settings for cross-cultural literature teaching and learning.

This study was conducted to examine the effect of utilizing cultural criticism to teach British literature among Chinese undergraduate English …

Using A Repeated Measures Anova Design To Analyze The Effect Writing In Mathematics Has On The Mathematics Achievement Of Third Grade English Language Learners And English Speakers, Zoe A. Morales

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The gap that exists between English language learners and English speaking students’ achievement in mathematics continues to grow. Moreover, students are now required to show evidence of their mathematics knowledge through writing in standardized assessments and class assignments.

The purpose of this study was to analyze students’ writing in mathematics and the metacognitive behaviors they portrayed through their writing as they solved mathematics problems. The instruments included a pretest, two biweekly tests, and a posttest. The writing instruction encompassed students learning to solve problems by using Polya’s four phases of problem solving which was completed in 12 sessions over a …

A Value-Driven Exploration Of Online & In-Person Learning For Professionals, Tammy S. Sanders

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to undertake a learner-centered exploration of delivery mode relevance in professional learning. Given the increasing pervasiveness of technology-mediated online delivery in nondegree professional learning at the individual and enterprise levels, this study has a particular focus on learning value ascribed by learners to online and in-person delivery in relation to their professional development.

Qualitative and quantitative methods were used in this study to collect and examine data from adult professionals in an effort to determine how value is ascribed to learning. With this aim in mind, this study focused on the following research questions: …

Closing The Reading Gap, Bria Lundy

South Florida Education Research Conference

Changes in federal regulations regarding phonics instruction show that there is an ongoing problem concerning early reading difficulties. This research looks at how the Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons reading program can benefit phonics skills and phonemic awareness of first graders who are not yet reading.

Efficacy And Implementation Of Automated Essay Scoring Software In Instruction Of Literacies To High Level Ells, Aaron J. Alvero

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explored the integration of automated essay scoring (AES) software into the writing curriculum for high level ESOL students (levels 3, 4, and 5 on a 1-5 scale) at a high school in Miami, Fl. Issues for Haitian Creole speaking students were also explored. The Spanish and Haitian Creole speaking students were given the option to write notes, outlines, and planning sheets in their L1.

After using AES in the middle of the writing process as a revision assistant tool, 24 students responded to a Likert Scale questionnaire. The students responded positively to the AES based on the results …

Training Through Serious Games: The Relationship Between Travel Agent Engagement, Knowledge Of Cruise Products And Cruise Sales, Lizette Cruzie Pabon

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research is limited on the role game-based training has on the engagement of learners. The following study was conducted to further advance research on engagement and game-based training in businesses by studying the engagement of travel agents in the game.

Engagement is the manner in which a learner's cognitive and motor skills are motivated when participating in a game. Engaged learners will often push through challenging tasks and will concentrate on improving their skills due to their excitement about playing. The present study examined the engagement of travel agents as they played a serious game. The serious game, Adventures Game, …

Exploring How Transformational Experiences Of Faculty Participating In Global Learning Workshops Inform Practice, Eduardo Hernandez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This case study addresses gaps in the global learning, transformational learning, and professional development literature. Research is lacking on the questions of if and how university faculty members view global learning curricula as transformational learning as a result of professional development and how this transformational learning applies to their teaching of global learning curricula. This study’s purpose is to explore whether university faculty members who have attended global learning professional development workshops perceive global learning as transformational learning and if they do, how they see global learning as transformational, and how this transformational learning informs their teaching.

Research questions were …

Gaining Insight Into Teaching: The Lived Experiences Of Teachers Of The Year, Robin F. Amparo

South Florida Education Research Conference

What qualities describe outstanding teachers? Many stakeholders in education argue that student achievement indicates teacher quality. Ten Teachers of the Year participated in this qualitative study, showing their lives as outstanding teachers personify four roles and two phenomena. Findings indicate the need to investigate the moral dimension of teaching.

Mathematics Teaching Experiences Of Elementary Preservice Teachers With High And Low Mathematics Anxiety During Student Teaching: A Multiple Case Study, Leslie Nisbet

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the teaching experiences of six elementary preservice teachers (EPTs), three with high mathematics anxiety and three with low mathematics anxiety, during their student teaching semester. The EPTs were selected from an initial pool of 121 EPTs who took the Abbreviated Mathematics Anxiety Scale. The cases were compared in a cross case analysis to highlight mathematics teaching experiences among EPTs. Data sources included EPT and researcher journal entries, interview transcripts, pre-lesson surveys, field notes, lesson plans, and artifacts of observed lessons. Data were coded using Shulman’s content knowledge, Graeber’s mathematics pedagogical content knowledge, and mathematics anxiety characteristics.

Findings …

An Extended Validation And Analysis Of The Early Childhood Educators' Knowledge Of Self-Regulation Skills Questionnaire: A Two Phase Study, Elizabeth Willis

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Early Childhood Educators’ Knowledge of Self-Regulation Skills Questionnaire (ECESRQ) was devised to measure current teacher knowledge and implementation of pedagogical tools that enhance self-regulatory skills in the early childhood classroom. The purpose of the first phase of this study was to conduct test validation on the ECESRQ. The purpose of the second phase of this study was to (a) assess if teacher knowledge of self-regulation skills predicted teachers’ attitudes and beliefs in the classroom, and if (b) the results from the ECESRQ predicted knowledge of instruction of self-regulation skills.

To address the first phase of the study an exploratory …

Geographical Literacy, Attitudes, And Experiences Of Freshman Students: A Qualitative Study At Florida International University, Daniela F. Ottati

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to explore the geography literacy, attitudes and experiences of Florida International University (FIU) freshman students scoring at the low and high ends of a geography literacy survey. The Geography Literacy and ABC Models formed the conceptual framework. Participants were freshman students enrolled in the Finite Math course at FIU. Since it is assumed that students who perform poorly on geography assessments do not have an interest in the subject, testing and interviewing students allowed the researcher to explore the assumption.

In Phase I, participants completed the Geography Literacy Survey (GLS) with items taken from …

Curriculum Development In A Heritage Language Community-Based School: A Qualitative Inquiry Regarding A Brazilian-Portuguese Program In South Florida, Ivian Destro Boruchowski

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research aimed to describe, understand, and discuss the curriculum development process of a Brazilian-Portuguese heritage language community-based school in South Florida.

This study was guided by the following research questions: (a) What roles does this HL community-based school aim to play for its students? This investigation was also related to the subsidiary question: (b) How does this HL community-based school organize its curriculum development process? In order to explore these research questions, I observed and interviewed teachers and coordinators based on a qualitative research approach.

I analyzed the interviews’ transcripts, and the program’s website with a central focus of …

The Response To An Esl Population Boom In The Beaufort County, South Carolina School System: A Case Study, Amanda G. De Varona

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this case study was to examine the why the English language learners (ELLs) in the Beaufort County, South Carolina school system have been so successful. This school system has recently experienced a boom in its ESL student population, and this population has performed very well on standardized tests. This study used critical theory as its theoretical framework and examined why the students have been successful rather than marginalized in Beaufort County schools. This phenomenon was investigated using semi-structured interviews with the ESOL Coordinator for Beaufort County, 4 ESL-lead teachers, and 6 mainstream teachers.

Data were collected using …