Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Wisdom, Intelligence, And Creativity Synthesized., Susan Daniels

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

Wisdom, as explored by Sternberg is the application of successful intelligence and creativity. For thirty years, Dr. Sternberg has been a vocal critic of narrow conceptions of intelligence. In this recent work, he argues that a more comprehensive view of intelligence must go beyond the psychometrically based, IQ-driven views predominant in the last century.

High-Stakes Testing And Special Populations, Gary H. Sherwin, Todd Jennings

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

This opinion paper critically examines the use of high-stakes testing on special populations. Without appropriate accommodations, standardized exams are not valid for some students with special needs. Unfortunately, many classroom teachers who must initiate testing accommodations lack knowledge of appropriate accommodations and regularly fail to provide the necessary testing accommodations. The deficit understanding of testing accommodations makes comparisons between classrooms, schools, and districts invalid since some scores loose validity. Solutions specific to standardized testing and students with special needs are offered and a more encompassing solution to the problems incurred from these tests when used for high-stakes is suggested.

High-Stakes Testing And Assessment: One Is Not The Other, Enrique Murillo, Alayne Sullivan

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

Since the institution of the common school and the advent of universal education, Americans have placed tremendous faith in public schools. Public education cultivates an informed citizenry, one of the pillars of a liberal democracy. But more importantly, schools are a repository for our common dreams of human potential and individual self-actualization. Because they so thoroughly shape the lives and life-chances of our youth, school issues are freighted with an emotional charge. Education remains the last fully public American institution, one in which millions of students cast their common lot daily and strive to become better readers, better citizens, better …

A Study Investigating The Comparative Effects Of An Audiation Pause In Tonal Pattern Training On Fourth And Fifth Grade Children, Melodey A. Kleva-Forchic

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine variations of response time in tonal pattern training. The problem of the study is twofold. 1) To determine the comparative effect of fourth and fifth grade students who echoed tonal patterns immediately and students who echoed after a pause, and 2) to examine how the variations in response time in tonal pattern training effects the performance of high and low aptitude students.

The sample for this study consisted of approximately 140 fourth and fifth grade students who attended an elementary school located in a Southern New Jersey suburban community. The sample included …

The Relationship Between Home Music Environment, Including Both Parent And Sibling Responses, And Enrollment In An Elementary Instrumental Program, Jill Melamed

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the home musical environment on participation in the elementary instrumental program. The problem of the study was to compare the musical home environment of fourth and fifth grade students who are enrolled in an elementary instrumental program versus those who are not.

Surveys were sent home with all 195 children in the fourth and fifth grade at an elementary school in southern New Jersey. The first section of the survey, which used a Likert-type scale, was completed by a parent. The second section of the survey, which used semantic …

Physical Activity Preferences Of Elementary Children, Mike Griffis

Graduate Theses

The current study investigated activity preferences of elementary-age students. It was hypothesized that gender differences would exist, with boys preferring competitive activities and girls preferring more cooperative activities. The results proved a significant relationship did exist between male students and activity type, as nearly 80 % of male students preferred competitive or elimination games over fitness and cooperative games. There was no significant relationship, however, between female students and activity type, as females didn’t show a preference between the two activity types. The present study also provides practical information for those physical educators wishing to avoid being gender-biased when designing …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Their Professionalism In Government Primary Schools In Karachi, Pakistan, Meher Rizvi, Bob Elliot

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This paper examines teachers’ perceptions of their professionalism under conditions of educational reforms in government primary schools in Karachi, Pakistan. Conceiving teacher professionalism in terms of four dimensions (teacher efficacy, teacher practice, teacher leadership and teacher collaboration) it reports a quantitative survey research study of teachers in these schools, where educational reforms have been initiated. One conclusion from the study is that such teachers do perceive themselves as professionals—a finding that is counter to the often-held beliefs about these teachers. The paper argues that it is important to regard teachers as professionals, capable of further enhancing their own professionalism, for …

Animals And Biographies: Integrated Units For Third/Fourth Looped Classes, Kimberly Lynn Bonsen

All Graduate Projects

This handbook was designed for teachers in a third-to-fourth grade looping classroom. The lessons integrate reading and writing, and the second year (fourth grade) builds upon skills and strategies introduced in the first year (third grade). The third grade set of lessons focuses study on animals while the fourth grade set of lessons focuses on biographies. The handbook contains a OLE/Lesson plan matrix, information for teachers before beginning both sets of lessons, twelve third grade lessons, thirteen fourth grade lessons, and extension activities for both animals and biographies. The final section in the handbook is an appendix that contains every …

Collaborating With Colleagues To Improve Student Learning Using The Connected Mathematics Project, Margaret D. Seifer

Graduate Student Independent Studies

I am a teacher of mathematics at Millburn Middle School, Millburn, New Jersey. During my nine years at Millburn, I have taught using the Connected Mathematics Program (CMP) for seven years to eighth graders and before that, I taught CMP in it's pilot stage to sixth graders.

This guide is a result of my thinking and learning during my time at Bank Street College. The guide is based on a journey through my learning as a professional developer. It is a tool which, I hope, will be of some use to other CMP leaders. It is hoped that if such …

The Effects Of Direct Instruction Reading On The Behavior Referral Rates Of Rural Elementary Students, David Jarman

Theses & Honors Papers

What exactly is effective instruction? This heavily debated question is still at forefront of educational reform. Many factors contribute to effective instruction in the classroom, but it is critical to define effective instruction prior to describing its components. To understand the concept of effective instruction we must operationally define effective instruction as summarized by Rosenshine and Berliner (1978). they viewed effective instruction as those teacher characteristics that had a positive relationship on student achievement. We know that providing students with the most effective instruction will lead to an increase in student academic achievement. We also know these characteristics can be …

Highly Qualified Minority Teachers: Do High-Stakes Teacher Tests Weed Out Those We Need Most?, Julie Esparza Brown

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of standardized teacher tests as demonstration of licensure competencies for diverse candidates in Oregon and nationally. The following four areas and their accompanying questions guide the development of this paper: (1) Why would a diverse teacher workforce help close the achievement gap?; (2) What are the barriers that exist to meeting the need for diverse educators?; (3) What type of research will be needed to validate alternative assessments as viable options?; and (4) What qualities in leaders produce policies for equity? At the conclusion of this paper, the author provides …

Coaching For Metacognitive Instructional Practice, Kathryn Kinnucan-Welsch

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

One way to identify students who are becoming accomplished readers and writers is to observe the degree to which the examples of coaching presented in this chapter are taken from my research as a participant in a statewide literacy professional development initiative: the Literacy Specialist Project (Kinnucan-Welsch, 2003a, 2003b; Rosemary, Grogan, et al., 2002).

The central aim of the Literacy Specialist Project, launched in 2000 by the Ohio Department of Education, is to provide professional development to educators in the state of Ohio that supports enhanced understanding in the teaching of reading and writing. The professional development incorporates foundational knowledge …

Primary Teacher Work Study Report, Jenny Wilkinson, Lawrence Ingvarson, Elizabeth Kleinhenz, Adrian Beavis

Teacher workforce and careers

This research was conducted by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) in 2005. The study was a result of the New Zealand Primary Teachers Collective Agreement 2004-2007 which specified that a workload study be complete to consider how the work of a teacher could be better structured, resourced and organised to support more effective classroom teaching. The purpose of the study was to gain an understanding of the nature and patterns of primary teachers' work. The research was commissioned by the New Zealand Ministry of Education.

Effects Of A Professional Development Initiative On Technology Innovation In The Elementary School, Delia Raymos Pass

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This non-equivalent group study explored the impact of teacher participation in the development and use of a web-based instructional resource on computer utilization by students. The effects of participation in the technology initiative on teacher attitudes toward computers, technology proficiency, and stages of adoption of technology were also investigated. Teacher volunteers participated in a treatment group that received a professional development intervention and a comparison or web access group (WAG) that received no professional development. The treatment, or Professional Development Group (PDG), received instruction that modeled a constructivist hands-on approach to creating technology-rich lessons based on classroom curricula and Internet …

Managing School Success: A Case Study From Pakistan, John Retallick

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This article reports on case study research into the management of successful schools in a developing country, Pakistan. In Pakistan there are attempts being made to improve school education through decentralisation and involving school communities through School Management Committees. Whilst serious problems remain in the provision of quality school education, there are nevertheless, some successful schools and the research sought to identify three such schools and investigate how and to what extent the management of the schools was contributing to their success. In the article a case study of one of the schools is reported along with the findings from …

What Instructional Modification Implementations Bring Adult Education Learners To Success And Retention? Analysis Of An Online Adult Basic Education Program, Bernadette Ann Propst

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

What Instructional Modification Implementations Bring Adult Education Learners to Success and Retention? Analysis of an Online Adult Basic Education Program. Adult learners enrolled in my online Adult Basic Education program showed low completion rates for the course. This study's purpose was to discover what instructional modifications would bring these learners to a successful outcome in the program. I implemented the following instructional modifications: asynchronous email communication, weekly progress reports emailed to each participant and a minimum requirement of 10 assignment completions on a weekly basis. Teacher-student interaction increased because of these implementations. I reviewed literature that discussed distance education, adult …

Booni Valley Women’S Perception Of Schooling: Hopes And Barriers, Almina Pardhan

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

Schooling for girls is a relatively recent process in Booni Valley, a remote mountainous village in Chitral District, Pakistan. It is impacting greatly upon the lives of the women. This study has taken an ethnographic perspective and has assumed that an understanding of women’s schooling requires a detailed, in-depth account of women’s actual experiences in a specific cultural setting. The women in the study perceive their local language, Khowar, as having little value and place great importance upon learning Urdu and English, the official languages of Pakistan. The women also perceive schooling to increase their mobility and independence and to …

Researching Practice, Practicing Research: Impact On Teaching And Learning, Bernadette L. Dean, Rahat Joldoshalieva, Muneeza Kizilbash

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This paper shares the findings of an action research study on the use of whole class discussion (WCD) in the classroom and will concentrate on the benefits and learning that accrue to students and teachers from the use of action research to facilitate discussion. It was observed that teachers appreciated enlarging their instructional repertoire and they also acknowledged that stepping back during discussion, however difficult, had enabled them to learn more from the students and also develop key academic and social skills. During this project, teachers learned how to identify and address specific problems in their classrooms and students displayed …

Spicing Up Motor Skill Performance For All, Scott M. Ronspies

Scott M. Ronspies

No abstract provided.

How Does The Use Of Picture Books During Instruction Improve Student Word Choice In Writing?, Laurie Anne Mcadams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of my research was to determine how the use of picture books during instruction would improve student word choice in writing. Donald Graves (2003), a renowned researcher in the teaching of writing, states, "All children need . . . to be surrounded with poetry, stories, information books, biography, science and history, imaginative and factual books." Graves' research presents successful classroom instruction when teachers incorporate literature as a fundamental part of their reading and writing instruction. Likewise, Susan Anderson McElveen and Connie Campbell Dierking (2000) conducted a study with their students using picture books as "precise examples" to teach …

The Impact Of Reading Instructional Processes On Literacy Aquisiation, Doreen O. Ryan

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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The Relationship Between Third And Fourth Grade Everyday Mathematics Assessments And Performance On The New Jersey Assessment Of Skills And Knowledge In Fourth Grade (Njask/4), Mariann T. Helfant

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Gender Differences In Reading And Math Scores On The Pennsylvania System Of School Assessment Grade Five And Grade Eight Tests, Steven J. Rush

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Baldridge Criteria For Performance Excellence: Impact On State Assessments In Michigan's Elementary Schools, Linda Hicks

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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The Relationship Between Parental Involvement And Religion Academic Achievement Of Students In The Catholic Elementary Schools In The Diocese Of Fall River, George A. Milot

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Spicing Up Motor Skill Performance For All, Scott Ronspies

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

Spicing Up Motor Skill Performance For All, Scott M. Ronspies

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

The Mini Golf Project, Kathleen Strub-Richards

Kathleen A Strub-Richards

The Mini Golf Project was a collaboration between the preschoolers and the teachers at a Reggio Inspired preschool in Massachusetts. In this long term project, 3-5 year olds, and their teachers, co-constructed a viable miniature golf course.