Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Elementary Teachers' Perceptions Of Effective Strategies To Increase Student Academic Achievement, Demetria L. Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At a Southwestern Tennessee school, students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds consistently perform low on the state standardized test TN Ready Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP), as compared to students who are not from low socioeconomic status. In this qualitative case study elementary teachers’ views on instructional strategies for reading and math, professional development, and professional learning communities (PLC) were examined through a theoretical framework based on Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development. The study included interview data from 9 teachers teaching Grades 3-5 who have been using strategies to help increase students’ academic achievement. In addition, PLC meeting minutes, and …

The Masters Of Physics: Critical Thinking Through Skateboarding, William Robertson

Departmental Papers (TE)

This paper focuses on the use of live action and video instruction as a method of content dissemination and to motivate students in learning in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.  Specifically, this area, dubbed “edutainment”, chronicles different interactions with students, teachers and community members that utilized live action to video as methods of capturing relevant content in student-centered contexts. The fundamental idea is to infuse one's passion into modern methods of teaching, and to inspire others to use their gifts in their education, and thereby connect them to their dreams and aspirations.

The Oasis Skateboard Factory: Return To The One-Room Schoolhouse, William Robertson

Departmental Papers (TE)

How can you get young people interested in science and mathematics? What efforts are there to integrate the experiences of high school students into the things they need to do and learn in school? How can action sports, like skateboarding be used to teach science, mathematics, language arts, history and help at-rick and marginalized students to grow in their engagement and motivation in high school, as well as to graduate? This is in part answered at the Oasis Skateboard Factory (OSF) an alternative high school in Toronto, Canada. The factory, under the direction of founding teacher Craig Morrison, has enjoyed …

A Narrative Inquiry Into Experiences Of Indigenous Teachers During And After Teacher Preparation, James Alan Oloo, Lydiah Kananu Kiramba

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

This narrative inquiry is informed by a concern to increase the number of Indigenous teachers in Canadian classrooms. While the Indigenous population is younger and growing faster than the non-Indigenous population, educational attainment gap remains between the two groups of Canadians. The gap is widening at the university level. This study explores the experiences of two Indigenous teachers during and after teacher education in an Indigenous teacher education program and attempts to reframe teacher education to enhance the meaningful engagement of pre-service Indigenous teachers. We conducted interviews as conversations with the study participants as guided by open-ended unstructured research questions …

Quando O Dinheiro Fala Mais Alto: Privatização, Formação De Professores E Imaginários Sociais Conflitantes Nas Escolas Dos Estados Unidos, Lauren Gatti, Theresa Catalano

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

O resultado da eleição presidencial de 2016 foi um dos mais imprevisíveis da história dos Estados Unidos. Naquela eleição, a ex-Secretária de Estado norte-americana e senadora Hillary Clinton foi derrotada por Donald Trump, astro de reality shows, empresário e bilionário do setor imobiliário. Ele não tinha experiência em política ou governo. No entanto, havia outras coisas que ele possuía e que repercutiram no eleitorado: a falta de filtro (e sutileza) quando se tratava de discutir questões de política, a experiência de fazer (com graus variados de sucesso) acordos de negócios importantes e de alto risco, e um desdém aberto pela …

Delineating A Regional Education Research Agenda, Edmund T. Hamann

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

If one wants to advance the argument that the Great Plains, as a region, matters— and the very existence of Great Plains Research and the Center for Great Plains Studies that publishes it suggest significant support for the idea— then one can ask, How did we learn that they matter? How do they matter? Can we live on them ethically, with a regard for each other and sense of stewardship and responsibility? Education research in, of, for, and with a region allows us to pursue each of these questions, plus more. Here we do so, informed by the two central …

Preparing Content Teachers To Work With Multilingual Students, Kara Viesca, Annela Teemant

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

It is well‐documented that content teachers (e.g., math, science, social studies, etc.) have not been adequately prepared to address the increasing number of multilingual students in their classes (Freeman & Freeman, 2014; Lucas, 2011). While many teacher education programs strive to prepare teachers during initial licensure programs (e.g., de Oliveira & Yough, 2015; Freeman & Freeman, 2014; Levine, Howard, & Moss, 2014) and recent work has focused on secondary teacher preparation at both pre‐service and in‐service levels (de Oliveira & Obenchain, 2018; de Oliveira, Obenchain, Kenney, & Oliveira, in press; de Oliveira & Shoffner, 2016; de Oliveira & Wilcox, 2017), …

A Framework For Improving The Teaching Of Mathematics To Bi/Multilingual Learners, Kara Mitchell Viesca, Nicole M. Joseph, Nancy L. Commins

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

To teach mathematics well to bi/multilingual learners, we propose that mathematics teachers should consider the following five elements: know the content, know the language, know the learner, engage the community and assess meaningfully. This chapter defines each of these elements, explores how they are put into practice, and shares the responses of teachers who have participated in online professional development organized around each element. By approaching mathematics teaching with these elements in mind, teachers can more effectively support high levels of learning and achievement for bi/multilingual learners across levels of English proficiency and grade levels.

“I Felt Valued”: Multilingual Microteachings And The Development Of Teacher Agency In A Teacher Education Classroom, Theresa Catalano, Hanihani C. Traore Moundiba, Hadi Pir

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

Existing research has explored the value of multilingual pedagogies that focus on utilizing the linguistic / cultural resources of students (e.g., García & Kleyn 2016, Turner 2017); however, there is still a need to examine how the kinds of teacher agency that can lead to multilingual pedagogies actually being implemented can best be developed in teacher education classrooms. The present study incorporates collaborative auto-ethnography to examine microteaching activities / reflections of three researcher-participants in a teacher education course on schooling and multilingualism. The authors found that playing the role of students in the microteachings enabled them to reflect on their …

“Taking The Shackles Off”: Metaphor And Metonymy Of Migrant Children And Border Officials In The U.S., Theresa Catalano, Andreas Musolff

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

The present paper utilizes (multimodal) critical discourse studies and cognitive linguistics to analyze the verbal and visual metonymies/metaphors found in online news sources that report on unaccompanied youths from Central America and Border Patrol/immigration officials in the U.S. Findings reveal verbal and visual metonymies that dehumanize and criminalize child migrants, while Border Patrol/immigration enforcement discourse creates WAR/WILD WEST metaphors that justify the militarization of the border. The significance of the study lies in showing how underlying conceptualizations of migrants by immigration and border control agencies help us understand the social imaginary which allows the government to garner public support for …

Motivation To Teach: The Differences Between Faculty In Schools Of Education And K-12 Teachers, Nancy L. Leech, Kara Mitchell Viesca, Carolyn A. Haug

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

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate higher education faculty’s motivation to teach and to validate the Factors Influencing Teaching Choice (FIT-Choice) survey with this population.

Design/methodology/approach – Confirmatory factor analysis and t-tests on data from 101 higher education faculty and data from K-12 teachers show that the two samples fit the model similarly.

Findings – Results show that the similarities between the two groups are important to note as it suggests both the value of the FIT-Choice instrument as a research tool in higher education as well as the similarities in motivating factors between higher …

Engaging Preservice Secondary Science Teachers In An Ngss-Based Energy Lesson: A Nanoscience Context, Deepika Menon, Mary Sajini Devadas

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

The new approach to teaching science presented by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) warrants training high-quality science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers to prepare the future STEM workforce. We share the implementation of an energy lesson using a nanoscience approach, well-aligned with the NGSS vision, in a secondary- STEM-education course for preservice science teachers. First, we engaged preservice teachers in discussions related to alternate sources of energy; this was followed by a case-study approach to illustrate a real-world problem of energy deficiency and solar energy (solar cells using nanoparticles) as one potential solution because it is cost-efficient, clean, …

Youth Researchers Wrestling With Gender And Sexuality, Tiffany A. Dejaynes

Publications and Research

Working in research teams, public school students in New York approaches questions about gender identities and sexualities and then, based on their findings, advocated for institutional reforms.

International Students' Identities And Thier Educational And Learning Trajectories, Suha Hamdan

Wayne State University Dissertations

This study explores international students’ identities and identity formation within social, educational, and imagined futures, and their study abroad journeys. I look into past, present and future contexts of international students. Qualitative analytic autoethnography and semi-structured interviews are the methodologies utilized. I explore my own experiences around identity and education as an international graduate student, as well as other participants’ experiences. Date were collected from six participants from six countries: China, India, Iran, Indonesia, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia. Thematic analysis was utilized. The findings revealed that these international students go through an identity journey, where they reflect on their past …

Exploring Professional Development: Examining Availability And Access To Professional Development For Educators Of Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Students, Karen Grace Clark

The Graduate Review

No abstract provided.

A Framework For The Strategic Leveraging Of Outside Resources To Enhance Ctl Effectiveness, Thomas M. Brinthaupt, Laura Cruz, Sheila Otto, Mike Pinter

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Many centers for teaching and learning (CTL) are challenged with developing new programs and services that are constrained by limited staff and resources. Tapping into on- and off-campus expertise is one way for CTL to expand their range of options for faculty development. In this paper, we present a framework that describes how CTL can assess the likely impact, value, and range of prospective leveraging opportunities when deciding whether to pursue on- and off- campus partnerships. We then discuss applying the framework as an analytical tool, developing leveraging strategies, and creating a strategic leveraging plan. Throughout this discussion, we provide …

The Sotl Scaffold: Supporting Evidence-Based Teaching Practice In Educational Development, Laura Cruz, Kathryn Cunningham, Brian Smentkowski, Hillary Steiner

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This article presents a scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) scaffold, a conceptual model designed for educational developers (and others) who support the values, practices, and production of the SoTL, both on their campuses and beyond. The SoTL scaffold explicates distinct support levels, ranging from spark to lead, each of which call for differentiated strategies and programs to be used by Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTLs) and similar units.

The Fearless Teaching Framework: A Model To Synthesize Foundational Education Research For University Instructors, Alice E. Donlan, Sandra M. Loughlin, Virginia L. Byrne

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

There is often a disconnect between the unit of analysis in rigorous education research, and the types of recommendations that instructors find the most useful to improve their teaching. Research often focuses on narrow slices of the student experience, and university instructors often require broad recommendations. We present the Fearless Teaching Framework to address this gap between research and practice. In this framework, we define four pieces of effective teaching: classroom climate, course content, teaching practices, and assessment strategies. We argue that these are appropriate areas of focus for instructor growth, based on their relations to student engagement.

Finding A Fulcrum: Positioning Ourselves To Leverage Change, Laurie L. Grupp, Deandra Little

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Educational developers are called to serve as thought leaders, change agents, and advocates while also working to fulfill the teaching and learning mission of their centers. Research on change leadership informs our understanding of the work, yet may not go far enough to describe the complex roles, responsibilities, and positions of educational developers. In this study, we analyze survey and interview data to explore the meta-competencies that guide the work of developers as they navigate a shifting landscape and serve as “levers” for change.

Impostor Phenomenon In Educational Developers, Kristin J. Rudenga, Emily O. Gravett

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

While impostor syndrome or impostor phenomenon (“IP”) is prevalent in higher education, with known negative effects, no study has yet investigated the experiences of IP among educational developers. After first reviewing prior research on the phenomenon, we use survey data to describe its frequency and manifestations within educational development. We identify factors and experiences that contribute to IP among educational developers, focusing on those that are distinct to the field. We conclude with suggestions for future research and broad recommendations for educational development as a field to tackle this problem.