Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Teaching/Writing, Winter/Spring 2014 - Full Issue

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

No abstract provided.

Conexiones: Fostering Socioscientific Inquiry In Graduate Teacher Preparation, Krista Glazewski, Michele I. Shuster Phd, Thomas Brush, Andrea Ellis

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

Socioscientific Inquiry (SSI) represents one approach designed to target interest and knowledge in science. In this context, students consider scientific issues that have social implications and require a range of trade-offs, concepts, and considerations in order to arrive at informed conclusions (Sadler, 2004). However, inquiry tasks in general and SSI projects in particular are not widely adopted in K-12 settings, despite strong beliefs among teachers that these types of activities are valuable (Marshall, Horton, Igo, & Switzer, 2009). We suggest Collaborative Action Research may provide an important platform for enabling teachers to experience success through systematic investigations of their practice …

The Grand Challenge: Helping Teachers Learn/Teach Cutting-Edge Science Via A Pbl Approach, Peggy A. Ertmer, Sarah Schlosser, Kari Clase, Omolola Adedokun

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

A mixed-methods research study was designed to examine teachers’ knowledge and confidence for implementing a STEM-based problem-based learning (PBL) unit in their 6–12 grade science and math classrooms. Twenty-one teachers (7 in-service and 13 pre-service) participated in an intensive two-week summer workshop during which they engaged in, and then created, an immersive PBL unit related to sustainable energy. Data were collected through a pre-post content knowledge test and two pre-post surveys—one measuring knowledge and confidence for implementing PBL and one measuring science teaching efficacy. Daily reflections and focus group interviews provided additional data regarding teachers’ changing knowledge and confidence related …

Hold Readers At A Climax, Julie Patterson

Articles

Our writer-in-residence says: A climax is long. In fact, it's a place to hold readers.

Active Development Of Tacit Knowledge: Adtk In A World Without Farmers, Roger E. Garrett Jr.

Capstone Collection

Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) and extensions such as Transformative Learning Theory offer significant potential for skill development later in life – reskilling. Despite wide acceptance and deployment, practitioners are still obliged to design their own methods and activities in order to implement these theories. This paper introduces a novel curricular model, Active Development of Tacit Knowledge (ADTK). Educators can use ADTK to effectively implement and scale ELT. Agricultural Education, specifically the training of new farmers, is used as a sample context to demonstrate ADTK. In new-farmer education, it is necessary to compress the educational cycles of dozens of years of …

The Relationships Between The Process Of Acculturation Of Teachers And Beliefs About Student Learning, Gabriella Blakey

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

One of the most challenging aspects of being a school leader is the struggle to get the school staff to embark on school improvement initiatives. The culture of the school can be a powerful driver in or a resister to our ability to move a school forward to increase student learning. New teachers struggle to understand the culture of the school along with the unwritten norms, values, and customs. As they observe the school culture, beginning teachers try to understand their individual power and role in the school culture. A teachers belief in students can help students enhance their chances …

Byu Microscopy Laboratory /Public School Partnership Curriculum Development, Judy L. Pickett

Journal of Undergraduate Research

For the past five years Dr. John Gardner has been developing a microscopy outreach program for students throughout the state of Utah. I became involved in the program in the fall of 1993 and have been heavily involved in program development since that time.

The Moral And Spiritual Heritage Of The United States: A Resource For Teachers, Karalee Flinders Jackman

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This project was a historical investigation. It documents the moral and spiritual heritage of America which appears to have shifted dramatically between 1880 and 1920. Historical research designs can be quantitative and/ or qualitative in nature. While there are many branches of historical studies. this investigation followed that of “intellectual history.” Intellectual histories compliment the investigation of world perspectives. The evidence in this study demonstrates a radical change has occurred In the world view from that espoused by early American writers. The move has shifted from the sacred, toward the secular. Prospective teachers from Brigham Young University, who will teach …

Class(Ed)Room: Individualized Student Disciplinary Policies As Ignoring The Current Economic Order, Nicole H. Awwad

Capstone Collection

Students are socialized into the institution of education at an early age. Obedience to authority is the objective of much of the learning done in school. Teacher expectations and perceptions of students affect student behavioral and academic performance within the context of school. Student economic and material conditions affect their availability for learning in the school setting. This research questions the application of discipline policies across a student body with diverse academic, economic and social histories. In this case study of one rural Vermont school - tracking, teacher expectations and student economic, academic and behavioral history are assessed for correlation. …

"A Home For Poets": The Emergence Of A Liberal Curriculum For Elementary Teachers In Victorian Britain, Christopher Bischof

History Faculty Publications

In this article I explore student culture beyond the classroom to argue that there existed an informal liberal curriculum which embraced a general spirit of intellectualism and the pursuit of a wide range of knowledge dealing with the human condition and the state of society. I also offer a new reading of the formal curriculum at training colleges by examining the formal curriculum alongside student accounts of their experiences of it, student responses to assignments, commonly used textbooks, and educationalists’ discourses about teachers’ training. While acknowledging that the formal curriculum emphasized rote memorization and was narrow, I argue that there …

A Residency Model: Shifting From Traditional To On-Site Education, Ryan Andrew Nivens

ETSU Faculty Works

I report how methods course assignments shifted from simulation to actual participation in remediation, assessment, and co-teaching in a K- 6 methods course in a state where policies dictate a residency model in place of traditional courses followed by student teaching

Teacher Educators Using Encounter Stories, Danne Davis, Janna Jackson Kellinger

Department of Teaching and Learning Scholarship and Creative Works

Many prospective teachers are unaware of the encounters that Black, heterosexual women or White lesbians face. Here, we present encounter stories-individual narratives of poignant encounters and interactions that we have experienced with people unlike us-to identify with and ultimately draw on their experiences. Subsequently, the narratives become data that not only inform our work as teacher educators and scholars but also are used to shape prospective teachers' understanding of inimitable difference. Despite the heralded affirming visibility of Michelle Obama and Ellen Degeneres, oppressive practices and perspectives against Black women and lesbians continue. Our encounter stories are put forward as qualitative …

Examining Elementary Teachers' Sense Of Efficacy In Three Settings In The Southeast, Steven Page, Beth Pendergraft, Judi Wilson

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This study was conducted to investigate if teachers at urban, rural and suburban elementary schools differ significantly in their sense of self efficacy. The schools utilized for this research are located in the southeastern United States. Along with being in different geographic areas the schools are also different in their socioeconomic make-up and status. The Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy (TSES) created by Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy, was utilized. The authors found that, overall, the teachers at the urban elementary school displayed significantly lower scores on the TSES than did the suburban and rural schools. The implications for further research are …

Right From The Start: A Kindergarten Program That Helps Prevent Reading Failure, Mary E. Shea D., Ardith D. Cole

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This article describes a study conducted with kindergarten classrooms in a suburban elementary school with a relatively diverse population. The researchers were the building literacy specialist and a college instructor teaching a Foundations of Reading course for pre-service teachers on-site at the school. The traditional curriculum in these kindergarten classrooms was infused with developmentally appropriate reading and writing experiences that had a significant impact on children’s literacy achievement as well as teachers’ beliefs on what constitutes appropriate kindergarten literacy activities, instruction, and classroom resources.

How Does The Use Of Blogs Impact Student Motivation For Literature Discussions, Pamela Pane Mrs.

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This study sought to determine the impact of blogs on student motivation to discuss literature. The participants were 11 male and 12 female fourth grade students ranging from eight to ten years of age. All of the students were instructed in one classroom located in a suburban school setting. All students had access to computers fitted with high speed internet in their classroom. Most of the students had access to the internet at home as well. Semi-structured interviews and survey instruments were administered over a six week period. The response data were analyzed to ascertain the strengths and weaknesses of …

Professional Certification For Accomplished Principals: Directions For Australia, Lawrence Ingvarson

Educational leadership

This review was commissioned by Principals Australia Institute. Its purpose is twofold: to review approaches to assessing and evaluating principals internationally; and, to draw on this review in developing recommendations for building a rigorous and beneficial professional certification system for accomplished principals in Australia. There is widespread agreement that our society needs to place greater value on the important and complex work of teachers and principals (Productivity Commission 2012). Whether that happens will depend in large part on our capacity to develop standards for successful practice and rigorous methods for assessing those who meet them. Our ability to recognise and …

Theoretical Development, Factorial Validity, And Reliability Of The Online Graduate Mentoring Scale. Mentoring And Tutoring: Partnership In Learning., Linda Crawford, Justus Randolph, Iris M. Yob

Center for Faculty Excellence Publications

In this study, we sought to confirm the theoretical framework underlying an Online Graduate Mentoring Scale by establishing the scale’s factorial validity and reliability. Analysis of data received from doctoral students and alumni/ae of the College of Education of one large, online, accredited university reduced the initial theoretical framework from seven to six attributes, and resulted in a revision of the scale. Further research is needed to test the theoretical framework with other relevant populations and to refine the scale itself by reducing skewness and attaining item balance

The Impact And Effectiveness Of Student-Centered Classroom Structure, Amie P. Westberg

Mathematics Graduate Theses

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effectiveness of student-centered learning as an alternative classroom structure. It is important that we continually reflect on our teaching methods and explore alternatives that can help give our students the best chance to succeed. While the literature is mixed with regard to which classroom style is best, there are many sources showing the benefits of student-centered instruction over a strictly teacher- centered classroom. Sources also showed that teachers do not need to choose exclusively one style of teaching, and that a blended classroom using a variety of teaching styles can be …

A Comparison Of Vocabulary Learning From Joint Reading Of Narrative And Informational Books With Dual Language Learner Children, Deborah Bergman Deitcher

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

A Comparison of Vocabulary Learning From Joint Reading of

Narrative and Informational Books With Dual Language Learner Children

By: Deborah Bergman Deitcher

Advisor: Professor Helen L. Johnson

This study examined joint reading of narrative and informational texts in the home setting, between parents and their English-Hebrew dual language learning preschool children. Parent-child dyads were video-recorded while reading two sets of books; each set contained one narrative and one informational text on the same theme. Children's target word learning of 48 target words (12 words per book) of varying difficulty levels was measured from pretest to posttest. Results showed that children …

Crises In Efl Proficiency And Teacher Development In The Context Of International Donation And Transformation Discourses, Dereje Tadesse Birbirso

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Since 2000, Ethiopia has been working to come out of social crises, modernise itself and achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Although provided with billions of dollars by the West and their international agents, little has been changed and the crises seem never to abate, especially in the educational system. This study, thus, critically analysed a paradox of Ethiopia’s educational problems: the crisis in teachers’ EFL proficiency, on the one hand, and the discourses of international aids and transformation of her educational system, on the other. The main participants are 25 randomly selected EFL teachers and teacher educators from all corners …