Digital Commons Network^™

Secondary Mathematics Teacher Beliefs: Heterogeneous Or Homogenous Tracking And Ability Grouping, Andrew Hughes

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

This study focused on secondary school mathematics teachers’ beliefs about tracking (ability grouping across classes) and ability grouping within classes and their perceived effects on student achievement, student affects and behaviors, and instruction. Case study methodology was employed, and semi-structured interviews conducted with a purposive sample of six teachers from two schools in a city within the southeastern United States. Three teachers worked in a school that predominantly tracks their students while the other three teachers worked in a school that mixes their students by ability across classes. Data from this study are consistent with social inequities reported in tracking …

Career And Technical Education Experiences Relationship To Technology Attitudes, Self-Regulation And Grit, Kendall Hartley, Xue Xing

Teaching and Learning Faculty Research

Career and Technical Education (CTE) secondary school experiences have a positive impact on career development and academic achievement. This study explores other positive impacts such as technology attitudes, persistence, and cognitive traits that are associated with career and academic success. This study investigated the relationships between high school CTE experiences of 103 pre-service education students and technology attitudes, grit, and self-regulated learning. The results demonstrate a statistically significant positive correlation between the number of CTE courses taken in high school and technology dependence. Similarly, there is a positive correlation between CTE courses and self-regulatory skills. Grit was positively correlated with …

The Maine Teacher Resilience Study: Using Sem To Create A Teacher Costs To Caring Resilience Model, Sherry Pineau Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For decades, researchers have understood the deleterious emotional and psychological effects that can result from working with individuals who have experienced trauma and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) including vicarious traumatization, compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress (STS), burnout, and an intent to leave the profession (Figley, 1995; McCann & Pearlman, 1990; Stamm, 1999). Figley (1995) deemed such effects as an almost inevitable “cost to caring” (p.1) for those who have experienced adversity. Teachers, however, have been largely left out of the discussion surrounding such effects. The purpose of this quantitative study is two-fold. First, the purpose is to understand the extent …

Empowering Higher Education Extension Workers For Community Engagement: The Case Of A Certificate Course Offered By A Comprehensive University In Manila, Mark Anthony D. Abenir, Abegail Martha S. Abelardo, Veronica Michelle L. Moreno

Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Even though community engagement is an important function of higher educational institutions (HEIs), many HEI personnel across the world are in need of training in this area. In the extant literature, trainings for community engagement in an HEI context are well studied in countries of the Global North. However, there seems to be a dearth of literature about this field in the Philippines. Our research addresses this gap by delving into the certificate course on community engagement and organizing offered by the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila. Specifically, this study describes the content and conduct of the course, …

The Power Of A Name: Nontraditional Names, Teacher Efficacy, And Expected Learning Outcomes, Lasonya L. Moore, Martha S Lue Stewart Dr., Dena D. Slanda, Anais Placencia, Meznari M. Moore

Journal of English Learner Education

Names serve as important identifiers and carry with them hopes for a generation as well as pride in one’s culture. A name is often an extension of one’s culture or language and represents their identity. With the increasing student diversity across our nation, many students in our K-12 public schools may have uncommon or nontraditional names. Public school teachers, who are predominantly White, may find these names unfamiliar, difficult to pronounce or difficult to spell. Despite a name’s unfamiliarity, classroom teachers must have the knowledge and disposition to create a space that signals to a student that their name is …

The Effects Of Service-Learning On The Moral Development Of College Students, Mike Coquyt

The Interactive Journal of Global Leadership and Learning Infographics

In the last few years, several national reports on higher education have called for colleges and universities to take a more central role in providing moral and democratic education to college students. These developments suggest a renewed interest in collegiate goals that go beyond those that benefit the individual, continuing an emphasis in addressing the moral dimension of higher education that has existed for centuries. Courses with a service-learning component can be a powerful instrument for moral transformation. Working within Kohlberg’s Moral Development Theory, this 16-week quasi-experimental case study investigated the extent to which service-learning advances moral development (movement from …

An Exploration Of Teacher Preparation Practices With Foundational Knowledge Of Literacy, Marla K. Robertson Phd, Laurie A. Sharp, Roberta Raymond, Rebekah E. Piper Phd

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

The Standards for the Preparation of Literacy Professionals 2017 published by the International Literacy Association provide the basis for high-quality literacy teacher preparation. This study used qualitative survey responses to explore the literacy practices that teacher educators use to promote understandings among preservice teachers for each grade-level band (i.e., Pre-K/Primary, Elementary/Intermediate, Middle/High School). The researchers used conceptualizations of teacher knowledge as a theoretical lens to better understand reported preparation practices. Data analysis revealed three themes: Teacher Educator Pedagogy, Course Content, Student and Program Expectations. Researchers posit that teacher educators do not evenly focus on all components of literacy and …

Regenerating Teacher Education Programs With Indigenous Knowledge In Idaho, Vanessa Anthony-Stevens, Johanna Jones, Victor Begay

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

This paper examines movements in educational policy to address the inequitable schooling experiences of American Indian youth. We look specifically at recent policy revisions to teacher education standards in the state of Idaho which intend to address preservice teachers’ knowledge and dispositions to build understanding and respect for Indigenous ways of knowing and tribal sovereignty in classrooms and schools. We argue that critical, culturally based teacher training programs can prepare competent, equity conscious teachers to address the unique challenges of schools, especially those serving Indigenous youth. Such frameworks are vital acts of social justice education which benefit all students.

A Case Study Regarding Induction Supports And Activities And Their Impact On Successful Teacher Retention, Alicia Ponds

Doctorate in Education

At the end of every school year, new teachers either stay or leave public classrooms. Multiple challenges drive these new teacher choices. State, district, and local administrators struggle to fill teacher vacancies. New teacher departures challenge schools with the maintenance of an attractive work environment and provision of quality student education. This case study shares how five successful Minnesota educators apply extrinsic activities and intrinsic supports to not only meet these challenges, but effectively respond to the 2019-2020 onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through research interviews, this qualitative study analyzes intrinsic supports and extrinsic activities in relation to positive teaching …

Implementing Simulation In Icu New Graduate Nursing Orientation: Introducing Two Practice Innovations, Aiza Quinday Msn

Master's Projects and Capstones

A change project involving the use of innovative wearable simulation technology was integrated into the 12-week new graduate nurse ICU training program at one community hospital in Northern California. Project implementation was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, so only the first pilot training session was conducted. Initial results from this training session suggest that the simulation training had a positive impact on the nurses’ ability to assess patient breath sounds and to recognize and treat a rapidly deteriorating patient. This training session also allowed the project team to identify additional areas of skill assessment and opportunities for improvement for the …

Our Stories, Our Voices: The Lived Experiences Of Black Families With Young Children During Covid-19, Devalin Jackson

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of Black families raising young children during shelter in place orders and distance learning due to Covid-19. The study was conducted virtually through Zoom and Google form due to county shelter in place orders. Participants were recruited from the school in which the researcher worked. Through the use of virtual interviews, the five participants highlighted themes of reconnections, isolations, empowerment, family values and conversations. The families shared experiences of resilience and hope and brought thoughts of how these experiences could be highlighted in instructional and curriculum designs; especially during …

Rapid Shifts In Educators’ Perceptions Of Data Literacy Priorities, Kristin Fontichiaro, Melissa P. Johnston

Journal of Media Literacy Education

To meet the challenges of a data-driven society, high school students need new arrays of literacy skills. In the United States, school librarians, who work across disciplines, are well-positioned to help students improve their data practice, but they first need new domain knowledge. This article presents findings from an evaluating survey and session evaluation data from a virtual data literacy conference, which were part of a federally-funded project to develop data literacy skills among high school librarians and educators. Findings indicated a noticeable shift in participant perceptions of the need and urgency for data literacy instruction across content areas and …

Understanding Teacher Experience With Instructional Coaching To Inform Program Improvement Reflecting The Principles Of Adult Learning Theory: A Mixed Method Case Study, Shay Reitz

Graduate Theses & Dissertations

Instructional Coaching (IC) is a strand of Professional Development (PD) during which an instructional coach provides individualized support and feedback to teachers, focused on instruction, generally within the context of the teacher’s classroom (Kraft et al., 2018). This fully integrated mixed method case study examined teacher experience with IC in order to understand which operational and emotional components of IC had the greatest perceived impact, in order to inform program improvement. Adult learning theory served as the conceptual framework for this study; the process of teaching adults is known as andragogy (Knowles, 1980). Andragogy indicates that teaching adults in a …

From Teacher To Teacher-Leader: A Phenomenographic Study Of Transition, Jennifer Santi

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

As Education evolves, the roles within traditional teaching and learning also evolve. School structures change and leadership roles within those structures change as well, creating and recreating the educational experience for students and practitioners alike. As these structures change the nature of education, the roles found within them also transform what it means to be a professional educator. Increases in teacher-leadership positions have led to more instructional coaching roles for teachers and it is necessary to understand how those roles are perceived by those that are now changing the nature of their chosen work. As teachers leave the classroom to …

Copyright Information, Todd Pagano, Sami Kahn

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

Call For Manuscript, Todd Pagano, Sami Kahn

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

Mental Health Of Students: A Teacher Resource, Kathryn Seguin

Honors Projects

Mental Health of Students: A Teacher Resource is a professional website regarding the four main types of mental health disorders, which are anxiety, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and substance use. The website also includes both a detailed list of legal responsibilities of teachers and a list of school personnel to be involved in improving the mental health of students. The objective is for the website to be used for the educational basis of teachers regarding mental health issues in their students and is a compilation of research information collected from several sites.

A Case Study On Professional Development: Improving Stem Teaching In K-12 Education, Roshani Rajbanshi, Susan Brown, Gaspard Mucundanyi, Mehmet Ali Ozer, Nicole Delgardo

The Qualitative Report

STEM Outreach Center is a non-profit educational center in southern New Mexico that supports K-12 STEM teachers and students by providing professional development, after school programs, summer camps, and field visits. This center has been organizing the Summer Institute Professional Development (SIPD) for more than ten years. The purpose of this research is to understand the effect of SIPD on teachers’ pedagogy to excite and engage students in STEM learning. This study contributes to the program evaluation by analyzing the experiences of teachers who participated in SIPD. This qualitative study uses the open-ended questionnaire as a method of data collection. …

Building Excitement For Reading And Building New Friendships: Using Book Bistro With Pre-Service Teachers And Middle School Students, Erinn Bentley

Georgia Journal of Literacy

This article describes a collaborative Book Bistro event between middle school students and pre-service English educators. Book Bistro is a strategy that promotes independent reading by gathering students in a café-like setting to discuss texts and perceptions through casual conversations. The purpose of this collaborative Bistro was two-fold: 1) To spark middle school students’ interest in self-selecting texts and engaging in independent reading, and 2) To allow pre-service teachers the opportunity to practice this strategy within an actual classroom. Responses from both the students and pre-service teachers indicated that this event positively impacted their interest toward reading and their relationships …

Coaching Initiative For Beginning Teachers (Bt): Lessons Learned From One District’S Bt Support Program, Kathleen Brown, Monica Davis, Casey Elrod, Evan Hill, Derrick D. Jordan

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

Instructional coaching is a way to support classroom teachers in their efforts to provide high quality instruction across academic content areas. Because of beginner teachers’ needs for extra support, many districts are now embracing instructional coaches to provide specific pedagogical feedback to their beginning teachers via job-embedded, individualized, and sustained professional guidance. This initial, exploratory study employed mixed methods to gain both qualitative and quantitative insights into one district’s Beginning Teacher Support Program in general and Coaching Program in particular. Results indicate that, without a laser-like focus on instruction, the impact of coaching on student achievement and teacher retention is …

Are Teachers’ Formative Assessment Practices Reliable Indicators Of Students’ Mastery Of Standards?, Olivia Hall

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

Some students, parents, and teachers are concerned over the apparent disparity between a student’s classroom grades and his/her proficiency levels reported from criterion-referenced standardized assessments, such as the Georgia Milestones. The purpose of this research project was to determine if teachers’ formative assessment practices were reliable indicators of students’ mastery of grade-level standards. This study was a mixed-methods study with an explanatory research design. Qualitative data were collected through observations and interviews that analyzed teachers’ perceptions of the meaning of formative assessments and how they are impacted by the summative assessment system. Also, samples of teacher-selected assessments were analyzed to …

Virtual Tools Show Promise For Moving The Needle On Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Family Engagement, Tamra Mitchell, Socorro Herrera

The Advocate

The school building closures of spring 2020 fundamentally disrupted education in Kansas, but out of this disruption emerged the need and opportunity for schools and educators to be creative and innovative. At a time when every parent in our state was either employed as an essential worker and working longer hours, trying to work from home, or trying to navigate the loss of their job, they were also trying to support their children with continuous learning. This required Kansas schools to think differently and try new strategies for truly engaging families. One promising innovation that many schools piloted was to …

Learning Will Continue, Mischel Miller, Debbie K. Mercer

The Advocate

When Kansas school buildings were closed for the remainder of spring 2020, school leaders responded to ensure learning would continue for the P-12 500,000 students. Rapid change research provides a framework for looking at the response needed during this pandemic. The Kansas State Department of Education led efforts to pivot to remote learning. This article analyzes research data from all public and private schools related to challenges during this time. Access to technology, both devices and internet, remote delivery modes for teaching and learning, and use of paper packets are discussed as the State strengthens and moves forward.

Helping The Helpers: Tending To Kansas Educators’ Social-Emotional Needs And Self-Care During A Pandemic, Jessica J. Lane Dr., Leah Mckeeman Dr., Laura Bonella

The Advocate

On a typical day, pre-COVID 19, educators are pulled in many directions, making hundreds, if not thousands, of quick decisions. Today those dynamics are heightened with varied and additional competing needs. However, what has not changed is the essential role of an educator. Caring for students in a time of such uncertainty seems critical. However, while there is serious and necessary demand for caring for the students and families, one population that is gravely being overlooked are the helpers. The educators. Less emphasis is being placed on the wellness and self-care of those who are offering those needed social-emotional supports. …

Technology Of Story: Documenting Culturally Sustaining Anti-Racist Teaching, Frances Vitali

Proceedings from the Document Academy

Our education system, an extension of our society, has created a monster of historical sociocultural and linguistic inequities, traumas, structural racism, and oppressions. Culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogy honor students’ funds of knowledge as their authentic power and voice. The oral family stories became vehicles to navigate and facilitate educational partnerships in becoming more culturally responsive for these teacher candidates. Oral stories, as documents, became the content within the context of the writing workshop process. These documented stories became the technological bridge that supported students’ home experiences with academic language and content to meet curricular goals.

During the writing process, …

Mitigating Trauma In The Newcomer Classroom: A Commitment Beyond Borders, Laura Garriguez

Master's Projects and Capstones

In this field project, you will observe a melding of macro-and micro-perspectives on the mitigation of trauma in the newcomer classroom. The central premise of the project is that without understanding the socio-political factors, socio-economic realities, and historical process of migration to the United States, it is nearly impossible to attempt to ameliorate the trauma of students new to the country. In other words, attempts to do so without this perspective can and often does leave students marginalized and/or feeling marginalized. Working from an anti-racist and anti-imperialist lens, the project’s framework is grounded in the scholarship and activism of abolitionist …

Impact Of A Teacher Education Program On The Intercultural Competence Of Teacher Candidates, Elizabeth J. Sandell

Elementary and Literacy Education Department Publications

No abstract provided.

Co-Designing Teacher Residencies: Sharing Leadership, Finding New Opportunities, Matt Miller, Steph Strachan

Prepared to Teach

This report focuses on how a group of university teacher educators at Western Washington University’s Elementary Education program and district administrators at Ferndale School District reconsidered their approach to teacher preparation. Instead of viewing preparation as primarily the University’s responsibility, the partnership placed the needs of P-12 students and the district at the forefront of considerations, while also honoring a parallel goal enhancing the preparation experience.

The report describes the successful outcomes of the work, including revisions to the residency like work opportunities, a revised placement process, a district “on-boarding” process, and responsive professional development throughout the residency. Finally, you …

Broadening Perspectives: Using Multiple Teaching Approaches To Meet The Needs Of Language Students, Kalen Taylor

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio is comprised of research, opinions, and ideas that the author has learned during the Master of Second Language Teaching (MSLT) program at Utah State University (USU). It is a representation of experiences gained through teaching lower division Spanish courses at USU. In addition to experiences, it is also comprised of research perspectives which were furthered by coursework in the MSLT program.

Contained within the pages is a road map of the author’s journey of learning and research. The portfolio begins with the author’s perspectives on teaching including his philosophy on teaching and how he has developed by observing …

Cultivating Classroom Libraries That Promote Multicultural Literature: Helping Our Students See Themselves In The Books That They Read, Kori Krafick

Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Literacy

The purpose of this study, focusing on diversity in children’s literature, was to assist teachers in choosing quality multicultural literature for students. Quality multicultural literature lacks bias, avoids discrimination, racism, prejudice and sexism, and accurately portrays social issues, historical details, and dialects in both the words and the illustrations. The goal of this project was to provide teachers with criteria to use when evaluating multicultural literature. Howlett and Young’s (2019) instrument for evaluating multicultural literature, Literary Criticism and the Absence of Bias, was used to assess multicultural literature. The survey included questions pertaining to inherent racism, bias, prejudice, and discrimination, …