Digital Commons Network^™

Perspectives In Provisions For Science And Technology Education In Nigeria: The Way Forward, Adebola Ifamuyiwa, Kehinde Alebiosu

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

The promotion of science and technology education is a warmly embraced venture. Nigerian educational system prioritized science and technology with policies that are favorably disposed to science and technology education. The national policy on education and the national policy on science and technology made good provisions for science and technology education. Government through the education policy empowered the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), the Basic Education, the senior secondary education, technical and scientific education and tertiary education with robust plan for science and technology education in the programmes. (FGN, 2004). The policy came into existence in 1977 and education …

Principals As Mentors In Teacher Education: How Preservice Teachers’ Voices Informed Practice, Anita Varrati, Amy Smith

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

Principals in today’s schools clearly have their work cut out for them. The job has never been easy and the addition of accountability for state standards and assessments just adds to the load. The implications of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) for principals involve spending significant amounts of time on the development of effective classroom teachers. The content of induction programs for new teachers now includes federal and state requirements for licensing and recertification (Highly Qualified Teachers) in addition to aligning new teacher needs with school mission and goals. As a result, the principal’s role with beginning teachers has never …

The Corporatization Of American Education: Analyzing The Relationship Between Job Satisfaction And Productivity Among University Professors, Benjamin Marte

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

The relationship between job satisfaction and productivity is one that has been examined at great length over the years. Consider Locke’s claim that as of 1976, approximately 3,350 articles on this topic were in circulation (Okpara 2004). In 1992 Cranny et al. reported the existence of at least 5,000 of such manuscripts (Okpara 2004). Numerous studies have been conducted in this field of inquiry, and this paper endeavors to build upon that collective effort. Here, the focus is on the relationship between job satisfaction and productivity among the professors of a major research university in south Florida; while its scope …

Sports Metaphors As A Motivational Leadership Strategy, Kay Woelfel

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

In schools, the theme of sports can be used throughout the building to motivate staff and students. The students are players, staff members are coaches, and the administration are head coaches. All are necessary members of the team, and all must work together to achieve team goals. This theme kicks off the school year by having a training camp for staff (professional development) to launch the beginning of the school year. Sports-themed snacks including peanuts, popcorn, and crackerjacks and giveaways such as pompoms in school colors, pennants, and sports-themed school supplies generate interest.

Mentors’ Views About Developing Effective English Teaching Practices, Peter Hudson, Jan Millwater

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Effective mentoring in English is considered paramount to a preservice teacher’s development. What are mentors’ views about developing effective English teaching practices in their mentees? This study used quantitative data (survey) and qualitative data (questionnaire) on 24 mentors’ perceptions of mentoring second-year preservice teachers for teaching English and, in particular, the teaching of writing. Quantitative data measured mentors’ perceptions of their attributes and practices across five factors for mentoring (i.e., Personal Attributes, System Requirements, Pedagogical Knowledge, Modelling, and Feedback) with 67% or more of these mentors (n=24) agreeing or strongly agreeing they provided all of the advocated attributes and practices …

Student Motivation: Premise, Effective Practice And Policy, Stuart Levy, Holly Campbell

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The purpose of this article is to outline how motivation of first year university students can be enhanced through effective pedagogic practices and to discuss policy level decisions that impact upon the cultivation of student motivation. It reports on practices within a specific first year unit, Understanding University Learning, which successfully incorporates teaching and learning strategies to enhance academic motivation.

E-Learning Pedagogy In The Primary School Classroom: The Mcdonaldization Of Education, Matthew Etherington

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper begins as an initial rejoinder to the ideas expressed by Ross (2000) in The Promise and Perils of E-Learning: A critical look at the new technology. In his article, Ross supports the traditional practices of pedagogy at the primary school level—face-to-face pedagogy— and then critiques what he describes as a ‘fetishisation’ of technological pedagogy—a fetishisation seen in the increase of E-learning pedagogy at the primary school level. The ideas expressed in this article gain their structure and momentum from Ross’s (2000) arguments against E-learning and extends a more cautious approach to the widespread belief in the success of …

Kentucky Teacher Standard 10: Developing And Supporting The Leadership Competency Through Constructive Field Trip Planning, Kimberlee A. Sharp

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

With gasoline prices skyrocketing out of control and school districts having to determine possible cuts in their annual budgets, one would be justified in questioning the efficacy of school field trips as a means to broaden students' cultural experiences. After all, most modern classrooms (or school libraries) are equipped with computers that can provide students vitiual cultural excursions that are, to some degree, equal to their real world counterpart. More importantly, preparing students for high - stakes standardized tests has helped to relegate the once revered field trip to the back-burner.

Jake Zhu Cd Spring 2007, Jake Zhu

Innovative Course Redesign Grant Reports

Supports faculty to redesign or develop a course in ways that implement high-impact, evidence-based, and/or innovative teaching strategies to improve student learning.

Bystander Intervention: From Small Steps To Large, Charles G. Eberly

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

This short article was prepared for the 2008 National Hazing Prevention Week Resource Guide. The intent was to demonstrate to readers that even the smallest microaggressions have an impact on one's life, and resisting the temptations to tease a naive person for their lack of awareness or sensitivity is a good step on the way to confident bystander intervention when the consequences of hazing are far more damaging.

Inside Unlv, Diane Russell, Shane Bevell, Michelle Mouton, Erin O'Donnell, Mamie Peers, Grace Russell, Deana Waddell

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

Induction And Peer Coaching Programs In A Middle School Setting, Shanti Ladawn Howard

Dissertations

While almost half of new teachers engage in some type of induction program, many programs only offer superficial types of assistance including district-wide orientations, periodic workshops, or instruction in classroom management (Gold, 1996). Some induction programs sponsored by the state institute an evaluation process that applies formulaic criteria for defining teaching behaviors to assess new teacher performances (Darling-Hammond et al., 1999). In the continued search for school improvement, there was a need to propose another option in staff development, e.g., peer coaching.

Peer coaching was examined because induction programs did not attend to the individual needs of alternatively certified teachers. …

International Teacher Perspectives On Using Computers To Teach Music, Jun-Ting Sun

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated how four expert teachers from Australia, Japan, Taiwan and the United States integrated computers into their music classrooms. Through the use of qualitative interviewing methodology (Kvale, 1996), in-depth interviews were conducted between the participants and the researcher. The questions focused on the decision making process behind how these expert teachers chose to integrate technology in their music classes as well as the impact of various cultural, societal, and political influences (parents, teachers, students, school administrators, government officials and policy, and the community) on the development and implementation of their curriculum. Findings from this study suggest that music …

Perceived Attitude Towards Feedback In Athletic Training Clinical Education, Jessica Lynn Emlich

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to measure and compare the perceived mean attitudinal score towards clinical instructor feedback, of Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) accredited athletic training education programs (ATEP) program directors/clinical coordinators and affiliated clinical instructors. Additionally, the investigator was interested to see if relationships between attitudes towards feedback and the respondent's age, sex, employment setting and years of professional experience existed.

There were a total of one hundred and fifty eight participants in this study that comprised the two groups. Program directors and clinical coordinators (PD/CC) comprised 59 of the responses and 99 were …

Excellent Teachers’ Thinking Model : Implications For Effective Teaching, Sahandri G. Hamzah, Hapidah Mohamad, Mohammad R. Ghorbani

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study aimed to suggest an Excellent Teacher Thinking Model that has the potential to be utilized in the development of excellent teachers. Interaction survey method using survey questions, observation, document review and interview was conducted in this study. One hundred and five excellent teachers were selected randomly as research respondents. Two sets of instrument constructed and used in this study were Teachers’ Thinking questionnaire and Teachers’ Teaching Performance observation form. Cronbach Alpha reliability value was between 0.73-0.92 for every component in each division. Multiple regression analysis (stepwise) was used to answer the research questions. R square value (R2 = …

Best Practice Or Most Practiced? Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs About Effective Behaviour Management Strategies And Reported Self-Efficacy, Susan Main, Lorraine Hammond

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Managing student behaviour remains one of the most daunting aspects of teaching for educators and this is particularly so when children with disabilities are included in the regular classroom. Self-efficacy has been identified as having a significant impact on a teacher’s behaviour, and pre-service training can play an important role in preparing teachers to be effective classroom managers. The purpose of this study was to identify if pre-service teachers in an Australian university held high or low self-efficacy beliefs and whether the type of strategies they identified as most effective correlated with those highlighted in the research as best practice. …

In Search Of The Essence Of A Good School: School Characteristics Leading To Successful Pds Collaboration, Aviva Klieger, Anat Oster-Levinz

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Professional Development Schools (PDSs) are collaborative ventures between schools and teacher training institutions. We identify the characteristics of a school that lead to successful PDS collaboration, relating them to Teitel’s model (2003) that merges the principal standards of collaboration with the stages necessary for developing a PDS. We then describe an external evaluation of a PDS in action in Israel, noting that it took several years to achieve some of the objectives; others have still not been met. Finally, we describe the school’s characteristics that contributed to its success as a PDS.

Science And Mathematics Alliance For Recruiting And Retaining Teachers (Smarrt): Addressing The Teacher Shortage In At-Risk Schools, Denise Staudt, Michael Risku, Elda Martinez

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The Science and Mathematics Alliance for Recruiting and Retaining Teachers (SMARRT) is a collaborative partnership pursuing aggressive strategies to recruit high quality minority teachers to teach in high-need schools in urban school districts. This partnership is dedicated to recruiting, preparing, and retaining high quality teachers with strong academic content knowledge in science and/or mathematics and a wide repertoire of research-based teaching practices including ESL strategies. The SMARRT project is designed to allow urban school districts experiencing severe shortages in mathematics, science and ESL teachers to create a pipeline of highly qualified teachers by partnering with the university to recruit, prepare, …

Changing Preservice Teachers’ Attitudes For Teaching In Rural Schools., Peter Hudson, Sue Hudson

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Australia continues to face teaching shortages in rural schools. Indeed, preservice teachers may be reluctant to apply for rural teaching positions, particularly as most have had no rural teaching experiences. What may motivate non-rural preservice teachers to seek employment in rural schools? This study investigates 17 preservice teachers’ first experiences of teaching and living in rural areas. These second and third-year preservice teachers were involved in a five-day rural experience, which included interacting with local communities, living with host families, observing teaching practices, and teaching rural middle-school students. These self-nominated preservice teachers were placed in a variety of rural schools …

Gifted Education Exposure In Introductory Special Education Texts: Quantitative Text Content Analysis, Sandra Kay Hansen Wentworth

Dissertations

This present study was designed to examine and compare 10 introductory special education textbooks used in mandatory introductory special education courses. The percentage of text devoted to gifted education chapters in comparison to specific learning disabilities, behavior disorders, mental retardation, autism spectrum disorders, and speech/language/communication disorders was explored for statistically significant differences. Paired samples t tests were conducted to analyze the data. A statistically significant difference was found between the coverage of gifted education and autism spectrum disorders among the 10 examined texts. No other significant statistical findings were found between various exceptionalities among the 10 examined texts. The prevalence …

From Traditional Delivery To Distance Learning: Developing The Model, Marie F. Holbein

Faculty Articles

Today’s classrooms are no longer bound by geography. Distance learning has provided an attractive and increasingly highly regarded alternative to traditional face-to-face instruction. However, effective implementation requires a shift in thinking for both students and instructors. The purpose of this article is to describe a model for applying a traditional campus-based graduate course to a distance format.

Building Accessible E-Learning Collaboratively, Shalin Hai-Jew

SIDLIT Conference Proceedings

The presenter discusses issues online instructors must consider when creating an accessible Web-based learning environment for those with or without disabilities.

Preparing New E-Learning Faculty For Online Instruction, Shalin Hai-Jew

SIDLIT Conference Proceedings

The presenter addresses concerns and issues associated with online instruction while providing information for instructors beginning their experiences in offering Web-based curriculum.

Rita Hamilton, Rita Hamilton, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Rita Hamilton comes from a family with a history in child nutrition. Hamilton’s mother worked at the food service manager at Hamilton’s elementary school in rural Arkansas. After majoring in Home Economics at the University of Arkansas and working as an Arkansas Home Economics extension agent, Rita went on to serve as a state supervisor in the school nutrition programs at the Arkansas Department of Education.

Changes In Kindergarteners' Writing Complexity When Using Story Elements, Lynne M. Watanabe

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined changes in kindergarteners' writing complexity after implementing writing instruction based on story elements (character, setting, problem, and solution). Writing samples from six students of three ability levels (i.e., beginning, intermediate, and advanced) were collected over a six-week period within a guided writing context. These samples included three types of texts (oral language, pictures, and written text)and were analyzed using two analytic rubrics specifically created for this study, one for writing development and the other for the inclusion of story elements. Findings from this study suggest that all students, regardless of ability level wrote in more complex ways …

Enhancing Students' Science Content Knowledge Through Text Structure Awareness, Jamie Lynn Christensen

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of teaching text structure as a tool to assist first grade students' understanding of science content in a unit of study on plants. A quantitative analysis was performed to reveal any difference in mean post-test scores between a control group and a treatment group. Results indicated that the treatment group students' science content knowledge was increased significantly more than students in the control group. Usage of specific text structure keywords did not increase. However, students did use synonyms of keywords. Recommendations for further research are discussed.

Examination Of Interactions Among Eighth-Grade Language Arts Students During Literature Circles, Rachel Marie Smith

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the nature of interactions that took place among eighth-graders as they participated in literature circles. The teacher/researcher organized students into literature circles based on the students' novel selection. Students completed a different role assignment each week. The role assignments included word wizard, passage picker, connector, summarizer, and question asker. As the students participated in literature circles, the teacher/researcher tape recorded their conversations and took observational field notes. Analysis of the data four weeks later showed that some students' voices were silenced and students went through the motions of completing and talking about their role assignments with little …

Becoming A Teacher Educator: A Self-Study Of Learning And Discovery As A Mentor Teacher, Julie Anne Castro

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine what I encountered as I moved from the role of a classroom teacher into the role of a mentor teacher of student teachers. As I traveled down the path of becoming a mentor, I learned about mentoring roles, discovered my vulnerabilities, and found a community of support. The improvements and understanding I gained through engaging in this study demonstrate that self-study can be beneficial for both mentor teachers and teacher educators to inform and increase knowledge in the field of mentoring.

Heroism, Voice And Hamlet [12th Grade], Lauren Gaffney

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

Heroes reflect the cultural values and emotional state of the time period in which they lived/ were created.

Economics [3rd Grade], Jennifer Mahler

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

No abstract provided.