Digital Commons Network^™

Using Oral Rehearsals To Develop First Grade Writing Proficiencies, Teresa Sanchez

MATL Action Research Projects

No abstract provided.

Spanish For Lunch: Engaging Young Interpreters In Teacher Professional Development, Kevin Landon Johnstun

Theses and Dissertations

Across the United States, schools are largely segregated by race and ethnicity, resulting in schools that are densely Latino and teaching staff who are overwhelming monolingual English speakers, as most teachers are white women. This has created difficulty in home communication in these schools. Given the positive impacts of personal and frequent home communication, a greater capacity of teachers to communicate with parents may be an important asset in school improvement efforts. This study looks at ongoing design-based research efforts to engage bilingual students in helping their teachers become more capable of communicating in Spanish. Through online-delivered challenges, teachers and …

Valuing Rural Dexterity: Experiential Funds Of Knowledge, Science Education, And Rural Kids, Amanda Morales

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

One’s sense of place is tied inextricably to one’s identity. Who we become as adults is closely connected to our interweaving of experience over time and how we come to understand the world and ourselves relative to it. Th ese informal and organic interactions within the specifi c environmental contexts of our childhoods can seem insignifi cant and inconsequential, particularly given that children’s imaginative explorations, informal investigations, and authentic observations of ecological phenomena present in their daily lives are oft en not acknowledged by or valued within formal educational settings. In this essay, I use Gonzalez, Moll, and Amanti’s (2005) …

Grice Cooperative Principles In Kabul Times, Sayedrahman Sial Sr.Sial

Journal of Research Initiatives

Abstract:

Since in the current day most of the data is transported through written communication and media play an important part in the transportation of hot issues of the day, news language has concerned the courtesy of both media experts and linguists for periods of times. This analytical- descriptive research planned to link the destruction and acceptance of Grice’s (1975) cooperative principles (CPs) in news reports which published in Kabul Times and classify which of these four CPs (quality, quantity, manner and relation) has been desecrated most and which of them has been desecrated less. For this purpose, 100 news …

Uncovering One Teacher's Knowledge Of Arts Integration For Developing English Learners' Reading Comprehension: A Self-Study, Tina Ralinn Mcculloch

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore what I, a general education classroom teacher, know about using arts integration to build English Learners (ELs) reading comprehension. As the primary researcher, I am a fifth-grade, general education teacher in an intermountain West, Title 1, urban school where the typical classroom contains over 50% EL students. The studys two other participants were Martha, the director of the universitys arts partnership, and Camilla, a fellow faculty member who integrates arts into her curriculum. This qualitative Self-Study of Teaching and Teacher Education Practice research methodology was utilized to uncover my knowledge of teaching …

Parents’ Perspectives Of Cultural Competence In Schools: The Initial Development Of The Culturally Competent School Community Scale, Aijah Kai Baruti Goodwin

LSU Master's Theses

Diversity in school settings is continuously changing with an increase of minority students in the United States school systems. The present study uses a phenomenological approach to gain parents’ experiences related to culturally responsive and competent practices in their child(ren)’s schools. Interviews were conducted with 10 culturally diverse parents with children in preschool and/or elementary school. The interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded for common themes and analyzed for the frequency and prevalence of the themes in preschool vs. elementary school settings. An analysis of the interviews revealed 6 themes related to culturally competent and responsive practices in school settings. The …

Getting To What Is: Poetry As A Genre Of Access For Multilingual Learners, Audrey A. Friedman, Joelle M. Pedersen, Chris K. Bacon

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This paper explores the poetry writing of 15, multilingual ninth graders to construct a practitioner framework for analyzing writing as discourse with multilingual learners (MLs). Grounded in an understanding of poetry as a genre of access for both teachers and students, we asked: How does poetry—read as a specific, situated discourse—reveal linguistic and cultural competence among MLs in an urban, high-school classroom?

Using four tools of Critical Discourse Analysis—situated meaning, significance building, connections building, and identity building—we analyzed student poetry produced via an online mentoring platform. Through applying these lenses, three major themes emerged, which structured our framework: language experimentation, …

The Threshold Concepts Of Writing Studies In The Writing Methods Course, Kristine Johnson

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

I argue that the threshold concepts of writing studies enable preservice writing teachers to meet several goals for the writing methods course: comprehending composition theory, understanding themselves as writers, and developing effective pedagogical practices. After introducing these concepts, I first outline how they—because they define writing as a subject of study and as an activity—bridge theoretical knowledge, pedagogical application, and personal writing practices. Second, I quote from my own students to illustrate the ways in which threshold concepts help preservice teachers reflect on their own writing practices and become thoughtful, theoretically informed teachers.

An Autobiography Of Becoming: Community, Mentorship, And Partnership As A Means For Self-Realization, Marley Asplundh

Teaching and Learning Together in Higher Education

No abstract provided.

From An Active Learner To A Reflective Practitioner: Learning To Become A Professional Indonesian Efl Instructor, Teuku Zulfikar

The Qualitative Report

For teachers, professional development is a lifelong journey and a complex and multi-dimensional process. Effective professional development requires practitioners to engage not only in training but also in habitual reflection. However, research on reflective learning within the context of Indonesian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching, at both secondary and tertiary levels, is limited. Using the-Self Study, Qualitative Inquiry this article explores my reflective practices in the Indonesian educational context. It is structured around a narration of my roles as an active EFL learner and instructor which have led me to become a reflective practitioner. The article starts with …

Early Career Teacher Development Program: Two-Years-On Survey Development, Katherine L. Dix, Syeda Kashfee Ahmed

Professional learning for teachers and school leaders

This report, the second of three, presents insights into the development of the Two-Years-On survey to inform the South Australian Department for Education’s Early Career Teacher Development (ECTD) program evaluation, conducted by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). The focus of Report 2 is a review of existing similar surveys and the development of this new survey for the evaluation in 2019 and possible ongoing use for program monitoring. The program was launched in January 2017 and is designed to support the induction and professional development of early career teachers (ECTs) in their first two years. The program involves …

The Relationship Between Student Assessment, Teacher Evaluation, And Teacher Climate, Cheryl Dayan Owens Buchanan

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

High-stakes testing has been a key component in the educational landscape since policies have focused on pedagogical quality in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between student assessment, teacher evaluation, and teacher climate. The theoretical framework of Herzberg’s motivation theory guided this study. The researcher used a correlational design to analyze the relationship between student assessment, teacher evaluations, and teacher climate. The survey was given to 109 participants who were selected from a convenience sample of middle school teachers in a rural school district in Tennessee during the 2017-2018 school year. The EVAAS Teacher …

No.7, March 2019: Bilingual Teacher Residency Programs In California: Considerations For Development And Expansion, Magaly Lavadenz Ph.D., Elvira G. Armas Ed.D., Natividad Robles

Education and Policy Briefs

Public interest, research and policies about dual language education and the multiple benefits of bilingualism and biliteracy have led to shortages of bilingual education teachers in the state and nation. School districts and educator preparation programs are actively looking for pathways of bilingual teacher preparation to meet local demands for more dual language programs. Modeled after medical residencies, teacher residencies are deeply rooted in clinical training, typically placing residents in classrooms with experienced teachers in high-needs schools where they are supported in their development. Teacher residencies allow for the recruitment of teachers, offer strong clinical preparation, connect new teachers to …

Assessing History Students’ Historical Skills In The Cape Coast Metropolis Of Ghana, Charles Adabo Oppong

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

This study assesses history students’ historical skills in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana. The specific skills assessed were document literacy and evaluative skills. In assessing these skills, two instruments were employed: the use of a test and a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) guide. Students were tested to examine their skills in using historical documents under sourcing, contextualisation and corroboration. FGD was used to investigate how students evaluate historical evidence. The data analysis of the students’ test consisted of three stages. The first stage involved marking the responses while making notes on them, the second stage included writing a single …

Cambodian American Views Of Partnerships In Public Education, Peter T. Keo

Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement

This study elicited the views of Cambodian American adults regarding public school partnerships. The central argument is that the paucity of extant literature and research on Southeast Asian American (SEAA) family-school partnerships in public education renders these individuals invisible. Given the fluid and dynamic lived experiences across and within the SEAA community, there is a critical need for empirical research that addresses issues particular to ethnic groups. Surveys and semi-structured interviews were utilized to collect data from Cambodian American respondents. Findings suggested the importance of culture and structure in building critical partnerships.

Creating A New Normal: Language Education For All, Aleidine J. Moeller, Martha G. Abbott

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

Challenge: Language educators play a significant role as agents of change both within our classrooms and beyond. How can we position languages and help policy-makers and administrators at the local, state, and national levels to value multilingualism and multiculturalism as an integral and essential part of every learner’s education? What will that “new normal” look like?

Abstract: How close are we to the reality of all students having the opportunity to learn another language and gaining support for these efforts from the general public? The answer has a long history, which we point out by referencing articles that span the …

Project On Designing Activities For Teaching Grammar, Sunny Hyon

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

This document outlines a project for a course in second language acquisition taken by undergraduates who intend to be high school or university teachers/professors. The project asks the undergraduates to design a sequence of activities for teaching English language learners (ELLs) a particular English grammatical construction, and to connect those activities to reading or writing assignments in their future classrooms. The students also must explain how their activities will facilitate ELLs' grammatical learning, drawing on research on language acquisition presented in the course.

Chinese Language Teacher Competency: A Literature Review For A Study Series, Huiwen Li, Hui Pang, Zhenzhen Hu

Chinese Language Teaching Methodology and Technology

This literature study reviews the definition and the most significant research studies of teacher competency. A chronological order, from the 20th to the 21st century, is followed to introduce the development of the teacher competency. The current status of the Chinese (as a foreign language) teacher competency research is also revealed, which shows a big gap that needs to be filled.

Social-Emotional Learning (Sel) In A Field Course: Preservice Teachers Practice Sel-Supportive Instructional Strategies, Judy L. Sugishita

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This action research study examined social-emotional learning (SEL) strategies taught during a year-long elementary teaching credential field course to examine (a) what SEL strategies look like in practice, and (b) what training effects might be seen among twelve preservice student teacher (PST) participants. Part of a two-course clinical practice study, this paper focused solely on the research done in the field course during the 2013-2014 academic year. Drawing from program-based and integrated SEL literature, the strategies studied supported (a) active engagement in learning, (b) equitable access to instruction, including diversity and differentiated strategies, and (c) learner-centered classroom discipline. Frequency …

Conflicting Perspectives: A Comparison Of Edtpa Intended Outcomes To Actual Experiences Of Teacher Candidates And Educators In New York City Schools, Deborah Greenblatt

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

The edTPA is a performance-based assessment of teacher candidates created by the Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning and Equity (SCALE) and nationally scored by Pearson Education. It is also promoted by American Association of Colleges of Teacher Educators (AACTE) as a “standards-based assessment.” As of the spring of 2018, the edTPA is used as a requirement for program accreditation or teacher candidate certification or program completion in 18 states.

This article analyzes the stated goals, objectives, and benefits made by SCALE and AACTE and compares them to data collected from interviews and open-ended questions with teacher candidates and teacher educators …

Increasing Engagement Of English Learners Through Universal Design For Learning, Melinda S. Eichhorn, Amanda E. Lowry, Kristen Burke

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

English learners (ELs) are the fastest growing segment of K–12 students. When ELs do not respond to instruction as quickly as their English-speaking peers, teachers may focus on their deficits and wrongly label them as having a learning disability. In this article on the universal design for learning engagement guidelines, we summarize how we have anticipated learning barriers and increased engagement with academic content for ELs in our practice. By teaching strategies for self-regulation and individual coping skills, providing guided practice and support to sustain effort, and giving students various ways to achieve the same goal in a safe learning …

Missing The (Turning) Point: The Erosion Of Democracy At An American University, Anthony Fucci, Theresa Catalano

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

On August 25, 2017, student members of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), a right-wing conservative organization who advocates for smaller government and free market enterprise, recruited on the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) campus. Members of the UNL community protested nearby. Part of the protest was recorded on video and released to social media leading to harsh public criticism that accused the university of restricting free speech and being an unsafe environment for conservative students. Drawing on cognitive linguistics (e.g. metonymy, framing) and multimodal critical discourse analysis (MCDA), this paper explores how the TPUSA incident at UNL was recontextualized in local and …

Multicultural Teacher Education Matters, Reginald Todd, Jacqueline Smith

The Journal of the Research Association of Minority Professors

This article focuses on the impact the demographic change in the student population in current K-12 classrooms has had on teacher education programs as it pertains to the preparation of culturally responsive preservice teachers. There exists an extensive body of literature that posits that the increase of cultural diversity in our current classrooms should be understood as a call for new teaching approaches that promote multicultural awareness among teacher educators to develop preservice teachers who exhibit culturally responsive teaching practices, behaviors, and attitudes. This comprehensive review of literature explored the current research on multicultural teacher education programs, and more specifically …

Culturally Responsive Teaching: The Bible Tells Me So, Nyaradzo Mvududu

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The US population is becoming more and more diverse. This is the reality. In light of this fact people in all walks of life – e.g. education, healthcare, religion – will inevitably interact in their day to day lives with others who are increasingly different from themselves. It follows that for these interactions to be effective, we need to become more culturally competent. We need to be aware of how culture shapes us and those around us. In order to cross boundaries that can arise from our difference we need to acknowledge and value those differences. For Christians, being culturally …

Online And Self-Directed Learningreadiness Among Hospitality And Tourism College Students And Industry Professionals, Muhittin Cavusoglu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to compare self-directed learning readiness and online learning readiness between hospitality and tourism college students and industry professionals. The Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS) was used for measuring self-directed learning readiness. After examining the reliability and validity indices of the modified Online Learning Readiness Scale (OLRS), it was used in the context of hospitality and tourism for the measurement of online learning and training readiness. Two different study populations, hospitality and tourism college students and hospitality and tourism industry professionals, were identified for the purpose of this study. Data were obtained via online …

Integrating Faith And Learning: Preparing Teacher Candidates To Serve Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Students, Tatiana M. Cevallos

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

This essay examines how liberation theology and critical pedagogy inform the integration of faith and learning of a teacher educator who felt called to serve culturally and linguistically diverse students in the United States. The essay provides a brief cultural background of the educator’s journey from instructional assistant in an English learner program to teacher educator at a Christian University. The essay explains how liberation theology and critical pedagogy provide a coherent framework for preparing teacher candidates to work with English learners in public schools.

Astronomy For Educators, Daniel E. Barth

Open Educational Resources

Astronomy for Educators provides new and accomplished K-12 instructors with concepts and projects for low-cost, high-impact STEM classroom instruction that is built around the National Academies National Research Council's K-12 Framework for Science Education.

Emergence Of Professional Identities Of Novice Emirati Teachers, Lilly Tennant, Patricia Stringer, Julie Riddlebarger, Martina Dickson, Keith Kennetz

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article explores the emergence of Emirati novice teachers’ professional identity from a socio-cultural viewpoint where influences on identity are sourced internally through beliefs, attitudes, values and dispositions and externally through factors such as roles and responsibilities. Empirical data collected through individual and group interviews and analysed using content analysis, highlights both challenges and emergence of professional identity from point of graduation through to the end of the first year of teaching. The results show that influences on professional identity relate to challenges of raising learner outcomes in relation to delivery of the curriculum, managing the self in multiple contexts, …

Building Capacity In Teacher Preparation With Practitioner Inquiry: A Self-Study Of Teacher Educators’ Clinical Feedback Practices, Sherry Dismuke, Esther A. Enright, Julianne A. Wenner

Journal of Practitioner Research

This collaborative self-study of teacher educators’ feedback practices argues for an intentional process for teacher educators to develop an inquiry stance toward our own teaching. Data sources include formative observation forms, evaluations, observation notes, debriefings, surveys, researcher journals, and layered memos. Findings define influences and shared patterns of practice. Our professional learning from this self-study built our capacity as teacher educators by informing our development of an inquiry feedback cycle rooted in representations, approximations, and decomposition of practice (Grossman et al., 2009) to intentionally model and scaffold the development of an inquiry stance toward practice in our teacher candidates.

From Rigor To Vigor: The Past, Present, And Potential Of Inquiry As Stance, Elizabeth Currin

Journal of Practitioner Research

Over the years, practitioner research has been both marginalized and trivialized within the larger educational research landscape. This article challenges that exclusion by tracing the emergence and development of the inquiry stance construct. Understanding the origins of teacher inquiry can contribute to its cultivation and ultimately lend a necessary rigor—or better yet, vigor—to practitioner research. Indeed, inquiry as stance endures because it is far more than a best practice or ready-made technique. Deeply ontological and epistemological, an inquiry stance enables educators to transform their teaching for the sake of all learners in the face of an ever-changing educational landscape.