Education Commons^™

New Era Of Teaching, Learning, And Technology: Teachers’ Perceived Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge And Self-Efficacy Towards Differentiated Instruction, Robin A. Millen, Robert Gable

K-12 Education

Shifting from an industrial model of education to a model that best provides students with differentiated instruction (Tomlinson, 2014) requires educational philosophical change (Fullan, 2014) as well as innovation diffusion (Rogers, 2003). The problem is not the amount of research that exists on differentiation, the diffusion of innovations, or the change process. The problem is what new technological pedagogical content knowledge (Koehler & Mishra, 2008) do educators need to make this change process happen? How is this knowledge communicated to finally change the “fundamental processes of schooling” (Elmore, 1996, p. 4)?

This sequential, mixed-methods study addressed the following condensed research …

Aligning Professional Development To An Educator Evaluation System To Support Teachers, Kathleen A. Torregrossa, Robert K. Gable

K-12 Education

The professional development (PD) opportunities for teachers in a K-12 district were examined to determine the extent to which they related to, and supported, the teachers’ rating on their evaluations. This district addressed teacher evaluation and teacher professional development jointly with their local and state level teachers’ unions with the collective “conception of teacher evaluation as part of a teaching and learning system that supports continuous improvement” (Darling-Hammond, 2014, p. 5).

This mixed-methods study examined the perceived confidence of educators in relation to their PD needs and their evaluation standards utilizing an online questionnaire and a focus group to address …

Supporting New Teachers: Aligning Professional Development To Educator Evaluation Data, Kathleen A. Torregrossa, Robert K. Gable

K-12 Education

Professional development programs and teacher evaluation systems should go hand-in-hand to support teachers across all career stages (Danielson, 2007). The professional development (PD) opportunities in a K-12 district were examined to determine the extent to which they related to, and supported, the novice teachers’ rating on their evaluations. This district addressed teacher evaluation and teacher professional development jointly with their local and state level teachers’ unions with the collective “conception of teacher evaluation as part of a teaching and learning system that supports continuous improvement” (Darling-Hammond, 2014, p. 5). However, in 2014/15, this district did not have a mentoring/induction program …

Closing The Gap Between Technological And Best Practice Innovations: Tpack And Di, Robin A. Millen, Robert Gable

K-12 Education

Implementing differentiated instruction with the fast changing landscape of technology is a complex process (Fullan, 2014; Tomlinson; 2014) and requires widespread diffusion of multiple innovations by educators (Meyer, 2004). However, most U.S. classrooms remain stagnant in their attempts to successfully incorporate innovative pedagogies (Darling-Hammond, 2010; November, 2014; Prensky, 2010; Robinson, 2011). Thus Fullan (2014) reported, “The time is right to bring together knowledge of systems change, new pedagogies and technologies that allow change to scale through diffusion” (p. 13).

To understand this problem, this pragmatic, mixed-methods study (Creswell, 2009) collected data through the following condensed research questions: What are the …

Jumping Into The Abyss:Life After The Doctorate, Felice D. Billups

Higher Education

This multi-phase phenomenological study explored doctoral graduates‟ perceptions of self, identity and adjustment in the post-dissertation phase, using Neugarten‟s (1978) Adult Development Theory and Lachman‟s (2004) Midlife Development Theory to frame the findings. This third and final phase probed doctoral degree graduates‟ personal reflections and „crossroad‟ stories to highlight the commonalities of this adjustment phase for all participants. While considerable research has been conducted on currently enrolled doctoral students, it has focused predominantly on Ph.D. graduates (Baird, 1997; D‟Andrea, 2002; Di Pierro, 2007). Minimal research, however, has been conducted on Ed.D. graduates, already actively engaged as working professionals, where the …

Analyzing The Relationship Of Voluntary Student Participation In Optional Exam Review Sessions With Academic Self-Efficacy And Academic Performance, Christine Stamm Griffin, Robert K. Gable

Higher Education

Much research has been conducted on the topic of self-efficacy and its relationship to student performance. In alignment with the theory of self-efficacy and research performed by Bandura (1993), Schunk (1989, 1991), Zimmerman (1985, 1990), Multon, Brown and Lent (1991); and others, the purpose of this action research study was to determine the relationship of student voluntary attendance at a minimum of one of two optional exam review sessions and whether or not it resulted in a feeling of increased confidence about their potential performance on the exam compared to those students who did not attend the review. Additionally, the …