Education Commons^™

Leveraging Leadership To Retain Early Career Teachers In Stafford County Public Schools, Christopher Gannon, Caroline Canning, Andrew Hoyt, Lauren Johnson, Thomas Mcauley

Doctor of Education Capstones

Stafford County Public Schools requested an evaluation of their current support of Early Career Teachers (ECTs) with one to three years experience, and its potential impact on retention efforts. They stamped this request with urgency, noting the COVID-19 pandemic and teacher pay as two driving factors, specifically, impacting retention of teachers within their first three years. Our Capstone team sought a deeper understanding of the following issues in three research questions: 1) types of support across their division and within their school buildings, 2) the impact of current practices of support, and 3) division-wide considerations for enhancing current systems of …

Understanding The Virginia Literacy Act, Candace Bechtold, Kimberly Bridges, David Naff, Joan A. Rhodes, Valerie Robnolt, Tara Davison, Suzanne Alexandre, Michael Crusco, Karli Johansen, Amber Butler, Allison Yandle, Jennifer Askue-Collins, Jean Samuel, Sharrie Merritte, Regina Frazier

MERC Publications

This research and policy brief from the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) offers an overview of the Virginia Literacy Act. It is structured to explore the following questions: 1) What are the recent trends in reading achievement in Virginia? 2) What are the policy implications of the VLA for Virginia school divisions? 3) What does the research say about Science of Reading (SoR)? 4) What core instructional programs are approved to meet the VLA? It concludes with a series of key takeaways and recommendations.

Economic Evaluation Of Teacher Induction Programs: A Report, Jonathan D. Becker, Elisa Tedona, Matthew Togna

MERC Publications

Research shows that teacher induction programs can be effective as measured by a number of outcomes. However, research also shows that teacher induction programs vary greatly from one district to another. Furthermore, there is no research that examines teacher induction programs with respect to costs and benefits. Educational leaders and stakeholders do not need to wait on formal institutional research to do such an economic evaluation.

This report, in combination with a How-to-Guide, the Teacher Induction Program Cost Matrix and the Teacher Induction Program Benefit-Cost Workbook, comprises a toolkit designed to allow school and district leaders to conduct …

Administrator Feedback To Teachers, Regina Frazier, Candace Wilkerson, Jacquie Cioffi, Patrick Simmons, Makeba Lindsay D'Abreu, Thea Racelis, Amanda Simmons, Melissa Yancey, Deanna Fierro, David B. Naff

MERC Publications

This brief from the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) curates peer-reviewed scholarship as well as state and school board policies in Virginia related to administrator feedback to teachers. It explores the following questions: 1) What is the purpose of administrators providing feedback to teachers? 2) How do administrators typically provide feedback to teachers? 3) How do teachers typically receive feedback from administrators? 4) What are research-based strategies for administrators to provide productive feedback to teachers? It concludes with key takeaways and recommendations for how administrators provide feedback to teachers.

Addressing School Bullying Since The Onset Of Covid-19: A Merc Research And Policy Brief, David Naff, Morgan Meadowes, Kim Dupre, Alicia Gaston, Fatemah A. Khawaji, Christina Tillery, Makeba Lindsay D'Abreu, Lauren Powell, Deanna Fierro

MERC Publications

Among the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic is a shift in the nature and intensity of school bullying, perhaps symptomatic of the rapid changes and stressors that PK-12 students have endured since 2020. In this MERC research and policy brief, we explore how school bullying has changed since the onset of COVID-19 as well as research-based strategies for how educators and division leaders can best respond to it. The brief answers the following questions: 1) What is the nature of school bullying since the onset of COVID-19? 2) Which students have been particularly impacted by bullying since the pandemic? …

Economic Evaluation Of Teacher Induction Programs: A Toolkit How-To Guide, Jonathan D. Becker, Elisa Tedona, Matthew Togna

MERC Publications

Research shows that teacher induction programs can be effective as measured by a number of outcomes. However, research also shows that teacher induction programs vary greatly from one district to another. Furthermore, there is no research that examines teacher induction programs with respect to costs and benefits. Educational leaders and stakeholders do not need to wait on formal institutional research to do such an economic evaluation.

This how-to guide, in combination with a comprehensive report, the Teacher Induction Program Cost Matrix and the Teacher Induction Program Benefit-Cost Workbook, comprises a toolkit designed to allow school and district leaders to …

Teacher Retention Policy Coherence: An Analysis Of Policies And Practices Across Federal, State, And Division Levels, Andrene Castro, Adria Hoffman, Jonathan D. Becker, David Naff, Peter S. Willis, Andy Kane

MERC Publications

As part of a larger MERC study, this report provides an overview of federal, state, and regional policies and practices relevant to teacher retention. Using key informant interviews and document analysis, the report addresses the following research questions: What teacher retention policies exist at the federal, state, and local levels? How are these policies structured at the state level and local levels? How do teacher retention policies vary across MERC divisions? Following the findings, the report presents recommendations for policy and practice.

Policy And Practice Brief 8: Teacher Training And Endorsement Requirements To Teach English Learners In Virginia, Virginia R. Massaro, Virginia Palencia, Merc Multilingual Education Research And Evaluation Team

MERC Publications

There is a growing need to ensure Virginia teachers have a grounding in effective practice for EL education. Teacher preparation programs in Virginia require preservice educators in mainstream classrooms to be trained in English Learner (EL) teaching methods, but how preparation programs meet this requirement varies. For educators wishing to be endorsed as English as a Second Language teachers, requirements have recently been reduced in scope. To supplement the training and qualifications required to receive licensure, professional development for teaching multilingual students should be commonplace.

Teaching Writing To Middle School Students With Disabilities: A Merc Research Brief, David Naff, Jennifer Askue-Collins, Julie S. Dauksys

MERC Publications

This research brief by the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium explores peer reviewed literature about effective strategies for teaching writing to middle school students with disabilities. It answers the following questions: 1) Why is it important to teach writing? 2) What is the nature of the challenge in teaching writing to middle school students with disabilities? 3) What interventions help with teaching writing to middle school students with disabilities? and 4) What strategies are utilized in the MERC region for teaching writing to middle school students with disabilities?

Ripple Effects: How Teacher Action Research On Culturally Relevant Education Can Promote Systemic Change, Hillary Parkhouse, Julie Gorlewski, Jesse Senechal, Chu Yi Lu Qiu

Teaching and Learning Publications

Teacher action research has been shown to both promote professional growth in teachers as well as produce gains for students. However, to date, little research has examined how action research might contribute to systemic changes in schools and school districts. This qualitative study of six teachers from various districts, subject areas, and grade levels, illustrates how action research can have simultaneous impacts on teachers, their students, and their schools and districts. The teacher action research projects all focused on culturally relevant education and the pursuit of equity. Impacts included teachers’ deepened understandings of equity and inclusivity; students’ diversity awareness, positive …

Will They Stay Or Will They Go? Analysis Of The 2019 Doe Working Conditions Survey, Jonathan D. Becker, Valerie Robnolt, Kasey Dye, Erica Ross

MERC Publications

This report is part of the MERC Teacher Retention study. This study was designed to identify patterns of teacher retention in the MERC region and to determine the school and system-level factors driving them. The study also provides an overview of state and regional policies and programs relevant to teacher retention, and includes evaluations of existing policies and initiatives to determine efficacy and cost benefit. Teacher shortages continue to be a problem in the United States. While a range of policy solutions have attempted to stem the loss of teachers, at the base of many of these efforts is the …

The School Principal And Teacher Retention, Jonathan D. Becker, Lauren Grob

MERC Publications

This report comes from the MERC Teacher Retention study. This study was designed to identify patterns of teacher retention in the MERC region and to determine the school and system-level factors driving them. The study also provides an overview of state and regional policies and programs relevant to teacher retention, and includes evaluations of existing policies and initiatives to determine efficacy and cost benefit. This policy brief examines the role of leadership, and specifically the school principal, in retaining teachers. The brief includes a review of studies that used survey scales to measure leadership and then disaggregate and re-aggregate the …

Patriotism As Critique: Youth Responses To Teaching About Injustice, Hillary Parkhouse

Teaching and Learning Publications

The view that patriotism is characterized by unquestioning loyalty to one’s country remains common in the United States despite its anti-democratic implications. From this standpoint, classroom discussions of past and present injustices are a threat to patriotism because they raise doubts about national superiority and exceptionality. Through an ethnographic study in two critical, culturally diverse US history classrooms, I investigated students’ attitudes towards their country and the notion of patriotism. As opposed to fomenting disaffection among students, candid discussions of injustices led students to view their teachers and curriculum as more trustworthy than what they had encountered in prior classrooms. …

Cultural Diversity Professional Development In Schools Survey, Krystal R. Thomas, Hillary Parkhouse, Jesse Senechal, Zoey Lu, Laura Faulcon, Julie Gorlewski, David B. Naff

MERC Publications

This report presents findings from the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) Cultural Diversity Within Schools Survey. This survey was designed for school- based professionals (i.e., teachers, instructional staff, administrators) within the MERC region. Administered in the fall of 2018, the survey collected information about experiences of professional development related to cultural diversity, attitudes toward cultural diversity within schools, perceptions of barriers and opportunities, and perspectives on the need for professional development. Section 1 of the report discusses the context for this survey effort: increased cultural diversity in our schools, increased cultural mismatch between students and teachers, and multicultural education as …

Codeva Elementary Coaches Academy : Impact Of Computer Science Implementation In K-5, Mark A. Fowler Dr., Bryan Hicks Dr, Kenneth White Dr, John Ringstaff Dr

Doctor of Education Capstones

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of CodeVA’s elementary coach’s academy (ECA) on computer science implementation in elementary schools across the state of Virginia. The research took a multimethod qualitative and quantitative approach through surveys, focus groups, interviews and observations of ECA coaches and participants, along with the analysis of historical data provided by CodeVA. The capstone research questions were: “What is the impact of the elementary coaches academy?” and “What impacts the effectiveness of CodeVA’s elementary coaches academy?” In general, the data collected suggested that CodeVA has been effective in reaching its intended audience and meeting the needs of …

Multicultural Education Professional Development: A Review Of The Literature, Hillary Parkhouse, Virginia R. Massaro, Chu Yi Lu Qiu

Teaching and Learning Publications

When their teachers are well equipped to foster inclusive and equitable classrooms, students from marginalized communities show higher rates of academic achievement, motivation, self-confidence, and self-efficacy. However, many teachers complete preparation programs feeling underprepared to work in culturally diverse classrooms, making high-quality professional development in this area crucial. We undertook a meta-ethnographic, systematic literature review of 40 studies of multicultural-education-focused professional development programs in order to better understand the forms and features of such programs that contribute to teachers’ self-efficacy and success in working with culturally diverse students. We found a small literature base with too much variation across types …

“Calling Out” In Class: Degrees Of Candidness In Addressing Social Injustices In Racially Homogenous And Heterogeneous U.S. History Classrooms, Hillary Parkhouse, Virginia R. Massaro

Teaching and Learning Publications

Teaching for social justice requires an ability to address sensitive issues such as racism and sexism so that students can gain critical consciousness of these pervasive social realities. However, the empirical literature thus far provides minimal exploration of the factors teachers consider in deciding how to address these issues. This study explores this question through ethnographic case studies of two urban, 11th grade U.S. History classrooms. Differing classroom racial demographics and teacher instructional goals resulted in two distinct pedagogical approaches to social justice teaching. Despite differences in class makeup and teaching approach, students in both classrooms developed intellectual confidence and …

“We're Rags To Riches”: Dual Consciousness Of The American Dream In Two Critical History Classrooms, Hillary Parkhouse, Bryan P. Arnold

Teaching and Learning Publications

Within the United States, wealth disparities are growing and upward social mobility is becoming increasingly difficult to attain. These trends call into question the American Dream ideology that anyone can succeed through hard work. This meritocratic ideal has traditionally been one of the unifying ideologies promoted through the public school curriculum. The topic of economic inequality, on the other hand, is largely absent from most social studies curricula. When teachers do address this issue, they tend to omit discussions of causes or potential policy solutions. Students are thus left with few resources with which to develop positions on policies related …

Uruguay Supporting Globalization And Access Through English Language Education Policy, Valeriana Colon

Teaching and Learning Publications

With a comparatively small population and a little over half the country’s population living in the capitol city (The World Factbook: Uruguay, 2019), connectivity internationally and access nationally are important to Uruguay. According to Uruguay’s Commission on Language Policy, English language legislation emerged from national demand to know English for global trade, technology, and academia (Administración Nacional de Educación Pública [ANEP], 2008). Public dialog often depicts the universalization of English as a highly valued commodity essential for student success (Canale, 2011). An example of this is the historic use of internationally recognized standardized exams as a means to gain international …

Fostering Democratic Patriotism Through Critical Pedagogy, Hillary Parkhouse

Teaching and Learning Publications

When I was a high school US history teacher in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City, I sometimes wondered about the relationship between patriotism and critique of one’s nation. Specifically, I questioned just how critical students could be without becoming disaffected toward the United States. I tried to be honest with my students about the nation’s mixed record of democracy—how the country was founded on ideals of equality and yet stole land from Native Americans, kidnapped millions of Africans as part of a massive system of chattel slavery, and denied the vote to women until 1920. But I …

Contexts Of Cultural Diversity Professional Development In Schools, Hillary Parkhouse, Jesse Senechal, Julie Gorlewski, David Naff, Zoey Lu, Ashlee Lester

MERC Publications

This report is part of a larger MERC study on Professional Development for Success in Culturally Diverse Schools.The goals of the larger study are (1) to understand the landscape of diversity within the schools in the MERC region, (2) to consider the implications for school policy and professional practice, (3) to review the current models of professional development that support teachers and other school professionals in regards to issues of cultural diversity, and (4) to develop and test models of professional development that have positive impacts on teacher practice, student outcomes and overall school success. With these goals in mind, …

Expanding Approaches To Teaching For Diversity And Social Justice In K-12 Education: Fostering Global Citizenship Across The Content Areas, Ariel Tichnor-Wagner, Hillary Parkhouse, Jocelyn Glazier, Jessie Montana Cain

Teaching and Learning Publications

Educators today must be able to respond to the needs of an increasingly diverse student body and to teach all students the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed for civic participation in a globalized, pluralist society. While state departments of education and national teacher organizations have begun to adopt global awareness in their teaching standards and evaluation tools, there is a Fostering global citizenship across content areas2need for educators to understand what globally competent teachers actually do in classrooms across subject areas and grade levels. This qualitative, multiple case study explores the signature pedagogies (Shulman, 2005) of 10 in-service teachers in …

Lessons On Citizenship And Democratic Power Literacy From Undocumented Youth, Hillary Parkhouse

Teaching and Learning Publications

To create a society in which power is more equally accessible, we must teach our youth not only about civics and government, but also how to use political tools in order to effect social change. In this essay, I argue for teaching power literacy in place of traditional citizenship education on the grounds that the former has greater potential for increasing students’ political efficacy and their abilities to apply knowledge of civics to the real-world issues that affect them. To illustrate the concept of power literacy, I draw on a case study of a grassroots, undocumented youth activist organization fighting …

Citizen Journalist To Activist: The Language Behind Black Lives Matter, Valeriana Colon

Teaching and Learning Publications

This study explores the discourse surrounding an event in the social movement, Black Lives Matter_, to gain insights into how digital literacy practices influence and mediate participation in the 21st century civil rights movement for a new generation of activist. This study examines three points of engagement, (1) the experience of the event as it is initially interpreted and shared online, (2) the intermingling of consciousness through social media, and (3) the post social media interpretation and action. Data was collected from Twitter analyzed using discourse analysis.

Esl Student Perceptions Of Online Resources, Valeriana Colon

Teaching and Learning Publications

This study explores how ESL student perceptions guide their use of online resources, with the goal of helping teachers select meaningful resources. Data were collected using a combination of interview responses and computer-recorded online actions. An evaluation of three case studies of advanced adult English language learners were used to gain insights into student perceptions. The results indicated that the ESL students use Google and native language sites when researching online, at times alternating between English and their native language. However, they expressed a sense of shame when using native language sites, as one student stated that he felt he …

Presenting Precious Knowledge: Using Film To Model Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy And Youth Civic Activism For Social Studies Teachers, Hillary Parkhouse

Teaching and Learning Publications

In this paper, I examine the potential for developing preservice social studies teachers’ understanding of transformational resistance, Latin@ civil rights movements, and culturally sustaining pedagogy through a project using the film Precious Knowledge. This documentary depicts high school students in a Mexican American Studies (MAS) program using civil disobedience to protest Arizona’s ban of the program. The teachers prepared for the screening by reading and responding to scholarly articles on Latin@ school engagement and Chican@ student activism. After viewing the film and engaging in small group and whole class discussions, participants reported that they learned about current and past Chican@ …

Understanding Cognition Across Modalities For The Assessment Of Digital Resources, Valeriana Colon

Teaching and Learning Publications

Drawing from the theories of the cognitive process, this paper explores the transmission, retention and transformation of information across oral, written, and digital modes of communication and how these concepts can be used to examine the assessment of digital resource tools. The exploration of interactions across modes of communication is used to gain an understanding of the interaction between the student, digital resource and teacher. Cognitive theory is considered as a basis for the assessment of digital resource tools. Lastly, principles for the assessment of digital resource tools are presented along with how assessment can be incorporated in the educational …

From Local To Global: Making The Leap In Teacher Education, Hillary Parkhouse, Jocelyn Glazier, Ariel Tichnor-Wagner, Jessie Montana Cain

Teaching and Learning Publications

As the world becomes increasingly globalized, teachers must prepare a diverse group of students with new skills and mindsets necessary to engage in this global environment. This requires changes in teacher education, including expansion of instructional lenses from the local to the global. This case study examined how one teacher educator attempted to incorporate global competency into her course on culturally responsive teaching. Using surveys, document analysis, observations, and interviews with both the instructor and her students, the researchers found that some global competencies were developed. Ultimately, however, many areas of global competence were not addressed, due to the course’s …

Pedagogy For Librarians, Megan Hodge

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Most librarians are required to take classes on reference, collection development, and information organization in library school; courses on pedagogy, on the other hand, are usually optional, if they’re offered at all. This leads most librarians who end up with instruction duties to learn on the job. Activities and assessments can be learned on the fly fairly easily, but these often have little to no bearing on how much students actually absorb and recall weeks later because alone, they are usually insufficient to ensure deep learning. This chapter seeks to add the basics of pedagogy, a subject comprehensively covered in …

How Teachers Learn: The Roles Of Formal, Informal, And Independent Learning, W. Monty Jones, Sara Dexter

Teaching and Learning Publications

A qualitative study of math and science teachers at two middle schools identifies how their system for learning to integrate technology into their teaching goes beyond what school leaders typically consider when planning for teachers’ learning. In addition to (a) the district-initiated, or formal, system of professional development (PD) and professional learning communities (PLCs), it includes (b) teacher-initiated, or informal, learning with colleagues as well as (c) teachers’ independent learning activities. Analysis of why and how they form their system highlights how by only supporting the formal PD activities and PLCs, the district not only loses the valuable collective knowledge …