Education Commons^™

Contentious Conversations, Leah A. Zuidema

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

The idea of joining a conversation through reading and writing is not new; in his 1941 book "The Philosophy of Literary Form: Studies in Symbolic Action," Kenneth Burke suggests that the acts of reading and writing are like entering a parlor where others are already conversing. The author explores the place of professional debate within NCTE and in the pages of "English Journal". Regardless, by reading these pages, one is entering into a conversation that is already underway.

The Massachusetts Early Education And Care Professional Development System Study: Year 1 Report, Anne Douglass, Lucinda Heimer, Winifred Hagan

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publication Series

The purpose of this report is to present the findings from the first year of the Massachusetts Professional Development System Study (MA PDS). This study examined the implementation of Massachusetts' new statewide model for professional development of the early education and care and out of school time workforce. The study was funded by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC).

This study examined the process of implementation of the new professional development system between August 2010 and June 2011. Implementation research is important because it provides insights into whether a new system is operating as intended and identifies …

Scaling Up “Evidence-Based” Practices For Teachers Is A Profitable But Discredited Paradigm, Gary L. Anderson, Kathryn Herr

Department of Educational Foundations Scholarship and Creative Works

This article takes issue with the notion that professional learning communities need to be more focused on teacher expertise through the use of online videos of lessons taught by expert teachers that are aligned with the Common Core State Standards. The authors argue that the use of externally developed, research-based, and standards-aligned videos violates the principles of authentic inquiry that underlie professional learning communities. They also caution that a profit-seeking education industry is increasingly behind the promotion of evidence-based products.

Using The Communication In Science Inquiry Project Professional Development Model To Facilitate Learning Middle School Genetics Concepts, Dale R. Baker, Elizabeth B. Lewis, Sibel Uysal, Senay Purzer, Michael Lang, Perry Baker

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

This study describes the effect of embedding content in the Communication in Inquiry Science Project professional development model for science and language arts teachers. The model uses four components of successful professional development (content focus, active learning, extended duration, participation by teams of teachers from the same school or grade level) and instructional strategies for inquiry, academic language development, written and oral discourse, and learning principles as components of science activities. Teachers were given a pre/ post-institute genetics assessment. There was a statistically significant increase in scores for the entire sample and a statistically significant difference between science and language …

Developing A Climate Science Education Professional Development Program, Dan Shepardson

2011 Symposium on Data-Driven Approaches to Droughts

This presentation overviews the process and challenges of developing a climate science professional development program for teachers. Implications to drought education will be explored.

The Relationship Between Professional Development And Teacher Change In The Implementation Of Instructional Strategies That Support Elementary Students' Science Textbook Reading, Virginia J. Laughridge

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study examined the relationship between a series of professional development workshops and change in three rural elementary teachers’ science textbook reading instructional strategies. The analysis of the qualitative data indicates the degree of teacher change was related to several inner-related factors: (a) teaching experience, (b) teacher perceptions of self, (c) mode of content delivery, and (d) teacher beliefs. Two teachers with the greatest longevity of teaching experience had previously established instructional strategies and modes of content delivery which did not emphasize student textbook reading skills. Their modes of content delivery were related to their self- perceptions as “science teachers” …

Readers Matter: The Development Of An Individualized Professional Development Model, Daniel Jacob Super

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

An alarming trend of student non-compliance with reading assignments in secondary and post-secondary environments is causing concern in many areas, including college readiness. Public school teachers and university faculty alike are responsible for the literacy levels of graduating students; however, many educators are not implementing the adequate literacy supports within their content area courses. This project used current research on best practice in literacy instruction, as well as the Characteristics of Highly Effective Teaching and Learning to create the Readers Matter™ evaluative process in which faculty members self-select to be assessed regarding the current levels of student literacy support. After …

Positive Behavior Support And Response To Intervention In A Professional Development School: Getting Started, Paul Caldarella, Lynnette Christensen, Alex Judd

Faculty Publications

Nine elements of a Professional Development School Partnership include: comprehensive mission; preparation of future educators; needs-based professional development; commitment to evidence-based practices; investigation of practices and sharing of results; commitment to parent involvement; shared governance and collaboration; work by faculty across settings; shared resources.

Library Sector Leadership: Bridging Theory And Practice, Melanie Mills, Charlotte Innerd

Western Libraries Presentations

Explore the issue of leadership in libraries with one current student and one graduate of The University of Victoria's Professional Graduate Certificate in Library Sector Leadership. Looking specifically at Kouzes and Posner's 'Five Practices of Exemplary Leaders' and Quinn et al.'s 'Competing Values Framework', we hope to share our own discoveries and insights and add to the important discussion of leadership in Libraries.

Creating Conditions For Transforming Practicing K-12 Mainstream Teachers Of English Language Learners, Susan R. Adams, Kathryn Brooks

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

Critical incident reflection journal writing provides a rich source for identifying high impact components of Project Alianza, a graduate course for mainstream secondary teachers funded by a US Department of Education Title III Professional Development grant. In this narrative pilot study featuring one strand of existing data, the co-authors, who are also co-instructors and co-researchers, begin the first rounds of analysis to identify emerging key conditions and contributing factors featured within specialized graduate courses for encouraging dispositional change and professional efficacy toward English language learners (ELLs) in practicing K-12 mainstream educators. Using Mezirow’s adult transformational learning theory (1991), Kegan’s stage …