Education Commons^™

The Balance Of Public And Private Identities For Lesbian Teachers, Delanna Kay Reed

Delanna Reed

Abstract

Although tolerance and acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people is growing in the United States, misconceptions and heterosexism still abound. Schools are one of the institutions where traditional gender roles are promoted and homosexuality is often ignored or punished. Too often lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students are bullied by their peers while teachers look the other way. LGBT teachers often fear they will lose their jobs and social standing in the community if they are open about their sexual orientation. This environment provoked me to research lesbian teachers’ perceptions of heteronormativity in their private and …

Teaching, Learning, And Leading With Schools And Communities: One Urban University Re-Envisions Teacher Preparation For The Next Generation, Ann Marie Ryan, David C. Ensminger, Amy J. Heineke, Adam S. Kennedy, David P. Prasse, Lara K. Smetana

Adam Kennedy

Ultimately, the national goals of improving learning outcomes for all students and reducing, if not eliminating, the achievement gap require a teaching corps that brings knowledge and professional competencies to have positive impacts on diverse learners in diverse settings (Gándara & Maxwell-Jolly, 2006). As central actors in schools, teachers have the greatest impact on student achievement (Cochran-Smith & Fries, 2005). Nevertheless, due to varied challenges of preparing high-quality teachers within the context of traditional schools of education, preparation programs have yet to consistently and comprehensively produce teachers who accomplish these outcomes (Ball & Forzani, 2009; Larabee, 2004, 2010). While substantive …

Teaching, Learning, And Leading With Schools And Communities: One Urban University Re-Envisions Teacher Preparation For The Next Generation, Ann Marie Ryan, David C. Ensminger, Amy J. Heineke, Adam S. Kennedy, David P. Prasse, Lara K. Smetana

Ann Marie Ryan, PhD

Ultimately, the national goals of improving learning outcomes for all students and reducing, if not eliminating, the achievement gap require a teaching corps that brings knowledge and professional competencies to have positive impacts on diverse learners in diverse settings (Gándara & Maxwell-Jolly, 2006). As central actors in schools, teachers have the greatest impact on student achievement (Cochran-Smith & Fries, 2005). Nevertheless, due to varied challenges of preparing high-quality teachers within the context of traditional schools of education, preparation programs have yet to consistently and comprehensively produce teachers who accomplish these outcomes (Ball & Forzani, 2009; Larabee, 2004, 2010). While substantive …

Transcending Teacher Professional Development: From Determinism To Complexity, Abdul Rahman, Garry F. Hoban, Wendy S. Nielsen

Abdul Rahman

There is a multiplicity of factors and actors that come into play to make teacher professional development (TPD) a strategic and powerful scheme for improving teacher practices. This multiplicity is evident in educational practices and theories. Consequently, traditional perspectives that take a simple view of TPD as a single, independent entity in teacher learning in isolation from other factors and actors are problematic. To better understand how TPD can bring about change in teacher practices-transforming teacher learning, there is a need to transcend the linear, causal, deterministic assumption about TPD. Here, in this discussion paper, I argue that powerful TPD …

More Than Just Plain Old Technology Adoption: Understanding Variations In Teachers' Use Of An Online Planning Tool, Heather Leary, Victor R. Lee, Mimi Recker

Heather Leary, Ph.D.

This paper examines variability in teachers’ usage patterns as they interacted with an online teacher support tool, the Curriculum Customization Service (CCS), as part of their professional work. The CCS is a web application that supports teachers in planning, adapting, sequencing, and enacting differentiated instruction in Earth science education. By mining the usage log files of over 40 teachers who used the CCS over a yearlong period, we analyzed for variability using a framework developed in marketing research to characterize appropriation of technology. This analysis helped reveal different kinds of teachers’ patterns along two dimensions: frequency and variability of use. …

More Than Just Plain Old Technology Adoption: Understanding Variations In Teachers' Use Of An Online Planning Tool, Heather Leary, Victor R. Lee, Mimi Recker

Heather Leary, Ph.D.

This paper examines variability in teachers’ usage patterns as they interacted with an online teacher support tool, the Curriculum Customization Service (CCS), as part of their professional work. The CCS is a web application that supports teachers in planning, adapting, sequencing, and enacting differentiated instruction in Earth science education. By mining the usage log files of over 40 teachers who used the CCS over a yearlong period, we analyzed for variability using a framework developed in marketing research to characterize appropriation of technology. This analysis helped reveal different kinds of teachers’ patterns along two dimensions: frequency and variability of use. …

Mrs. Ernestine Becton Richardson, Edward Earl Bell

Dr. Edward E. Bell

Mrs. Richardson

An Online Mentoring Practicum In Physical And Health Education Teacher Preparation: Preliminary Findings And Future Directions, Douglas Hearne, Lori Lockyer, Gregg S. Rowland, John W. Patterson

Professor Lori Lockyer

An important aspect of any professional education is the opportunity for students to engage in meaningful practical experiences. In pre-service teacher education, this vital practicum component has undergone challenges in recent years due to increasing student numbers (due to the increasing demand for new teachers) and limited resources in university and school sectors. As a result, new innovations to enhance the practical component of this professional degree have been sought. This paper highlights preliminary findings of one aspect of a larger study that used asynchronous Web-based communication tools to facilitate mentoring and peer support through the practice teaching experience. Analysis …

Becoming A Beginning Teacher: An Online Mentoring Experience For Pre-Service Physical And Health Educators, Douglas Hearne, Lori Lockyer, Gregg Rowland, John Patterson

Professor Lori Lockyer

A key feature of any professional education is opportunity for students to engage in meaningful practical learning experiences. In pre-service teacher education, the practicum is a central component. However, due to increasing student numbers and limited resources in university and school sectors, the practicum has undergone challenges in recent years. As a result, innovations to enhance the practical component of this professional degree have been sought. This paper highlights the findings of one aspect of a larger study that used asynchronous Web-based communication tools to facilitate mentoring and peer support through the practice teaching experience. Analysis of qualitative data including …

From The Reflective Epractitioner: A Pilot Model Of Teacher Preparation Employing Eportfolio, Judith Cross

Judith (Judie) L Cross

Literacy is changing significantly alongside the prolific emergence of new technologies. The emergence of these new technologies has been so rapid that teachers may often not be as competent as their students in the use of new media or in the specific linguistic features of the growing range of text types. In this project, overseas trained teachers (OTTs) were scaffolded in their introduction to a variety of new technologies and typical text types relevant to the educational context in Australia where literacy is taught across the curriculum. As the OTTs prepared for a specific English test, which forms part of …

Games For Understanding In Pre Service Teacher Education: A 'Game For Outcome' Approach For Enhanced Understanding Of Games, Gregory J. Forrest, Paul Webb, Phil Pearson

Greg J Forrest

Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) is a games based pedagogical model aimed at generating greater understanding of all aspects of games, while increasing physical activity levels, motivation and enjoyment in physical education lessons. Bunker and Thorpe (1982) developed the original model as an alternative to the traditional approach predominantly used in coaching and teaching in physical education (Werner, Thorpe and Bunker 1996). Awareness of its value as a pedagogical model and as a viable alternative to traditional directive approaches has been limited within the teaching and wider coaching community in Australia over the ten years since Game Sense workshops were …

Electronic Teaching Evaluation: Student Perceptions And Teacher Responses, Shelley Kinash, Vishen Naidu, Kayleen Wood

Professor Shelley Kinash

Instructional Architect Teacher Professional Development Handouts, Mimi Recker, Andrew Walker, M. Brooke Robertshaw, Linda Sellers, Heather M. Leary

Linda Sellers

Three handouts for the teacher professional development workshops on the Instructional Architect (IA). Starting spring 2009 the face-to-face workshop was changed to be three different days of learning about how to use the IA, inquiry based and problem based learning, evaluation of IA projects with a rubric, and creating IA projects.

Taking Ipods Into The Field To Capture And Share Teacher Wisdom Stories, Lisa K. Kervin, Jessica Mantei

Jessica Mantei

Mobile technologies offer significant possibilities for educators. This paper explores the use of iPods as a tool to bring together the teaching field and the tertiary classroom. We have designed a learning experience to engage our students in collecting and reflecting upon knowledge shared by practitioners in the field. It builds upon the premise that educators need to consistently gather and evaluate evidence to inform their professional practice. The task encourages students to consider the ‘teacher wisdom’ (Labbo, Leu, Kinzer, Teale, Cammack, Kara-Soteriou, & Sanny, 2003) that can be gathered and disseminated through ‘new literacies’ (such as podcasts) as they …

Public Perception Study 2011: Mental Illness, Drug And Alcohol Abuse, Oscar T. Mcknight

Oscar T McKnight Ph.D.

This study examined the public perception of mental illness, drug and alcohol abuse. Field-interviews with participants occurred "on the street" with no difficulty. Participants offered ten general recommendations to professionals developing programs for mental illness, drug or alcohol abuse. The public stressed the professional responsibilities of physicians, pharmacists, counselors and teachers to prevent drug abuse.

Teaching Grammar And Writing: A Beginning Teacher's Dilemma, P. Smagorinsky, Amy A. Wilson, C. Moore

Amy Wilson-Lopez

Which Secondary Education Systems Work Best? The United States Or Northern Europe, John H. Bishop

John H Bishop

Northern European teenagers are 10+ percent more likely to graduate from secondary school than their American counterparts and learn considerably more as well. This paper explains why Northern Europe’s upper-secondary schools have achieved school cultures that accomplish so much more than typical American secondary schools. The keys to N. Europe's success are: 1. Parents/students decide which program of study to enter. 2. Programs have well signaled reputations that influence access to occupations/professions and higher education programs. 3. Undertaking a challenging program confers prestige. 4. If the program turns out to be too difficult or poorly taught, transfers to a more …

Are National Exit Examinations Important For Educational Efficiency?, John H. Bishop

John H Bishop

“This paper analyses effects of national or provincial exit examinations on education quality. On theoretical grounds, the paper argues that such examinations should increase high school achievement, particularly in examination subjects, and that teachers and students and parents and school administrators should focus more on academic achievement when making school-quality decisions. On the negative side, exit examinations may lead to a tendency to concentrate on learning facts, rather than understanding contexts.”

Secondary Education In The United States: What Can Others Learn From Our Mistakes?, John H. Bishop , Ferran Mane, Michael Bishop

John H Bishop

Secondary schools are the least successful component of the U.S. education system. Students learn considerably less than in other industrialized nations and dropout rates are significantly higher. This paper provides an explanation for this failure, describes the standards based reforms strategies that many states are implementing to attack these problems, and evaluates the success of these efforts.

The Role Of End-Of-Course Exams And Minimum Competency Exams In Standards-Based Reforms, John H. Bishop, Ferran Mane, Michael Bishop, Joan Moriarty

John H Bishop

[Excerpt] Educational reformers and most of the American public believe that most teachers ask too little of their pupils. These low expectations, they believe, result in watered down curricula and a tolerance of mediocre teaching and inappropriate student behavior. The result is that the prophecy of low achievement becomes self-fulfilling. Although research has shown that learning gains are substantially larger when students take more demanding courses2, only a minority of students enroll in these courses. There are several reasons for this. Guidance counselors in many schools allow only a select few into the most challenging courses. While most schools give …

Incentives For Learning: Why American High School Students Compare So Poorly To Their Counterparts Overseas, John H. Bishop

John H Bishop

[Excerpt] The scientific and mathematical competence of American high school students is generally recognized to be very low. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reports that only 7.5 percent of 17 year old students can "integrate specialized scientific information" (NAEP 1988a p.51) and 6.4 percent "demonstrated the capacity to apply mathematical operations in a variety of problem settings." (NAEP 1988b p. 42) There is a large gap between the science and math competence of young Americans and their counterparts overseas. In the 1960s, the low ranking of American high school students in such comparisons was attributed to the fact …

Novice Science Teachers: Expectations And Experiences, Scott Watson

Scott Watson

No abstract provided.