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Full-Text Articles in Education

Enhancing Teacher-Child Interactions: A Pilot Study Using Focal Child Data, Kaitlin Noel Bargreen Dec 2010

Enhancing Teacher-Child Interactions: A Pilot Study Using Focal Child Data, Kaitlin Noel Bargreen

Doctoral Dissertations

Research suggests that teacher-child interactions in early childhood classrooms are an essential element to high quality programs and child outcomes. With the increase in state funded pre-kindergarten classrooms across the nation and the growing concentration on academic content for young children, careful attention is needed to children’s social-emotional development. Research suggests that it is a strong social emotional foundation that contributes to children’s successful transition into their elementary school years. Therefore, the purpose of this mixed method study was to pilot the use of focal child data as a professional development tool for pre-kindergarten teachers to examine teacher-child interactions. Studying …


The Professional Development Of Pre-K Mentor Teachers: Insights From A Face-To-Face And Online Community Of Practice, Lori Allison Caudle Aug 2010

The Professional Development Of Pre-K Mentor Teachers: Insights From A Face-To-Face And Online Community Of Practice, Lori Allison Caudle

Doctoral Dissertations

Early childhood classroom mentor teachers are often left with little support and guidance as they assume the role of teacher educators. The purpose of this collective case study was to explore how a community of practice comprised of pre-K mentors and a university program coordinator supported the development of shared and individual understandings about how to effectively supervise preservice teachers. Utilizing key tenets of sociocultural theory, four pre-K mentor teachers from two public schools in the Southeast participated in an online and face-to-face community of practice facilitated by a university program coordinator. The pre-K preservice teachers (n=6) were secondary participants …


Beginning Teachers' Perceptions Of Preparedness: A Teacher Education Program's Transferability And Impact On The Secondary English/Language Arts Classroom, Mary C. Thompson Jul 2010

Beginning Teachers' Perceptions Of Preparedness: A Teacher Education Program's Transferability And Impact On The Secondary English/Language Arts Classroom, Mary C. Thompson

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Dissertations

In October 2009, United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan declared in a speech to Columbia University’s Teacher’s College that many university teacher preparation programs are outdated and must undergo major reform in order to produce high quality teachers needed to improve academic achievement for all students (U.S. Department of Education, 2009). Duncan stated that “America’s university-based teacher preparation programs need revolutionary change – not evolutionary tinkering” (U.S. Department of Education, 2009, p.2). To improve student success in the classroom, policy makers must understand the key role well-trained teachers play in achieving this goal (Boyd, Lankford, Clothfelter, Ladd & Vigdor, …


International Study Tours And The Development Of Sociocultural Consciousness In K-12 Teachers, Raymond Yu-Kuang Young May 2010

International Study Tours And The Development Of Sociocultural Consciousness In K-12 Teachers, Raymond Yu-Kuang Young

Open Access Dissertations

This research study examined the long-term effects of a professional development study tour to Southeast Asia that took place in 2001. Participants included ten public school teachers from Western Massachusetts, which has a significant population of people of Vietnamese and Cambodian descent. Funded by a Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad grant, the purpose of the study tour was to increase teacher awareness, knowledge and understanding of contemporary Southeast Asia so that they could more effectively address the educational needs of students representing diverse cultural backgrounds, particularly immigrant and refugee youth, through the development of culturally relevant curricula and lesson plans. From …


Engaging Students In Mathematics Conversations: Discourse Practices And The Development Of Social And Socialmathematical Norms In Three Novice Teachers' Classrooms, Mary T. Grassetti Feb 2010

Engaging Students In Mathematics Conversations: Discourse Practices And The Development Of Social And Socialmathematical Norms In Three Novice Teachers' Classrooms, Mary T. Grassetti

Open Access Dissertations

Research on learning to teach mathematics reveals that mathematics teaching is a complex process (Lerman, 2000) and classroom teaching and learning is a “multifaceted, extraordinarily complex phenomenon” (O’Connor, 1998, p. 43). Moreover, research reveals that the mathematics reform agenda has had an impact on what happens in the mathematics classroom, however, the impact has been superficial (Kazemi & Stipek, 2001) with teachers often retaining their pre-reform habits and attitudes in regards to mathematics teaching and learning (O’Connor, 1998). This study examined the reform discourse practices that three novice teachers, who had been enrolled in a reform based methods course during …


Traditional, Online, And Blended Instruction : An Investigation Of Outcomes In A Graduate Special Education Course Taught In Three Different Learning Environments, Mary C. Gozza-Cohen Jan 2010

Traditional, Online, And Blended Instruction : An Investigation Of Outcomes In A Graduate Special Education Course Taught In Three Different Learning Environments, Mary C. Gozza-Cohen

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Nationally and regionally there are insufficient numbers of qualified special education teachers to meet current demand. Online course delivery has been proposed as one way to reach more students and increase the number of special education teachers. A recent meta-analysis conducted by the U.S. Department of Education (2009) reviewed the research on online learning and reported that on average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those in traditional classes. However, among other issues noted in the meta-analysis, it was specified that many of the included studies did not control for curriculum materials and various aspects of pedagogy. This …