Education Commons^™

Exploring Students’ Learning Difficulties In Secondary Mathematics Classroom In Gilgit-Baltistan And Teachers’ Effort To Help Students Overcome These Difficulties, Takbir Ali

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This article sets out to describe and explain how four high school teachers, identified as improvement-oriented teachers (IOTs), in their day-to-day teaching, try to use pedagogical remedies to help their students overcome the difficulties that hinder in-depth learning in secondary mathematics classrooms. Providing reflective accounts from the IOTs’ experiences and presenting illustrative examples from their classrooms, the study provides a broad picture of the context in which students learn mathematics. The study recognizes the factors that constrain students from gaining in-depth understanding into subject matter knowledge; it highlights the possibilities of fostering in-depth learning by establishing the primacy of the …

Deficient Policy Communication Deficient Outcomes – Capacity Building Policy Under Education Reforms In Sindh, Pakistan, Sajid Ali

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

Education decentralisation in Pakistan started from 2001 through an all-out devolution programme of the government across sectors. To strengthen the decentralisation reform and build capacity of district educational managers a USAID sponsored programme Education Sector Reform Assistance (ESRA) was launched in 2003. In order to assess the impact of these capacity building initiatives, a research study was carried out during 2005-2006. The research used qualitative design and was carried out in one of the ESRA target districts in Sindh province. The paper argues the improper communication of policy severely compromised the achievement of intended policy objectives. The research noted that …

It's Nothing Personal: Competing Discourses For Girls And Women In Mathematics, Shannon Dawn Bryant

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation used a post-structural feminist theoretical lens to examine women’s under-representation in mathematics graduate programs and careers. Five dominant discourses that potentially influence women’s decision to enter mathematical careers were discussed, including how those discourses interact in competing and complementary ways to shape women’s and men’s ideas about the nature of mathematics. The study investigated the long-term impact of a single-sex reform-based summer mathematics program on high school girls. The study utilized a variety of data collection techniques including surveys, field observations, phenomenological interviews, and artifact collection. Nine participants who were enrolled in a summer mathematics program for high …

Boys And Writing: Strategies To Support Struggling Boy Writers, Dionne Corinne Ellingsen

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to develop a guide for elementary teachers to improve writing strategies and motivation of boys. Nationally, boys are more likely than girls to struggle with writing in the elementary classroom. Teachers need to understand the differences that boys and girls bring to their classroom and develop strategies and lessons that make writing more inviting to boys. The project discusses current research about why boys are more likely to struggle than girls, because of innate differences in the brain, the classroom arrangement, and issues of motivation. It also provides a guide of activities and strategies …

One Step On A New Journey, Salima Shahzad Arwani

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

No abstract provided.

An Investigation Of Support, Goals, And Incentives Among Minority And Nonminority National Board Certified Teachers, Melissa Salana Collins

Dissertations

National Board Professional for Teaching Standards play a pivotal role in the classroom of National Board Certified Teachers (NBCT). NBCTs have been recognized for increasing student achievement. There are more than 90,000 NBCTs in schools across the United States, but the ratio of nonminority to minority NBCTs, according to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards report of 2004, was 89% to 11%. The intent of this study was to examine the levels of support among minority and nonminority NBCTs to determine which combination of support factors and incentives would best predict the successful completion of the NBCT process by …

Teacher Professional Development And Its Effects On Reading Instruction, Kristen Lea Suarez

Dissertations

The world of education is an ever-evolving profession. We, as a society, have learned so much about education and how we can better benefit our students. Students depend on education to equip them with the tools needed to become successful. This dissertation addresses the need for and adequacy of today’s teacher professional development in Reading instruction and how that training can translate into more meaningful classroom education.

The writer surveyed elementary Reading teachers in grades 3-6 from two school districts in southern Mississippi to determine their perceptions concerning various elements of the professional development training they received during the 2009-2010 …

Character Education Seeking The Best Of Both Worlds: A Study Of Cultural Identity And Leadership In Egypt., Rania M Rafik Khalil, Nevien Mattar

English Language and Literature

No abstract provided.

Food For Thought: Eathing For The Baby & You, Cassandra Fernandes Faria

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

No abstract provided.

Professional Development Experiences Of Indiana K-12 Public School Teachers: Evidence From The Sass 2007-2008, Patrick David Weil

Dissertations

This investigation examines the professional development perceptions and experiences of public school teachers in the state of Indiana. This study is unique in two regards as it: (1) uses restricted data; and (2) exclusively studies the professional development experiences of public school teachers in the State of Indiana. By analyzing a national data set, the 2007--2008 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), this study provides a snapshot of the recent state of professional learning among public school teachers in the State of Indiana. Results of this study may track trends in professional development since the 2003--2004 SASS administration. Researchers can compare …

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.

K-5 Library Media Curriculum Map And Standards Crosswalk, Tessa Kateri Watters

All Graduate Projects

The American Library Association (ALA) has published standards of skills students need in the 21st century. Washington state librarians use these standards as a foundation for their curriculum. The Catholic School Librarian Association (CSLA) has adopted these standards to create grade level expectations. Using the standards published by the American Library Association and the Catholic School Librarians, this project is a curriculum map, outlining skills to be taught chronologically throughout the academic year for grades kindergarten through fifth grade. Also included is a crosswalk identifying the local, state, and professional standards for each skill listed on the curriculum map. The …

Effective Professional Development Practices For Adult Educators, Jessica Lureen Mcgee

All Graduate Projects

Professional development has evolved from a one day workshop that is isolated from the school setting, into a process that is on-going based at the school site. In order for professional development to be effective in the school environment, administrators need to take adult learners' needs into account when planning training. Professional development needs to be ongoing in the school setting, meeting the needs of the adult learners and evaluated by its effects on student achievement. The administrator is an instructional leader who provides support for staff to continue their growth. This handbook will provide administrators with resources to assist …

Beyond “Talent, Technology And Tolerance”: What Are The Lessons For Education In The Future?, Marie Parker Jenkins Prof., Patricia Mannix Mcnamara Dr.

Dr. Patricia Mannix McNamara

Richard Florida, an American theorist has argued that in the future we need to develop three things: Talent, Technology and Tolerance. Using this framework to inform our discussion, we examine key issues concerning policy and practice to support education for the future. This will be informed by perspectives drawing on British and Irish contexts and what these two States tell us about current issues. Global concerns over raising the academic attainment of all children for employability; responding to cultural diversity in the classroom; and having access to knowledge which informs young peoples choices are the three underpinning themes. We problematise …

Whatever Works: Teaching Adults With Learning Difficulties In Adult Basic Education Programs: A Dissertation, Susan Noyes Spear

Educational Studies Dissertations

Research indicates that significant numbers of adult learners who attend adult basic education (ABE) programs have learning difficulties and/or learning disabilities. However, most ABE teachers have not been trained to teach students with these complex learning needs. This qualitative study, conducted through an interpretivist/constructivist lens, used in-depth individual interviews to garner the voices and experiences of ten ABE teachers as they described how they identify and manage the learning needs of their students. Results showed that ABE teachers described their practice in terms of how they identified their students' learning difficulties; their perceptions of their identity and role as an …

A Study Of The Impact Of A School-Based, Job-Embedded Professional Development Program On Elementary And Middle School Teacher Efficacy For Technology Integration, Yvonne M. Skoretz

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a school-based, jobembedded professional development program on elementary and middle school teacher efficacy for technology integration. Teacher efficacy has been identified as a strong predictor of whether the content of professional development will transfer to classroom practice (Bandura, 1997). Using a conversion mixed methods quasi-experimental research design, qualitative data were collected from the experimental groups’ journal postings. Grappling’s Technology and Learning Spectrum (Porter, 2002) was used to convert this qualitative data into quantitative data to determine the change in levels of technology integration in classroom practice. The Computer Technology …

Human Rights Are Mutual Obligations: The Perceptions Of Pakistani Muslim Women About Rights And Freedom, Rashida Qureshi

Book Chapters / Conference Papers

No abstract provided.

How To Teach The Art Of “Doing” Research: Lessons Learnt From Teacher Education Program In Pakistan, Nilofar Vazir, Rashida Qureshi

Book Chapters / Conference Papers

No abstract provided.

The Anglo Politics Of Latino Education: The Role Of Immigration Scripts, Edmund T. Hamann

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

In the 41 states without a substantial historic Latino population, large-scale schooling of Latinos is a comparatively new issue and the nature of that schooling is fundamentally shaped by how the more established (usually Anglo) populations understand this task. This chapter describes the understandings that led to, but also limited, one particularly comprehensive attempt in Georgia to respond to Latino newcomers. In that sense, this is a study of the cosmologies that can undergird the politics of schooling of Latinos. This chapter utilizes the concept of the script, or broadly shared storylines about how things are or should be, to …

Investing In Sustainable And Resilient Rural Social Space: Lessons For Teacher Education, Simone White, Graeme Lock, Wendy Hastings, Maxine Cooper, Jo-Anne Reid, Bill Green

Research outputs 2011

An opinion is presented that the relationship between teacher education and the sustainability of rural communities is reciprocal. Such a reciprocal relationship is explored using research findings of an Australian Research Council funded project (2008-2010) of schools and communities that identified sustainable practices concerning staff recruitment and retention. The paper discusses the context of the study, its method and conceptual framework as well as emerging themes from twenty case studies across Australia. The implications of these themes in terms of better preparing a future rural teacher workforce are examined.

Developing Strategies At The Pre-Service Level To Address Critical Teacher Attraction And Retention Issues In Australian Rural, Regional And Remote Schools, Sue Trinidad, Elaine Sharplin, Graeme Lock, Sue Ledger, Don Boyd, Emmy Terry

Research outputs 2011

This ALTC project is a collaborative endeavour between the four public universities involved in teacher education in Western Australia (Curtin University, Edith Cowan University, Murdoch University and The University of Western Australia), focussed on improving the quality of preparation of pre-service teachers for rural, regional and remote appointments. The project, building on the work of other recent Australian rural education research projects (conducted through the ARC funded Renewing Rural Teacher Education: Sustaining Schooling for Sustainable Futures [TERRAnova] and the Renewing Rural and Regional Teacher Education ALTC Curriculum projects), will create a nexus between the theory and practice of teaching and …

Understanding A Pakistani Science Teacher’S Practice Through A Life History Study, Nelofer Halai

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

The purpose of the single case life history study was to understand a female science teacher’s conceptions of the nature of science as explicit in her practice. While this paper highlights these understandings, an additional purpose is to give a detailed account of the process of creating a life history account through more than 13 in-depth interviews. It includes a discussion of what the author calls composite observations where the observations of the teacher and the researcher are presented as a single unified story. Also discussed are ethical issues specific to life history created due to the intimacy created by …

Developing Researchers In Education Through A Doctoral Programme: A Challenge In The Context Of Pakistan, Nelofer Halai

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This is a reflective paper on the challenges of developing educational researchers through doctoral education in the context of Pakistan. These challenges are discussed from the perspective of the PhD programme in education offered by the Institute for Educational Development of the Aga Khan University, a private university in Pakistan. The analysis was based on the author’s experiences of developing and remaining actively engaged with the programme for more than seven years covering the period of admission of the first three cohorts of doctoral students from the year 2002 to 2009. First, the main features of the programme are described …

Teachers’ Professional Development Through Integrating Ict In English Language Education: A Case From Pakistan, Ayesha Bashiruddin

Book Chapters / Conference Papers

No abstract provided.

Shall We Play A Game?, Craig Caulfield

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In response to real and perceived short-comings in the quality and productivity of software engineering practices and projects, professionally-endorsed graduate and post-graduate curriculum guides have been developed to meet evolving technical developments and industry demands. Each of these curriculum guidelines identifies better software engineering management skills and soft, peopleware skills as critical for all graduating students, but they provide little guidance on how to achieve this. One possible way is to use a serious game — a game designed to educate players about some of the dynamic complexities of the field in a safe and inexpensive environment. This thesis presents …

Academic Language Teaching And Learning In The Third Space Classroom: A Preservice Teachers' Perspective, Cinzia Forasiepi

Doctoral Dissertations

The increased percentage of immigrant children in the public school system in the United States has challenged schools to provide adequate academic language instruction to reach the same levels as their monolingual peers. Teachers must demonstrate the ability to support the development of academic language in accordance to both the standards' requirements and the linguistic needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students. It is very important to shed light on teacher preparation programs and how they support their candidates to develop a pedagogy that can best respond to students' needs. This study explore the beliefs and practices of preservice teachers …

School Administrators And The Professional Learning Of General Education Teachers Related To Gifted Education: A Delphi Study, Lenore Cortina

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Student, Faculty, And Administrator Attitudes And Perceptions Of Virtual High School Classes At One Suburban New Jersey Public High School, Gina Donlevie

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Funding Teacher Education: A Catalyst For Enhancing The Universal Basic Education In Imo State Of Nigeria, Martin Okoro

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Instruction And Physical Environments That Support Process Writing In Elementary Classrooms, Monica Thomas Billen, Brad Wilcox, Damon Bahr, Jill Shumway, Byran Korth, Elizabeth Yates, Timothy G. Morrison, Sue Simmerman, Stan V. Harwarad, Nancy Peterson, Linda E. Pierce

Faculty Publications

This study conducted in eight Utah school districts documented the amount of time devoted to elementary writing instruction and described classroom physical environments related to that instruction. One-hundred-seventy-seven full-day observations were completed during a one-week period. Results indicated that process-writing time was dominated by explicit instruction from the teacher. Other elements of the writing workshop were implemented, but in a fragmented way. Classroom physical environments were generally not literacy rich. Process-oriented teachers had richer environments than those who focused on conventions.