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The Lived Experiences Of Secondary Teachers Who Give Grades And Feedback: A Phenomenological Study, Brandon Miles Moore

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of secondary teachers who grade student work, including their grading beliefs, decisions, and feedback practices at Discovery Hills Unified School District. The theory that guided this study was self-determination theory as it helps explain the motivation, both intrinsic and extrinsic, for teacher grading practices and the impact of teacher feedback on students. The central question was: What are secondary teachers’ lived experiences with grading student work? Sub questions were used to explore the beliefs, decisions, and practices secondary teachers employ when grading student work or providing feedback. …

Secondary Teacher Experiences In Professional Learning Communities: A Phenomenological Research Study, Tiphani Jo Morris

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological research study was to describe secondary mathematics, science, English Language Arts (ELA), and social studies teachers’ experiences with PLCs at Central Texas secondary schools. Using Wenger’s (1998) social theory, the study answered the central research question: What are the lived experiences of secondary mathematics, science, ELA, and social studies teachers involved in PLCs in Central Texas? The sub-questions included: What collaborative experiences do secondary teachers have during PLCs? What professional learning experiences do secondary teachers have during PLCs? The setting included two middle schools and one high school located in Central Texas. The sample …

Making The Grade: An Exploration Of Secondary Teacher Grading Practices And Equity Implications For High School Students, Pamela Williams

Doctor of Education Dissertations

Much has been written in the grading literature regarding the continued use of traditional teacher grading practices that impede effective teaching and learning, yet teachers continue to assign grades using a mixture of factors. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore secondary teacher perceptions of their grading practices, the evolution of their grading behaviors, and the alignment of these grading practices with equitable grading principles. Using a teacher decision-making theoretical framework and a conceptual framework focused on pillars of grading equity, this study sought to investigate how teachers perceive their grading practices and how they develop their …

The Influence Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Rural Virginia Secondary Teachers’ Self-Efficacy, Sherol L. Southerland

Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented unique challenges for PK-12 education and exposed educators’ skill deficits. Teachers had to learn new approaches to doing their jobs while navigating the mental, emotional, spiritual, and financial impact of the pandemic on their personal lives. This undertaking was even more demanding for rural school divisions, which tend to lack the resources (e.g., personnel, technology, financial) that suburban and urban school divisions have. Schools reopened in fall 2020 offering fully remote, fully in-person, and hybrid modalities, however, there was no going back to teaching as it was before the pandemic. The present study sought to …

The Self-Efficacy Of Culturally Responsive Teaching Among Secondary Teachers During Emergency Online Learning, Jo R. Hawke

Theses and Dissertations

The present study used an explanatory-sequential mixed-methods research design to investigate the culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy of secondary teachers during the emergency online learning of 2020. Participants were all teachers in a small urban mid-Atlantic school district. Phase 1 involved the collection of primarily quantitative data, including a measure adapted from Siwatu’s (2007) Culturally Responsive Teaching Self-Efficacy (CRTSE) scale. Quantitative findings informed the selection of six teachers to participate in interviews during the qualitative Phase 2. Interview questions further probed participants’ culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy and how the teachers demonstrated these beliefs in general and specifically during the emergency online …

Exploring How Special Education Teachers Use Interactive Whiteboard Technology In Self-Contained Classrooms, Suzanne Walshe

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have indicated special education students tend to be motivated by working with interactive whiteboard (IWB) technology; however, few researchers have examined how this technology is used in adaptive classrooms. Many high school teachers have not been able to use IWB technology to create student-centered learning experiences for special education students. The purpose of this exploratory case study was to examine how high school special education teachers use IWB technology to instruct students with moderate to profound disabilities. The constructivist theories of learning provided a conceptual framework for this study. The research questions addressed high school teachers’ observed and reported …

How To Develop A Structural Conception Of Algebra In School Students, Vesife Hatisaru

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Algebra plays a pivotal role in school students’ mathematics learning. Students, however, have serious difficulties especially with ‘seeing’ the algebraic structures and expressing generality with algebraic symbols. These skills are not gained accidently; developing them in students takes continuous, sustained, and focused effort from both students themselves and teachers. As teachers of mathematics, what kind of classroom experience could we provide our students to prepare them for using algebra successfully? How could we assist them to develop structural conceptions of algebra? In this paper, I describe an approach based on the Mathematical Habits of Mind framework (Cuoco et al., 1996) …

Secondary English Teachers’ Experiences Of Agency: Connections To Shifting Educational Contexts During Covid-19, Kristina Lee

Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic caused schools around the world to enter uncharted territory. Due to the unprecedented nature of the educational crisis, it was important to examine how teacher agency may have been affected. Teacher agency can have important implications for school climate, policy, and the experience of stakeholders. The main focus of this study was to cultivate an understanding of secondary English teachers’ perceptions of agency as they navigated teaching throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. An ecological framework was used to examine teachers’ experiences of agency in the context of COVID-19. The study utilized a basic qualitative design with in-depth interviews …

Media Literacy Instruction In Today’S Classrooms: A Study Of Teachers’ Knowledge, Confidence, And Integration, Tracy A. Mcnelly, Jessica Harvey

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Teachers play a critical role in helping to ensure that students leave school with the skills needed to not only be critical consumers of media, but to also be thoughtful and knowledgeable producers of mediated messages. Despite the important role of teachers in media literacy education, we still know very little about teachers’ knowledge of and experiences with media literacy in the classroom. This information is a critical piece in understanding how to best support teachers as they integrate media literacy education within PreK-12 classrooms. The current study seeks to add to the growing body of research in this area …

Teaching Non-Cognitive Skills For College: A Qualitative Case Study Of A Low-Income, High-Minority, Urban School District In Southeastern United States, Elizabeth Byron

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

This instrumental, multisite case study examines the role of secondary teachers in preparing high school students for the non-cognitive skills needed to persist in and graduate from college, using Bourdieu’s (1984) and Lin’s (1999) social capital theory as a guiding framework. Non-cognitive skills are defined as the “behaviors, thoughts, and feelings” of students (Borghans, 2008). Data collection for this study is based on semi-structured interviews via telecommunications with secondary educators and postsecondary student success practitioners and electronic archived documentation of non-cognitive skills found to be important for college success by the interviewees. In this study, college success is defined as …

The Influence Of Mindfulness On Teacher-Student Relationships, Classroom Climate, And School Culture: Secondary Educators’ Perspectives, Margaret Lane Dunne

Theses and Dissertations

Research suggests that the relationships students share with teachers have the power to enhance or hinder students’ learning and overall well-being. Thus, there is a critical need for educational leaders to implement systems that develop teachers’ abilities to connect with and positively support students. The focus of this phenomenological study was to explore a purposefully selected group of participants’ perceptions of how their mindfulness practices influence their work as secondary educators. Participants of the study included secondary educators from varied academic departments, varied years of teaching experience, and varied years engaged in mindfulness practice. Participants were drawn from two suburban, …

A Critical Examination Of Secondary Teachers’ Perceptions Of Liberatory Pd, Christine C. Moore

Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to develop an understanding of secondary teachers’ perceptions of liberatory (justice-oriented) professional development at three school sites in a single school district. As participants shared their perceptions, three significant themes emerged; they described 1) facing contextual constraints that limited their agency 2) desiring to be reframed as knowledge producers, yet 3) struggling to envision how their agency could support their liberation. These key findings led to an emergent theory of the Cycle of Professional Development Stagnation, a cycle involving barriers that perpetuate the framing of teachers as passive recipients of knowledge. As evidenced in this qualitative …

Managing Science Teachers’ Adoption Of The 2005 Tanzanian Inquiry And Student-Centred Curriculum: Revealing Schoolbased Leaders’ Practices And Achievements, Noel Mark Makwinya

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Many countries have made considerable changes to their education systems in response to the forces of globalisation. Tanzania is no exception. The most recent educational change attempt in Tanzania relates to the introduction of the 2005 Tanzanian Inquiry and Student- Centred Curriculum.

Sound change-leadership is a necessary condition for the realisation of change, particularly in influencing its adoption. Within the descriptive qualitative research paradigm, this study employed a Type IV (embedded and multiple) case-study design to examine and describe science teachers’ lived experiences in dealing with this latest Tanzanian curriculum and the role played by school-based leaders in influencing such …

Exploring Teachers’ Experiences Of Parental Leave Policies In One School Board In Ontario, Rachelle Martin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study sought to examine the experiences of secondary school teachers with parental leave in one school board in Ontario. The purpose of the research was to understand the policies that govern parental leave and teachers’ perceptions about the power dynamics in how these policies are enacted. This qualitative study was conducted with semi-structured interviews with six teachers who had taken parental leave in the last five years. The research explored the supports and challenges for teachers and the ways in which teachers’ experiences with parental leave policies contributed towards gendered organization of schools. The experiences of the participants in …

Teachers’ Knowledge, Perceptions And Practices Regarding Academic Literacy Development Of Long-Term English Learners, Daniel William Alamo

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

Secondary educators must be knowledgeable in their content while increasing the academic literacy of their students, a process further complicated when working with students who are long-term English learners (LTELs). This mixed-methods study explored the knowledge, practices, and perceptions of six secondary teachers working to develop the academic literacy of LTEL students in content-specific classrooms. Set within a sociocultural framework, the study provides a greater understanding of the challenges and successes educators experience when working at the secondary level with students with diverse learning needs. The data were collected in two phases. Phase I included a quantitative survey of teachers, …

Exploring Concerns Of K-12 Online Educators, Tadd Spencer Farmer

Theses and Dissertations

Although a relatively small number of K-12 students are currently enrolled in online classes, the dramatic growth in online enrollments in recent years suggests that online education will play a significant role in the future landscape of public education. While our understanding of online teaching and learning continues to grow, relatively little is known about the experiences of teachers as they engage in online teaching. In particular, very little is known about the concerns of teachers as they navigate their teaching roles and responsibilities in an online teaching environment. Using an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach, this qualitative study explored the …

Using Precision In Stem Language: A Qualitative Look, Mary M. Capraro, Ali Bicer, Melva R. Grant, Yvonna S. Lincoln

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Teachers need to develop a variety of pedagogical strategies that can encourage precise and accurate communication - an extremely important 21st century skill. Precision with STEM oral language is essential. Emphasizing oral communication with precise language in combination with increased spatial skills with modeling can improve the chances of success in STEM courses and later in making STEM career choices. The participants were 14 middle and high school teachers who participated in a week of professional development (PD). The Aural/Spatial Interactions and Invariant Components of Vocabulary for STEM Content Area Specialists (AS-STEM) was administered to teacher groups to examine how …

Using Precision In Stem Language: A Qualitative Look, Mary M. Capraro, Ali Bricer, Melva R. Grant, Yvonna S. Lincoln

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Teachers need to develop a variety of pedagogical strategies that can encourage precise and accurate communication - an extremely important 21st century skill. Precision with STEM oral language is essential. Emphasizing oral communication with precise language in combination with increased spatial skills with modeling can improve the chances of success in STEM courses and later in making STEM career choices. The participants were 14 middle and high school teachers who participated in a week of professional development (PD). The Aural/Spatial Interactions and Invariant Components of Vocabulary for STEM Content Area Specialists (AS-STEM) was administered to teacher groups to examine how …

Where Is Earth Science? Mining For Opportunities In Chemistry, Physics, And Biology, Julie Thomas, Toni Ivey, Jim Puckette

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

The Earth sciences are newly marginalized in K–12 classrooms. With few high schools offering Earth science courses, students’ exposure to the Earth sciences relies on the teacher’s ability to incorporate Earth science material into a biology, chemistry, or physics course. “G.E.T. (Geoscience Experiences for Teachers) in the Field” is an exploratory program funded by the National Science Foundation aimed to increase teachers’ geoscience interest and content knowledge. Participant teachers (n = 7) included non–Earth science teachers from underrepresented groups and/or high schools with a high percentage of students from underrepresented groups. A variety of quantitative and qualitative measures assessed …

The Experiences Of Secondary Social Studies Teachers With Historical Thinking Skills, Denise Lorraine Trombino

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

In this descriptive, mixed methods study, the researcher investigated secondary social studies teachers' college course experiences with and classroom use of historical thinking skills (HTS). Questionnaires were distributed to 160 teachers in a large public school system in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Forty percent of the questionnaires were returned. From the 40%, a purposeful sample was created. Observations, interviews, and analysis of instructional documents were used to gather data from the purposeful sample. The results showed that high school social studies teachers reported a range of experiences with and use of HTS. Teachers reported more exposure to …

Paper 2: Content Knowledge And Pedagogical Content Knowledge Of Algebra Teachers And Changes In Both Types Of Knowledge As A Result Of Professional Development, Joy W. Black

Georgia Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (GAMTE) Annual Conference

In seeking to improve the mathematics education of all students, it is important to understand the connection between the content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge of mathematics and how professionals can influence growth in both of these types of knowledge. We do not have an answer about the interplay of content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge in successful instructional practices in the mathematics classroom. This study involves assessing the content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge of secondary teachers of Algebra I. In addition, how are these types of knowledge expressed in instructional practices? Last, how do content knowledge, pedagogical content …

Paper 3: Authentic Discovery Projects In Statistics, Dianna Spence, Robb Sinn

Georgia Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (GAMTE) Annual Conference

We report the activities and findings of a 3-year project, ―Authentic, Career-Specific, Discovery Learning Projects in Introductory Statistics,‖ funded by the National Science Foundation. The project scope includes: 1) development of teaching materials for using discovery learning projects to teach statistics; 2) training secondary teachers to use the materials developed; 3) evaluation of student outcomes, in both content knowledge and attitudes toward statistics; and 4) extending and refining teacher training.

With input from an interdisciplinary team of instructors, materials were developed to assist the teacher in facilitating collaborative discovery projects using linear regression techniques and comparison techniques with appropriate t-tests. …

Paper 2: The Mathematical Preparation Of Secondary School Teachers, Kelly W. Edenfield

Georgia Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (GAMTE) Annual Conference

In the summer of 2007, a group of doctoral students at the University of Georgia gathered to discuss the mathematical preparation of secondary teachers. The group used Mathematics for High School Teachers: An Advanced Perspective by Usiskin, Peressini, Marchisotto, and Stanley (2003) as the catalyst for the discussion. Participants agreed that future teachers need opportunities to examine high school and college mathematics differently from the way they had as students, with specific emphasis on connections, representations, and history. Features of this text that were highlighted in the discussions were the attention topics with commonly held misconceptions, the historical rationales and …

Relationships Among Classroom Technology Utilization, Professional Development, And Knowledge About Technology For Secondary Teachers, Stacy L. King

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of technology professional development for secondary teachers toward the usage of that technology in the classroom to assist with the teaching/learning process. This research also examined the effects of knowledge about technology for secondary teachers on the utilization of technology in the classroom. Data were gathered from the Technology Proficiency Self Assessment Instrument issued by the Louisiana State Department of Education. The target population consisted of secondary school teachers in Louisiana from 202 secondary schools in twenty-eight parishes. From the 202 secondary schools in Louisiana, a sample of teachers (n …

The Relationship Between Secondary Teachers' Perceptions Of Empowerment And A Principal's Leadership Style, George W. Walker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to investigate the relationship between teachers' perceptions of empowerment and their impressions of their principal's leadership style within Bolman and Deal's four organizational frames, selected teacher demographics, and school size. The study used the survey method of data collection. Completed School Participant Empowerment Scales, Leadership Orientations Other Scales, and demographics forms were received from 315 (90%) of the teachers surveyed. The criterion variable, or dependent variable, was the teachers' scores on the School Participant Empowerment Scale. Teachers' scores on the Leadership Orientations Other Scale, teacher demographics (age, educational level, and teaching experience), and school size were …

An Analysis Of The Attitudes Of Area Secondary Business Teachers And Guidance Counselors Toward The Secretarial Programs At Paul D. Camp Community College, Carolyn Wall Crowder

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

This study sought to answer the following questions: 1. How do area high school business teachers and guidance counselors perceive the Secretarial Science programs and course offerings at Paul D. Camp Community College? 2. How can the relationship of high school personnel and the Secretarial Science faculty at Paul D. Camp Community College be strengthened? 3. How can the transition of high school graduates to the community college Secretarial Science programs be made more efficient? 4. What programs, activities, etc. would be of interest and value to the secondary teachers?