Education Commons^™

"We Ultimately Just Need To Connect" Engaging In A Digital World: Perceptions From Families And Educators During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Anne Marie C. Jordan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Henderson & Berla (1994) state “the evidence is now beyond dispute. When schools work together with families to support learning, children tend to succeed not just in school, but throughout life” (p.1). The objective of this study was to explore how the COVID19 pandemic changed the way elementary educators needed to connect and develop relationships with the families of their students. This study addressed the broad research question of how elementary teachers and families perceived their interactions through remote modalities during the COVID-19 pandemic using focus groups from rural central Maine. They also discussed what technology and digital modalities were …

An Investigation Of The Instructional Norms Of Mathematical Communication When Students Present Geometry Proofs At The Board, Bukola T. Ake

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Expert mathematical communication is a synthesis of speaking, writing, diagramming, and gesturing. What opportunities are there for secondary mathematics students to learn the discipline-specific ways in which these modalities can be combined to communicate proofs? In an initial effort to investigate this question, Dimmel and Herbst (2020) conducted a multimedia survey experiment to test a hypothesis about how secondary mathematics teachers expect students to communicate when presenting proofs at the board in secondary geometry classrooms. Their hypothesis, based on an analysis of episodes of instruction from a small sample of secondary geometry classrooms, was that teachers expected student presentations of …

Horizon Content Knowledge And Its Integration Into Physics Education Research: Case Study Analysis On Physical Science And Physics Teachers, Trevor A. Robertson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teachers focused on just one year of instruction may neglect what students need most– a coherent structure of learning across disciplines that advances students’ understanding. The topic of coherence has been a major motivator for education research, including investigations in student- teacher interactions, epistemological beliefs, and large-scale curricular reform. One framework of knowledge, horizon content knowledge (HCK), can aid in describing the knowledge a teacher needs to see beyond their own instruction and provide a coherent structure for students.

While horizon content knowledge exists in one of the most widely adopted teacher frameworks of knowledge in mathematics, mathematical knowledge for …

Agency Of In-Service Elementary Science Teachers During A Global Pandemic, Anica Miller-Rushing

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In-service teachers of science work with unique content and pedagogical experiences. Understanding teacher agency in these circumstances will help researchers understand the actions that these teachers take, actions that are consequential for shaping teaching patterns and supporting the development of students’ scientific practices. The purpose of this study was to understand how the agency of six elementary (K–5) in-service teachers was expressed discursively during a global pandemic. The teachers’ agency was qualitatively analyzed using a case study approach (Yin, 2012, 2017) that applied discourse analysis to identify the ways in which science teacher agency is conceptualized, afforded, and constrained through …

Investigating The Attitudes, Beliefs And Practices Of High School Chemistry Teachers Regarding The Differentiation Of Instruction, Anna Tyrina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Differentiation of instruction (DI) is a broad term used for a group of pedagogical tools that teachers use to individualize instruction for students of different abilities and needs. Differentiation of instruction is a practice that has been researched and characterized to have a variety of instructional benefits, some of which include increased student motivation and engagement (Tomlinson, 2001). This study sought to characterize the attitudes, beliefs, and practices of ten high school chemistry teachers in Maine regarding the differentiation of instruction. Through a phenomenological approach, interviews with these teachers were analyzed to understand how high school chemistry teachers define differentiated …

Using Peer Supports To Improve Positive-To-Negative Teacher/Student Interaction Ratios By Novice Teachers, Karen Robbie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A critical teacher shortage continues to exist throughout the United States. Challenges with student behavior and classroom management are identified as a top reason for teacher attrition. Educational research has demonstrated that PreK-12 students who receive social-emotional-behavioral support through evidence-based classroom management (EBCM) practices are more likely to achieve academic success. When teachers deliver high ratios of positive interactions to their students, positive student outcomes are likely to occur. However, researchers have consistently found that, like other EBCM practices, this low-intensity, high-impact practice is typically implemented at significantly lower levels than necessary to promote positive student outcomes. This implementation gap …

The Maine Teacher Resilience Study: Using Sem To Create A Teacher Costs To Caring Resilience Model, Sherry Pineau Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For decades, researchers have understood the deleterious emotional and psychological effects that can result from working with individuals who have experienced trauma and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) including vicarious traumatization, compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress (STS), burnout, and an intent to leave the profession (Figley, 1995; McCann & Pearlman, 1990; Stamm, 1999). Figley (1995) deemed such effects as an almost inevitable “cost to caring” (p.1) for those who have experienced adversity. Teachers, however, have been largely left out of the discussion surrounding such effects. The purpose of this quantitative study is two-fold. First, the purpose is to understand the extent …

Language, Identity, And Citizenship: Politics Of Education In Madawaska, 1842-1920, Elisa E A Sance

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The establishment of the international border between Maine and New Brunswick in 1842 through the signature of the Webster-Ashburton treaty divided the Francophone population of the Madawaska region along the Saint John River. As a result, each half became administered by an Anglophone government. The linguistic and cultural differences between the Madawaska French and the Anglo-Saxon Protestant ruling majority in both the state and the province complicated the establishment of new public institutions. The language of both administrations as well as the language of public education was English; a language that very few people among the Madawaska French spoke or …

Work At The Boundary: A Research-Practice Partnership To Integrate Computer Science Into Middle School Science, Amelia R. Callahan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Maine Center for Research in STEM Education (RiSE Center) is currently developing a partnership between university education researchers, computer science faculty, and middle school science teachers throughout the state. The goal of this partnership is to develop a set of lessons that integrate computer science concepts and practices into existing science curricular materials. This STEM+C partnership brings together individuals who have a wide range of experience and comfort with computer science and teaching middle school. This study focuses on the partnership’s early stages through its initial summer collaborations. We designed and administered interviews prior to the module design process …

Teacher Judgment Accuracy In The Domain Of Spelling, April Spencer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated first and second grade teachers’ understanding of their students’ skill in spelling words of varying difficulty. Specifically, teachers judged their students’ item- by-item performance on a twelve-item spelling test adapted from a commercially available developmental spelling inventory. Results showed that teachers’ judgments were accurate 77% of the time, a figure similar to accuracy levels reported in previous teacher judgment research in the area of literacy. The study also included an error analysis task that was designed to assess teachers’ knowledge of developmental spelling. Results revealed a significant relationship (r = .42) between teacher judgment accuracy and performance …

Teacher Performance Evaluation And Professional Growth In The Era Of "Educator Effectiveness" In Maine, Jonathan E. Doty

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Maine is one of many states that undertook reform to teacher supervision and evaluation in the wake of public attention (e.g., Waiting for Superman) and federal pressure (e.g., NCLB Flexibility Waivers). The Maine Legislature passed An Act to Ensure Effective Teaching and School Leadership (2012), shifting from local discretion to greater state influence on the functions of formative supervision and summative evaluation. As school districts created systems to meet the state’s mandates, they combined growth and employment functions and navigated persistent challenges described in the literature on evaluation and supervision.

The purpose of this study was to examine perspectives …

A Multiple Case Study Of Secondary School Teachers' Understanding Of Learning Relationships In Virtual Schools: Implications For Teacher Identity, Linda M. Fuller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is now a strong presence of virtual schools in the United States serving K-12 students, along with increased opportunities for brick-and-mortar students to take virtual courses (Ash, 2011; Luo, Hibbard, Franklin, & Moore, 2017). Research into the human impact of virtual education is not keeping pace (Gulosino & Miron, 2017; Rice et al., 2014). This study focused on the experiences and insights of virtual teachers in terms of their relationships with learners as well as on potential changes in their sense of professional identity as they moved from one setting to the other. During a series of three individual, …

Deciphering Climate-Driven Changes In Planktonic Diatom Communities In Lake Superior, Amy Kireta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is affecting lake systems throughout the world, including Lake Superior, the world’s largest lake by surface area. Climate-driven physical changes in Lake Superior are well documented, but there is still substantial uncertainty of how recent biological changes are related to climate change. This research addresses these uncertainties using a variety of approaches to understand the effects of modern climate-driven changes on Lake Superior diatom communities. First, I developed models for environmental variables related to diatom abundance using 10 years of summer monitoring data. Second, I investigated changes in fossilized diatom relative abundances before, during, and after the Medieval …

Discussion In Middle And High School Earth Science Classrooms And Its Impact On Students' Abilities To Construct Evidence-Based Arguments In Their Written Work, Rachel Martin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Middle and high school teachers who participate in the Maine Physical Sciences Partnership (MainePSP) noted persistent problems in their classrooms, including low levels of student engagement and gaps in how students use evidence. To address these problems, this study was designed in collaboration with MainePSP teachers in a design-based implementation research process as teachers aimed to better connect classroom discussion and written argumentation. Though scientific writing makes use of argumentation to support ideas, it is often the sharing of ideas that makes an argument stronger.

Two teachers collected data from their seventh and ninth grade Earth Science classrooms at schools …

Inconsistent Conceptions Of Acceleration Contributing To Formative Assessment Limitations, Gregory D. Kranich

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has become a national priority in light of measures indicating marginal student interest and success in the United States. Just as evidence is integral to policy decisions, so too do teachers depend on evidence to inform instructional choices. Classroom assessment remains a touchstone means of gathering such evidence as indicators of students’ progress, and increasingly, teachers are designing, implementing, and interpreting assessments in collaboration with one another.

In rural Maine, the work of the Maine Physical Sciences Partnership (MainePSP) has enabled science educators to come together as a supportive professional community. We focused …

Socialization Of International Women Faculty, Daniela Ximena Véliz Calderón

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research indicates that women and minority faculty often experience disparate socialization experiences in academia (Clark & Corcoran, 1986; Tierney & Bensimon, 1996; Tierney & Rhoads, 1994). For faculty, a positive socialization experience can lead to a successful academic career, whereas a negative one can cause alienation and departure (Tierney & Rhoads, 1994). Faculty attrition rates are higher for women than for men (Menges & Exum, 1983; Rothblum, 1988), and at high prestige institutions, women and faculty of color may have higher rates of attrition (Olsen, Maple, & Stage, 1995). Currently, the majority of international faculty members are employed at research …

Comparing The Reading Behaviors In Three Groups Of First Grade Students - Students Who Discontinued From Reading Recovery, Students Who Did Not Discontinue From Reading Recovery, And Students Who Never Needed Reading Recovery, Sharon Greaney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the variety, complexity, and frequency of reading behaviors of three groups of first grade students - students who discontinued from Reading Recovery (D-RR), students who did not discontinue from Reading Recovery (ND-RR), and students who never needed Reading Recovery (A-NRR). Students were asked to read from four frequently used assessments - The Scott-Foresman Testing Packet, The Qualitative Reading Inventory - 4, Oral Reading Fluency and the Burt Word Test. An analysis of over 3,000 reading actions revealed four categories: (a) solving behaviors, (b) substitutions, (c) repetitions, and (c) behaviors that did not …

Understanding And Implementing Classroom Discussions Of Literature: A Case Study Of One High School Teacher's Beliefs And Practices Concerning Classroom Discussions, Tanya Neva Baker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Classroom discussion of literature is often lauded as a powerful pedagogical tool in the high school English classroom. Researchers have shown that student talk in the classroom is a powerful teaching strategy. Many teachers express a belief in classroom discussions as a means of teaching literature. At the same time, relatively few teachers actually use classroom discussions of literature in their teaching. Research has identified that student talk in the classroom is a powerful pedagogical tool, and also that such discussions are difficult for many classroom teachers to enact. Little research has explored why teachers might have this disconnect. Teachers …

Students' Epistemological Beliefs Of Mathematics When Taught Using Traditional Versus Reform Curricula In Rural Maine High Schools, Glenn T. Colby

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study compared students’ epistemological beliefs of mathematics after completing 3 years of a reform-oriented curriculum developed by the Core-Plus Mathematics Project (CPMP) versus a more traditional curriculum developed by Glencoe Mathematics. The Conceptions of Mathematics Inventory (CMI; Grouws, Howald, & Colangelo, 1996) was administered to 11th-grade students in four rural Maine high schools (n=102) to measure student beliefs of mathematics. CPMP was used as the primary textbook series in 2 of the schools, while the other 2 schools used Glencoe Mathematics. A variation of the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP; Piburn & Sawada, 2000) and teacher questionnaires were used …

Effect Of A Concentrated In-Service Elementary Teacher Force And Motion Workshop, David Nelson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The National Science Education Standards and Maine Learning Results outline a comprehensive program for facilitating children’s learning of basic concepts in force and motion. The program has goals for children as early as Kindergarten, but assumes the teachers in our primary schools are prepared to handle these concepts. Unfortunately our elementary school teacher’s training programs do not require in-depth instruction in the sciences, and many of our elementary school teachers have never received instruction in basic physics. Lacking mastery of the content, many in-service teachers doubt their ability to present science material in their classrooms, and sometimes avoid the material …

Measuring Student Understanding Of Density, With Geological Applications, Emily L. Klingler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Density is an important physical concept in all of science. Substantial education research on the teaching and learning of density has occurred in physics, chemistry, and biochemistry; there has been little education research about density in the earth sciences. This study investigates the extent to which targeted instruction influences student understanding of density, and the frequency and accuracy with which students apply it in explanations of earth science phenomena. All data for the study were collected from students in The Environmental Geology of Maine (ERS 102) at the University of Maine during the spring and fall 2004 and spring 2005 …

A Middle School Standards-Based Science Curriculum Handbook, Eleanor B. Hess

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As teachers implement the National Science Education Standards (1996) many must change the instructional methods they have used throughout their careers. This handbook will assist teachers to be facilitators in inquiry-based classrooms. The nine units of this handbook have been implemented for three years in an eighth grade classroom and have been used and modified by three different teachers to meet their own needs. The units in this handbook were chosen by MSAD #3, Unity, Maine, to reflect the curriculum requirements of The State of Maine Learning Results (1997). Included in this handbook are physics units covering motion, forces, work, …

Crystallizing Alex: A Qualitative Case Study Of What Influences One Second Grade Teacher's Literacy Instruction, Jill Ostrow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

New teachers face enormous pressure- to understand and assess student learning, to work well with parents, and to ensure their curricula are aligned with state and national standards. Nowhere is this pressure more evident than in literacy instruction, where competing notions of best practice can be confusing and overwhelming. This qualitative case study of an early career teacher, Alex Christopher, explores in-depth what influences her second grade literacy program. Her decisionmaking process during reading and writing instruction is analyzed within the context of local, state and national literacy reform initiatives, university/school partnerships, and professional development opportunities. Alex was selected for …

Lessons From Ellen: A Case Study Investigation Of Comprehension Strategy Instruction In Action, Suzanne Kaback

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the past ten years, reading comprehension instruction has received significant attention from educational researchers. Drawing on studies from cognitive psychology, reader response theory, and language arts research, current best practice in reading comprehension instruction is characterized by a strategies approach in which students are taught to think like proficient readers who visualize, infer, activate schema, question, and summarize as they read. Studies investigating the impact of comprehension strategy instruction on student achievement in reading suggest that when implemented consistently the intervention has a positive effect on achievement. Research also shows, however, that few teachers embrace this approach to reading …

Factors Influencing Grade Six Students' Perceptions Of Teachers, Susan Smith Laplante

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Less than one percent of U.S. school districts have invited student feedback in the school improvement process (Matthews, 2000). Students have valuable perceptions of how teachers interact with them and these perceptions can be a usefbl tool to improve schools (Tyack & Cuban). The purpose of this study was to examine sixth grade students' perceptions of teachers and the relationship of these perceptions to achievement, gender, socioeconomic status and grade configurations. This study utilized sixth graders' responses to sixteen items selected fiom the Students Speak: My Education and My Future Aspirations survey developed at the National Center for Student Aspirations …

Coherence And Historical Understanding In Children's Biography And Historical Nonfiction Literature: A Content Analysis Of Selected Orbis Pictus Books, Sandip Leeanne Wilson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate a selection of children's historical nonfiction literature for evidence of coherence. Although research has been conducted on coherence of textbook material and its influences on comprehension there has been limited study on coherence in children's nonfiction literature. Generally, textual coherence has been seen as critical in the comprehensibility of content area textbooks because it concerns the unity of connections among ideas and information. Disciplinary coherence concerns the extent to which authors of historical text show readers how historians think and write. Since young readers are apprentices in learning historical content and conventions …

Grading The General Chemistry Laboratory: A Constructivist Approach., Barbara Stewart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Constructivist theories of learning posit that instructors cannot transfer their knowledge to students; students must actively construct their own understanding. The Inter-Chem-Net project uses technology and instrumentation to provide an individualized experience within the large general laboratory course, effectively establishing a constructivist methodology. A grading rubric was developed to communicate course expectations and provide an easy and reliable method of evaluating student work in the general chemistry laboratory. The grading rubric separates the learning outcomes into a checklist of skills associated with each particular grade. This checklist provides detailed feedback for individualized choices of experiments, a key component of the …

The Effect Of Direct Experience On Generating Insight Into And Deepening Understanding Of Academic Topics Studied By High School Seniors In The Field, Lowell W. Libby

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Progressive educators have long criticized many traditional teaching methods at the secondary level as intellectually stultifying and irrelevant. The current wave of progressive secondary school reform, including in Maine, seeks to improve learning for all students by actively engaging them in the learning experience. The focus, however, is primarily on classroom practices, with little written about the potential importance to academic study of one practice - field-based learning - which has an established record for engaging students actively in learning. The reasons for this omission are varied, including a lack of understanding of field-based learning at the secondary level. This …

Making The Transition To Curriculum Integration: A Curriculum Design In Middle Level Schools, Wallace Martin Alexander

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate middle level teachers' transitional process as they move from an interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary curricular format to curriculum integration. This study was designed to identify key stakeholders in this transitional process and determine the role each played, and to identify and investigate the key steps and obstacles along the way. The primary participants in this study were identified as teachers in the process of transitioning to a curriculum integration model. They and two other teachers on their five-teacher team, five students, three parents and the school principal were interviewed. Teacher interviews were most extensive, delving …

Collective Efficacy And Collaborative Climate In Maine High Schools, Sarah Mackenzie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

School reformers contend that a collaborative climate is conducive to effective schools. Collective efficacy is logically connected to collaborative climate and has the potential to enhance understanding of the psychosocial aspects of schools as organizations. This study's purpose was to examine the relationships among teacher efficacy, collective efficacy, and collaborative climate and to determine how, if at all, these three indicators of teacher and school effectiveness were statistically linked. I The study involved surveying 21 high schools. Teachers (n = 384) responded to a 40-item instrument consisting of variables related to their individual and collective efficacy, sense of collegiality, beliefs …