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Full-Text Articles in Education

Thick And Thin: Variations In Teacher Leader Identity, Julianne A. Wenner, Todd Campbell Oct 2018

Thick And Thin: Variations In Teacher Leader Identity, Julianne A. Wenner, Todd Campbell

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Recently, there has been more focus on issues related to the professional development of teacher leaders (TLs), but there is still much to learn. Situated within a larger study, the purpose of this research was to understand the ways in which individuals participated in teacher leadership and how participation and identities shaped and were shaped by communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991). Specifically, this study focuses on two TLs and the manifestation of what we are describing as ‘thick’ and ‘thin’ TL identities. Based on our findings, we see thick identity – that is, a TL identity that is …


On The Importance Of Engaging Students In Crafting Definitions, Angela Little, Leslie Atkins Elliott Sep 2018

On The Importance Of Engaging Students In Crafting Definitions, Angela Little, Leslie Atkins Elliott

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this paper we describe an activity for engaging students in crafting definitions. We explore the strengths of this particular activity as well as the broader implications of engaging students in crafting definitions more generally.


Secondary Mathematics Teachers’ Planned Approaches For Teaching Standard Deviation, Maryann E. Huey, Joe Champion, Stephanie Casey, Nicholas H. Wasserman May 2018

Secondary Mathematics Teachers’ Planned Approaches For Teaching Standard Deviation, Maryann E. Huey, Joe Champion, Stephanie Casey, Nicholas H. Wasserman

Mathematics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Research-based guidelines for learning variation exist (e.g., Franklin et al., 2007; Garfield, delMas, & Chance, 2007), but little is known about how teachers plan to teach standard deviation, or how these plans align with recent recommendations. In this article, we survey lesson plans designed by inservice and preservice secondary mathematical teachers. We report on the accuracy, technology usage, and visual representations in the lesson plans. We consider how many elements are used, the level of conceptual development, and the mathematical nature. Findings support differences between preservice and master’s level students in education, as well as a tendency by in-service teachers …


Examining Validity And Reliability Of A Mathematics Assessment Tool For K-2 Students, Carl F. Siebert, Jonathan L. Brendefur Apr 2018

Examining Validity And Reliability Of A Mathematics Assessment Tool For K-2 Students, Carl F. Siebert, Jonathan L. Brendefur

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Primary Math Assessment (PMA) tool is increasingly being used in multiple districts in a northwestern state. The PMA provides both screening and diagnostic information in six domains to assess mathematical proficiency in young students in their early educational years. A previous study using multidimensional Rasch analyses found support for the PMA’s six-dimensional theoretical framework, and that the PMA is a reliable mathematics assessment for early grades. This study extended the examination of a Rasch model, implementing exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, Item Response Theory, and Differential Item Functioning analyses. In doing so, this study found an IRT 2-PL model …


Building Place Value Understanding Through Modeling And Structure, Jonathan L. Brendefur, Sam Strother, Kelli Rich Mar 2018

Building Place Value Understanding Through Modeling And Structure, Jonathan L. Brendefur, Sam Strother, Kelli Rich

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Place value is a concept in which students in elementary school struggle and instruction and curricular materials continue to introduce and teach place value in a disconnected fashion. This study introduced place value through a modeling perspective, focusing specifically on using the bar model to represent units and quantity. The investigation piloted a place value module highlighting the use of the bar model in four first grade classrooms with high percentages of diverse learners, many from low-income families and with limited English language proficiency. The results indicated students successfully described the differences between units of 1 and 10 and could …


Developing A Multi-Dimensional Early Elementary Mathematics Screener And Diagnostic Tool: The Primary Mathematics Assessment, Jonathan L. Brendefur, Evelyn S. Johnson, Keith W. Thiede, Sam Strother, Herbert H. Severson Mar 2018

Developing A Multi-Dimensional Early Elementary Mathematics Screener And Diagnostic Tool: The Primary Mathematics Assessment, Jonathan L. Brendefur, Evelyn S. Johnson, Keith W. Thiede, Sam Strother, Herbert H. Severson

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

There is a critical need to identify primary level students experiencing difficulties in mathematics to provide immediate and targeted instruction that remediates their deficits. However, most early math screening instruments focus only on the concept of number, resulting in inadequate and incomplete information for teachers to design intervention efforts. We propose a mathematics assessment that screens and provides diagnostic information in six domains that are important to building a strong foundation in mathematics. This article describes the conceptual framework and psychometric qualities of a web-based assessment tool, the Primary Math Assessment (PMA). The PMA includes a screener to identify students …


Revisiting The Rural Superintendency: Rethinking Guiding Theories For Contemporary Practice, Erin Mchenry-Sorber, Kathleen Budge Jan 2018

Revisiting The Rural Superintendency: Rethinking Guiding Theories For Contemporary Practice, Erin Mchenry-Sorber, Kathleen Budge

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This conceptual article challenges researchers and practitioners to reconsider the utility of current constructs used to understand the rural school superintendency. We evaluate the rural leadership literature through two waves of scholarship: insider/outsider conceptions and place-conscious/critical place-conscious constructs. We assert critical place-conscious leadership as potentially responsive to contemporary rural realities, but we provide a number of revisions for theoretical development to increase applicability to the realities of the rural superintendency in practice in the early part of the twenty-first century.


What To Do Before, During, And After Difficult Dialogues About Diversity, Tolulope Noah, Tasha Souza Jan 2018

What To Do Before, During, And After Difficult Dialogues About Diversity, Tolulope Noah, Tasha Souza

CTL Teaching Gallery

As faculty, we have a unique opportunity to help students navigate conversations about diversity in a way that leads to deeper understanding, greater empathy, and hopefully, social action. However, such productive dialogue takes careful planning, preparation, and guidance on the part of the instructor. Below, we offer specific strategies faculty can use before, during, and after difficult dialogue about diversity in the classroom setting.


Focused Video Reflections In Concert With Practice-Based Structures To Support Elementary Teacher Candidates In Learning To Teach Science, Julianne A. Wenner, Julie Kittleson Jan 2018

Focused Video Reflections In Concert With Practice-Based Structures To Support Elementary Teacher Candidates In Learning To Teach Science, Julianne A. Wenner, Julie Kittleson

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Recommendations for science education, including elementary education, highlight instructional practices such as using discussion to promote deep understandings of science. A task facing science teacher educators is to craft instruction to support teacher candidates (TCs) to develop skills that will encourage such practices in classrooms. In 2011, we developed and implemented a class activity —the Supported, Collaborative Teaching Model (SCTM)—to focus TCs’ attention on key aspects of science teaching. The SCTM, which is designed around the idea that practical experience is critically important to teacher education, involves having TCs teach science to elementary students in three different grade levels three …


Funneling Versus Focusing: When Talk, Tasks, And Tools Work Together To Support Students’ Collective Sensemaking, Sara Hagenah, Carolyn Colley, Jessica Thompson Jan 2018

Funneling Versus Focusing: When Talk, Tasks, And Tools Work Together To Support Students’ Collective Sensemaking, Sara Hagenah, Carolyn Colley, Jessica Thompson

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Rigorous and responsive science teaching is based on supporting all students in making progress in their understanding of important science ideas over time. In this article, we explore how did classroom talk patterns of funneling and focusing support student sensemaking. We share how talk, tasks, and tools within classroom activity work together to either funnel students toward reproducing normative scientific answers or focus students on deepening their understanding about unobservable causal mechanisms of phenomena. We use classroom examples from two science lessons where students used data to describe and communicate about how and why stars change over time. By recognizing …


It’S A Balancing Act: A Self-Study Of Teacher Educators’ Feedback Practices And The Underlying Tensions, Sherry Dismuke, Esther A. Enright, Julianne A. Wenner Jan 2018

It’S A Balancing Act: A Self-Study Of Teacher Educators’ Feedback Practices And The Underlying Tensions, Sherry Dismuke, Esther A. Enright, Julianne A. Wenner

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

While there are documented benefits of full-time faculty participating in clinical supervision, challenges, such as conflicting time demands, personal bias, adherence to common evaluation forms, and power differentials, can create impediments to effective practicum supervision (Ciuffetelli Parker & Volante, 2009). We, as teacher educators, turned to reflection through self-study to investigate our professional practice with the aim of better understanding and overcoming those challenges. Like Bullock (2017), we utilized teacher candidates’ perspectives to disrupt, confirm, and extend our narratives. We focused on the practice of giving teacher candidates feedback on their developing teaching during their clinical placement in elementary schools. …


Effective And Interactive Group Assignments In An Online Course, Teresa Focarile, Lana Grover Jan 2018

Effective And Interactive Group Assignments In An Online Course, Teresa Focarile, Lana Grover

CTL Teaching Gallery

The current standard paradigm for online learning involves asynchronous learning. We propose to expand that paradigm to include synchronous elements to the general course design, specifically cooperative learning (CL). Cooperative learning in any classroom, traditional or online, must include a synchronous event: all members are present at the same time in the same space. A synchronous form of online CL simulates face-to-face interaction available in a live classroom but conducted through screen-to-screen communication. The inclusion of synchronous components carries the benefit of increased student engagement and community-building, thereby maximizing the potential for student learning and successful completion.