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Series

Teacher Education and Professional Development

2018

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Education

Professional Development And Its Influence On Teacher Practice And Student Achievement, Jettie Pearl Payne Jul 2018

Professional Development And Its Influence On Teacher Practice And Student Achievement, Jettie Pearl Payne

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This paper examines the characteristics of effective professional development (PD). It discusses the change process in a system and how it applies to an educational setting, including teacher practice and student achievement. This study uses a survey, interviews, and student benchmark assessment data to assess the influence of PD on a district. Four main themes surfaced from the research in this study: past experiences mold beliefs and practices, coherence throughout a system clarifies expectations, individualized professional learning leads to authentic change in practice, and professional development influences the entire system.


The Effect Of Classroom Context On Head Start Teacher Feedback, Jasmine Renee Ernst Apr 2018

The Effect Of Classroom Context On Head Start Teacher Feedback, Jasmine Renee Ernst

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS, LaParo, Pianta, & Stuhlman, 2004) assesses quality of teacher social and instructional interactions with children, and classroom management and productivity. Prior research indicated low quality of feedback scores in programs serving low-income children (Early et al., 2005). The purpose of this study was to compare the quantity and quality of managing interaction utterances (i.e. a type of feedback) provided by Head Start teachers (N = 8) in two classroom contexts. Video-recorded book-reading and 20-minute center-time sessions in the fall and spring of a school year were used to assess managing interaction utterances in structured …


Changing Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs About Prevalent Brain-Based Myths In Education, Megan Sparks Apr 2018

Changing Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs About Prevalent Brain-Based Myths In Education, Megan Sparks

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The present study examined if a conceptual change intervention would decrease pre-service teachers’ beliefs in four prevalent brain-based myths in education, including Visual-Auditory-Kinesthetic (VAK) learning styles, Gardner’s multiple intelligences theory, left- or right-brained hemispheric dominance, and that humans only use 10% of their brains. Participants included 87 college students from one large, comprehensive university who were enrolled in an educational psychology course. All participants received the conceptual change intervention, which consisted of reading an article refuting the brain-based myths, submitting a paper showcasing evaluative thinking and reflection about the brain-based myths, and discussing cognitive development and the brain-based myths in …