Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Review Of Yoga Minds, Writing Bodies: Contemplative Writing Pedagogy By Christy Wenger, Matthew Overstreet

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

When given the chance to review a book for JAEPL, I immediately suggested Christy Wenger’s Yoga Minds, Writing Bodies. Not only is this a book I highly respect, but one of its themes is perhaps more relevant than ever today, some six years after its publication.

Review Of On The End Of Privacy: Dissolving Boundaries In A Screen- Centric World By Richard E. Miller, Kandace Knudson

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Although I no longer grade student papers, I work closely with students and my faculty colleagues in support of the online learning environment. Need some advice about how to design your online course to increase student engagement? Need to know what the institution’s rules are as they relate to online teaching? Yes, I’m that person: accessibility laws, copyright laws, college policy, how to get this photocopied article into the learning management system, where to click to do this or that.

Blended Learning: Intentional Personalized Instruction For All, Amy W. Fonseca, Andrew Mccully, Amber Tuttle, Sheila Wright

Instructional Modules for Professional learning Responding to Opportunities and Valuing Educators (IMPROVE)

This Professional Learning Module (PLM) was designed to support educators in learning more about Blended Learning, the related models, and information for implementing this effective, enriched, and student-driven instructional framework. Blended learning serves to combine the traditional instruction and feel of a brick-and-mortar school with online learning. This PLM reviews the four overarching models of Blended Learning: 1) rotation models, 2) the flex model, 3) the a la carte model, and 4) the enriched virtual model. The module also provides examples of Blended Learning for K-12 classrooms and covers The Blended Learning Teacher Competencies to support proper implementation. Educators, administrators, …

Evidence-Based Reading Interventions For Middle And High School Teachers, Brittany Evans, Beverly Hart, Mashonda Surratt

Instructional Modules for Professional learning Responding to Opportunities and Valuing Educators (IMPROVE)

Welcome to Evidence-Based Reading Practices. This module is designed to help middle and high school teachers intervene with struggling readers in their regular education classrooms. This module will take you approximately three hours to complete. During that time, you will learn what to do when students are missing the necessary foundational skills to become skilled readers.

View professional learning module.

Collective Teacher Efficacy, Annie Mcentyre, Stephanie Revis, Helena Vanhorn, Gina Gold

Instructional Modules for Professional learning Responding to Opportunities and Valuing Educators (IMPROVE)

This professional learning module (PLM) was designed for those in leadership roles in educational organizations who desire to examine the effect of collective teacher efficacy for school improvement purposes. This module defines collective teacher efficacy as it applies to educational settings and impacts student learning. School leaders will learn research-based conditions and practices that have been found to foster collective efficacy in schools. Collective Teacher Efficacy Professional Learning Module is aligned with the North Carolina Standards for School Executives, Professional Standards for Educational Leaders, and Teacher Leader Model Standards.

View professional learning module.

Travel Agent Vs. Tour Guide: A Passport To Student Engagement, Alexis Greer, Demia Johnson, Jenee Peace, Christopher Scruggs

Instructional Modules for Professional learning Responding to Opportunities and Valuing Educators (IMPROVE)

This module is designed for all teachers (elementary, middle, and high) that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic through virtual and/or hybrid instruction and are currently teaching in a K-12 setting. This module will provide resources and information related to planning authentic learning tasks and re-engaging students! This module will take you approximately 4 hours to complete. The focus of this module is to provide introductory information, examples of high-yield strategies, and resources for future self-paced inquiry.

View professional learning module.

Deconstructing The Standards, Melissa Y. Pollard, Seon S. Sloley

Instructional Modules for Professional learning Responding to Opportunities and Valuing Educators (IMPROVE)

The purpose of this Professional Learning Module (PLM) is to improve teacher understanding of academic standard deconstruction. We created this professional learning module to assist educators in better understanding how to deconstruct standards. In this PLM, you will find information about:

1.The need for deconstruction

2.The deconstruction process

3. Identifying learning Targets

4. Using a graphic organizer

5. Common assessments aligned to standards

We hope that both educators and district-level personnel will find this PLM instrumental in the training process of deconstructing standards. In unpacking, repacking, and organizing standards, teachers will develop a better understanding of what the standards are …

Self-Mentoring: Discovering The Mentor Within, Lisa Savage, Pamela Williams

Instructional Modules for Professional learning Responding to Opportunities and Valuing Educators (IMPROVE)

This professional learning module (PLM) was created to help educators, including classroom teachers, administrators, and instructional support staff learn about self-mentorship. The module will describe the concept of self-mentoring as a process for engaging in self-directed professional and personal growth. Districts may find it beneficial to use this PLM to train educators on how self-mentoring can be used as a leadership development tool for improving their professional and instructional practices.

View professional learning module.

An Ethnographically Informed Case Study Exploring The Culture Of Writing Instruction In One Middle School English Language Arts Class, Misha Zaidi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This qualitative, ethnographically informed case-study examines how social, psychological, and organizational factors of a culture impact writing instruction and practice within an English Language Arts middle school class. In order to explore possible reasons for stagnant writing instruction in middle schools, two research questions guided this study: (RQ1) What do the components of writing instruction look like in one middle school class?, and (RQ2) How does one middle school ELA class exhibit identity distinction, writing development, and discourse surrounding writing instruction? I examined how one middle school class exhibits identity distinction among students and teachers within writing, development of writing, …

(Re)Turning To Freirean Philosophy In Preparing Content Teachers To Work With Multilingual Students, Kara Viesca, Peiwen Wang, Brandon Heinz, Alexa Yunes-Koch

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

In 2019, Bettina Love published a call for abolitionist teaching, an effort for educational freedom and racial justice. In her work, she centered the role of theory in teaching calling it a "North Star." She suggested that theory provides teachers a "steadfast tool" that explains the experiences of people minoritized due to racism, sexism, ableism, linguicism, etc., as well as provides language for and knowledge about intersectional issues of injustice. Love literally calls theory a "practical guide" as well as a "location for healing" (Love, 2019, p. 132).

The work of Paulo Freire has long served as the kind of …

“It Was Just My Name!”: A Crt/Crf Analysis Of International Female Graduate Students’ Perception And Experiences Regarding Their Ethnic Name, Peiwen Wang, Xiaoyan Gu, Amanda R. Morales

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

Although international female students accounted for 44% of the enrolled international students in the United States (U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, 2020), their experiences regarding their ethnic name are relatively understudied in onomastic literature. This study considers the experiences of eight international female graduate students of Color who are studying at a Midwestern predominantly White university. Utilizing Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Critical Race Feminism (CRF) as the theoretical and analytical lenses, this qualitative phenomenological study collected data through semi-structured, in-depth interviews. We explore the meaning of ethnic names and their connection to participants’ …

Novice General Education Teachers’ Perceptions Of Preparedness In U.S. Public Schools: The Impact Of Learning About And Working With Multilingual Students, Lydiah Kananu Kiramba, Qizhen Deng, Kara Viesca

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

This study examined perceptions of preparedness among novice general education teachers using 2015/ 2016 National Teacher and Principal Survey data. Results show that teachers with training in teaching multilingual learners reported higher perceived preparedness than those without across all five general aspects of teaching (i.e., instructional methods, teaching subject matters, assessing students, differentiating instruction, and using assessment data to inform instruction). Further, teacher preparedness in differentiating instruction was positively associated with the percentage of multilingual learners in a teacher's classroom. Findings suggest that learning to teach multilingual learners supports novice general content teachers to feel more prepared as teachers overall.

Considering The Needs, Challenges, And Assets Of School Systems In Rural Meatpacking Communities During Covid-19: The Roles Of Schools As Vehicles Of Community, Edmund T. Hamann, Amanda R. Morales, Ricardo Martinez

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

For more than 40 years, the relocation of meatpacking from urban to rural communities and the related change of who works in these high-risk, modestly compensated positions has brought Spanish-speaking and African and Asian refugee populations to communities like the seven focal Nebraska communities we consider here. These seven, five rural and two part of multi-county metropolitan areas, all have majority Latinx school enrollments and they all have been particularly hard hit by both the first and third waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. They were each also foci of a special new course we co-taught in December 2020 called: “Pandemics, …

Career Development And Employability Skill Integration Within The Equine Science And Management Undergraduate Program At The University Of Kentucky, Savannah Faye Robin

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

College graduates need to be equipped with career and employability skills that are necessary to be meaningfully and gainfully employed in their future. These skills consist of self-management, career-management, essential-employability, and discipline-specific skills. More responsibility is being placed on college and university academic programs to ensure that students are graduating with these skills when they enter the workforce. However, students are growing less likely to participate in out of course career development activities and resources. Integrating these skills into program curriculum can be an effective way to ensure that all students have the ability to develop these necessary skills.

While …

An Investigation Into The Relationship Between Teacher Grit, Technology Self-Efficacy, And Technology Integration, Joshua Jeremiah Shiloh Marsh

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

The use of educational technology applications has grown tremendously in the last decade. Instructors are now equipped with hardware and software applications previously unavailable, such as mobile and interactive technologies. These tools can have tremendous impact on students’ learning and teacher practices. Teachers can improve their assessment capabilities through technology integration, provide better learning opportunities for students with learning disabilities, and promote deeper learning practices. Due to these benefits, budgets at the federal, state, and local levels of the United States now have specific allocations regarding technology-related purchases. Nevertheless, barriers remain regarding the effective integration of technologies in public schools. …

Linguistically Responsive Leaders: Working With Multilingual Students And Their Families, Aprille Phillips, Joan Barnatt, Kara Viesca

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

The demographic composition of the United States (US) has transformed since the early 1990s with immigrant arrivals from Mexico and Central America. Education leaders frequently exit preparation programs without content focused on opportunities around working successfully with multilingual students. This qualitative case study explores the implementation of online learning modules focused on engaging multilingual students and their families that were embedded into advanced leadership preparation coursework. Utilizing data (e.g., classwork, fieldnotes, semi-structured interviews) collected from 10 participants, findings include recommendations for stronger preparation on multilingual learners and flexible learning experiences that encourage the application of knowledge in professional practice.

Marshmallow Catapults, Crystal Confer

STEM Teacher Leaders in Action

Students are working to create catapults out of popsicle sticks, rubber bands, and spoons to launch mini marshmallows. They are changing variables to see if distance outcomes change.

In this lesson students will create a catapult to launch marshmallows. Variables will be changed to determine if outcome is changed.

Experiences Of Teachers Using Student-Centered Approaches In China, Raven Roytblat

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Schoolteachers in China are required by the government to transition from teacher-centered to student-centered instruction. Researchers have shown the challenges of and successes in implementing the instructional changes; however, a gap exists surrounding the challenges and successes of reforms from the perspective of teachers. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to better understand the experiences of Chinese schoolteachers as the system of education in China transitions from teacher-centered to student-centered classroom instruction. The conceptual framework for this study included Schön’s concept of the reflective practitioner and Liu and Hallinger and Knapp et al.’s work on the role of …

Transforming Social Work Practice And Research: Examining Lived Experiences Of Black Male Veteran Students And Mental Health, Tay Robinson

DSW Capstone Projects

Mental health disparities amongst the African American/Black community are well documented in literature. Throughout history the African American/ Black community have dealt with unethical operating procedures and research studies. This capstone project looks at historical facts, the lack of Black male veteran specific research as it relates to mental health, lived experiences of Black male veteran students with mental health/treatment, and developing culturally appropriate approaches to increasing research and effective practices to better serve this community.

The second chapter and first product of this capstone project is a systematic literature review. This literature review focused on finding literature on African …

Racial And Cultural Competence Through The Eyes Of Public-School Educators, Laquita Mcmillion

Dissertations

The discussion of racial and cultural competence in public schools today is necessary. The student population of public schools across the United States has significantly grown racially and culturally diverse. Through the use of a narrative inquiry and a critical lens, this study explored the perception and experiences of public-school educators focused on the topic of racial and cultural competence as it relates to their classroom practice and educational policies. The focus of this research (1) describes and analyzes my personal experiences through the use of qualitative approaches, (2) shares the experiences and perceptions of three public-school educators, and (3) …

Research Team As Methodology: The Value Of Pluri-National Research Teams For Studying Education And Migration., Edmund T. Hamann, Betsabé Román, Juan Sánchez García, Víctor Zúñiga

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

Research team membership should be understood as a prospective dimension of research design. When the phenomenon to be examined is pluri-national – i.e., involving more than one country – as has been our case for more than two-decades of consideration of the educations of transnationally mobile children and youth, it follows that much can be gained by organizing a research team that is also pluri-national. Here, we suggest ways that our team’s border-spanning composition has supported our efforts to pursue empirical questions, like who, where, and how many. It has also allowed us to consider perception questions regarding how transnational …

Counterstories Of High School Black Males And Their Experiences Of The Mainstream Curricula, Kayla Turner

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This is an inquiry into the experiences Black males have with the current high school curricula. Theoretically drawing on critical race theory (Bell, 1992; Delgado, 1995; Dixson & Rousseau, 2006; Ladson-Billings, 2009; Solórzano & Yosso, 2001, 2004), I explore how high school Black males’ suggestions and ideas can be used to shift the current curricula to a curricula that is more culturally sustaining. I challenge deficit research on Black male learners by focusing on the educational successes of Black males. Methodologically, I utilize counterstorytelling (Delgado, 2017; Solórzano & Yosso, 2002) to illustrate the experiences of three academically successful high school …

Curriculum Development Of Agricultural Educators In South Dakota, Mercedes Lemke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Curriculum development is an essential component of teaching. Understanding how agriculture education teachers utilize, develop, and adapt content to curriculum can benefit teachers to spend less time on curriculum development. Recognizing the way agriculture education teachers use content in curriculum implementation will allow curriculum developers to create materials that can effectively be used by teachers. This study also looked at the affects of how COVID19 pandemic affected the way teachers locate and develop curriculum. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the way agriculture education instructor’s usage of content for curriculum development, implementation decisions and the affects of the …

Physical Educators’ Socialization And Self-Efficacy Toward The Behavior Management Of Students With Disabilities, Amelia Chloe Simpson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Intro: Although studies have evaluated how physical educators learn behavior management, little effort has been made to identify the socializing experiences and sources of self-efficacy that influence how physical educators approach the behavior management of students with disabilities (SWD).

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to understand how physical educators develop self-efficacy toward the behavior management of SWD throughout the phases of occupational socialization theory.

Method: Data for the mixed-method study included 85 U.S. public (K-12) physical educators who completed a survey that collected demographic information and responses to the Teaching Students with Disabilities Efficacy Scale (Solomon & Scott, …

An Exploration Of Middle School Teachers’ Utilization Of Culturally Responsive Teaching, Samantha Phillips

Masters Theses

Culturally responsive teaching (CRT) can be used as a means for effectively teaching and managing students and decreases the achievement gap between students of Color and their White counterparts. This qualitative study with an ethnographic design examines the utilization of culturally responsive teaching strategies of two middle school teachers and two principals in public schools on the Southwest side of Chicago. The study is guided by one research question: What aspects of culturally responsive teaching practices are teachers using in their teaching strategies? The study has two purposes: To analyze the effectiveness of two middle school teachers’ utilization of culturally …

Cive 440: Reinforced Concrete Design I: Faculty-Led Inquiry Into Reflective And Scholarly Teaching (First) Course Portfolio, Chungwook Sim

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This Faculty-led Inquiry into Reflective and Scholarly Teaching (FIRST) Course Portfolio documents the instructor’s teaching practices and student learning for Reinforced Concrete Design I (CIVE 440) course. The contents of this course portfolio captures the CIVE 440 course that was taught on the Lincoln campus during the semester of Fall 2022. CIVE 440 is a structural engineering design elective offered every year in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering on both Lincoln and Omaha campus at University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). The course objective is to help students to be able to use theory and experience to proportion and detail …

Nigerian Teachers’ Perceptions And Experiences Of Integrating Literacy Strategies Into Science Instruction, Joy Oghogho Isa

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Reading problems among students in Nigeria prompted the implementation of a literacy across the curriculum initiative in a cluster of schools within a district, where all teachers were required to integrate literacy strategies into their lessons. The problem investigated in this study was that the teachers’ instruction of science at Beta Schools had not produced the expected results with respect to integrating literacy strategies into the science lessons. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to understand the teachers experiences and perceptions of literacy integration in science lessons. Grounded in the content area literacy conceptual framework, the research questions …

A Generic Qualitative Study Of Primary Grade Reading Teachers' Challenges And Personal Teaching Solutions, Jennifer Lynn Nunes

Theses and Dissertations

Not all children enter school with the same skill set. Teachers of young children know this. Despite this, schools prescribe curriculum and pacing guides as well as assessments that may fit only a subset of students’ instructional levels. Teachers are left to determine the best way to meet the student and mandated requirements. Teachers from two elementary schools from a neighborhood area were interviewed about their perspectives and how they manage instructional expectations to help students learn grade level expectations.

The following research questions were addressed.1. How and why do teachers report adapting literacy instruction for students who are deficient …

Exploring The Changing Nature Of Teachers’ Pedagogic Identities During The Delivery Of Online Literacy Teaching, Deb L. Brosseuk, Lynn Downes

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper explores the interconnectedness between Australian teachers’ literacy practices and their pedagogic identity during the global pandemic. In doing so, the paper presents pedagogic identity as a dynamic, ever-evolving construct involving teachers and their teaching environment. Findings are reported from a case study of early years and primary teachers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data. From teachers’ self-reported teaching experiences, we identify three orientations to pedagogic identity: The Driver; The Collaborator; and The Apprentice. Drawing on analytic work, the paper finds that the online delivery of literacy teaching brought opportunities for teachers to shift between pedagogic identities, …

A Review Of Undergraduate Education Student Responses To The Online Component Of Blended Learning: A Cautionary Tale, Ross S. Bernay, Chris Jenkin, Tafili Utumapu-Mcbride, Adrian Schoone, Andrew Gibbons

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Calls for enhancing the digital interface for teaching and learning within tertiary institutions have played out in one School of Education, with variable results. Online learning tasks were added in 2018 to regular classes to provide more flexibility for student engagement. A team of lecturers developed a questionnaire for students to be completed after the first semester pilot. Data and findings indicated that one-third of students identified online learning as an enhancement to their learning. A second survey was conducted one year later to assess changes made and analyse the longer-term impacts. During the COVID-19 lockdown, fully online pedagogy was …