Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Beating The Odds: High-Growth Schools Based On The Act Aspire Examinations, Serving Low-Income Communities, Sarah C. Mckenzie

Arkansas Education Reports

This section highlights high-growth schools across Arkansas based on the ACT Aspire examinations in Math and English Language Arts (ELA) for the 2020-2021 academic year. For these awards, we consider schools where at least 66% of the student body is eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (FRL).

High-poverty schools are ranked by school level (Elementary, Middle, or High) based on Overall Growth (Math and ELA combined), as well as for growth in each content area independently. High-poverty schools are also ranked within each region of the state. Tables include the region in which the school is located, the number of …

The Journey To Improving Student Connectedness: Exploring Teacher Self-Efficacy, Use, And Perceptions Of Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy, Christopher F. Cipriano

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.)

This Dissertation in Practice investigated to what extent professional learning impacted teacher perceptions, instruction, and self-efficacy of Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (CSP) at a Catholic high school. The dissertation followed an Improvement Science framework to address a specific problem of practice: a lack of universal student connectedness at the high school level. As students begin ninth grade, the connectedness to school many experienced on the elementary level often wanes, with academic, social, and emotional impacts. To build connectedness, the researcher selected a specific change idea focused upon CSP. The intervention consisted of two professional development (PD) sessions and several opportunities for …

Transforming Educators' Social Emotional Learning (Sel): A Mixed-Methods Study Exploring The Impact Of A Trauma-Informed Sel Intervention To Mitigate Educator Implicit Bias, Kemen Holley

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.)

While research has indicated that social emotional learning (SEL) approaches promote essential, long-lasting individual and collective development for students, the literature indicates a lack of evidence that educators are implementing SEL approaches to affirm the assets, lived experiences, and identities of students, particularly those belonging to minoritized groups. This Improvement Science Dissertation in Practice (ISDiP) employed a mixed-methods pragmatic, researchintervention process model that utilized a community-based action research approach to evaluate a trauma-informed SEL professional learning (PL) intervention as a viable practice to mitigate high school educators’ implicit biases. Through an anti-racist, anti-oppression framework, this study sought to determine the …

Beating The Odds: High-Growth Schools Based On The Act Aspire Examinations, Serving Low-Income Communities, Charlene A. Reid, Sarah C. Mckenzie

Arkansas Education Reports

This section highlights high-growth schools across Arkansas based on the ACT Aspire examinations in Math and English Language Arts (ELA) for the 2020-2021 academic year. For these awards, we consider schools where at least 66% of the student body is eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (FRL).

High-poverty schools are ranked by school level (Elementary, Middle, or High) based on Overall Growth (Math and ELA combined), as well as for growth in each content area independently. High-poverty schools are also ranked within each region of the state. Tables include the region in which the school is located, the number of …

Understanding How Experienced World History Teachers In Minnesota Choose Course Content: A Mixed Methods Study, Kathleen Ferrero

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Education in the United States has consistently utilized tests as well as a relatively standard curriculum to educate the youth. However, the introduction of the No Child Left Behind Act and the subsequent implementation of the Common Core State Standards Initiative, has created an educational environment focused largely on math and literacy skills. This mixed methods study discovered the primary factors experienced world history teachers in Minnesota utilize to balance historical thinking skills and the inclusion of current events against national and statewide curricular standards. Five experienced teachers were interviewed, and their responses coded using qualitative methods. These themes informed …

The Relationship Between The Next Generation Content Area Reading Professional Development Program On The Effectiveness Of Teaching Literacy Strategies In High School Biology Classes, Tia Pridgen Brown

Dissertations

The need for effective content area reading teachers have continued to increase since the introduction of one public school districts’ Content Area Reading Professional Development (CAR-PD) in 2006. In 2011, modifications were made to improve the program, and it became known as the Next Generation Content Area Reading Professional Development (NGCAR-PD). The purpose of this program evaluation is to investigate the relationship between NGCAR-PD certified Biology teachers and their ability to implement reading strategies with science content effectively. The context of this inquiry is a mid-sized public school district that has implemented the program since 2006 at the middle and …

Data Diving Into “Noticing Poetry”: An Analysis Of Student Engagement With The “I Notice” Method, Scot Slaby, Jordan Benedict

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This paper explores students’ engagement in reading poems, examining data on their self perceptions of their confidence and competence in reading poems before, during, and after using the “I Notice” methodology as adapted from The Academy of American Poets’ unit plan, “Noticing Poetry” (Slaby, 2017). The data was collected over the course of a month from January 9 through January 30, 2018 and involved five classes of one hundred general English tenth grade students across three teachers’ classrooms at Shanghai American School’s Puxi High School Campus. Data indicates that the “I Notice” method and the “Noticing Poetry” unit and its …

Resilience And Academic Achievement In Minority Students, James A. Britton

Theses and Dissertations

Students can thrive within school programs and sustain their capacity for success despite seemingly overwhelming obstacles. A model of school-based resilience can insulate students from risk and help students acknowledge challenges, embrace them, and learn as students encounter challenge and surmount it.

This study of a high school program analyzed the relationship between educational resilience and academic achievement through a direct measure of resilience. The research investigated whether a program increased resilience for minority and low-income high school students and whether stronger resilience was associated with improved academic outcomes. Students in the program produced significantly better academic outcomes, as measured …

A Pedagogy Of Care For Adolescent English Learners: A Formative Experiment, Mary Amanda Stewart, Alexandra Babino, Katie Walker

TAPESTRY

In the case of educators of adolescents in the dynamic process of English acquisition, it is our goal to increase the fulfillment and success of the students we are privileged to serve through nurturing their academic, emotional, personal, social, and civic development. It is, therefore, essential that educators understand the implementation and impact of teaching through a framework of care.

Examining The Relationship Between Fidelity Of Implementation Of Accommodations For Students With Specific Learning Disabilities In Mathematics And Student Achievement In High School Algebra I Inclusion Classes, Belinda Baptiste

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) are educated in general education classrooms. As a result, these students are faced with more challenging instructional curricula. Although some students with SLD perform as well in mathematics as students without disabilities, most perform below state standards despite being provided instructional and testing accommodations. Policy makers have envisioned the implementation of instructional accommodations as a primary means of ensuring an appropriate education (Mcleskey, Hoppey, Williamson & Rentz, 2004; Scalon & Baker, 2012) for students with disabilities in general education classrooms (Mc Guire, Scott, & Shaw, 2006). The researcher implemented a non-experimental ex post facto …

The Relationship Of Formative Assessment To The Professional Development And Perspective Transformation Of Teachers, Kimberly K. Snyder

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study uses practitioner research to explore teacher perspectives about formative assessment. The researcher engaged in a four-month-long series of professional development sessions with one middle school and two high school English-Language Arts teachers from the Capital View School District. Understanding formative assessment as a process to monitor student learning and then customizing instruction based on the data gathered from the formative assessment is a complex skill in which teachers need practice and even coaching to become adroit. The sessions were intended to help early-career teachers better understand formative assessment and incorporate it as a strategy in their teaching praxis. …

Efficacy And Implementation Of Automated Essay Scoring Software In Instruction Of Literacies To High Level Ells, Aaron J. Alvero

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explored the integration of automated essay scoring (AES) software into the writing curriculum for high level ESOL students (levels 3, 4, and 5 on a 1-5 scale) at a high school in Miami, Fl. Issues for Haitian Creole speaking students were also explored. The Spanish and Haitian Creole speaking students were given the option to write notes, outlines, and planning sheets in their L1.

After using AES in the middle of the writing process as a revision assistant tool, 24 students responded to a Likert Scale questionnaire. The students responded positively to the AES based on the results …

Emotional Regulation And Technology In Various Educational Environments, Aimee Boyle

EDL Sixth Year Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of technology in various educational environments. Specifically, it looked at the ways in which technology is integrated into special education classrooms, and how it impacts learning. Two self-contained special education high school classrooms were studied, using qualitative methods of data. These included field notes based on observations and a semi-structured interview. In addition, a review of the literature on this topic was conducted to better place the study within the context of wider work done in this area. The data from the two classrooms were analyzed using the constant comparative …

Fairy Tales And Adaptations: A Unit Of Study For High School Seniors, Angelica P. Babauta

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This project is a unit of study designed for high school seniors in an advanced English class. The topic is fairy tales and adaptations, and through these twelve complete lesson plans, students will be led to examine the way fairy tales and society influence one another based on how a classic fairy tale is adapted over time. Students will study Jeanne Leprince de Beaumont's "Beauty and the Beast," the Brothers Grimm's "Brier Rose," and Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" as the original fairy tales. The adaptations paired with these texts are Alex Flinn's Beastly, James Finn Gardner's "Sleeping …

A Selected Survey Of Sacred And Secular Music From The English Reformation, With Emphasis On Pedagogical Applications For The High School Choral Classroom, Caroline Morse

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The purpose of this project was to examine the historical and applied performance aspects of music from the English Reformation, and to explore and explain the pedagogical methods of teaching this music to developing musicians in high school. I was responsible for organizing, programming, rehearsing, and conducting a recital featuring several works of sacred English, sacred Latin, and madrigal/secular songs. In addition, I was responsible for researching and presenting a lecture recital on the Tudor Dynasty, and the effect the monarchy had on the publication of music during 1517-1648.

I developed a lecture recital based upon age appropriate choral pieces …

Implementing Common Core State Standards For Mathematics Through Lesson Study, John Thomas Hall

Honors Program Projects

The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) represent the beginning of a new era in American education. For the first time, a majority of states are sharing expectations for student knowledge in mathematics. While standards cannot change education, the means by which these standards are implemented contribute to the mathematical achievement of students. For instance, the CCSSM incorporate separate content and practice standards for students. Content standards are familiar to most educators, but the expectation of developing mathematical skills highlighted in the practice standards will require changes to lesson preparation and teaching.

In an effort to provide pre-service and …

Skill Builders: Perceived Skills Enhanced By Students Through Participation In High School Extracurricular Activities, Jonathan H. Hayes

Education Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation was designed to examine what skills or characteristics high school students felt they enhanced through participating in school-based extracurricular activities that might lead to academic success. Various extracurricular activities are offered in high schools, and participation often requires large amounts of student time and effort. Social, academic, and honorary clubs and activities as well as athletic teams were included in this research.

The writer gathered qualitative data from student surveys regarding school-based extracurricular involvement to examine the skills enhanced through participation. All tenth-, eleventh-, and twelfth-grade students completed a survey identifying their participation in school-based extracurricular activities while …

Asynchronous And Synchronous Teaching And Learning In High-School Distance Education, Elizabeth Murphy, Maria A. Rodríguez-Manzanares, Michael K. Barbour

Education Faculty Publications

This paper presents the results of an inductive, interpretive analysis of the perspectives of 42 Canadian high school distance education (DE) teachers on asynchronous and synchronous online teaching. The paper includes a conceptual overview of the affordances and constraints of each form of teaching. Findings provided insight into the following aspects of asynchronous and synchronous online teaching: degree of use; the tools used; the contexts in which each occur; students’ preferences; and limitations. Pedagogy emerged as more important than media for both asynchronous and synchronous online teaching. Synchronous online teaching relied on teacher- rather than student-centred approaches. Asynchronous online teaching …

Teacher Effectiveness In Urban High Schools, Richard Buddin, Gema Zamarro

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

This research examines whether teacher licensure test scores and other teacher qualifications affect high school student achievement. The results are based on longitudinal student-level data from Los Angeles. The achievement analysis uses a value-added approach that adjusts for both student and teacher fixed effects. The results show little relationship between traditional measures of teacher quality (e.g., experience and education level) and student achievement in English Language Arts (ELA) or math. Similarly, teacher aptitude and subject-matter knowledge, as measured on state licensure tests, have no significant effects on student achievement. Achievement outcomes differ substantially from teacher to teacher, however, and the …

Auburn High School Careers In Education Resource Guide Development Of Careers In Education Resource Guide To Assist In The Implementation Of A Career Academy For Teaching, Cindy L. Pratt

All Graduate Projects

Career academies as a method of school reform were studied. A guide for implementing the foundation teaching academy course Careers in Education was developed and submitted for approval at Auburn High School. The Careers in Education Resource Guide was the accumulation of information to assist Family and Consumer Science teachers with the implementation of the first career academy offered at Auburn High School. Included in the Careers in Education Resource Guide was the alignment of curriculum components with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Careers in Education frameworks. Furthermore, the guide integrated competencies which matched the Washington State Essential …

Staff Development Model For A Special Education Inclusion Program In The Northshore School District, John E. Deforest

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to design a staff development model for a special education inclusion program for the Northshore School District, Bothell, Washington. The inclusion model developed was intended for use by regular and special education teachers at the secondary level. To accomplish this purpose, a review of current literature and research regarding the special education inclusion concept was conducted and selected education inclusion models were studied.

Roles, Responsibilities And Professional Preparation Of High School Department Chairs, Patricia J. Iverson

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this study was to identify and analyze roles, responsibilities, and professional preparation of high school department chairs by surveying persons who presently fulfill department chair responsibilities at the high school level in Grant County, Washington. A sample of 31 high school department chairs was surveyed using a survey instrument covering the roles, responsibilities, and preparation of high school department chairs. The results indicated professional preparation and training for the high school department chair were almost nonexistent; duties were not clearly defined; and individual competencies had no apparent relationship to the roles and responsibilities that were required of …

A Clinical Supervision And Peer Coaching Model To Improve Instructional Effectiveness, Arthur Lee Galloway

All Graduate Projects

The interrelationship of clinical supervision and peer coaching strategies to improve instructional effectiveness were studied. A peer coaching in-service program, detailing coaching procedures and activities, was developed and implemented in the social studies department at Mount Si High School. The results of the program showed that peer coaching can be utilized by teachers to assume greater leadership and responsibility in the area of instructional improvement.