Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Nsu Curriculum Instruction Management & Administration Curriculum 2016, Nova Southeastern University

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice College Archive

No abstract provided.

The Phenomenon Of Teacher Leadership And Cross-Cultural Confusions: What Teachers' Narratives Reveal About School Leadership And Intergroup Communication, Jennifer M. Green

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

English Language Learners (ELLs) comprise the largest growing subgroup of students in the United States, yet for decades this special population has persistently underachieved as compared to White non-Hispanic students in the public school system. Throughout the nation, ELLs receive an array of services from English as a second language pull-out to sheltered content instruction to dual language education. Much debate has centered on instructional programs for ELLs and the language of instructional delivery. The purpose of this study was to explore the phenomenon of teacher leadership during the adoption and implementation of a one-way dual language education program at …

Guage Impact With Five Levels Of Data, Thomas R. Guskey

Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology Faculty Publications

Effective professional learning evaluation requires consideration of five critical stages or levels of information (Guskey, 2000a, 2002a, 2005). These five levels represent an adaptation of an evaluation model developed by Kirkpatrick (1959, 1998) for judging the value of supervisory training programs in business and industry. The five levels in this model are hierarchically arranged, from simple to more complex. With each succeeding level, the process of gathering evaluation data requires more time and resources. And because each level builds on those that come before, success at one level is usually necessary for success at higher levels.

The Influence Of Middle School Teacher-Student Relationships On Future Academic Decisions Of African American Males, Andrea R. Williams-Baugh

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible effects of middle school teacher-student relationships on students’ future academic decisions after dropping out of high school. With a national dropout rate of 30% and in some urban areas of 50%, among poor black minority youths, it is crucial that educators strongly consider the possibility that teacher-student relationships may play a vital role in the future decision-making or planning of middle school students (Kafele, 2012). Middle school research suggests that indicators of student disengagement can be traced back as early as elementary school when student reading and math scores begin …

The Relationship Between Program Quality Indicators And Student Achievement In A Braided Prekindergarten Program, Susan L. Flemmons

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between prekindergarten classroom quality indicators and student achievement at the prekindergarten level. Pre-existing data on prekindergarten classroom quality measures and student achievement was utilized. Quality indicators were assessed using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) (Pianta, La Paro, & Hamre, 2008) and student achievement was measured by the end of year results on the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) (Invernizzi, Meier, Swank, & Juel, 2004) and the Bracken School Readiness Assessment end of year results (Bracken, 2007).

A quantitative ex post facto correlational research design was employed to identify relationships …

Secondary-School Department Chairpersons’ Perceptions Of Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Jonathan K. Greene

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The concept of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) provides a framework for understanding the professional demands of secondary-school teachers in facilitating student learning. Teachers develop their PCK both formally in preservice and inservice education and informally with their colleagues. Teacher leaders, such as the secondary-school department chairs, can work with colleagues to promote professional growth. The purpose of this study was to understand how secondary-school department chairs understood PCK and perceived their role in promoting the PCK growth of their department colleagues. A qualitative research design using in-depth, semi-structured interviews involved 15 participants from one school district in the southeast of …

Navigating The Pre-Tenure Review Process: Experiences Of A Self-Study Researcher, Brandon Butler

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Four years after the first Castle Conference, Cole and Knowles (1998) wrote of teacher educator concerns in conducting self-study research: "Concerns about institutional responses to self-study mainly are rooted in issues associated with tenure and promotion ... " (p. 225). The publication of Studying Teacher Education and increased acceptance of self-study research in teacher education journals provide an avenue for self-study researchers to publish in respected, refereed journals. Questions of self-study's validity, rigor, and trustworthiness have a long history (e.g., Bullough & Pinnegar, 2001). However, questions remain around the acceptance of self-study research among tenure and promotion committees. Institutional context …

The Effects Of An Overnight Environmental Science Education Program On Students' Attendance Rate Change For Middle School Years, Jennifer Elizabeth Basham

Dissertations and Theses

Programs that engage middle students in participatory, real-world, and hands-on field based instruction can be a powerful asset to the educational experiences for students; motivating and inspiring some to appreciate and value school in a different way. Overnight environmental science programs have a unique opportunity to support students by creating experiences where students can participate in learning in vastly different ways from what they may engage with in the traditional 4-walled classroom, while concurrently developing a relationship with the natural world. Decreasing educational budgets and increased need to substantiate educational programs in terms of their impact on students has added …

Teachers' Attitudes And Their Effect On Placement Recommendations For Students With Cognitive Disabilities, Kathleen M. Everett

Doctor of Education in Special Education Dissertations

The implementation of Public Law 94-142 in 1974 guaranteed that students with disabilities had the right to be educated alongside their peers in the least restrictive environment. However, decades later, administrators, teachers, and parents continue to struggle to resolve the issue on how to include students with disabilities in general education classrooms, as well as how to recognize why students with cognitive disabilities were embodied more in self-contained classrooms than in comprehensive environments. In this study, I aimed to understand how special education teachers’ attitudes about inclusion, LRE, and students with cognitive disabilities influence placement recommendations. Through the qualitative thematic …

Comparison Of Beginning Teachers' And Experienced Teachers' Readiness To Integratetechnology As Measured By Tpack Scores, Heather S. Fontanilla

Dissertations

Despite a growing awareness of the importance of technology in education, increased investment and attention to preparing teachers to integrate technology into the classroom, research shows that technology continues to fail to live up to its potential for transforming education. As schools move from standards based testing to implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), an expectation exists that teachers will be using technology to transform their teaching practices. There is also an expectation that schools are providing students with 21st century skills, including the use of technology. In exploring the reasons teachers are not using technology effectively, much …

Exploring Teachers’ Perspectives Of Cooperative Learning To Create Music In Orff Schulwerk Classrooms, Nicole A. Chapman

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performances

The Framework for 21st Century Learning identifies four learning and innovation skills to prepare students for a changing world. The 4Cs identified are critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity (Framework for 21st Century Learning, 2015). With the adoption of this new teaching framework, it is important that music educators evaluate their own teaching methods to meet the needs of their students in a changing society. The purpose of this study was to examine how cooperative group learning is currently integrated in the Orff-Schulwerk certified teachers’ elementary music classroom as part of the creative music process. In this qualitative study, I …

Effects Of Experience And Certification Level On Professional Development, Teacher Quality, And Increased Leadership Opportunities Of Nbcts, Jamie L. Burris

College of Education Dissertations

The focus of this dissertation was to provide insight into the perceptions of Arkansas National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) in regard to how the certification process impacted teaching and learning and overall student achievement. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of experience and certification level on the perceptions of NBCTs in Arkansas concerning the quality of professional development earned, enhanced teacher quality, and increased leadership opportunities as a result of the National Board Certification process. An additional purpose of this study was to determine specifically how NBCTs perceived the certification process influenced student achievement within the …

Examining Teachers' Perceptions And Adaptations Related To The First-Year Of Implementation Of The Common Core State Standards In A Rural Elementary School In Central Illinois, Jason Vicich

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the latest mandated government policy of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), which fully took effect during the 2014-2015 school year. The study sought to look at these changes through the eyes of a group of elementary teachers in rural Illinois as they work with and through these policy mandates during their initial year of implementation.

The study was conducted over the course of the 2014-2015 school year. Data was gathered through a three interview sequence, site visits and the administration of the SOCQ 75 …

Raising Student Achievement Through Programmatic Initiatives And Instructional Improvement, Philip S. Georgia

Dissertations

This dissertation consists of a program evaluation, a change leadership plan, and a policy advocacy proposal.

The program evaluation studies the impact of initiatives implemented at an elementary school near a large city in Illinois using a case study methodology. The school was required to restructure during the 2013-2014 school year as a result of the performance mandates outlined in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. To compare the post-restructuring status of the school with the pre-restructuring status, student growth data for multiple grade levels and for each federal subgroup was collected. In addition, the staff’s perceptions about …

An Examination Of The Perceptions Of Traditional And Nontraditional Student Engagement At Northeast State Community College, Barbara J. Lowe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between student engagement and overall satisfaction of traditional and nontraditional students at the community college level at Northeast State Community College.

Three professors, 2 staff, 2 administrators, 5 traditional students, and 5 nontraditional students from Northeast State Community College comprised the sample for the study. A descriptive case study was the qualitative approach used. Data were collected in individual in-depth interviews with participants.

The findings of this study could provide community college administrators, staff and faculty with an understanding of traditional and nontraditional students’ engagement and satisfaction and experiences on …

Faculty Perceptions Of The Purpose And Value Of General Education: A Comparison Between The Liberal Arts And Health Professions, Shireen Rahman

All Theses And Dissertations

This study examined the perceptions of the purpose and value of the general education curriculum in those undergraduate faculty members who teach in the liberal arts and the health professions at the University of New England. Perceptions were evaluated within each college and then compared between each College. A mixed-methods approach was utilized with concurrent implementation of qualitative and quantitative strands. Data were gathered from the Faculty Survey on General Education which was completed by fifty-six (29.3%) of the undergraduate faculty members. In addition, twelve faculty members were randomly selected to participate in open-ended interviews. Descriptive statistics and independent t-tests …

Evidence-~Based Practices: An Exploratory Study Concerning School District Professional Development Considerations, Pamela Marie Juniel

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The identification and implementation of evidence-based practices by special education and general education teachers continues to be an issue in the field of education (Cook & Cook, 2011; Cook, Tankersley, Cook, & Landrum, 2008). Since the mandates of providing students with disabilities access to the general education curricula (IDEA, 2004) with services based on empirical research (NCLB, 2001) are required, teachers are implored to improve their teaching skills (Cook et al., 2008). Recently, the field of education has made efforts to support teachers in the identification and use of evidence-based practices by establishing a system and process for identifying evidence-based …

Teacher Reaction To Change In The Lutheran Elementary School: A Grounded Theory Approach, Kim D. Marxhausen

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Schools, and the teachers and administrators who work in them, need the flexibility to adapt to current student needs. Past research has focused on organizations and plans for change; little research has been done on individual teacher reaction to change situations leaving a gap in the literature. The goal of this constructivist grounded theory study was to explore how individual teachers, in LCMS Lutheran elementary schools, react when presented with change. Data were collected through interviews involving an event history calendar to facilitate memory. A theoretical sampling process was used to collect and analyze data utilizing a constant comparative method. …

Deaf Children’S Science Content Learning In Direct Instruction Versus Interpreted Instruction, Kim B. Kurz, Brenda Schick, Peter C. Hauser

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

This research study compared learning of 6-9th grade deaf students under two modes of educational delivery – interpreted vs. direct instruction using science lessons. Nineteen deaf students participated in the study in which they were taught six science lessons in American Sign Language. In one condition, the lessons were taught by a hearing teacher in English and were translated in ASL via a professional and certified interpreter. In the second condition, the lessons were taught to the students in ASL by a deaf teacher. All students saw three lessons delivered via an interpreter and three different lessons in direct ASL; …

What I Taught My Stem Instructor About Teaching: What A Deaf Student Hears That Others Cannot, Annemarie Ross, Randy K. Yerrick

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Overall, science teaching at the university level has remained in a relatively static state. There is much research and debate among university faculty regarding the most effective methods of teaching science. But it remains largely rhetoric. The traditional lecture model in STEM higher education is limping along in its march toward inclusion and equity. The NGSS and Common Core reform efforts do little to help university science teachers to change their orientation from largely lecture-driven practice with laboratory supplements. While it is impossible to address all diverse student groups, the need for accommodations tend to be overlooked. As a Deaf …

Appreciative Inquiry: A Path To Change In Education, Pamela L. Buchanan

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

Appreciative Inquiry (AI) introduces a new approach to educational change. Most state and federal initiatives for educational change grow out of a deficit model determined to fix problems. The emphasis of AI is upon what is right with the organization and forms the basis for new initiatives and further change. This model proposes a cycle of inquiry used by leaders who distribute leadership across their constituents. Organizational learning is a process of individual and collective inquiry that modifies or constructs organizational theories-in-use and changes practice.

The study explored the relationship of AI, distributed leadership, and organizational learning qualities that exist …

Fast And Fruitful: Effective Writing Assessment For Determining The Success Of New Initiatives, Eileen K. Camfield

University Writing Programs Staff Articles and Papers

Many writing program administrators experience a familiar conundrum: heed the cries for fast assessment results or engage in the lengthy and complicated process that meaningful review of student learning seems to entail? Such was my plight in the 2013–2014 academic year when my university deployed a new strategy for supporting incoming developmental writers. Beginning that fall, students whose writing-SAT (SAT-W) scores were between 450 and 500 were enrolled in a course known as Seminar Plus Studio (SPS), an interdisciplinary class that included a weekly supplemental 100-minute studio aimed at delivering targeted writing instruction, practice, and feedback. Instructors for these sections …

Teaching While Lesbian And Other Identities: Sexual Diversity, Race, And Institutionalized Practices Through An Autoethnographic Lens, Sondra S. Briggs

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership Dissertations

The implicit acceptance among educators and in institutions of learning that discussions around LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) issues are off limits perpetuates the marginalization of these identities and those who inhabit them. In K-12 schools and college classrooms the prevailing silence sends disturbing messages about the treatment of adults and children when their sexual orientation fails to fit neatly into prescribed binary classifications. As one who has been silent as well as silenced, I understand this dichotomy from a unique perspective. Moreover, my lived membership within diverse cultural and racial groups that have been routinely marginalized through institutionalized practices …

A Mixed-Methods (Quantitative-Qualitative) Study To Identify The Perceived Level Of, Zeky Zardo

Dissertations

Different approaches to developing leaders have been established through various forms of self-assessment, action learning, and education and training activities (Smither et al., 2005). The existing body of research on the impact and success of college and university leadership development programs focuses heavily on undergraduate leadership programs and not graduate-level programs such as the Master of Business Administration (MBA) or the doctorate. The purpose of this mixed-methods (quantitative–qualitative) study was to identify the perceived level of transformational leadership skill development by students enrolled in a doctoral program in organizational leadership. In addition, it was the purpose of this study to …

School Leadership Along The Trajectory From Monolingual To Multilingual, Laura Ascenzi-Moreno, Sarah Hesson, Kate Menken

Publications and Research

This article explores the critical role of school leaders in language policy change, and specifically in shifting their language education policies and practices from monolingual to multilingual. We examine the process of language policy change in three schools that were involved in a project aimed at increasing the knowledge base of school leaders about bilingualism and language learning, and which required that participating schools use bilingualism as a resource in instruction and cultivate a school-wide ecology of multilingualism. The project encouraged translanguaging pedagogical strategies that engage the entire linguistic repertoire of emergent bilinguals flexibly. Our findings demonstrate that the school …

Pbl In The Era Of Reform Standards: Challenges And Benefits Perceived By Teachers In One Elementary School, Nahid Nariman, Janet Chrispeels

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

We explore teachers’ efforts to implement problem-based learning (PBL) in an elementary school serving predominantly English learners. Teachers had an opportunity to implement the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) using PBL in a summer school setting with no test-pressures. To understand the challenges and benefits of PBL implementation, a case study method was used and a variety of data collected. Results suggest collaboration amongst teachers is essential to design and implement PBL units. A challenge was the tension between the contradictory accountability and curriculum coverage goals of the regular academic year versus letting go to promote inquiry. Both teachers and …

The Bank Street Thinkers: Foundational Knowledge To Support Our Roots And Wings, Bank Street College Of Education

Bank Street Thinkers

A series of papers and lectures that explore Bank Street history, the concepts of teaching and teacher preparation, our long history of social studies teaching and curriculum development, the role of language and play in young children's growth, and a look at the meaning of competence in schools.

A Case Study Of Teacher Leadership At An Elementary School, Allison Wills

EDL Sixth Year Theses

The purpose of this research study was to explore the status of teacher leadership at one elementary school. With increased attention on accountability for student achievement, educators have begun to look for ways to take the lead in reform efforts. But, little research has been done to identify why particular teachers emerge as leaders. This study explored the philosophies and leadership behaviors of a group of elementary teachers at Center Trail School. Quantitative and qualitative methods of data were collected using three surveys- Philosophy of Education Inventory, Teacher Leadership Self-Assessment, and Teacher Leadership School Survey- and individual interviews. Descriptive statistics …

Faculty Members’ Perceptions Regarding The Role Of Assessment In Developmental Writing Courses, Doreen Danielson

All Theses And Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore teaching faculty members’ perceptions regarding how they design and implement writing assessments to evaluate Student Learning Outcomes in developmental English/writing courses. The study identified teaching faculty members’ pedagogical beliefs about the purposes of writing assessment and instructors’ attention to Student Learning Outcomes when designing assessment plans in developmental English/writing courses at a California community college. Using Moustakas’ (1994) phenomenological approach, the study drew data from interviews with full-time faculty members at a Central Valley community college in California. Focusing on the participants’ experiences and perceptions about the purposes of assessment in developmental …

What Can Jesus Teach Us About Student Engagement?, Glenn James, Elda Martinez, Sherry Herbers

Journal of Catholic Education

This article examines Jesus’s teaching methods as described in the four Gospels, highlighting the ways in which He led listeners to participate actively in their learning. We identify similarities between many of Jesus’s techniques and current practices in the field of student engagement, with a focus on applications for instructors in higher education. Several of His approaches, most notably storytelling and the use of analogies, point to recommendations for improving teaching practice by increasing student engagement in the learning process.

Qu'est-ce que Jésus peut nous apprendre sur l'engagement des élèves?

Cet article examine la manière dont les méthodes d'enseignement de …