Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Parents' And Teachers' Collaborative Perspective: An Input For A Model On Materials Development In A Multilingual Setting, Jane Kibla Lartec

Journal of Research Initiatives

This study explored the collaborative perspective of teachers and parents on the materials development in a multilingual setting. Respondents were six parents and six teachers from two pilot schools in a melting pot city of different languages and cultures. The research design employed was qualitative to gain insights, explore the depth, richness and complexity inherent in the social or cultural phenomenon. Data were gathered from interviews with the aid of audio recorder and interview guide based on Malone (2007). The responses were transcribed and then categorized into themes according to similarities pertaining to the development of materials. It was found …

Exploring The Influence Of Teacher Language On Fourth Grade Students’ Mindsets: A Multi-Case Study, Abby Rau

The Qualitative Report

With a shift in education today toward increased student talk, collaboration, and ownership of learning, the words that teachers choose to weave throughout their instruction and interactions with students are even more crucial. The purpose of this qualitative multi-case study was to explore the shift in students’ mindsets within an environment thick with process-oriented language with a focus on the inevitability of problems while learning. Research questions focused on the impact of specific teacher language, student reactions to challenging situations, and shifts in student language and perceptions of themselves as learners (mindset). The participants, two male and one female, attended …

Hiring The Most Effective Teachers: An Examination Of Policy And Practice In Pennsylvania, Barbara Launi Powers

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Hiring the most effective teachers not only has an impact on America’s children, but on America’s economic future as well. For two decades, much research about the failings of America’s schools has been conducted. Since the advent of No Child Left Behind (2002), never has more focus been applied to teaching quality. Hiring the best teachers for our children leverages the single largest in-school influence on achievement. James Coleman, in his seminal work, The Coleman Report (1967), notes that a child’s home socio-economic status and race are more significant influences than any in-house school influence. Subsequent research on teacher quality …

A Collaborative Approach To Address Student Behavior And Academic Achievement Across Systems, Beverly Ngozi Okereke

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Academic achievement and in-classroom behaviors are two significant child outcomes that affect student success in school. According to Systems Theory, in order to truly understand the factors that affect these outcomes for children, one must look to the major systems that encapsulate the child (including their school and home environments). This project is a meta-analytic review that examined the effectiveness of measures representing each system in predicting child achievement and behavior: School-Wide Positive Behavior Supports (SWPBS) for the school as a system, level of parent involvement (high versus low) for the home system, and student motivation (intrinsic versus extrinsic) for …

Fluency: A Steady Beat In The Making, Nicole Patton

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This honors thesis explores the literacy component of fluency and its instruction in the intermediate grades through the incorporation of Brain-based learning and the arts. Because reading fluency can affect other areas of reading, such as comprehension, it is important to build fluency skills through meaningful instruction. By exploring the best practices of fluency instruction, by understanding how the brain learns, and by recognizing how the arts can meet the needs of different learners, educators can alter and create instruction that challenges students’ reading ability in a unique way. A series of fluency lessons incorporating brain-based learning and the arts …

Internationalizing Teacher Education: A Case Study Of A School Of Education, Florence Bromfield

Capstone Collection

Schools of Education across the US are some of the furthest behind in the race to internationalize departments across campuses in higher education. What does this mean for students in the K-12 classroom? The purpose of this case study is to explore the internationalization of teacher education within the context of a medium-sized state university in the South-East of the US. Working with the School of Education on this campus, qualitative interviews and surveys were administered to faculty and pre-service teachers to understand the extent of internationalization at the university, and the needs of the K-12 classroom. For this research, …

High-Altitude Ballooning In 3rd Grade, Emily L. Mathews, Brianna Marszalek, Bernhard Beck-Winchatz

2017 Academic High Altitude Conference

In this poster presentation we report on a high altitude balloon project conducted with third-graders from Gower West Elementary School in Willowbrook, IL in spring 2016. In the weeks before the launch students used a vacuum jar to investigate the effects of pressure changes on different objects, substances and sounds in the classroom and conducted pressure, temperature and wind measurements inside and outside of their school using Vernier probeware. To learn how to use the balloon tracking equipment and how to fill a balloon and prepare it for launch, students simulated a flight with a tethered balloon outside of their …

Technological Literacy Programs In Elementary School, Natalie Soroka Emery

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

Technology and engineering design education is offered as an elective in most secondary school curriculums, however a primary school curriculum is not common. The Standards for Technological Literacy (ITEEA, 2007), which focus on technological literacy and engineering design, are not typically included in primary education.

The objectives of this study are to determine if teachers and administrators think technology and engineering education provide new opportunities for elementary students, how they feel about technology and engineering education, and what obstacles exist for successful implementation. A literature review provided the background on federal, state, and local technology initiatives that exist for Virginia …

A Statistically Significant Determination From Pretest To Posttest In Knowledge Of Electrophoresis Concepts, Parker Megehee Nelson

Dissertations

The statistical significance from pretest to posttest of 109 high students constructing an electrophoresis chamber or not was explored. The students tested were from six intact biology classrooms. Three classes were treatment groups and three were control groups. The three biology teachers each taught a control and treatment group classroom. Except for building the electrophoresis chamber, students in both groups received identical instruction and testing. Pre- and posttest data was examined by means of a content valid test constructed by the researcher and biology teachers. In order to examine the statistical significance from pretest to posttest in knowledge of electrophoresis …

A Quantitative Analysis Of Whether Elementary Teachers’ Science Kit Usage And Beliefs Can Predict State Science Assessment Scores, Tony E. Rice

Dissertations

The purpose of this survey was to describe and analyze the perceptions of elementary school teachers’ in a Midwestern state concerning their use of a science kit program, including to what extent a school’s state science assessment scores can be predicated from the level of science kit usage.

Prior research indicates that elementary school teachers lack the confidence in teaching science primarily because of their weak undergraduate training in inquiry-based instruction and the lack of a strong science background. Authors such as Dickerson et al. (2006) and Riggs and Enochs (2006) argued that science kits and the materials included in …

Teacher And School Characteristics: Predictors Of Student Achievement In Georgia Public Schools, Alisande F. Mayer, Ellen W. Wiley, Larry P. Wiley, Dianne C. Dees, Simmie A. Raiford

Georgia Educational Researcher

Student achievement of fifth-grade students in 106 Georgia public schools in CRCT reading and mathematics was examined as a function of five characteristics of teachers and schools. The five independent variables used as predictors of CRCT scores were Title I status, teachers’ education level, teachers’ average years of experience, class size, and computer to student ratio. Designation as a Title I school was the strongest predictor of student achievement. When compared to non-Title I schools, Title I school status resulted in a higher percentage of students meeting CRCT standards in both reading and math and a lower percentage of students …

The Promise And Limits Of Service Learning For Aspiring Teachers, Mary Louise Gomez

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

This text explores how service learning may offer aspiring teachers’ (those not yet admitted to teacher education programs) opportunities to interact with and support the learning of children from low-income families of color. The article shows the potential of service to impact how aspiring teachers talk and think and what they can do in community centers serving children living in challenging circumstances. It also critiques their understandings of who they are with regard to race, social class, and language background when conducting service learning. Implications for teachers and teacher educators’ practices when mentoring university students conducting service in communities of …

“It’S Just Too Sad!”: Teacher Candidates’ Emotional Resistance To Picture Books, Aimee Papola-Ellis

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The use of critical literacy with children’s books that focus on social issues and disrupt the status quo can be a powerful way to create spaces for conversations with students about social justice and empowerment. Teacher candidates in a semester long children’s literature course were asked to respond to a range of children’s texts that dealt with many social issues and disrupted the commonplace. Despite an explicit emphasis on critical literacy and social justice, the candidates were very resistant to using many of the texts in their own future classrooms. They had strong emotional reactions that prevented them from consideration …

What Does A Suffragist Look Like?, Maribel Delgadillo

Lesson Plans

Students will look at several photographs to determine what a suffragists looks like. Many students believe that all women, and only women, wanted women to have the right to vote.

Teacher Awareness Of Social Emotional Learning Standards And Strategies, Mary Reynolds

All Capstone Projects

This study investigated teacher knowledge and attitudes of both special education and general education teachers towards social emotional learning. A total of twenty-five certified special education teachers and twenty-five certified general education teachers were surveyed regarding their familiarity with the State of Illinois Social Emotional Learning Standards. Teachers’ perceptions of the competency of their higher education preparation and professional development to meet their students’ social emotional needs were solicited. The data gathered from this study suggests that universities should prepare teachers more adequately in the areas of social emotional learning. The data also supports that there is a need for …

Adapted Physical Education: Where Does It Stand?, Danielle M. Wilkins

All Capstone Projects

Sixty-six teachers were surveyed regarding adapted physical education. The three types of teachers surveyed were physical education, special education, and general education. The teachers' perceptions to the importance and necessity of adapted physical education were analyzed. The findings showed most physical education teachers felt training was inadequate in their preservice program, as well as in professional development to teach students with disabilities. Discussion of the results and implications for further research are provided.

Student Perceptions Of The Check-In/Check-Out Intervention, Kara Noland

All Capstone Projects

This study investigated student perceptions of the Check-In/Check-Out intervention. Twelve students, who participated in the Check-In/Check-Out intervention were surveyed regarding their opinions and understanding of procedures. The data gathered from this study suggests that educators should look closer at the implementation of Check-In/Check-Out as well as those students who are unresponsiveness to the intervention. Educational implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.

A Study Of Home Emergent Literacy Experiences Of Young Latino English Learners, Guy Trainin, Stephanie Wessels, J. Ron Nelson, Patricia Vadasy

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

This empirical study explored the home environment literacy practices of young Latino English learners and their families. The participants were 217 incoming Kindergarten Latino EL students and parents. The data collection included a completed HLEQ by the parents. In addition, children were administered the PPVT, the pre- LAS, the PALS-K screening, the Woodcock Reading Mastery assessment, and the Wide Range Achievement test. All of the literacy assessments given to the children provided the researchers with comprehensive look at their literacy knowledge base. The results of this study indicate that there were two significant paths for students’ achievement: availability of books …

Examining Bridges Between Informal And Formal Learning Environments: A Sequential Mixed Method Design, Dagen L. Valentine

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this sequential mixed method study was to identify schools implementing a technology-based engineering design intervention in a way that connects or bridges formal learning environments of the school-day to informal learning environments such as afterschool programs. Further, this study investigated educators’ decisions that enabled or facilitated bridging between formal and informal learning environments. This cooperation and/or linking between informal and formal learning time is bridging. Participants included public schools (n=16) in Eastern Nebraska that incorporated the Nebraska Wearables Technology (WearTec) program at their school, club or Out-of-School-Time program during the 2015-2016 school year. Three of the schools …

Transitioning Students From The Area Model To The Number Line Model When Developing Fraction Comparison Strategies, Joann Elaine Barnett

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

In this study, 21 participants (control and treatment) were examined based on differences between their abilities to use a variety of strategies to compare fractions after considering the fractions' approximate positions on a number line. A pre-post test and interviews were conducted in Fall 2015 and Spring 2016. Results showed greater gains for the treatment group than the control group in their ability to correctly estimate a fractions' position on the number line and to count fractional intervals on the number line. Even after students in the treatment group developed the ability to correctly place fractions on a number line, …

A Descriptive Case Study Investigating The Perceptions Of Year-Round Education, Chelsea Nicole Wallace

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This qualitative study investigated potential perceptions of educators from a Southwest Missouri school district regarding a transition from a traditional school calendar to a year-round school structure. Through semi-structured interviews, reflective field notes, and researcher observations, this study descriptively interpreted data from nine individual interviews. Analysis provided a comprehensive review of the salient themes uncovered in hope of informing the affected district and those interested in current teacher perceptions of this educational change and acting as a catalyst for further dialogue surrounding the concept of year-round education. In this study, participating educators indicated their favor of year-round education as an …

Social Media As A Tool To Share Art Curriculum, Jordan James Dewilde

Theses and Dissertations

This study attempts to discover how social media can be a tool for art educators. The researcher, an elementary art educator, created a Facebook page to share his curriculum and document his teaching experience. For a two month period he recorded the posts, the and responses and documented the process in a reflective journal to determine how interaction with social media would impact his teaching. He simultaneously conducted an online survey of art educators to ask how they used social media to inform their teaching.

Translating Stem Education Research Into Practice, Christine Rosicka

Professional learning for teachers and school leaders

This translational research project from the Centre for Education Policy and Practice sought evidence-based practical applications, programs or interventions that can be implemented in the primary classroom to address STEM learning. A literature search for STEM education interventions in primary years was undertaken in order to identify integrated STEM programs that have had a proven impact on student outcomes. This paper outlines the scope and methodology of the review. It then considers the findings in terms of four key themes and translates them into short messages for teachers. The recent literature on STEM education was found to centre around four …

Let Me Lae-Something On You, Or How I Found My Way Back To Education Through Laes, Robert Sean Myers Ii

Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies

No abstract provided.

Reframing Lesson Plans: The Foundation For Improving Instruction, Carletta M. Noland

Dissertations

This dissertation is a policy advocacy document that boldly states that it is our moral imperative to change the current educational landscape for the students attending Milwaukee Public Schools. In advocating for such a change, it is strongly suggested that the way to accomplish this challenging task is to mandate a stronger instructional foundation by leveraging the power of thoughtful lesson planning and design. Through its own merit, public and professional opinions and research findings, a viable argument is crafted to eliminate the current policy that marginalizes the planning process by suggesting through its current language, that the planning process …

Development Of Middle School Teachers' Knowledge And Pedagogy Of Justification: Three Studies Linking Teacher Conceptions, Teacher Practice, And Student Learning, Carolyn Mccaffrey James

Dissertations and Theses

Justification and argumentation have been identified as important mathematical practices; however, little work has been done to understand the knowledge and pedagogy teachers need to support students in these ambitious practices. Data for this research was drawn from the Justification and Argumentation: Growing Understanding in Algebraic Reasoning (JAGUAR) project. JAGUAR was a multi-year research and professional development project in which 12 middle school math teachers and a group of researchers explored the knowledge and pedagogy needed to support student justifications. This dissertation consists of three case study analyses. The first paper describes the development of teacher conceptions of justification, including …

Elementary Teaching Strategies For Lgbtq Inclusion, Nicole E. Cox

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

It is the responsibility of teachers to create a classroom environment that is both inclusive and validating to the identities of students and their families. This capstone project explores how teachers can create this environment for students and families that are a part of the LGBTQ community. Because of the discrimination that presents itself through bullying based on LGBTQ identities, and the lack of LGBTQ representation within classroom lessons, there is a need for a higher quantity and quality of resources for teachers to create these inclusive environments, specifically in elementary schools. To assess our local community, teacher interviews were …

Creating An Equitable Educational Technology Plan For Elementary Hispanic English Language Learners In Rural California Communities, Lisa M. Ortman

Master's Projects and Capstones

English language learners (ELLs) comprise a large percentage of California’s

public school enrollment and are rapidly changing the cultural diversity landscape

within schools and communities. In rural California school districts where access to

funding and technology is severely lacking compared to larger districts, ELLs face

additional barriers to second language acquisition (SLA) and educational

attainment.

This paper provides insight to educators on the socioeconomic status of Hispanic

ELL students in rural California and how this status affects their SLA and digital

literacy learning. Additionally, this paper provides a presentation for educators on

the steps they can take to establish an …

Quantifying The Qualitative: Increasing The Reliability Of Subjective Language Assessments, Jeremy W. Armes

Master's Projects and Capstones

This project explores how to increase the reliability of subjective language assessments. What are the major factors that affect reliability, and what can educators do to maximize it? Research in the field suggests four key factors that have the greatest effect on reliability. The first factor is the procedures used to administer and score the assessment. The more standardized the process is, the higher the reliability will be. The second factor is rater experience, both in the profession and with the assessment in question. Experience is positively correlated with reliability. Novice teachers who get training and feedback in a scoring …

Elementary District-Level And Building-Level Leadership Practices That Promote And Sustain Professional Learning Communities, Nathaniel Cunningham Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between building and district level leadership in sustaining level district Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). The study attempted to reveal the relationships of building level and district level leadership in sustaining level PLCs. The study also sought to determine the impact of relational trust between district-level and building-level leadership practices within professional learning communities. The Professional Learning Community Continuum (PLCC) was administered in order to identify those districts that were operating at the Sustaining Stage for PLCs. Approximately forty-six district and building level leaders participated in the study. A non- random …