Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

The Pracademic And Academic In Criminal Justice Education: A Qualitative Analysis, James E. Mccabe, Stephen A. Morreale, John R. Tahiliani

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Over the past several years, a few hundred colleagues involved in criminal justice education have participated in panel discussions and roundtables to discuss the trials and issues that have been observed by practitioners turned academics, or “pracademics.” Some complained of having difficulty breaking into academia. A debate has occurred in a number of colleges and universities over the benefit of having faculty with traditional academic credentials versus hiring non-traditional scholars with a blend of educational and practical experience. Similarly, there have been lively discussions over the appropriateness of a J.D. or professional doctorate as opposed to a Ph.D. in criminal …

Pre-College Deaf Students’ Understanding Of Fractional Concepts: What We Know And What We Do Not Know, Keith Mousley, Christopher Kurz

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Mathematical knowledge and skills are crucial to success in academics and the workplace. The Common Core State Standards emphasizes fraction teaching and learning in elementary school. This mixed-method study explores fraction concept understanding among 14 deaf and hard of hearing participants between the ages of 8 and 16, as quantitatively measured by their ability to describe the properties of fractional numbers, convert between fractional numbers and their visual representations, and determine the order and equivalence of fractional numbers. Furthermore, the qualitative study was supplemented by interviews with the deaf participants and surveys with their parents and teachers to examine use …

The Effects Of Processing Instruction On Chinese Learners' Acquisition Of Spanish Copulae, Wesley Curtis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Processing instruction (PI) is a language teaching technique based upon the model of input processing developed by VanPatten (1993, 1996, 2002, 2004). The present study investigated the effects of PI as well as two other experimental conditions (traditional instruction and control) on the acquisition of the Spanish copulae ser and estar by 66 Chinese university students enrolled in a blended (partially presential and partially online) fourth-semester language course. The PI treatment condition included non-paradigmatic grammar explanations, processing strategies designed to help learners avoid commiting errors they may be predisposed to make, and structured input activities which eliminate redundant features of …

Parental Perceptions Of Independence And Efficacy Of Their Children With Visual Impairments, Michael P. Munro, Maricela M. Garza M.Ed., Janiel R. Hayes M.Ed., Elizabeth A. Watt M.Ed.

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

Raising any child to become successful and self-sufficient presents challenges to all parents; however, the complexity of the decision-making in parenting may become more intricate for parents of children with visual impairments. It can be a challenge determining the balance between intense overprotection for reasons of safety versus the encouragement and attention to the participation in unique or challenging learning experiences. Parents of children with visual impairments may also struggle to find the fine line between viewing the child through he lens of the impairment (as other or less than) versus treating the child in the same manner other …

Professional Competence To Promote Resilience For Children Living In Poverty, Jenna M. Voss, Susan Lenihan

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Poverty has a tremendous impact on the educational results of all children, including those who are deaf or hard of hearing. With targeted, evidence-based interventions during the first three years of life, Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) professionals can protect children from the numerous risk factors which impede development. While EHDI professionals often serve children and families living in poverty, it remains the case that the professional preparation programs offer limited instruction and experience in how to best serve children and families living in poverty. The purpose of this study was to explore professional preparedness to serve children who …

Science Demonstrations, Steven Smith

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Use demonstrations to engage students and get them thinking about concepts through multiple science areas. Demos and brief discussions until we run out of time.

Fostering An Inclusive Stem Workforce, Cary A. Supalo Dr.

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

The following keynote address was delivered by Dr. Cary A. Supalo at the 2015 Training Workforce and Development and diversity conference which is one of the divisions that is part of NIH’s general medical sciences. This conference was attended by over 500 program directors from all of the T32 sponsored projects in 2015. This presentation discussed the importance of a full inclusive STEM workforce that includes persons with disabilities

Socialization To Academic Language In A Kindergarten Classroom, Colleen E. Gallagher

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Recognizing the importance of academic language for students’ success in schools, this article reports on an investigation of how narrative-focused literacy events in the classroom provide opportunities for academic language socialization. Data were collected from one public elementary school in a major metropolitan area in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Participants include an intact kindergarten class of 16 students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and their teacher. The results of the investigation revealed that sharing time provides opportunities for socialization to academic register through: (1) requiring that students successfully navigate the academic language demands of the interaction, …

Consistency And Change: Becoming A Literacy Leader In An Urban School, Jackie Marshall Arnold, Mary-Kate Sableski

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

An effective urban literacy teacher is one who can weather the storm of change. Remaining committed to one’s students despite the challenges that an urban environment brings is a key element in facilitating student literacy improvement. In this article we present a case study of one teacher who participated in our three year professional development initiative to improve literacy practices in urban schools. We discuss the qualities that she possessed that helped her to persist through the pains of change to impact student learning, and how these qualities should be fostered in urban school teachers to improve achievement.

Building Professional Development Opportunities In Data Services For Academic Librarians, Suzanna Conrad, Yasmeen Shorish, Amanda L. Whitmire, Patricia Hswe

Libraries

Research data management represents a significant professional development area for academic librarians –significant for its growing importance to the profession, since researchers are increasingly expected to comply with research data management requirements, and for the extent of competence needed by librarians to support researchers in research data management practices and plans. This article recounts how the Association of College and Research Libraries is fostering professional development opportunities in research data management. The authors describe two key endeavors: (1) the development and deployment of a needs assessment survey, which allowed insight into the types of librarians expressing the most need; and …

Ua41 University College Connection, Dennis K. George, Dean, Wendi Kelley, University College

UC Publications

No abstract provided.

Methods For Deriving Individual Marks From Group Work, Miriam Delaney, Lucy Bowe, Breiffni Fitzgerald, Peter Maccann, Christina Ryan

Practitioner Research Projects

Group assessment is a valuable teaching and learning method (Springer et al., 1999). This has been comprehensively demonstrated in the teaching and learning literature both in general (Johnson et al., 1991) and in specific contexts. This assessment practice promotes questioning, discussion and debate and encourages students to become active team players (DIT, 2013). However, when using this form of assessment, it is important to recognise that it is "individuals who graduate and gain qualifications" (Gibbs, 2009, p.4). The problem of freeloading has been identified and one of the suggested methods of reducing this is to incorporate individual assessment into the …

Facilitating Group Work: A Guide To Good Practice, Ronan Mccrea, Irene Neville, David Rickard, Ciara Walsh, David Williams

Practitioner Research Projects

Oakley et al. (2004) and Gibbs (2009) observe that owing to the extensive literature on group work, lecturers searching for a succinct guide on how to facilitate this activity effectively would find it challenging to digest such a large corpus. We extensively reviewed the literature in order to produce a quick and accessible guide for lecturers to use. It is our aspiration that this could be referred to when planning and facilitating group work projects with insights and recommendations informed by our research. Moreover, as this work draws on publications from educators in a wide range of disciplines, we expect …

An Exploration Of Fairness In The Assessment And Process Of Student Group Work, Rita Gibson, Emma Geoghegan, Oscar Macananey, Andrew Hines, Lorraine D'Arcy

Practitioner Research Projects

This project was driven by a motivation to be as fair as possible in the assessment of students' group work. Achieving fairness in assessment is a recurrent them in group project assessment literature (Nordberg, 2009). All authors of this report teach modules with group projects, and acknowledged that discrepancies often exist between a mark assigned to a group and an individual's contribution. Our aims were to (a) collectively enhance our understanding of the issues that need to be considered when assessing a group work project and (b) collectively build our confidence in approaches chosen to overcome these challenges. The findings …

Gamification To Improve First Year Engagement, John Colleran, Aoife Lloyd Mckernan, Julie Ann Naughton, Brian Vaughan

Practitioner Research Projects

The purpose of this project was to examine the role of Gamification in increasing first year student engagement within the third level educational setting. A literature review was carried out in order to explore the teaching philosophy behind gamification in education and review the quantitative and qualitative evidence regarding its use. Gamification can be broadly described as the application of gaming methods and elements in non-gaming contexts in order to improve user engagement and user experience (Deterding et al., 2011). Qualitative analysis suggests these factors result in beneficial emotional and social impacts on students, particularly in the area of increasing …

Technology In Kentucky Social Studies Classrooms, Lesia Lennex, Andrew T. Perrin

Department of Middle Grades and Secondary Education Research & Publication Archives

Technology in Kentucky Social Studies Classrooms by Lesia Lennex and Andrew T. Perrin.

Teachers' Preparation To Teach English Language Learners (Ells): An Investigation Of Perceptions, Preparation, And Current Practices, Pamela K. Correll

Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and Instruction

This qualitative case study examined the perceptions of 79 elementary teachers regarding their preparation to teach students learning English as a second language (ELLs). The focus of this inquiry centered on factors related to the preparation of teachers for serving non-native English speaking students. The research questions that guided this study are: (a) What are teachers’ perceptions of their preparation for teaching English learners?; (b) What types of preparatory experiences do teachers perceive as supportive of their preparation for teaching ELLs?; and (c) How do teachers’ perceptions of their preparation shape their practices with ELL students?

Findings of this study …

Representing Teachers As Criminals In The News: A Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis Of The Atlanta Schools’ “Cheating Scandal”, Theresa Catalano, Lauren Gatti

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

On April 1, 2015, 11 Atlanta teachers accused of changing answers on their students’ standardized tests were convicted of racketeering and sentenced to 5–20 years in prison. Despite ample news coverage, few sources investigated teachers’ motivations for altering students’ responses or explored what the consequences would have been if student scores had not been changed to passing. Moreover, the fact that the teachers’ actions resulted from systemic problems associated with working within a high-stakes testing environment is glossed over and all but lost in the reporting of the “Cheating Scandal” events. The authors conduct a critical multimodal analysis of how …

Making Your Traditional Text Work: Input, Scaffolding And Communication, Andrew J. Demil

The Coastal Review

Second Language Acquisition (SLA) studies provide evidence that comprehension activities that involve meaningful language production and communication promote language acquisition more effectively than mechanical drills. Recent studies review the state of foreign language textbooks and demonstrate that the majority of foreign language textbooks do not follow SLA research. This article provides ways that a second language instructor can use a traditional text to help lead to meaningful language instruction.

An Exploration Of Teacher Retention In Rural School Districts In Eastern Kentucky, Jeremy Watts

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Teacher retention rates are staggeringly low across the United States. Nearly 20% of public school teachers leave their position from one year to the next, a majority of schools have a turnover rate of 50% every three years, and over 50% of teachers leave the education field within the first five years of employment. This retention problem impacts all type of public school systems—urban, suburban, and rural school districts.

This study examined teacher retention in elementary and secondary schools in three rural school districts in eastern Kentucky. Review of district and school documents about teacher retention informed the selection of …

A Common Language? The Use Of Teaching Standards In The Assessment Of Professional Experience: Teacher Education Students’ Perceptions, Tony Loughland, Neville Ellis

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

There is a strong critique of the reductionist, technical and instrumentalist impacts of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers from critical policy researchers in education. At the same time, advocates of the standards espouse their potential as providing a common language of teaching. We argue that both views are based on logical rather than empirical warrants. Therefore, this study sought to gather empirical data via a survey of 229 teacher education students followed by focus groups in an endeavour to record their perceptions on the use of the standards as assessment criteria for professional experience. The findings are that a …

Reflective Teaching And Self-Efficacy Beliefs: Exploring Relationships In The Context Of Teaching Efl In Iran, Mehdi Babaei, Arman Abednia

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article reports on a study that explored the relationship between reflective teaching and teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs. Two questionnaires, the English Language Teaching Reflection Inventory (Akbari, Behzadpoor, & Dadvand, 2010) and Teachers’ Efficacy Beliefs System-Self (TEBS-Self) (Dellinger, Bobbett, Olivier, & Ellett, 2008), were distributed among 225 Iranian EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers. Pearson product-moment correlation analysis showed a significant positive relationship between the general factors of teacher reflectiveness and self-efficacy. Standard multiple regression identified Efficacy for Learner Engagement as the only predictor of teacher reflectiveness and Meta-Cognitive Reflection as the only predictor of teacher self-efficacy. Finally, the interconnections …

Science Teachers’ Professional Growth And The Communication In Science Inquiry Project, Elizabeth Lewis, Dale Baker, Nievita Bueno Watts, Katrien Van Der Hoeven Kraft

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

The Communication in Science Inquiry Project (CISIP) a National Science Foundation-funded, standards-based model of a scientific classroom discourse community (SCDC) was designed to meet the need for highly-qualified teachers and science education reform. The model included: (a) inquiry; (b) oral discourse; (c) written discourse; (d) academic language development, and (e) learning principles. Research and evaluation feedback were mechanisms by which CISIP become self-regulating, promoting instructional change and incorporating more aspects of inquiry-based learning with academic language development strategies. The program underwent a philosophical shift from teachers-as-consumers to teachers-as-producers based on classroom observations using a professional development-aligned classroom observation instrument that …

The Effects Of Cluster-Based Mentoring Programme On Classroom Teaching Practices: Lessons From Pakistan, Meher Rizvi, Philip Nagy

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This paper presents and evaluates a teacher training approach called the cluster-based mentoring programme (CBMP) for the professional development of government primary school teachers in Pakistan. The study sought to find differences in the teaching practices between districts where the CBMP was used (intervention) and control districts where it was not used (non-intervention). Data were analysed to examine the effectiveness of the CBMP in terms of enhancing teacher practices and student behaviour. The paper differentiates those aspects of classroom teaching where the CBMP has been the most effective and where it has been marginally effective or not effective at all, …

A Benefit To The Profession: Teacher Retention In The Middle Years, Claire Vander Wiel

Honors Program Theses

Teacher retention refers to a current national issue of teachers leaving the profession in large numbers after teaching for few years. This topic is in the public eye at the moment; many people have seen news articles about how many teachers leave the profession and varying opinions about what needs to be done about it. There have been countless research studies done on this topic, the vast majority of which focus on government and public policies that lead to a harsh environment for teachers. These policies include low teacher pay and benefits, low support from parents and administrators, and a …

Critical Pedagogy And Participatory Democracy: Creating Classroom Contexts That Challenge “Common Sense”, Lilia D. Monzó, P. Zitlali Morales

Education Faculty Articles and Research

In this response to “The Political Nuances of Narratives and an Urban Educator’s Response,” the authors applaud Pearman’s critical approach to deconstructing and challenging narratives of heroic figures who single-handedly change the world and agree with him that these narratives restrict the sense of agency that may propel citizens to become actively involved in social change efforts. We argue that it is important to question why these narratives exist and to understand them in light of the hegemonic capitalist structure that exploits the masses in service to the capitalist class. Although we agree with Pearman that democracy is best served …

Multilingual Pedagogies And Pre-Service Teachers: Implementing “Language As A Resource” Orientations In Teacher Education Programs, Theresa Catalano, Edmund T. Hamann

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

While Ruiz’s (1984) influential work on language orientations has substantively influenced how we study and talk about language planning, few teacher education programs today actually embed his framework in the praxis of preparing pre-service and practicing teachers. Hence, the primary purpose of this article is to demonstrate new understandings and expansions of Ruiz’s language-as-resource (LAR) approach and ways in which teacher education programs can model this orientation in their own classes, including those programs, like ours, that prepare mostly monolingual preservice and in-service teachers to work with bi/multilingual students. The authors pursue this by laying out the theoretical framework for …

Contextualizing Generic Pedagogical Knowledge Through Tension-Focused Reflection: A Self-Study, Zhu Chen

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

A major concern in recent decades is that teachers are equipped with pedagogical knowledge through pre-service teacher education programs but know nothing about how to put pedagogical knowledge into their own teaching scenarios. Hence, an increasing attention has been attached to teachers’ contextualized understanding of pedagogical knowledge for effective teaching. Reflection has often been recommended as an instrument for constructing teachers’ context-specific knowledge of teaching. This self-study has identified an approach of reflection by which I, as a beginning Chinese language teacher-researcher, employed to develop contextualized understanding of a generic pedagogical model known as Quality Teaching (QT). The essence of …

Navigating The Challenges Of Becoming A Culturally Responsive Teacher: Supportive Networking May Be The Key, Nina L. Nilsson Ph.D., Ailing Kong Ph.D., Shantel Hubert

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Research shows graduates of teacher education programs do not always transfer, or apply, the best practices they learn to instructional practice due to factors related to course features, the student, and workplace environment (e.g., Brown & Bentley, 2004; de Jong et al., 2010). This study examined the challenges a secondary-level English teacher in the United States encountered when she attempted to implement culturally responsive teaching practices she learned from a graduate course to her class with ELLs. Findings indicate she faced strategy- and language-related challenges due to student culture and school environment factors (“external challenges”), as well as her own …

Professional Development Needs Of Turkish Teachers In An Era Of National Reforms, Tuba Gokmenoglu, Christopher M. Clark, Ercan Kiraz

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

An emerging consensus in the teacher education literature confirms that supporting educational reforms and improving designs for national programs can be accomplished simply by maximizing the match between teachers’ expressed needs and the content by which those professional development needs are met. This paper presents an interpretation of findings on Turkish teachers’ in-service training needs during an era of massive reform. The findings indicate that teachers do not report a strong need for any professional development program content. Analyses are based on survey data from 1,730 Turkish teachers from 352 primary schools. The results raise the discussion of whether teachers …