Journey “Box” Assignment Description, David Wolff

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

The Journey “Box” allows preservice teachers to explore and share their own historical narrative as they different aspects of their own family’s journey to America. The Journey “Box” first asks preservice teachers to explore themes by reading children’s literature and then positions preservice teachers as interviewers as they seek out different facets of their family’s historical narrative from members of their family. Preservice teachers then use their experience with a Journey “Box” to design an inquiry that could be used in their field experience. The Journey “Box” integrates social studies standards and best practices with ELA standards.

Magnetic Hallway Huddles: Attract And Retain High-Quality Professionals, David Wolff, Carissa Gober, Donna Zerr

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

This presentation was conducted for a national conference about mentoring. The authors discussed Tinto’s Model of Institutional Departure and Schlossberg’s Model for Analyzing Human Adaptation to Transition as theoretical frameworks to explain the transition and retention of university professors. The focus on the study was the three authors who transitioned to the same university during the 2022-2023 academic year. Authors discussed their experiences of the transition and found themes related to the mentoring process that that acclimated them to the institution and influenced their retention.

Supporting Students Who Are Deafblind To Increase Their Access To The General Education Curriculum Through Trained Interveners: A Mixed Methods Study, Ira Padhye

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed-methods research study was to identify the educational trends of children and young adults who are deafblind and identify strategies to improve the outcomes through interviews of nationally qualified interveners who have received training in deafblind specific strategies. Secondary data from the 2017-2021 National Center on Deafblindness and interview transcripts were used for data analysis and then integrated to identify the supports students who are deafblind should access. Trends in age of identification, primary eligibility category, school settings and access to state standardized assessments showed a plateau and displayed no significant improvement in educational outcomes. Nationally …

The Relationship Of Mentorship And Professional Development On Special Educators’ Intent, Christine S. Powell

Theses and Dissertations

Current literature in special education has examined professional development (PD) and mentorship separately; however, no studies have investigated the relationship between PD and mentorship on special education teachers’ intent. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which participating in PD and mentorship opportunities predicted the likelihood of Early Career Special Education Teachers' (ECSETs) intent to leave the teacher workforce while examining factors related to duration and quality. Based on two conceptual models, Desimone’s (2009) best practices for professional development and Nick et al. (2012) best practices for academic mentoring, this study identified key features and characteristics …

The Criticality Of Teacher Educator Wellbeing: Reflecting Through Arts-Based Methods, Kristina Turner, Georgina M. Barton Dr, Susanne Garvis, Ellen Larsen

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Teacher educators face many challenges related to workload and government-mandated reforms in Initial Teacher Education programs. Evidence suggests that COVID-19 has exacerbated these challenges as universities must become more cost-effective and improve research outcomes and impact, often resulting in heavier workloads. While these challenges may be faced in other disciplines, teacher educator wellbeing, stress and burnout is an under-researched field, and little is known about if and how teacher educators maintain their wellbeing during times of uncertainty. This collaborative autoethnographic study applied an arts-based research method to explore the wellbeing challenges faced by four Australian teacher educators through the lens …

Student Teachers’ Initial Professional Identity: A Case In An Efl Teacher Education Program, Uun Muhaji, Didi Sukyadi, Ahmad Bukhori Muslim

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Student teachers enter teacher education programs with existing values, beliefs, and knowledge about teaching. However, little is known about the significant resources that shape this initial professional identity. Additionally, there is a lack of understanding regarding how first-year student teachers depict their initial professional identity in the context of Indonesia. This case study examines the initial professional identity of 23 first-year Indonesian student teachers in an English as a Foreign Language Teacher Education Program (EFLTEP) in Indonesia. Utilizing Esteban-Guitart's Funds of Identity theory, data were collected through participants' narratives via significant circles, self-portrait drawings and interviews. Data were …

Theorizing Cultural (Mis)Recognition In Rural School Staffing: Implementing A Social Justice Frame To Understand Challenges To Attract Rural Teachers, Hernan Cuervo

The Rural Educator

Attracting teachers to rural schools continues to be a problem in Australian education. Debates on how to remedy staff shortages are based on a better distribution of financial and material resources. This emphasis on distribution has sidelined the role of recognition theory in understanding the challenges of rural staffing. I draw on the social justice frameworks of Nancy Fraser and Axel Honneth to argue that rural staffing challenges are anchored not just on matters of distribution but on issues that lead to the cultural misrecognition and disrespect of teaching and learning in rural places. Using data from a qualitative research …

Building Research Capacity Of Future Teachers: A Canadian Case Study, Dragana Martinovic, Ziad F. Dabaja

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Since their first day in school, in-service teachers are expected to act professionally, make good judgments, think critically, and problem-solve effectively. The literature suggests that engaging pre-service teachers in research can help them to develop several key skills. In this paper, we present the outcomes from a year and a half long mixed-methods case study that was conducted in two phases (i.e., a pilot and a follow-up study) with two groups of pre-service teachers enrolled in a teacher education programme in a Canadian mid-size university. The purpose of this research was to examine how an in-course research component might have …

Learning From The Courageous Actions Of War And Post-War Time Teachers: A Bricolage Of Bosnian Educators, Elana Micahl Haviv

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this study was to identify the preconditions that inspire courageous action through exploration of the choices made by four classroom teachers in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Each educator had made the decision not only to teach during or after the 1992–1995 war and genocide in their country, but to do so in ways that went against official post-war teaching guidelines. Although there are a vast number of studies on courage in literature, there is little research that includes teachers who remained in their classrooms during wartime or chose to enter their classrooms in transitional societies after their communities …

Inclusive Practices In Catholic Education: A Restorative Realignment, Carla Vellutini

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Catholic schools need to examine the barriers to, benefits of, and interventions needed when implementing inclusive practices into their institutions. Catholic schools are experiencing an increase in enrolled students identified with learning and behavioral needs; however, they frequently lack resources and expertise to provide the necessary support for these students and their families to succeed. Research studies identify teacher attitudes and perceptions regarding inclusive practices as vital factors to create successful culture change.

A single group pretest-posttest design, incorporated into this action research study, measured the attitudes and stress of teachers before and after a 14-week long intervention for eight …

Representation Counts: Intern Teachers Of Color And Their Perspectives Of Teaching In A California County, Girlie M. Hale

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Intern teachers are more likely to be placed in hard-to-fill content areas, such as math, science, and special education, which exacerbates their initial teaching experiences as teachers of record. For new teachers in their intern credential program, these factors compound the stress of attending coursework while managing their experience as a novice in the classroom. Without proper mentoring and support in these placements, teachers of color may perceive themselves as feeling less successful in the classroom. In this mixed methods study, the researcher investigated the types of support intern teachers of color need in successfully completing their teacher preparation program. …

The Impact Of Classroom Economies On Teacher Job Satisfaction, Amanda Hutchison

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

The significance of this study lies in its focus on high school teachers' job satisfaction after implementing a classroom economy strategy, with no previous research available on this specific relationship. The study addresses the critical issue of teacher turnover and its financial and educational implications. It also offers valuable insights for teacher preparation programs, colleges and universities, state departments of education, and classroom economy nonprofit companies.

Strengthening The Academic Progress Of Students Within Multi-Tiered Systems Of Support, Leslie Dial

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Leadership in education is thinking, communicating, and modeling to maximize student growth and achievement. This quantitative research study explored how leadership can strengthen the academic progress of students within Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). When implementation of MTSS is guided by adaptive school leadership, educators will be prepared, communication will occur, interventions will be established, and data will be evaluated. Adaptive leaders who build efficacy will ensure fidelity and continuous improvement of student achievement.

Survey research was conducted to analyze the operational level of MTSS regarding the domains of Leadership, Building Capacity for Instruction, Communication and Collaboration, Data-Based Problem-Solving, Tiered …

Teaching Black Elementary Students: The Influence Of Experiences And Teacher Preparation For Pwi And Hbcu Interns On Their Understanding Of And Self-Efficacy For Culturally Responsive Teaching, Jeania N. Jones

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Teacher preparation program agendas include culturally responsive teaching (CRT) due to the student diversity in modern elementary classrooms. Overwhelmingly, White, middle-class English-speaking women who may not completely understand their students' cultural backgrounds are teachers in those culturally diverse classrooms. In schools where Eurocentric values, assumptions, beliefs, and methodologies are being taught, many students of color are not performing well academically. Black teachers and teachers with a good understanding of students' cultural experiences and backgrounds have higher expectations and counter the racial stereotypes about Black students. This multiple case study examined how two teacher interns understand Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) and …

Shaping Teachers’ Behavioral Intentions To Use Dgbl: Understanding The Key Insights Teachers Garner From A Research-Based Dgbl Professional Development Design, Nadine Ebri

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to explore the key insights teachers garner from a research-based Digital Game-Based Learning (DGBL) professional development (PD) workshop and how their garnered insights shape their behavioral intentions to use DGBL in their future teaching practices. By gaining a deeper understanding of these areas, this study aims to enhance the effectiveness of professional development workshops for DGBL, and in turn, improve DGBL implementation in the classroom setting.

DGBL, which integrates digital games into education, has gained attention for its potential to engage and motivate students while enhancing learning outcomes. However, limited focus on DGBL professional development …

Technology In The Classroom: The Features Language Teachers Should Consider, Sophie Cuocci, Padideh Fattahi Marnani

Journal of English Learner Education

The fast development of technology and the new generation of highly computer literate students led to consider the integration of technology in school as essential. Throughout the last two decades, research has identified multiple factors leading to the successful and unsuccessful integration of technology in the classroom. Educators must consider these factors when deciding on which technology tools to use and how to integrate them to their lessons. Simultaneously, the increasing number of English learners in the United States calls for the identification of teaching strategies that will best support their needs. Many language teachers now rely on teaching techniques …

Community Circles In Response To Restorative Justice Research And Critique, Hannah Edber

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Zero-tolerance discipline in schools has resulted in disproportionate referrals, suspensions, and expulsions for Black students, students with disabilities, and low-income students of color. Restorative Justice (RJ) seeks to intervene in these patterns by emphasizing community interconnectedness and a discourse of harm, accountability, and repair. Although RJ has been shown to increase school connectedness and decrease suspensions and expulsions, teachers and students using RJ (as a response to discipline issues) report varying degrees of satisfaction with the framework. Frustrations can include limited time and limited depth of conversations with students who have caused harm, so that root causes of behavior are …

Exploring Using Game-Based Learning And Gamification In A Secondary Classroom To Increase Engagement, Mandee Lynn Thiell

Masters Projects

Research has connected the importance of student engagement and student experience within the classroom but continue to use teacher directed traditional teaching methods. This project explores the use of gamification and game-based learning and how it promotes student engagement. The use of games and game-elements provide a relevant approach that focuses on student autonomy and experience, and ultimately use fun engaging ways to motivate students to learn. This project provides an entry level learning in-service opportunity for secondary educators to discover and create their own lessons that implement gamification and game-based learning in their classrooms in hopes to increase student …

The Effects Of Active Shootings On 4-H Youth And Families, Melinda Garcia, Elizabeth Gangwer

Journal of Extension

The effects of active shootings should be a priority to provide needed assistance to 4-H youth and families in coping with their social-emotional well-being. Exposure to such violence can lead to lasting impacts on youth that can affect behavior. Addressing this sensitive topic is crucial in ensuring that Extension professionals are prepared to meet the needs of youth and families. Higher rates of depression, aggression, to name a few, are a result of having witnessed such events as a shooting. Providing training for Extension personnel can aid in reducing the amount of PTSD and other social-emotional trauma.

Navigating Acculturative Stress: A Guide For Supporting Newcomer Students In California Esl Classrooms, Daniela Lopera Ruiz

Master's Projects and Capstones

Acculturation has been widely studied as a post-migration phenomenon that individuals face when coming in contact with their new recipient culture and environment. The different experiences, tasks, and requirements that newcomers must endure upon arrival may lead to their suffering prolonged periods of discomfort. This moderate, intermediate, or acute feeling of uneasiness is defined as acculturative stress. In it, the continued exposure to stressors such as adjusting to a new culture, rules, behavioral patterns, a second language, finding housing, and obtaining an education and employment can lead to trauma. This field project has been designed to provide educators and allies …

Leadership And Instructional Coaching: A Synthesis Of Approaches And Practices That Promote Change, Katie L. Perkins

Essays in Education

The aim of this educational essay is to provide a literature-based synthesis of the leadership approaches and practices of instructional coaches that best support teacher development. The essay is grounded in transformational leadership theory (Bass & Avolio, 1990) and synthesizes three main constructs for effective instructional coaching. These constructs include: andragogical practices (Knowles, 2015), the ethics of care (Beck, 1994), and organizational change (Burke, 2014). Incorporating these leadership practices may encourage effective teacher-coach relationships, promote teacher development and retention, and ultimately increase student success.

Advisement Challenges And Opportunities In Pre-Service Teacher Education: Insights Into The Experiences Of Diverse Pre-Service Teachers, Latasha Casterlow-Lalla

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Effective pre-service teacher educator programs are among the most important components in preparing the nation’s next generation of educators. Today’s educators collectively work to support the diverse cultural, linguistic, and social needs of students through the unprecedented demands of a transitioning school system. This dissertation examined the components of advisement challenges and opportunities as an impact on the preparation of pre-service teachers in Northern New Jersey. The study explored the influence of approaches available to pre-service teachers in the areas of program structure, a variety of support services, and the role of the advisor-advisee relationship to discover whether such programs …

Interrogating Racism: An Arts-Based Self-Study Of The Interactions Of One White Teacher Educator In A Rural Teacher Preparation Program, Jaime Vanenkevort

All NMU Master's Theses

This arts-based self-study examined racism, whiteness, and white supremacy in the practices of one teacher educator in a rural, Midwestern university. Data was generated using arts-based methods. Narrative inquiry and critical incident technique (CIT) were utilized to analyze data. Through arts-based self-study techniques, I demonstrate how arts-based self-study can create diverse and multimodal access to understand identity construction and the effort to dismantle racism and other systemic barriers in the teacher education context. Furthermore, through multimodal arts-based data collection, I demonstrate the possibility for educators to navigate complex memory and emotional processing to develop more complex, nuanced understandings of antiracist …

Building Teachers’ Cultural Capital In The Classroom: Using Funds Of Knowledge To Support Multilingual Learners, Lindsey Skirtich

All Dissertations

This qualitative study has a collaborative focus and blends improvement science with Design Thinking to first understand teachers’ perceptions of their ability to serve ML students and second, how the utilization of the Funds of Knowledge (FoK) can assist teachers in serving ML students. The purpose of this study is to use the Funds of Knowledge to build the capacity of teachers to connect with students through their lived experiences.

Through collaboration and reflection, this study investigated teachers’ perceptions and focused on increasing teachers’ ability to serve ML students utilizing a framework intended to connect students’ backgrounds to the classroom.

Understanding The Role Of Faculty Advising In Graduate Allied Healthcare Profession Programs As Practitioners Transition To Professor, Lillie Marie Barnett Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Individuals in allied healthcare professions continue to see growth in all areas, including clinical practice and higher education. Leaders at the university level, alongside leadership within allied healthcare accreditation bodies for disciplines like athletic training, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language pathology, maintain the need to grow the professions through master’s and doctoral degree programs. With the growth, many working practitioners move from clinical practice to academia with little to no experience or understanding of higher education and all the responsibilities of the job. This quantitative research study used a purposive sampling of allied healthcare professionals across the United States …

Influence Of Restorative Practices On The Middle-School Classroom, As Reported By Teachers: A Qualitative Case Study, Julia Y. Andrews

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine middle school teachers’ perceptions of the influence that restorative practices have on the middle school classroom environment. For the purpose of this study, seven middle school teachers were selected who have implemented restorative practices in their middle school classrooms to provide feedback. Findings suggest that overall restorative practices have a positive influence on the classroom. The findings from this study can be used with teachers, administrators, counselors, parents, and school and district support staff to help create a positive campus culture between students and adults in middle school classrooms. The …

Examining Math Instructors’ Knowledge, Beliefs, And Attitudes Of Student Learning Strategies In A Faculty Development Workshop, Roxanne Brinkerhoff, Becky Connelly, Sam Gedeborg

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Access the online Pressbooks version of this article here.

A faculty development workshop, focused on incorporating universal learning strategies into developmental mathematics courses, was created and utilized in a developmental mathematics department at an open-enrollment, mid-western university to ascertain the best methods for dissemination of essential learning strategies to developmental math students. Successful faculty development programs were studied and utilized in the design of the workshop. The attributes of the workshop were discussed. Faculty were surveyed and qualitative data was analyzed to determine the workshop’s efficacy. The research aimed to understand if participation in the workshop changed faculty knowledge, beliefs, …

Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics (Stem) Project-Based Learning (Pbl) Education: A New Mexico Case Study For Equity And Inclusion, Kimberly A. Scheerer

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

This research addresses how student participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) project-based learning (PBL) education activities encourages underrepresented minority student achievement in STEM career field trajectories. Seven New Mexico high school counselors and 12 STEM organization personnel were interviewed during this study. Their responses represent the nuanced professional voices where New Mexico public education intersects with STEM student interest and cultural influence.

For students, STEM PBL can foster deep integration across educational disciplines and enhance STEM career trajectory interest and readiness. STEM education converged with PBL methodologies has the ability to leverage community support while broadening student networks. …

Implementing Diversity Training Targeting Faculty Microaggressions And Inclusion: Practical Insights And Initial Findings, Ellen Ernst Kossek, Patrice M. Buzzanell, Brittany J. Wright, Cassondra Batz-Barbarich, Amy C. Moors, Charlene Sullivan, Klod Kokini, Andrew S. Hirsh, Kayla Maxey, Ankita Nikalje

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Despite the importance of faculty diversity training for advancing an inclusive society, little research examines whether participation improves inclusion perceptions and belongingness. Integrating training and diversity education literature concepts, this study examines the effectiveness of training targeting microaggressions in six STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) oriented departments at a research-intensive university. Reactions data collected at the end of face-to-face training suggested that participation generally increased inclusion understanding. Self-assessments on inclusion concepts collected from 45% of participants before and three weeks after training suggest participation increases perceptions of the importance of inclusion, microaggression allyship awareness, inclusive behaviors, and organizational identification. Compared …

Operationalizing Centerness And Measuring It In Professional Development Teams, George M. Nickles, Bruce Herbert

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Centerness is defined as a quality of multi-agent systems (groups) where agents share a common set of system goals and interact so the system will achieve those goals. A pair of measures is identified to capture the two dimensions of centerness: distance-weighted fragmentation and average goal centerness. As a case study, the measures of centerness are applied to six teacher professional development groups within the Information Technology in Science Center for Teaching and Learning. The calculated measures of centerness of these groups generally conform to the expectations. Insights on using this measure of centerness to evaluate centerness in other professional …