Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Tablet And Face-To-Face Hybrid Professional Development: Providing Earth Systems Science Educators Authentic Research Opportunities Through The Globe Program At Purdue University, Kristin Wegner, Benjamin D. Branch, Steven Smith

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

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The Effect Of Dynamic Software On Prospective Mathematics Teachers’ Perceptions Regarding Information And Communication Technology, Enver Tatar

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of dynamic software on prospective mathematics teachers’ perception levels regarding information and communication technology (ICT). The study was conducted with senior prospective teachers studying in a department of secondary mathematics education. The data of the study used both quantitative and qualitative research approaches have been obtained using two different tests, namely “Technology Perception Scale” and “Computer Assisted Mathematics Instruction Perception Scale”. Consequently, it has been observed in the study that learning how to use dynamic software positively affects prospective mathematics teachers’ perception levels in a statistically significant way regarding the …

Creating Spaces For Critical Transformative Dialogues: Legitimising Discussion Groups As Professional Practice, Christine J. Edwards-Groves

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Focussed dialogue (as lived and living practices) can have a powerful role in renewing professional practice, advancing its sustainability and development as administrative and political systems colonise the practices of teachers and teacher educators. However, participating in discussion groups for many teachers, including those in academia, is often constrained by time demands, workplace structures and accountabilities. This paper reports a two year empirical case study investigating the transformative nature of dialogues experienced in one such focused discussion group. The dialogic practices of the group aimed firstly to provide a communicative space for its participants to interrogate and interpret factors …

Pre-Service Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Overseas Professional Experience: Implications For Professional Practice, Mohan Chinnappan, Barbra Mckenzie, Phil Fitzsimmons

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Reforms in Australia about the education of future teachers has placed a high degree of emphasis on the development of knowledge and skills that are necessary for practitioners who will ply their trade in culturally rich and diverse classrooms (Ramsey, 2000). There is now a broad consensus from key stakeholders (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, 2012) that pre-service teachers need to be provided with a range of opportunities that are grounded in classroom practices including exposure to teaching students overseas. The aim of the study that is reported here is to better understand the skills and knowledge that …

‘Follow’ Me: Networked Professional Learning For Teachers, Kathryn Holmes, Greg Preston, Kylie Shaw, Rachel Buchanan

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Effective professional learning for teachers is fundamental for any school system aiming to make transformative and sustainable change to teacher practice. This paper investigates the efficacy of Twitter as a medium for teachers to participate in professional learning by analysing the tweets of 30 influential users of the popular medium . We find that Twitter primarily acts as a valuable conduit for accessing new and relevant educational resources on the internet and also as a viable means of social support for like minded educators. The cost effective nature of the microblogging platform ensures that it can act as a medium …

Teachers’ Questioning Techniques In Advanced Level Chemistry Lessons: A Tanzanian Perspective, Ernest Kira, Sotco Komba, Eugenia Kafanabo, Frank Tilya

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study investigated the extent to which teachers’ questioning techniques and the way teachers handled students’ responses facilitated students’ learning and promoted their thinking skills. The study focused on three secondary schools in Dar es Salaam. The data collection process involved classroom observations during chemistry lessons and interviews of 10 chemistry teachers. The findings showed that 80% of the observed teachers had a moderate ability in using questioning techniques to measure students’ understanding. The interesting observation in all schools was that teachers interacted frequently with active students and bothered less to involve the least active ones. Moreover, above 80% of …

Examining The Alignment Of Subject Learning Outcomes And Course Curricula Through Curriculum Mapping, Bick-Har Lam, Kwok-Tung Tsui

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Content analysis has been used to conduct curriculum mapping to map the course objectives, course content, and the assessment tasks of 14 compulsory courses, onto the five Subject Learning Objective (SLO) factors of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction (DC&I) in a teacher education institution in Hong Kong. The results show that the SLO factors appear either as a cluster or a concentrated whole in the courses, suggesting a connective nature and dominated feature among them. The situation can be explained by the planned integrated learning experience as well as emphasis on specific SLO factors in response to change in …

Wider Professional Experiences: The Value Of Pre-Service Teachers Learning In Wider Contexts, Peta Salter, Angela Hill, Fiona Navin, Cecily Knight

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Within teacher education, professional standards across Australian jurisdictions consistently note the importance of developing the ability to “engage professionally” with a community (QCT, 2009; AITSL, 2012). Paralleling this however, are calls for more ‘classroom’ time (Australian Government, 2012). This paper explores opportunities to provide students with experiences outside the classroom; both the space made available in professional standards and how this space it taken up in teacher education programs. It will be argued that wider professional experiences are crucial in developing future teachers who are cognisant of and engaged with the complexities of the communities in which they teach.

Risky Business? An Analysis Of Teacher Characteristics And Compensation Preferences, Daniel Henry Bowen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Teacher quality has a significant impact on both student learning gains and later life outcomes. With this is mind, policymakers implement reforms to attract and retain more effective educators. A major obstacle for designing these policies is that the ingredients for training, as well as initially identifying, effective teachers remain largely a mystery. However, there are strong theoretical arguments for certain education policy reforms producing improvements in the quality of the teacher workforce. One increasingly popular example is performance-based pay. Performance pay has the potential to better align teachers' incentives to produce increases in student achievement. Paying teachers based on …

Home Visits: A Way Of Connecting With Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Families, Stephanie Wessels

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

Home visits allow ELL educators to learn more about culturally and linguistically diverse families’ interactions and experiences and build on those activities in the educational setting. The visits can provide an amazing source of information regarding the socio-cultural processes, academic, and linguistic development of students. Home visits are a start to relationship building between teachers and parents where everyone benefits. ELL teachers benefit from learning more about their students’ interests and cultural experiences. Parents benefit from the teachers showing how much they care and value what the parents have to offer to the educational process. Students benefit the most from …

Perceived Impact Of Character Education Program At A Midwest Rural Middle School: A Case Study, Sandra Jean Goss

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Today there exist a concern for the safety and success of students in the public education system. Families, educators, and community members are concerned with the physical, emotional, and mental well-being of students in an environment where incidents of violence are growing. Events like the school shootings at Jonesboro, Arkansas, and at Columbine High School left our nation concerned with the problems within the school system. Many believe that character education can be an effective solution. The purposes of this study are to describe key elements of one school's character education program, and to determine the impact that this program …

Compelled To Be Connected: An Ethnographic Exploration Of Organizational Culture, Work-Life Balance, And The Use Of Mobile Workplace Technologies, Kristopher J. Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

This study is an ethnographic exploration of organizational culture, work-life balance, and the use of information and communication technology ("ICT") in the work and home settings. The researcher was embedded for nine weeks within the Information Technology ("IT") department at the corporate headquarters of a mid-sized manufacturing firm in the upper Midwest. The espoused values of the organization proved contradictory, one favoring work-life balance and the other requiring that employees be available to work anytime and from anywhere. The behaviors observed provided insight as to why employee actually used ICT after hours--because it was required of their role and/or because …

Congruent And Incongruent Effects Of Ethnic Music On Ethnic Menu Item Selection, Ryan David Muniz

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated what impact ethnic music had on ethnic menu item selection. College students were randomly divided into three groups and listened to one randomly assigned sound treatment in sensory booths. Three hundred and five participants completed the questionnaire with measures of expected price value and willingness to pay value. One of the groups listened to an Italian folk music, the second group listened to a Thai folk music, and the third group listened to a restaurant background noise in order to examine if the music will impact each participant menu items selection and perceived price values. The result …

Contributing Factors That Affect The Achievement Of African-American Females Taught By Caucasian Teachers On The Arkansas Literacy Exam: A Case Study, Felicia Renee Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative intrinsic case study was designed to assist Caucasian educators with the researched academic skills and behaviors to engage African-American females in the learning environment. The study provided strategies and recommendations to promote self-worth, self-motivation, self-efficacy, and morale in African-American females when they did not perform as well as or higher than their Caucasian peers in a high school English classroom on the state literacy examination instructed by a Caucasian teacher. The research site was a low socioeconomic urban high school with a majority of minorities with several native based home languages. The study took an in-depth approach to …

The Career Development Of Latina Women Achieving The Position Of Public High School Principal, Consuelo A. Palacio

Theses and Dissertations

For this qualitative study, I used the lens of the Social Cognitive Career Theory to investigate the lived experiences of Latina women navigating their career paths into the roles of public high school principals. Latina women are underrepresented and in some states they are not represented at all. Few Latina women have secured the position of high school principal in public education; however for those who have, it is unclear how they attained the position. It was significant to learn about the factors that have lead to the representation of Latina women who serve as high school principals. The representation …

Examining Generational Differences In The Workplace: Work Centrality, Narcissism, And Their Relation To Employee Work Engagement, Judith L. Fenzel

Theses and Dissertations

In the workplace of today, an unprecedented four generations of workers work side by side. While this blend of generations adds valuable diversity to the workforce, it also adds complexity.

Despite popular interest in the subject of generations in the workplace, systematic research of the specific generational differences of work centrality, narcissism, and their relation to employee engagement is limited. It is vital to examine the possibility of significant generational differences in order for HRD practitioners and scholars to understand the focus and direction of strategies intended to improve individual and organizational performance. Using a quantitative research methodology, an online …

Personality And Science Training As Predictors Of Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs, Holly Saint

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Various factors have been researched over the past decade related to teaching efficacy under NCLB. Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) guided this correlational study with 13 Alabama and 10 Tennessee public school districts to examine 114 K-4 teachers' personality measured by the Big Five Inventory (BFI) personality factors; science pre-service training and school-district professional development training measured by an unpublished Science Training Survey; and science teaching efficacy beliefs measured by the Science Teacher Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI). The BFI's personality factors and science training were examined in combination using a hierarchical linear regression in an eight-step model while controlling for …

A Review Of Victoria’S Developmental Learning Framework For School Leaders, Lawrence Ingvarson

Professional learning for teachers and school leaders

The Department of Education and Training, Victoria launched the Developmental Learning Framework for School Leaders (DLF) in March 2007 as a central component of the 2003 Blueprint for Government Schools (DET, 2003). Six years later, a decision was made to review the DLF and seek advice on the extent to which it may need revision or redevelopment.In June 2013, the Bastow Institute of Educational Leadership commissioned the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) to conduct an independent review of Framework for School Leaders (DLF). The brief was to conduct a critical assessment of the content, design, and usability of the …

Classroom Teachers Learning To Navigate The Internet For Increasing Student Critical Reading And Writing Skills: A Mixed Methods Study, Meleah S. Mcculley

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this mixed methods case study was a three-month professional development workshop designed to guide junior high school classroom teachers as they learned to integrate new literacies skills into their curriculum. The participants were all educators in one district that was in the process of transitioning to the Common Core State Standards and the SMARTER Balanced Assessments. Significant gains were obtained in teachers’ self-reported personal technology knowledge and technology experiences during the study. Along with the gains, factors were seen that might impede teachers from learning about or using the Internet for academic purposes.

Workforce Preparedness Of Information Systems Students: Perceptions Of Students, Alumni, And Employers, Susan Bristow

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Employers of newly hired higher education graduates report their new workforce is not prepared. Further research was required to discover insights to the workforce readiness gap. This concurrent mixed methods study explored what competencies influenced employer's perceptions of the work-readiness of Information Systems (ISYS) undergraduate students and discovered ISYS graduates' and current ISYS students' perceptions of their work-readiness. Participants consisted of a convenience sample including 69 ISYS program upperclassmen, 20 ISYS program alumni, and 8 employers of the ISYS program graduates. ISYS program alumni completed an online Qualtrics survey to measure the participants' perception of their workforce preparedness. ISYS program …

Infrastructure Redesign And Instructional Reform In Mathematics: Formal Structure And Teacher Leadership, Megan Hopkins, James P. Spillane, Paula M. Jakopovic, Ruth M. Heaton

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Designing infrastructures to support instruction remains a challenge in educational reform. This article reports on a study of one school system's efforts to redesign its infrastructure for mathematics instruction by promoting teacher leadership. Using social network and interview data from 12 elementary schools, we explore how the district's infrastructure redesign efforts were internally coherent with and built upon existing infrastructure components. We then explore relations between infrastructure and school practice as captured in the instructional advice- and information-seeking interactions among school staff, finding that teacher leaders emerged as central actors and brokers of advice and information about mathematics within and …

Dropping Out In Southeast Kansas: Why Students Leave School Early, Garon Kent Wire

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study takes a deeper look into the lived experiences of students in southeast Kansas who have dropped out of high school. As a result, school and community leaders are better informed to create effective strategy, policy, and practice in dropout prevention.

Framed as a phenomenology, data was collected by conducting in-depth, face-to-face interviews with 12 participants and a focus-group interview with four participants. The researcher administered a survey/questionnaire to an additional 15 participants. Utilizing the Streamlined Codes-To-Theory Model (Saldana, 2009); organizational, structural, and elaborative coding techniques were implemented to reduce the data into categories, which led to the …

Understanding Faculty And Non-Traditional Student Perceptions Of Self-Directed Learning In A Practical Nursing Program, Carmen Marie Rogers

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to identify and investigate nursing faculty and student perspectives of self-directed learning in a practical nursing program. It also explored the degree to which student's perceptions of self-directed learning exhibited factors consistent with that of critical thinking. This study is important because self-directed learning and its critical thinking elements are essential in providing safe, competent, effective, and efficient nursing care within practice and education. Using an explanatory case study design the practice of self-directed learning within a practical nursing program was examined through the use of: classroom observations, interviews with nursing faculty, nursing students, and document …

A Phenomenological Exploration Of Superintendents’ And Principals’ Experiences In A Shared Professional Development Process, John R. Severson

Dissertations

For this qualitative study, I explored and described how superintendents and principals interpreted and experienced a sustained professional development process focusing on instruction and student learning, a form of Elmore’s Superintendents in the Classroom (SITC) Network. Specifically, I examined how the addition of principals in the SITC learning model experience changed the superintendents’ and principals’ knowledge and beliefs as well as their behavior in three areas: their individual experiences, the working relationship between superintendent and principal, and the way they now think about and encourage student learning.

For this phenomenological study, superintendents and principals were selected and individually interviewed from …

The Voices Of Higher Education Service-Learning Directors: A Qualitative Inductive Analysis, Kelsey Woodard

Dissertations

This research explored issues surrounding service-learning directors (SLDs) within higher education institutions, including who they are, how they became SLDs, and what they experience in the role. Qualitative data were drawn from in-depth interviews of 11 SLDs, as well as review of their vitaes. A qualitative inductive analysis was conducted in which important patterns, themes, and interrelationships that emerged from the data were coded into a category system of major themes and subthemes.

Data analysis revealed the following major themes: (1.0): all the SLDs came from various helping profession backgrounds, with interesting journeys to become a SLD; (2.0) many SLD’s …

Secondary Mathematics Teachers’ Literacy Professional Learning: An Amalgamation Of Adolescent Literacy, Mathematics Teaching, And Adult Learning, Janet L. Larson

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

This study uses practitioner research to examine secondary mathematics teachers’ learning of literacy integration practices in the context of a district-wide literacy professional development series. The author, a secondary mathematics curriculum and instruction facilitator in a large, Midwestern suburban district, engaged in a two-year partnership with seventeen Mathematics Teacher Facilitators (MTFs) who taught literacy practices to their colleagues via a train-the-trainer model. This study provides an explicit rendering of professional development practices and ongoing, job-embedded learning vignettes of six MTF’s experiences in (a) teaching literacy practices to their colleagues and (b) how they learned and enacted these practices in their …

Funds Of Knowledge And Literacies In Latino/A Youths' Community-Based Engineering Design Work, Amy Wilson-Lopez, Joel Alejandro Mejia, Indhira María Hasbún, Daniel L. Householder, Chris Hailey

Teacher Education and Leadership Faculty Publications

STEM fields in the US continue to be dominated by people whose cultural backgrounds are White, English-speaking, and middle class (National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council, 2009). Many reasons have been offered to explain this phenomenon: Students’ backgrounds may include worldviews, beliefs, and communicative practices that do not cohere with those practiced in STEM classrooms (Aikenhead & Jegede, 1999; Lee, 1999); instructional materials may present STEM fields as a-cultural, decontextualized practices with no evident connection to students’ lives and communities, such as the routine completion of numerical exercises (O’Halloran, 2005); students’ identities—shaped in part by their desired life …

The Influence Of Classroom Management, Administrative Support, Parental Involvement, And Economic Factors On The Retention Of Novice Teachers, Katrina Moody Dwyer

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of selected factors upon the intent of novice teachers to remain in the classroom. Teachers are leaving the profession in numbers that have prompted significant concern among policymakers and administrators. Many qualified college students are not considering the field of education as a potential career (Petty, 2007). Given that attrition rates among teachers are higher in their earliest years within the profession, it is essential to identify factors that contribute to the satisfaction and retention of novice teachers (Stockard & Lehman, 2004).

The primary data for this study were obtained …

Teachers' Perceptions About The Types, Quality, And Impact Of Their Job-Embedded Professional Development Experiences, Delilah Mitchell

Dissertations

This study was designed to determine eighth grade teachers’ perceptions of the impact, quality, and types of job-embedded professional development activities they have participated in and the relationship to student achievement in language arts, math, or science. The researcher identified school districts with 50% or more of their eighth grade students scoring proficient or advanced on all three areas of Mississippi’s Curriculum Test, Second Edition (MCT2). Sixty-four eighth grade language arts, math, or science teachers who had been at their current school at least two years completed a questionnaire created by the researcher. Multiple Linear Regression and Pearson’s Correlation were …

The Mediating Effect Of Contextual Characteristics On Collectivist Dynamics And Entity Based Creativity Among Faculty In Higher Education, Anthony Olalere

All Dissertations

This study examines the mediating effect of the entity based creativity on the interaction between complexity theory and creativity among faculty members in higher education organizations. The purpose of study was to investigate how mechanisms for intellectual productivity and creativity foster intellectual and disciplinary interactions among faculty members in higher education. The theoretical framework of complexity theory and KEYS model constructs were employed in order to examine how complexity dynamics, motivation, stimulants and inhibitors foster faculty creativity in higher education.

The Partial Least Square of Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze data using the PLS algorithm, bootstrapping and …