Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Rowan University

Discipline
Keyword
Publication Year
Publication
Publication Type

Articles 91 - 120 of 379

Full-Text Articles in Teacher Education and Professional Development

Exploration Of Co-Teachers' Best Practices Within A Vocational Technical School District, Eric Menell Apr 2014

Exploration Of Co-Teachers' Best Practices Within A Vocational Technical School District, Eric Menell

Theses and Dissertations

Co-teaching is defined as a situation in which two educators, one a general education teacher and one a special education teacher, work together to lead a classroom that contains both mainstream and special education learners. The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive study using a convenience sample of 15 (10 general education, 5 special education) co-teachers in a New Jersey vocational and technical school was to explore participants' working relationships, factors that contribute to successful working relationships, and best practices that can be derived from an examination of successful co-teaching relationships. In-depth interviews and a brief, post-interview survey were employed to …

Go to article

Reading Pedagogy In Today's Classroom, Maria Beeman-Rygalski Jan 2014

Reading Pedagogy In Today's Classroom, Maria Beeman-Rygalski

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate the phenomenon of successful primary classroom teachers' instruction, in the area of reading pedagogy. All children who are capable of reading must be taught how to read; such is the essential responsibility of American schooling. Moats (1999) describes reading as the most basic, yet critical responsibility of schooling. Haycock (1998), Marzano (2003), and Nye, Konstantopulos, and Hedges (2004) determined that the influence of an effective teacher has the biggest impact on student achievement, independent of anything else that happens in school. There is little research linking evidence of teacher perceptions, knowledge …

Go to article

Adult Learning And Development Theories And Principles Represented In Theater, Jeffrey Miele Dec 2013

Adult Learning And Development Theories And Principles Represented In Theater, Jeffrey Miele

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate how adult learning and development theories and principles are represented in theater. The study also investigated if there was significant evidence to support the idea of using dramatic works as an example to illustrate adult learning and development theories and principles as an educational tool. Ten plays were analyzed along with an accompanying rubric that the evaluator completed while reading the plays. The rubric searched for information if adults and/or educators were present in the text, how andragogy and barriers were presented, along with other theories and principles. The findings suggested that …

Go to article

Fostering Culturally Responsive Teaching In An Urban Preschool: A Qualitative Case Study, Denise Jones Aug 2013

Fostering Culturally Responsive Teaching In An Urban Preschool: A Qualitative Case Study, Denise Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Preschool years are significantly important for students in urban districts. Early childhood helps set the foundation for learning about school culture. Students who are able to connect their home environment to the school environment tend to do better in their academic setting. Fostering a pedagogy that is culturally sensitive to students is a teaching stance that enables success with curriculum and addresses the inequities that accompany low socioeconomic students. The purpose of this qualitative case study is to explore four urban teachers' formal understanding of culturally responsive pedagogy within an urban preschool. The teachers' espoused and enacted practice formulated the …

Go to article

Organization Strategies To Enhance Math Performance Of High School Students With Attention Deficit Disorders, Martina Wilkerson Jul 2013

Organization Strategies To Enhance Math Performance Of High School Students With Attention Deficit Disorders, Martina Wilkerson

Theses and Dissertations

Will the use of organizational strategies and tools improve overall academic performance for students with attention deficit disorders in a high school resource room math setting? The student participants in this study were taught to use organizational strategies and tools including an assignment completion strategy, a task analysis, and notebook checks to improve their classroom participation, assignment completion, and assessment scores. The overall results indicate that the students slightly improved their academic performance upon the implementation of organizational strategies and tools. Of the data reported, 37% of the students with ADHD and 40% of students without ADHD showed improvement because …

Go to article

An Investigation Of The Use Of The Ipad And Textbooks On The Achievement Of Students With Special Needs In Algebra, Ahmet Kilic Jul 2013

An Investigation Of The Use Of The Ipad And Textbooks On The Achievement Of Students With Special Needs In Algebra, Ahmet Kilic

Theses and Dissertations

Educational leaders and policy-makers assume that replacing the technological tools currently used in schools with new, portable ones will result in widespread usage of the device for educational purposes by students and teacher, and an increase in student achievement. This study examines these assumptions with twenty students taking an Algebra-2 course in a northern New Jersey charter school. The mixed methodology used in this study included classroom observations and assessments, surveys for both students and teachers, and interviews with parents through home visits. Findings show that iPad integration in an Algebra-2 class led to a slight increase in student achievement, …

Go to article

Using The Four Square Strategy To Enhance Math Problem-Solving, Andrea Gerrard Jun 2013

Using The Four Square Strategy To Enhance Math Problem-Solving, Andrea Gerrard

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined whether the use of the Four Square problem-solving strategy would improve the math problem-solving performance of students who receive supplemental services for language arts literacy and mathematics from a basic skills teacher or a special education teacher. The Four Square strategy was used in conjunction with the enVision math series. It was also used during all problem-solving lessons. Students' growth in math problem-solving was measured using the enVision problem-solving pre- and post-test and the Measure of Academic Progress Test (MAP). Students showed growth on the enVision test. The students showed work when solving problems instead of just …

Go to article

The Use Of Graphing And An Effort And Achievement Rubric To Increase Students' Multiplication Fact Accuracy And Fluency, Joan Hackl May 2013

The Use Of Graphing And An Effort And Achievement Rubric To Increase Students' Multiplication Fact Accuracy And Fluency, Joan Hackl

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of self-graphing and an effort and achievement rubric on increasing students' multiplication fact accuracy and fluency. The research design was a two-group pretest/posttest research design. Data was collected from student multiplication math fact quizzes. Students were given the same math fact quiz for a month before a new set of facts was introduced the next month. For each month, the first quiz of the month served as baseline data as no interventions were introduced for those quizzes. The second month of quizzes served as the self-graphing alone data, and the …

Go to article

The Capacity To Lead: Building A Collaborative Organization Through A Shared Vision And Improved Staff Capacity In An Inclusive New Jersey Preschool, Kathleen Mccabe-Odri May 2013

The Capacity To Lead: Building A Collaborative Organization Through A Shared Vision And Improved Staff Capacity In An Inclusive New Jersey Preschool, Kathleen Mccabe-Odri

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of my dissertation study was to examine my own leadership in the context of the community inclusive preschool that I own and operate along with my business partner. The focus was to build a collaborative organization through a shared vision and improved staff skill capacity. In order to implement the change process, I chose the specific learning environment of our instructional student centers (i.e., "zones") as the setting to conduct my action research project. The study describes both my personal leadership theory as well as an analysis of my leadership actions (i.e., theory in use) in order to …

Go to article

Self-Management Of Classroom Transitions For Students With Attention Disorders, Colleen Johnson Aug 2012

Self-Management Of Classroom Transitions For Students With Attention Disorders, Colleen Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to ascertain if students with ADHD in an inclusive classroom who display off-task behaviors, particularly during transitioning between instructional activities, can effectively utilize a self-monitoring plan to decrease these behaviors. In order for the rapidly growing number of special education students to integrate successfully and smoothly within the general education learning environment, certain inappropriate behaviors should be eliminated, if possible, or at least decreased through self-awareness and direct self-management. Punitive consequences are not always an effective means of eradicating certain types of behaviors. Three middle school students with ADHD participated in the study using …

Go to article

The Effectiveness Of Embedded Picture Mnemonic Alphabet Cards On Letter Recognition And Letter Sound Knowledge, Gabrielle Mcnamara Jul 2012

The Effectiveness Of Embedded Picture Mnemonic Alphabet Cards On Letter Recognition And Letter Sound Knowledge, Gabrielle Mcnamara

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to compare the use of embedded letter and picture mnemonic cards and separated letter and picture mnemonic cards on students' letter recognition and letter sound knowledge. The study implemented a single subject, alternating treatment design. The participants were three preschool students. A pretest, posttest, and one week follow-up were utilized to collect data. The independent variables were the use of the embedded letter and picture mnemonic cards and separated letter and picture mnemonic cards. The dependent variable was the measure of the participants' letter recognition and letter sound knowledge. Overall, the results of the …

Go to article

Effects Of Specific Instructional Practices On Independent Writing Of Learning-Disabled Students, Astrid Monforte May 2012

Effects Of Specific Instructional Practices On Independent Writing Of Learning-Disabled Students, Astrid Monforte

Theses and Dissertations

This mixed methods case study explored the effects of conferring, mentor text, and guided practice on independence in writing, increased time on task, and improved written output for fifth grade learning-disabled students serviced in a replacement language arts special education setting. Qualitative data was collected through pre and post interviews with teacher and student participants. Student writing samples were also assessed for sentence structure and support using the Educational Records Bureau (ERB) scoring rubric. Student avoidance behaviors were recorded during independent writing while each instructional practice was presented. This quantitative data was analyzed along with the ERB scores through cross-case …

Go to article

Using A Professional Learning Community To Include Emotionally And Behaviorally Disordered Students And Their Teachers In Inclusion Programs, Melody Alegria Feb 2012

Using A Professional Learning Community To Include Emotionally And Behaviorally Disordered Students And Their Teachers In Inclusion Programs, Melody Alegria

Theses and Dissertations

Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD) are considered the most difficult to include within school inclusion programs, and therefore, are often excluded from inclusion programs (Yell, 2004). One of the main challenges with implementing successful inclusion programs is that teachers are not equipped with the skills to work with all students. The purpose of this mixed methods action research study is to evaluate and improve an inclusion program that is not only successful for student achievement, but one that also relies heavily on teachers' voice and input and that will encourage teachers to improve their attitudes towards emotionally behaviorally …

Go to article

The Effect Of Choice On The Behavior Of Off Task High School Students In An Alternative School Setting, Laura Campbell Sep 2011

The Effect Of Choice On The Behavior Of Off Task High School Students In An Alternative School Setting, Laura Campbell

Theses and Dissertations

This study was done to examine the effect of choice on off task behaviors in high school students attending an alternative school. The participants were from various backgrounds, ability levels, and presence of disabilities. The students were observed performing three target behaviors; specifically talking off topic, being out of a seat needlessly, and being out of the classroom. This was initiated during a baseline observation period, and again over a five day period after being introduced to the choice process. The alternative activities from which they chose were lesson extensions, educational puzzles or reading material, or classroom jobs. This was …

Go to article

Reciprocal Teaching And Its Effect On Inference Skills To Enhance Reading Comprehension, Amber Rosenberger Sep 2011

Reciprocal Teaching And Its Effect On Inference Skills To Enhance Reading Comprehension, Amber Rosenberger

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine how the use of reciprocal teaching affects the learning of inference skills in four, 4th grade excel readers. By utilizing reciprocal teaching as the instructional component and incorporating engaging read alouds, this study seeks to determine how these effect the development of inference skills. The students in this study received explicit instruction about inference skills and the reciprocal teaching model. Students participated in daily read alouds and reciprocal teaching for twenty minutes over the period of four weeks. Through teacher observations, focus group discussions, excerpts from teacher research journal, and video clips …

Go to article

Using Dialogue Journals To Foster A Student-Teacher Relationship In The Elementary Classroom, Jamie Horton Sep 2011

Using Dialogue Journals To Foster A Student-Teacher Relationship In The Elementary Classroom, Jamie Horton

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to implement dialogue journals into a fourth grade classroom to find out if they fostered a relationship between the teacher and students. Over the course of five weeks, students were each given a journal in which he/she would correspond with me. As a class, topics to write about were brainstormed. However, students were welcomed to write about any topic of their choice. Students were asked to write one journal entry per week. Journals were returned the following Monday morning with my response. Data collection consisted of pre-dialogue journal survey, anecdotal teacher notes, the dialogue …

Go to article

Creating The Environment For Inclusion: Ways For Teachers To Encourage Positive Interactions Between Typical And Special Needs Children, Lauren Stevens Sep 2011

Creating The Environment For Inclusion: Ways For Teachers To Encourage Positive Interactions Between Typical And Special Needs Children, Lauren Stevens

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this conceptual thesis is to create an outline of a professional development workshop model to be implemented at a later date and time. This professional development model is designed to teach fifteen to twenty inclusion teachers how to create a safe and accepting learning environment where students are accepted regardless of ability levels. The five two-hour workshops focus on discovering teachers' own biases about people with special needs, working with and incorporating parents as important members of the learning community, understanding the formations of children's perceptions and creating the learning community by listening to students.

Go to article

The Effects Of Implementing Heterogeneous Writing Groups In A Fifth Grade Classroom, Jennifer Cady Sep 2011

The Effects Of Implementing Heterogeneous Writing Groups In A Fifth Grade Classroom, Jennifer Cady

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine how heterogeneous grouping, particularly in writing, would impact the learning and social community in a fifth grade inclusion classroom. The students were given writing prompts that enforced the use of collaborative writing. Qualitative data was collected through the use of student artifacts, student surveys, student interviews, and a teacher researcher journal. After analyzing this data, it was revealed that heterogeneous writing groups can lead to improved writing amongst all students. It was also revealed that working collaboratively with peers led to a correlation with positive social interactions and constructive revelations from the …

Go to article

An Inquisitive Investigation Into The Effects Of Self-Regulated Learning, Jaclynne Nimon Sep 2011

An Inquisitive Investigation Into The Effects Of Self-Regulated Learning, Jaclynne Nimon

Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this inquisitive investigation were to (a) gain an insight into the self-regulation strategies that third grade students naturally engage in, (b) to teach specific self-regulation strategies to these students, and to (c) explore the effects of utilizing such strategies on different aspects of academic performance. Throughout the study students demonstrated a wide range of strategy use, before and after teaching about self-regulation. The majority of the data collected illustrates several positive impacts on both test grades and homework completion for the 14 participants in the study, who are in the third grade, when multiple self-regulation strategies are …

Go to article

The Importance Of Establishing Positive Behavior Supports And Classroom Community To Foster Successful Transitions Throughout Diverse School Settings, Bailey Tormollan Aug 2011

The Importance Of Establishing Positive Behavior Supports And Classroom Community To Foster Successful Transitions Throughout Diverse School Settings, Bailey Tormollan

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore how positive behavior supports and a classroom community would foster positive learning experiences throughout many diverse school settings. To promote classroom community, pillars of character education were addressed were introduced within the classroom, while multiple behavior support systems were introduced simultaneously. This study was conducted over a sixteen week period in a regular education kindergarten classroom and second and third grade resource room. The idea was to provide students, both in a regular and special education setting with means of positive behavior supports in order to aid in transition periods in the …

Go to article

Examining A Differentiated Science Unit Through A Listening Stance, Daniel Cohen Aug 2011

Examining A Differentiated Science Unit Through A Listening Stance, Daniel Cohen

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative research was to investigate the relationship between differentiated instruction and Schultz's (2003) Framework for Listening. Based on Schultz's four types of listening, data were gathered on a class of fourth grade students through the use of a student survey, student-teacher journals, a student-adult interview, and a pretest. This data was continually examined in order to inform differentiated instruction on a daily basis. After a month of listening, a differentiated science unit was created based on the information learned about students through listening. The teaching of, and student responses to the differentiated unit became another source …

Go to article

Using Multicultural Literature In The Classroom To Encourage Tolerance And Respect, Laurel Hartmann Aug 2011

Using Multicultural Literature In The Classroom To Encourage Tolerance And Respect, Laurel Hartmann

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to determine what happens when multicultural children's literature is used to supplement the kindergarten curriculum. Over the course of four weeks, students were read eight books about diverse cultures during centers and during circle time. Qualitative inquiry strategies such as parent questionnaires, audio recordings of small group and whole group discussions, student artifacts, and observations recorded in a teacher research journal were all used as a means of collecting data. Upon analyzing the data and searching for main ideas throughout the study, I found that multicultural picture books helped the children become more …

Go to article

The Effects Of Using Instructional Games In The Elementary Classroom, Jennifer Campagnola Aug 2011

The Effects Of Using Instructional Games In The Elementary Classroom, Jennifer Campagnola

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to answer the question, "What happens when I use instructional games to teach or review math skills in a fourth grade classroom?" In this study, the students played five instructional games during a math unit on fractions. The instructional games ranged in type. The students completed a survey about the games at the beginning of the study, at the end of the study, and at the end of each instructional game. The data in this study suggests that instructional games are fun, help students to learn the material, and allow students opportunities to create …

Go to article

How Can The Use Of The Morning Meeting Foster A Sense Of Community In The Fifth Grade Classroom?, Lindsey Giannantonio Aug 2011

How Can The Use Of The Morning Meeting Foster A Sense Of Community In The Fifth Grade Classroom?, Lindsey Giannantonio

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of incorporating the Morning Meeting as part of the daily routine in the fifth grade classroom. This study examines the effects of developing a classroom community and incorporating talk as a tool in the classroom through the use of the Morning Meeting. The Morning Meeting is part of the Responsive Classroom approach, and its purpose is to help foster a sense of community and spark student readiness for learning during the school day. This qualitative teacher research used student response journals, a teacher research journal, student surveys, audio recordings of …

Go to article

Video Modeling To Enhance The Conversation Skills Of Preschool Children Who Are At-Risk For School Failure, Lorie Mick Aug 2011

Video Modeling To Enhance The Conversation Skills Of Preschool Children Who Are At-Risk For School Failure, Lorie Mick

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of the video-modeling method on language comprehension skills of preschoolers who are at-risk for school failure. The setting for this research was a preschool classroom in a low socioeconomic school district in southern New Jersey. Baseline data on the amount of comprehension questions the participants answer correctly after a typical storytelling session were compared to the results of the amount of questions they answer correctly after exposure to the intervention. In addition, the students' use of language, including mean length of utterance and vocabulary, was compared prior to and following …

Go to article

Using Literature To Educate Students About Bullying, Rebecca Goldberg Aug 2011

Using Literature To Educate Students About Bullying, Rebecca Goldberg

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate how using literature to educate students about bullying would support their understandings about bullying and how to address it. This study was conducted at Osage Elementary School in Voorhees, New Jersey. Twenty-one third graders voluntarily participated in this study. An initial and final survey, four discussions and four surveys following the discussions along with a teacher research journal were used in this study to gather data. A qualitative approach was utilized to analyze and draw conclusions from the research. The data showed student understanding about bullying changed over the course of the …

Go to article

Utilizing Music And Movement As A Means Of Transition, Lisa Cioffi Aug 2011

Utilizing Music And Movement As A Means Of Transition, Lisa Cioffi

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this teacher research was to examine the effects of a transition infused with music and movement may have on the classroom environment and the students within the setting. This study was conducted within a first grade general education classroom with a total of eighteen student participants. The students were included in the production of the transition through interviews and questionnaires in which each student had the opportunity to express his or her opinions regarding specific songs and movements he or she identified with relaxation. The students were then provided the experience of executing the music and movement …

Go to article

Authentic Literature's Effect On Student Attitudes Towards Individuals With Disabilities, Sara Alves Aug 2011

Authentic Literature's Effect On Student Attitudes Towards Individuals With Disabilities, Sara Alves

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect authentic literature had on student attitudes towards individuals with disabilities. This study was conducted by implementing a disabilities unit through read alouds in a second grade classroom. Eighteen students participated in the research model. Data collected included surveys, audio taped interviews, audio taped discussions, student response cards, and personal teacher research journal. The data was analyzed recursively across all data sets to determine patterns and themes. Data was coded according to three main patterns; if the pattern was found to be prevalent across all data sets it was found to …

Go to article

What Happens When Fourth Graders Use Learning Profiles To Direct Their Learning?, Caley Spahn Aug 2011

What Happens When Fourth Graders Use Learning Profiles To Direct Their Learning?, Caley Spahn

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to see what happened when elements of a learner- centered classroom were implemented in a 4th grade classroom in social studies. Qualitative sources of data collected included teacher research journal, focus group discussions, student interest surveys, student talk, and a self esteem scale. Data was analyzed, triangulated, and informed by Katherine Schultz's (2003) listening framework. The students determined how they were going to learn about government in social studies and then how they were going to show what they learned. They assumed control of their learning experience, guided by the teacher researcher. Findings suggested …

Go to article

Using A Multi-Sensory Teaching Approach To Impact Learning And Community In A Second Grade Classroom, Melissa Stoffers Jul 2011

Using A Multi-Sensory Teaching Approach To Impact Learning And Community In A Second Grade Classroom, Melissa Stoffers

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine how multi-sensory education impacts learning and community in a second grade general education classroom. Lesson plans that targeted multiple senses - and oftentimes included team-building activities - were developed and implemented in the classroom. Qualitative data was collected through interviews, focus groups, student work, and a teacher research journal. After analyzing the data, it was revealed that multi-sensory education can lead to student motivation and engagement, as well as provide a generative space for the use of technology and making connections to the outside world. Multi-sensory education can also help teachers to …

Go to article

First Prev Next Last