Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

The Nature Of Primary Source Instruction In Social Science Methods Courses, Judith Loraine Bee

Theses and Dissertations

137 Pages

Teachers are the key to shifting the way learning happens in the classroom. However, teachers are not always skilled in inquiry, critical thinking, and historical impact. Teaching with primary sources provides a context from which to educate preservice teachers in these essential skills. This dissertation focuses on the nature of primary source instruction in preparing preservice teachers to teach social sciences at the K-8 level. This qualitative study explores education methods professors’ practices for educating preservice teachers to use primary sources in their classroom instruction. Social Science methods professors in Illinois were observed, interviewed and an analysis of …

Special Education Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions Of Cooperating Teachers’ Co-Teaching Relationships: A Qualitative Study, Christianna N. Vehlow

Theses and Dissertations

During clinical experiences, in-service teachers provide models of instruction for pre-service teachers to learn. With the inclusion of students with special needs in general education settings, these models of instruction often include co-teaching. It is vital for pre-service teachers to see productive co-teaching models since co-teaching is a complex form of instruction differing greatly from traditional solo instruction. Currently there is a dearth of research in the fields of co-teaching and special education regarding the influence of perceived quality of co-teaching modeled in clinical experiences and the development of pre-service teacher attitudes and confidence toward co-teaching. This study sought to …

The Emergence Of Teacher Self In The Elementary Classroom, Chelsea Cole

Theses and Dissertations

Significant research and ongoing inquiry highlight the importance of understanding and recognizing the development of identities and beliefs among teachers. These studies use techniques of reflection on the past or present to elucidate the developmental process of teacher identities and beliefs and their impact on the profession. The development of teacher identities and beliefs commence during childhood. A dearth of research exists that addresses the emerging developments of teacher identities and beliefs from the perspective of young children. This study uses qualitative methods through focus groups and individual interviews to examine the identities and beliefs held by fifth-grade students who …

The Influence Of Instructor Mental Illness Disclosure On The Perceptions Of Mental Illness, Classroom Climate, Teacher Credibility, Homophily, And Social Attraction, Kirsten L. Bridgemen

Theses and Dissertations

This study uses the lens of Communication Privacy Management theory to analyze the impact an instructor’s depth of disclosure of their mental illness can have on mental illness stigmatization, classroom climate, as well as teacher credibility, homophily, and social attraction. Participants responded to a series of quantitative-based questions regarding a hypothetical syllabus with varied levels of a teacher disclosing their mental illness. Results indicated that none of the investigated dependent variables were negatively affected by the hypothetical instructor’s disclosure, and mental illness stigmatization was lessened. Implications, limitations, and areas for future research are discussed.

Status Of Social Studies Within One Georgia School District, Tonya Fields Pinckley

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this causal-comparative research was to examine whether differences exist between the time allotted for delivering content, the time allotted for lesson planning, the time allotted for student assessment, instructional perceptions regarding mandated testing, perceptions regarding pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), level of ease of planning, level of understanding of Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE), level of understanding of the teaching-assessment cycle, and usage of the system provided pacing guides within public elementary schools in one Georgia school district across the content areas of ELA/reading, mathematics, science, and social studies. The research also examined the differences in instructional strategies …

Validation Of The Assessment Of Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge As A Self-Assessment With K-12 Teachers In A Title 1 School District, Jami Michel Moore

Theses and Dissertations

Teacher quality has become a topic of national discussion due to the United States’ lagging behind other countries’ success on both international and national assessments. Validation of the Assessment of Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge (ATPCK) as a self-assessment with K-12 teachers in a Title 1 school district is the purpose of this research. Assessing teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) growth as a result of professional development is a challenge. Utilizing confirmatory factor analysis allowed the researcher to determine the validity and reliability of the ATPCK as a self-assessment measure of teachers’ PCK. The research results will be utilized to support …

Ninth-Grade Students' Motivation For Reading And Course Choice, Mckenna Lyn Simmons

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this explanatory mixed methods study was to better understand how 9th grade honors and general education language arts students valued reading, and to discover if there were any connections between the types of reading values, expectancies for success, and the student’s ultimate language arts course selection. This study was grounded in the expectancy-value theory and considered all 4 task values including utility, attainment, intrinsic, cost, and the expectancies (e.g., past experiences and reader identity) of the participants as well. First, a survey was administered to 9th graders (N = 118) enrolled in either a general language arts …

Teacher Lore Concerning Teaching English Language Learners In Urban Schools: A Reciprocal Determinist Analysis, Helen Clare Colby

Theses and Dissertations

Changing patterns of immigration have caused schools in the U.S., which previously encountered few to no English Language Learners (ELLs), to see classrooms filled with many ELLs (Massey & Capoferro, 2008; Walker et al., 2004). Existing research on teaching ELLs focused heavily on the work of pre-service or early years educators’ teaching in secondary or post-secondary settings (de Courcy, 2011; Flynt, 2018; Rahman et al., 2018). This study uncovered the teacher lore of four veteran teachers of ELLs employed at a Title I, urban elementary school in the Rocky Mountain region. Data collection and analysis utilized techniques of narrative research, …

The Relationship Between School Climate And Student Achievement At The Middle School Level In Georgia, Curtis Brett Wallace

Theses and Dissertations

School leaders from all over our nation are under scrutiny and pressure to raise their students’ academic achievement. Good standards-based classroom teaching, supportive teachers, administrators, and parents, and a motivated student all make for a high achieving student. But what is the relationship of the school’s climate to the achievement level? Does the student’s socioeconomic status affect academic achievement? This study collected data from 431 traditional public middle schools in the state of Georgia serving students in Grade 6 through Grade 8 exclusively during the 2017-18 school year. A stepwise multiple regression was used to examine the relationships in both …

Elementary School Teachers’ Perspectives And Practices Of Multicultural Education In Indonesia, Robby Anggriawan

Theses and Dissertations

The main purpose of the study was to investigate multiculturalism and multicultural education perspectives and practices of elementary school teachers in Indonesia. The research was designed as a qualitative case study which focused on seven elementary school teachers as study participants. In this study, semi-structured interviews are used to evaluate teachers’ understanding of culture as defined by Creshaw (1989, 2008) and multiculturalism concept by using four levels of understanding multiculturalism as defined by Nieto (1994, 2017). As well as elementary school teachers’ practices of multicultural education implementation as outlined by Banks (1999, 2019). The results of the study showed that …

An Action Research Study On The Use Of Flipped Learning In A Spanish As A Foreign Language Class, Juan Carlos Acevedo Fontecha

Theses and Dissertations

The present action research evaluated the teacher’s perception and the students’ attitudes and practices over the impact of applying a flipped learning model for a basic Spanish course. Unlike previous studies that have evaluated the model considering students’ perceptions and language performance, this study also considered the teacher in a cyclical process of using the flip model. The intervention consisted of four classes that dealt with grammar topics transferred into tutorial videos and in-class activities to practice the content from the videos. To gain a broader spectrum of the teacher’s perception, this study used questionnaires, and field journals designed to …

Implementing Writing In Content Areas: Teachers’ Perceptions As Writing Instructors, Matthew Davis Shemwell

Theses and Dissertations

Teachers across content areas have a shared responsibility to incorporate writing instruction into the curriculum; however, analysis of needs assessment survey data collected during Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy grant application in 2014 revealed that the faculty of the participating high school did not embrace writing instruction responsibility. The purpose of the study was to investigate teachers’ perceptions, confidence, and use of writing instructional strategies throughout content areas at the conclusion of implementation of the five-year grant. The researcher conducted an explanatory sequential mixed methods design that utilized a survey, interviews, and lesson plan document analysis. The survey sample consisted of …

Examining Career And Technical Education Practitioner Preparation And Professional Development Needs, Shane Wilson Lange

Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study was used to investigate Illinois automotive educator professional development needs and to identify the demographic landscape of Illinois secondary and post-secondary automotive teachers. The study should bring a greater understanding of what automotive teachers feel they need to learn in order to continue as successful educators. A modified Borich (1980) needs assessment model was used to identify the perceived importance and ability levels for 32 professional competencies. Mean Weighted Discrepancy Scores (MWDS) were calculated using the importance and ability scores in order to report the professional development need. The administered survey was also utilized to examine their …

A Grounded Theory Of Professional Development Preferences Of Millennial Educational Professionals, Bobbie M. Downs

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this grounded research study is to answer the question: How should professional development be designed to best meet the preferences of educational professionals of the millennial generation? As the workplace, including the field of education, becomes more generationally diverse, it is education leaders who must learn the unique needs of their staff members and develop meaningful professional development opportunities that meet these requirements. Both generational cohort theory and transformative learning theory became the underpinnings of the research. The research was conducted primarily through qualitative interviews at an educational services commission in New Jersey. A theory about millennial …

Small-Town Living: Do Illinois Universities Understand The Rural College Student?, Erik Andrew Dalmasso

Theses and Dissertations

Rural students are confronted with unique challenges when considering postsecondary choices. According to McShane and Smarick (2018), scholarship on this overarching issue is limited, as it is “often shunted to specialized journals that have not been able to integrate findings into the broader education policy conversation” (p. 1). Rural students, and to a broader extent, rural education have little voice in the postsecondary pathways that have been created within higher education (Goldman, 2019). Recruitment of rural students, financial aid policy, remediation/developmental programming, state and federal postsecondary legislation have largely treated rural students in tandem with their urban and suburban peers, …

A Place To Grow: Examining Teachers’ Interactions In An Online Thirdspace, Morgan Belcher

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study investigated teachers’ participation in an online learning space. Nine participants including seven practicing teachers and two student teachers engaged in an online learning group via a secret group on Facebook. During the four months of participation, teachers collaborated through questions posed to the group, articles, infographics, videos shared from outside educational sources, book recommendations, and examples of classroom scenarios. The purpose of this study was to understand how an online collaborative thirdspace could provide novice and experienced teachers space to explore their beliefs and practices outside of their immediate educational contexts. This study is grounded in a …

The ‘ Dialogic’ Of Pedagogical Design: Elementary Teachers Who Consistently Integrate Digital Technologies, Aaron R. Gierhart

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the pervasiveness of digital technologies in society and educational settings, gaps in digital participation for elementary learners and means-end views of the benefits and effectiveness of digital innovations for teaching and learning persist. The focus on digital technologies at the elementary level must shift to critical pedagogy in order to promote effective teaching and learning and equitable student participation in an increasingly digital society. A teacher’s pedagogy continually evolves across their entire life journey and is never fully mastered; therefore, in order to better understand the development of pedagogical design with digital technologies by elementary teachers, it was vital …

Self-Efficacy Of Endorsed And Nonendorsed Elementary Teachers Of Gifted Students In Stem Education, Lianna L. Moss-Everhart

Theses and Dissertations

This study compared elementary endorsed and nonendorsed teachers of gifted students in science, mathematics, and STEM self-efficacy as well as self-reported use of STEM instructional strategies in central Virginia. The survey, adapted from the T-STEM survey by the Friday Institute at NC State University, focused on self-efficacy and use of STEM instructional strategies. ANOVAs, univariate linear analyses, were conducted on 39 responses to compare teachers’ self-efficacy and use of STEM instructional strategies. ANCOVA and moderated regressions were used to compare the groups of teachers while controlling for the variables of grade level, years of experience, and recent STEM training. Multiple …

An Investigation Of Elementary School Teachers’ Culturally Relevant Teaching Practices In Two Cultures: A Comparative Study In China And The United States, Alicia R. Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

Effective teaching is one of the most important factors in student achievement. Throughout the world, there are high expectations for teacher and student performance. Teachers and students need to navigate the demographic and cultural shifts occurring around the world. Teachers’ cultural awareness and knowledge base of culturally relevant teaching practices is critical to their effectiveness. Based on the need to better understand the cultural responsiveness of teachers, this comparative study investigated elementary school teachers’ culturally relevant teaching practices in China and the U.S. through the use of video-cued ethnography. The following findings were revealed from the study: (a) differences in …

A Critical Examination Of Secondary Teachers’ Perceptions Of Liberatory Pd, Christine C. Moore

Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to develop an understanding of secondary teachers’ perceptions of liberatory (justice-oriented) professional development at three school sites in a single school district. As participants shared their perceptions, three significant themes emerged; they described 1) facing contextual constraints that limited their agency 2) desiring to be reframed as knowledge producers, yet 3) struggling to envision how their agency could support their liberation. These key findings led to an emergent theory of the Cycle of Professional Development Stagnation, a cycle involving barriers that perpetuate the framing of teachers as passive recipients of knowledge. As evidenced in this qualitative …

Teacher Approaches To Women’S History, Gender, And Feminism In Secondary Social Studies, Kimberly R. Bowman

Theses and Dissertations

While several scholars have worked to reimagine social studies curriculum from a feminist perspective, there are few studies that look at how teachers understand and experience gender equity work (Bohan, 2017; Engebretson, 2018). This study seeks to bridge that gap between theory and practice in order to progress toward a more gender-equitable social studies education. Utilizing a hermeneutic circle design to facilitate dialogue across participants, I conducted one-on-one, semi-structured interviews with seven secondary social studies teacher participants and collected participant-provided curriculum materials. Using techniques from constructivist grounded theory, I analyzed how teachers made sense of their experiences trying to include …

Language-Supportive Strategies And Their Associations With Child Language Outcomes During Instructional Time, Erin S. Wallace

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I conducted a correlational study that examined the frequency of educator-delivered language-supportive strategies during instructional time in public Kindergarten classrooms. Additionally, I explored the association between educators’ use of language-supportive strategies and child language outcomes. To index child language, I assessed a sample of 96 children from 10 different classrooms on standardized measures of expressive and receptive language. I recruited 10 educators to participate in the present study and assessed their use of language-supportive strategies during instructional time in the classroom through transcription and coding of audio recordings. The educators completed demographic forms for themselves as well …

An Exploratory Case Study On The Perceived Effectiveness Of Co-Teaching And A Need For Professional Development, Jaquelyn M. Joas-Foy

Theses and Dissertations

Co-teaching is an instructional method used to educate many special education and at-risk youth. This study explored the perceived knowledge of and effectiveness with co-teaching through the perceptions of co-teachers and administrators at a large suburban high school. This study also explored the perceived effectiveness of co-teachers in Gately & Gately's eight components of effective co-teaching (2001). Four dyads completed the Co-teaching Rating Scale and a questionnaire. They also engaged in classroom observations and a focus group. Data from these data sources along with a focus group that included administrators from the high school generated a picture of co-teaching and …

Perceptions Of Higher Education Faculty Of The Quality, Benefits, And Consequences Of Dual Enrollment Participation, John Philip Mcelveen

Theses and Dissertations

In this qualitative study, the researcher sought to address a gap in the literature related to identifying and understanding perceptions of collegiate faculty of the quality, benefits, and consequences of dual enrollment participation upon students, their higher educational organization, and their own career paths. Study participants included 36 collegiate faculty and administrators with faculty standing employed full-time by Columbus State University who have taught dual enrollment students in college settings, high school settings, or in both settings. The sequential qualitative design identified perceptions of the participants through application of a survey instrument. The initial phase of data collection was followed …

A Validity Study Of The Cognitively Guided Instruction Teacher Knowledge Assessment, Debra Smith Fuentes

Theses and Dissertations

This study reports the development of an instrument intended to measure mathematics teachers' knowledge of Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI). CGI is a mathematics professional development framework based on how students think about and solve problems and how that knowledge guides instruction for developing mathematical understanding. The purpose of this study was to (a) analyze and revise the original CGI Teacher Knowledge Assessment (CGI TKA), (b) administer the revised CGI TKA, and (c) analyze the results from the revised CGI TKA. As part of the revision of the original CGI TKA, distractor analysis identified distractors that could be improved. Experts in …

The Relationship Between Mathematics Teachers’ Perceptions Of Student Motivation And Their Use Of Instructional Strategies For At-Risk Math Students, Kayla Morris Couch

Theses and Dissertations

Student motivation in mathematics education can be affected by many variables, especially for at-risk students. Existing information is limited regarding teacher perceptions of their own pedagogy, instructional strategies, and at-risk student motivation in the area of mathematics for middle school and high school students. The purpose of this study was to analyze middle school and high school mathematics teachers’ perceptions of their own pedagogy, instructional strategies, and at-risk students’ motivation in mathematics. Deci and Ryan’s self-determination theory was the theoretical framework used to guide the current study, which focuses on psychological and instinctive needs of individuals. An explanatory, sequential mixed …

Testing A Scale Of Teacher Beliefs About Universal Curriculum Integration In The 21st Century (Uci21-T), Nicole E. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

Curriculum integration is a unique approach to teaching. Twenty-first century skill approaches to curriculum integration train teachers in the process of curriculum integration, such that they are able to integrate various subject combinations in their teaching that produce new skills and dispositions in their students. Yet no scale to measure teachers' beliefs about the value of and efficacy beliefs towards implementing curriculum integration exists that is universal in the sense that it can be used any time any subject combination is integrated. Using a sample of 196 teachers at a professional development meeting in a mid-sized suburban school district in …

Outcomes For Professionals And Companies Through Student-Professional Reverse Mentoring Sessions, Nicholas Burr Gubler

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative inquiry explores the outcomes that professionals, and their companies, experience when they participate in a student-professional reverse mentorship. Professional development is used across all trades and professions as a way to increase employee skills and improve product/service quality. Reverse mentoring, where a novice teaches the more experienced individual, is a relatively new approach in professional development. When the reverse mentoring scenario is between students and professionals, instead of professionals and their colleagues, we know that students benefit from the reverse mentoring process but little is known about what outcomes the professionals experience. This research reports that professionals experience …

Reverse Mentoring In The Classroom: A Qualitative Study, Shandon Miles Gubler

Theses and Dissertations

The intent of this paper is to understand the lived experiences of higher education students engaging in reverse mentoring. A literature review aims to discover how reverse mentoring is being implemented. Reverse mentoring, framed by social exchange theory and leader-member exchange theory, is a method focused on younger generations teaching technology to older generations, such as current-day Millennials with Baby Boomers. This review examines reverse mentoring practices, analyzes what has worked, and seeks to determine if this learning method has a place in the classroom. Due to the segmented, yet evolving application of reverse mentoring, there is a lack of …

High School Students Activities And Learning Experiences: Students’ Views Of An Ipad Initiative, Susan E. Hess

Theses and Dissertations

With the increase of technology in classrooms today, school districts are using devices to prepare students to be literate in the digital world. Besides using computers, schools are introducing iPads as a way to give their students experiences with digital learning. One district embarked on a district-issued one-to-one iPad initiative in which every student was given an iPad to use for their academic and personal use. Despite iPads infiltrating high school classrooms, little research exists on the students’ perspectives of the use of the iPad for personal and academic use and the impact they have on student learning. In this …