Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Success Stories : A Means Of Enhancing The Personal-Professional Development Of Teachers, Elizabeth Kirstie Thorburn

Theses : Honours

This thesis details my experiences and findings as u teacher-researcher of narrative inquiry. To address the effectiveness of teacher story sharing as a means or enhancing teacher personal-professional development, I formed a 'story group' with four teacher participants, three of whom were at the pre-service level. The participants collaboratively engaged in the narrative processes of story sharing, story writing, reflection and story critiquing with myself shifting between the roles of researcher, facilitator and participant. Hence, the participants engaged in research about their peers, as well as about themselves, and their practice. In this way, knowledge was shared and jointly constructed, …

Data Warehousing Failures: Case Studies And Findings, M. Dean Fenton, M. E. Haywood, Joseph Gregory Gerard, L. E. Gonzalez, Hugh J. Watson

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

Eight studies of data warehousing failures are presented. They were written based on interviews with people who were associated with the projects. The extent of the failure varies with the organization, but in all cases, the project was at least a disappointment. Read the cases and prepare a one or two page discussion of the following: 1. What’s the scope of what can be considered a data warehousing failure? Discuss. 2. What generalizations apply across the cases? 3. What do you find most interesting in the failure stories? 4. Do they provide any insights about how a failure might be …

Ua64/2 The Challenge: The Newsletter Of The Center For Gifted Studies (No. 3, Spring 1999), Center For Gifted Studies, Tracy Inman

Gifted Studies Publications

No abstract provided.

Innovative Opportunities For Elementary And Middle School Teachers To Maintain Currency In Mathematics And Science: A Community College-School System Partnership, B. Ellis, M. Giacofci, D. Riley, P. Scott

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Since 1992 the Manassas Campus of Northern Virginia Community College – in response to requests from local school systems – has developed four innovative methods of assisting elementary, secondary and middle school teachers to enhance their content knowledge in science and mathematics, as well as integrate curriculum units for classroom presentation. These methods are based on the assumptions that: - While teachers at this level have fundamental understanding of math and science, if they wish to incorporate new concepts or technologies from these fields, graduate level content courses are generally beyond their background level. - Community College faculty can often …

Education School Challenges: The Increasing Demands On K-8 Teachers, A. J. Benson

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

The educational needs of future K-8 teachers in the areas of mathematics and science are greater as a result of the increased (and, I would add, appropriate) student expectations in the area of mathematics and science as enunciated in the SOL and the specific content areas as described in the new licensure requirements. The sophistication and understanding of science and mathematics that is needed at both the elementary school and middle school levels is indeed substantial. However, proficiency in science and mathematics is only one portion of the total needs of new teachers. How are we all, from the Colleges …

Teaching And Learning Seminar For Science And Mathematics Faculty, D. R. Sterling

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

A yearlong seminar for science and mathematics faculty to investigate teaching and learning is in its second year at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. This article describes the seminar and preliminary findings from the first year.

Teaching Physical Science Through Technology: Middle School Vcu Phy 591, V. A, Niculescu, D. B. Hagan

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Teaching Physical Science through Technology is a new 3-credit laboratory-and-lecture based course designed to serve as an introduction to the teaching of physical science concepts at the middle school level. Physical science phenomena are presented through investigations of commonly known applications of technology and focus on the Virginia Science Standards of Learning for 6th Grade Science and the Physical Science courses. Topics include matter, gravity, mechanics, heat, optics, electricity and magnetism, and computers as seen in their roles in common devices. The development of the course includes assessment from six semesters, collaboration with other institutions including the Science Museum of …

On The Job Mathematics, G. Rublein

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

What kind of course work is appropriate for a general education mathematics requirement? In most instances, students see a presentation of one or more mathematical topics followed by some applications. Sometimes these applications are characterized as ‘real world’ even though no person would ever be paid to work the problems that students are given. We will describe an approach to this issue that requires students to replicate mathematical work that is done by people who want to keep their jobs. Only a small minority can make money doing mathematics for entertainment. Hence, we omit for this category everyone employed in …

Technology Integration In A Science And Mathematics Methods Course: Addressing Virginia's Computer/Technology Standards Of Learning, G. Meadows, M. Sheckels

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

The Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools [1] require a high level of knowledge in the use of computers and technology on the part of both students and educators. The Education Department at Mary Washington College has decided to prepare its students to meet this challenge by adopting a strategy of program wide integration of technology, bringing appropriate uses of technology into each education course. This strategy calls for the use of technology by both students and instructors. The course Instructional Skills in the Elementary Classroom, a science and mathematics planning course, served as a proving ground for this …

Nsu Graduate Teacher Education Program (Gtep) Master's Degrees Educational Specialist Degrees Certification Programs 1999 Program Brochure, Nova Southeastern University

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice College Archive

No abstract provided.

Lnservice Educational Activity Needs And Preferred Delivery Methods Of Bement Community Unit School District #5 Teachers, Nyle G. Waters

Masters Theses

A study of the Bement Community Unit School District #5 faculty was conducted in the spring of 1999. The purposes were to determine the inservice educational activity needs of the faculty and to determine which inservice educational activity delivery methods the faculty considers most effective. Bement C.U.S.D. #5 is a small rural district in central Illinois with 38 prekindergarten through 12th grade teachers. A needs assessment questionnaire was constructed and administered to all district teachers. Each item on the questionnaire was designed to collect data on the following questions:

1. What are the perceived inservice educational activity needs of the …

Front Matter

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Editor's Message

Zen students, Charlotte Joko Beck tells us, have a job to do, "a very important job: to bring . . . life out of dreamland and into the real and immense reality that it is" (12). The goal and the way to the goal are the same: mindfulness, a return to the clear experience of the present moment, within which the artificial dualism separating self and object dissolves. To be mindful is to be aware, The American Heritage Dictionary says, to hold in the fullness of mind rather than to be destitute of mind or consciousness. Mindfulness is …

Writer Motivation: Beyond The Intrinsic/ Extrinsic Dichotomy, Bradford A. Barry

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

This article articulates and develops a much needed theory of communication motivation which shows how we can nurture in our students rhetorically-based intrinsic motivations.

The Ethics Of Empathy: Making Connections In The Writing Classroom, Kia Jane Richmond

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Kia Jane Richmond teaches composition and ESL at Illinois State University, where she is completing her Ph.D. in English Studies. Her focus is on the intersection between emotions and the teaching of composition at the college level.

The Architectonics Of Information: Ancient Topical Thought And Postmodern Information, Catherine L. Hobbs

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

This paper examines the usefulness of thought patterns from ancient rhetoric as they have been appropriated historically and as potentially applicable concepts for the present and future in today's interlinked electronic environment.

An earlier version of this paper, first delivered as part of a panel at the Rhetoric Society of America meeting at Tucson in May 1 996, was delivered and published as "The Architectonics of Information: Ancient Topical Thought and Postmodern Cognition" in Proceedings of the Mid-America Symposium on E merging Computer Technologies, October 1 996. (The published papers are available in "Information Problems" at http://www.ou.edu/cas/english/agora/). I would like …

Learning From Everyone, David Bleich

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

In the teaching of writing and literature, it would be helpful to teachers and students to encourage students to overtake, use, and reuse one another's various uses of language in essays and other course work.

This essay was the keynote address at the Fourth Annual Colorado Conference of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning in Estes Park, Colorado in June 1998.

Narratives Of Pain: Trauma And The Healing Power Of Writing, Lisa Tyler

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Writing about traumatic events is useful, healing, and meaningful, and such work deserves a place in the composition classroom.

Jaepl, Vol. 5, Winter 1999-2000

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Essays

David Bleich. Learning from Everyone. In the teaching of writing and literature, it would be helpful to teachers and students to encourage students to overtake, use, and reuse one another's various uses of language in essays and other course work.

Lisa Tyler. Narratives of Pain: Trauma and the Healing Power of Writing. Writing about traumatic events is useful, healing, and meaningful, and such work deserves a place in the composition classroom.

Bradford A. Barry. Writer Motivation: Beyond the Intrinsic/Extrinisic Dichotomy. This article articulates and develops a much needed theory of communication motivation which shows how we …

Back Matter

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

No abstract provided.

Spirituality In Pedagogy: "A Field Of Possibilities", Susan A. Schiller

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Students' responses to a spiritual approach to teaching provide evidence of the efficacy inherent in such an approach.

The Lifelong Learner And Technology, Dia L. Davis

Graduate Research Papers

The teaching strategies of the educator alter to suit the needs of the students and technology. The content integration process takes time. It has been stated that teachers' first technology projects generate excitement, but often little content learning. Often it takes a few years until teachers can use technology effectively in core subject areas.

Teachers learn to use computer technologies and learn how to bring content learning to the forefront with, in some cases, impressive results on the part of the students. Teachers eventually learn to view the learning process in concert with their new technologies and come to understand …

The Development And Design Of A Peer Coaching Model Program For High School Teachers And Administrators, Kenneth John Devries

All Graduate Projects

Clinical supervision is a coherent process for teacher evaluation. A significant investment of time and training for teachers and administrators is necessary to successfully implement the clinical supervision model. A peer coaching program presents the opportunity of improving upon the clinical supervision model and establishing a lasting staff development program. The Critical Friends Group model, developed by the Coalition of Essential Schools, provides the structure which fosters collegiality, professional development, and improved student learning. The success of a Critical Friends Group peer coaching program relies on the leadership of the principal through active participation, financing, and modeling professional collaboration.

Liberal Studies At Longwood College: Preparing Teachers For Virginia's Future, J. D. Smith

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

The Liberal Studies Major provides future teachers studying at Longwood College with an excellent opportunity to prepare for all aspects of teaching in elementary school classrooms. In the area of mathematics and science, the Liberal Studies Major contains a total of 24 hours of mathematics and science, and prepares future K-6 classroom teachers to teach all components of the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) in these disciplines. Longwood College is currently studying how requirements can be modified within the Liberal Studies Program to make it possible for students to complete the discipline specific course work that will be necessary for …

A Preliminary Analysis Of The Supply And Demand For Middle School Mathematics And Science Teachers In Virginia, J. A. Sigler

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Virginia Colleges and Universities have a major challenge to produce educated elementary and middle school students. The magnitude of this challenge can be measured by studying the number of current teachers in each grade in Virginia and the anticipated retirements and departures from the profession for other reasons. The new licensure requirements have their biggest impact for the preparation of middle school teachers since middle school teachers will no longer be able to receive general middle school certification.

Creating The Need To Know, A. L. Buikema Jr.

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Context-based teaching provides a strategy that gives the responsibility of learning back to the student. This approach is being used at Virginia Tech in a number of settings, including an introductory Biology class with 325 students.

Hands-On Physical Science Course At Radford University, T. Tanaka

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Most students in our introductory physical science course are elementary education majors. We are faced with several obstacles in teaching basic science to these students. For example, they lack interest in science, logical thinking, and necessary data gathering and analysis skills, among others. Many of those obstacles could be traced back to the science courses they had taken in the past. Those courses put more emphasis on memorizing scientific facts than understanding natural phenomena or experiencing scientific methods. As a result, the students tend to have a negative attitude toward science in general. In order to reverse this attitude, We …

Preparing Preservice Teachers For The Experimental Design And Data Analysis Sol's, J. E. Wright Jr.

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Many elementary teachers find teaching the science Standards of Learning (SOL) difficult [1, 2]. Some are even threatened by them. Of particular concern are the SOLs related to experimental design, handling data, and the scientific method. A possible reason for this discomfort is because many of these elementary teachers have had limited-to-no exposure to experimentation. As one of the activities included under a recent National Science Foundation Science Teachers Enhancement Project (STEP) grant awarded to Hampton University in conjunction with Virginia Union University and St. Paul's College, we included a teacher science fair competition. A special workbook/text was developed for …

Informal Geometry In The Preparation Of Teachers: A New Mathematics Course At The University Of Virginia, L. D. Pitt

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Students require a rich variety of hands-on geometric experiences before they progress to more formal traditional geometric instruction. This fact has often been ignored in the mathematics preparation of today’s teachers. At the University of Virginia a new general education geometry course, The Shape of Space, is being developed that focuses on obtaining deep understandings of elementary geometry through physical and visual activities.

Impact Of A New Introductory Mathematical Modeling Course On Student Confidence In Mathematical Ability And Skills, P. Dean, D. Hydorn, S. Sumner

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Interdisciplinary mathematics and science courses are increasing in popularity. Faculty teaching these courses are given the opportunity to show how mathematics plays an important role in science and how it can be used to improve our understanding of mathematics and science. This paper discusses a new course in mathematical modeling that focuses on environmental issues. Course content and format are presented, as well as the results of a study on the changes in students’ perceptions of their mathematical abilities as a result of taking this new course.

Experiencing Science, An Introduction To "Real" Methods Of Science For The Preservice Teacher, D. L. Neely-Fisher, D. B. Hagan

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

The "scientific method" presented in the middle school classroom introduces the experimental approach of science in a way that may actually bear little resemblance to the processes actually used by working scientists. Teachers equipped with an insight into the motivations, philosophy, tools, and culture of science will better convey an accurate and positive picture of science as a critically important human endeavor. The Experiencing Science course was designed to answer the challenge of giving the pre-service teacher and decision-maker better insight into actual processes used by scientists, in the context of each of the major disciplines.