Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

An Examination Of Teacher Education Programs And School Induction Programs In Their Preparation Of Teachers For The First Year Of Teaching., Nancy Kay Dillon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify beginning teachers' perceptions of how colleges and universities can improve their teacher preparation programs and what school systems can do to ensure that first-year teachers have a successful and satisfying experience in the classroom. A total of 20 first and second-year elementary teachers participated in 20 separate, qualitative interviews. The information collected from the interviews was inductively analyzed.

Several themes reflecting the perceptions of study participants emerged during the data analysis process: (1) a belief that college classes did not reflect or prepare new teachers for the "real world" of teaching. (2) …

Teaching Our Teachers: Practical Suggestions To Improve The Quality Of Learning In Bemidji State University's Department Of Professional Education, Ann M. Gassert Carstens

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

A Study Of Menarche In Athletes Participating In Common Public School Sports, Kristi R. Shirley

Graduate Theses

The number of women and young girls participating in sports has grown significantly since the passage of Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972. The female athlete derives many benefits from exercise; however, women are also a group that is at special risk because of the few negative effects of exercise on the reproductive and skeletal systems. Risks involved in increased physical activity include several forms of menstrual irregularities. The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship existed between athletic training, at a less intense level than those in previous studies such as ballet dancers …

Occupational Decision-Making And Career Choice Among School-Leavers In Ireland 2002-2004 With Particular Reference To A Career In The Hotel And Catering Industry, Clement H. Ryan

Theses

No abstract provided.

Teachers’ Career Decisions In A Cognitive Framework: Logistical Regression Analysis Of A National Data Set, Tamara H. Rosier

Dissertations

Research was conducted in order to determine if extrinsic, cognitive or situative sets of variables could predict teachers' career decisions using the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). Questions from the survey were divided into three cognitive perspectives: extrinsic, cognitive, and situative. Stepwise logistic regression analyses were used to predict group membership among those who chose to stay in their current position and those who left the profession.

Results for the extrinsic set of variables indicated that while the model was a good fit, the ability of the model to predict was low. Teachers agreeing that student behavior interferes with ability …

How We Think About And Prepare To Teach Physics, Dewey I. Dykstra

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We have been preparing physics teachers in the same manner for many decades. Yet, physics education research reveals for some observers disturbing evidence of little or no change in understanding the phenomena occurs as a direct result of physics instruction from elementary school through the college years. The apparent compatibility between these learning results and prevailing paradigm enables the construction of a description the paradigm. If it can be demonstrated that there is even just one alternative paradigm from which powerful alternative pedagogical practice is derived, are we not obligated to change how we prepare to teach physics?

The Effects Of The Use Of Dynamic Geometry Software On Student Achievement And Interest, Heidi B. Hansen

Mathematics Graduate Theses

This study examines the current research that exists on the effects that the use of dynamic geometry software has on student achievement and interest level in mathematics. Additional questions examined are whether using dynamic geometry software has a greater impact on high or low achievers, and what current methods of implementation are suggested by the research. A review of the relevant literature indicates that the use of dynamic geometry software does have a positive effect on student achievement, particularly achievement in areas of high-level thinking. Insufficient research has been done on the effect that the use of dynamic geometry software …

A Qualitative Study Of Teachers' Perceptions Of Staff Development In Three Public Northeast Tennessee Elementary School Districts., Rebekah Ellen Barnard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study serves as an insight into teachersÆ perceptions of their staff development experiences. With the constraints under the No Child Behind Act, teachers, schools, and school systems are faced with the challenge of meeting extremely high standards with students. Although standards such as these expectations have never been met, it remains that teachers are faced with attempting this task. Teachers shared their perceptions of the staff development experiences they have received. Student achievement and its relationship to staff development was explored. Teachers discussed perceived factors that influenced staff development training. Also, included in the study was teachers' perceptions …

Conjoint Behavioral Consultation And Diversity: Research Findings And Directions, Susan M. Sheridan

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Presentations

Why Partner with Families?

-The research is unequivocal…

-When parents are actively engaged in their child’s development and learning, there are important benefits for children, families, and schools

-Parent-professional (home-school) partnerships are predictive of increased academic performance, socioemotional benefits, better work habits, more consistent school attendance, school completion, and greater connections between home and school

Process-Writing Instruction In One Teacher's Classes And Its Impact On The Writing Of Her Seventh Grade Students, Christine M. Dicicco

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the project was to determine whether process-writing instruction in the classroom was improving one group of seventh grade language arts students' writing. Students in three classes with the same language arts teacher were involved in the study. Over the course of the first three marking periods, writing samples were collected from each of the students involved. Each student's writing was assessed according to criteria on both the NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards and the New Jersey Registered Holistic Scoring Rubric. The teacher was also both observed and interviewed in order to determine what process-writing techniques she implemented …

An Investigation Of The Tools And Strategies Used To Present Multiple Perspectives In The Classroom, Christopher P. Madden

Theses and Dissertations

The research question for this project is what are the tools and strategies teachers are using to present multiple perspectives to their students? The data sources for this research included classroom observations, teacher interviews, student questionnaires, and document analysis. Four different teachers were interviewed and had their classes observed. There were a total of 16 observations containing detailed field notes. Twenty-seven students filled out the questionnaire. Documents used in the classroom as tools were collected and analyzed for this research. Four main strategies for presenting multiple perspectives in the classroom were found: open discussion, current events, alternative texts, and movies …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Let Me Learn And Process Writing: A Qualitative Analysis, Grace D. Hagan

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research project was to examine the relationship between Let Me Learn and process writing. Christine A. Johnston's Let Me Learn Inventory was administered to a middle school class of 27 students, and 8 students were selected with use-first learning patterns in each of the four learning pattern categories. Once the 8 students were selected, the students participated in interviews with questions regarding their learning patterns and writing process style. The researcher then collected three writing samples from each student as well as a novel project. Upon completion of the data collection, the writing samples were analyzed …

Teacher Management Of Homophobia And Homosexuality In High Schools, Sarah Elizabeth Kiyak

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research project was to examine ways in which high school teachers manage issues of homophobia and homosexuality in high schools. Surveys were distributed to teachers in one southern New Jersey high school in order to measure the frequency of tolerance and adherence to policy regarding homosexual issues of students. The survey, constructed of eleven forced response questions using a Likert scale and one open-ended question, was the instrument utilized in this research project. After the completed surveys were returned, the results were tallied and frequency tables were used to analyze the results. The open-ended questions were …

The Perceptions Of School Safety And Discipline And How These Perceptions Affect Teaching Methods And Strategies, James J. Lapsley

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions teachers have concerning safety and discipline within their school and how these perceptions affect teaching methods and strategies. The study took place in a large rural area high school with a diverse multi-cultural background of students. This particular school has increasingly been scrutinized for the disruptive behavior of the students and the ability of the administration to handle these problems among the majority of teachers in the school. This study focused on the perceptions the teachers have about their school policies and procedures and the ability the school has in …

A Study Of The Female Formation Of Identity During The High School Years: A Qualitative Analysis, Elisabeth C. Rigney

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research project was to examine the factors that influence and affect identity formation by female adolescents during the high school years. Group discussion sessions were held for a sample size of 6 participants that introduced certain topics that were deemed relevant to adolescent females' identity formation. Through the group discussions, participants demonstrated that these topics, including body image, family pressure, and relationships, were inherent to the ways they form identity during the high school years. Upon completion of the data collection, the discussion sessions were coded for each topic and then divided by those responses deemed …

The Use Of The Socratic Method In A Contemporary High School Classroom In Developing Problem-Solving, Critical Thinking, And Decision Making Skills, Anna Schneider Muessig

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research was to attempt to use a modified approach to the Socratic method in a contemporary high school classroom as a means of developing problem-solving, critical thinking, and decision-making skills in high school students. The participants in the study were 16 male students and 13 female students from two sections of an eleventh grade Honors English class at a suburban high school in southern New Jersey. These students were selected as a population of convenience during the researcher's Clinical Internship II experience. As a part of regular classroom instruction, the researcher employed a modified form …

Parental Ability To Support Their Children's Education Of Mathematics, Jenny M. Honold

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which parents/guardians can adequately support the success of their children's innovative mathematics curriculum. The study raises questions about the skills and knowledge parents have about today's mathematical practices. Are parents informed enough to sufficiently support their children's mathematical achievement? A qualitative review will take place by collecting student perception surveys, parent perception surveys, parent interviews, and a teacher journal recording home-school communication. This study is concerned with how teachers at Webster Elementary School will better be able to foster an environment where the mathematics needs of parents and children …

Motivating Elementary School Students In Literacy: A Study On Discussion Groups, Beth A. Lawrence

Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this research proposal was literacy motivation for students in elementary school. The researcher hypothesized that students who took part in a discussion group, which is a motivational technique used in literacy, would perform better on a comprehension test and had a higher level of motivation to read than students who did not participate in discussion groups. The proposed method included taking a stratified random sample of 6 second grade students that participated in discussion groups daily for two weeks. All students were required to keep a reading log of the books that they read in school and …

Gene White, Gene White, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Gene White grew up in Ohio and attended Miami University of Ohio, graduating with degrees in Home Economics Education and Nutrition, which was called Dietetics at that time. She then continued her graduate education at Ohio State University. She worked more than twenty years as Food Service Director in China Lake, California. She went on to become that state’s Director of Nutrition Services in the late 1970s and while in that position she served as President of the American School Food Service Association from 1977-1978. Currently she is involved with international feeding programs.

Gene White’s oral history interview was updated …

Marilyn Briggs, Marilyn Briggs, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Marilyn Briggs began her career in child nutrition as School Food Service Director for San Juan Unified school district in Sacramento, California, during the 1970s. Later she served as Coordinator of the Nutrition Education and Training Program and worked on what became the prototype for the National Nutrient Standard Menu Planning System. She recently stepped down as state Director of Nutrition Services for California to work on her doctorate in nutrition science. She has held offices in the Society for Nutrition Education, the American School Food Service Association and American Dietetic Association.

Where Are They Now? Where Are We Now?, Renee T. Clift, Patricia Brady, Raul A. Mora, Jason Stegemoller, Soo Joung Choi

Faculty Publications

In this paper we, a research team comprising one professor of education and four graduate students document our reflections on questions we have about the challenges of documenting the impact of teacher education coursework and on our collective research. This paper is organized into three, separate sections. In the first section we present data that Patricia collected while observing Renee teach the same group of prospective English students over two semesters. These courses, C&I 301 (Introduction to Teaching in a Diverse Society) and C&I 302 (Teaching Diverse Middle Grades Students), are the first two courses in a four course sequence …

Family/Partnership-Centered Conjoint Behavioral Consultation: The Reconceptualization Of A Model, Susan M. Sheridan, Brandy L. Clarke, Jennifer Burt, Diane Marti, Ariadne V. Schemm, Ashley Rohlk, Michelle Swanger

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Presentations

• The importance of working meaningfully and constructively with families in promoting a child’s learning and adjustment is unequivocal. Home-school partnerships have been shown to relate to many positive outcomes for children, families, teachers, and schools. • Conjoint Behavioral Consultation (CBC; Sheridan, Kratochwill, & Bergan, 1996) is a structured, indirect model of service delivery whereby parents and teachers are joined to collaboratively address needs and concerns of a child with the assistance of a consultant. Goals of CBC encompass those focused on addressing child needs, and developing home-school partnerships. • CBC is procedurally operationalized via conjoint interviews (Problem Identification, Problem …

Table Of Contents - Summer 2004

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

Academic Leadership Journal Summer 2004 table of contents.

How To Demoralize The Faculty: A Six-Step Program That Works, Howard B. Altman

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

A satirical article discussing faculty morale.

Review: Free The Beagle - A Journey To Destinae, Don Litzenberg

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

A review of Free the Beagle: A Journey to Destinae by Roy H. Williams

The Challenges Of A New Department Chair: Success Despite Reality, Jeanneine P. Jones

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

A narrative demonstrating the need for administrative training for department chairs.

Smile When You Call Me That…, William "Skip" Boyer

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

An article discussing the difficulties of communicating effectively through electronic means.

An Examination Of Oral Communication Patterns And Emergent Groupings Among Faculty Governance Units, Michael Miller

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

An article discussing decision making in higher education.

The Roles Of State Departments Of Education As Policy Intermediaries: Two Cases, Edmund T. Hamann, Brett Lane

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

As the variety of state education agency (SEA) responses to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 demonstrates, different SEAs interpret the same federal educational policy differently. Nonetheless, little research has depicted how federal policies are changed by SEA-based policy intermediaries. Using an “ethnography of educational policy” approach, this article offers two illustrations of mediation processes at the SEA level: Maine’s and Puerto Rico’s initial attempts to implement the federal Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration program. Both attempts show that the mediation process is inevitable and that its general direction can be predicted: Policies will be adapted in ways that …

Self-Regulated Strategy Development: A Cognitive Strategies Approach To Persuasive Writing, Amy I. Bennet

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not the application of Self- Regulated Strategy Development model of writing instruction will improve the writing of persuasive compositions in seven 4th grade students. Self-Regulated Strategy Development pairs mnemonics representing the parts of different genres of writing with self-talk statements used by the students to "think" through the writing process. The students in this study were introduced to these strategies through small group instruction that took place during the regular school day. Through conferencing with the students, and by comparing the compositions written before the SRSD instruction to compositions written …