Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Implementing The Texas Master Science Teacher Program, William Robertson, Elaine Hampton, Brian Giza

Selected Works Temporary Series

In 2004, the State of Texas authorized the Texas Master Science Teacher certification. This post-baccalaureate certification provided a much-needed opportunity for experienced science teachers to be formally recognized for their leadership roles at a time in which science instruction was being impacted by a number of sometimes competing state and national initiatives. This article describes the steps and lessons learned by the team that implemented the first Master Science Teacher program in Texas.

A Practical Approach To Building Web Sites In The Classroom, William Robertson

Selected Works Temporary Series

The five-phased process for building Web sites in the classroom may be useful in helping educators facilitate the process of integrating computer technology and the Internet into instruction and curriculum design. The method described is a synthesis of a personal process of discovery, teaching, and learning that has come from practical experience with teachers and students. To effectively utilize this five-phased approach, the instructor must ascertain the final goal, whether it is a curriculum product, Web site, oral presentation, or some other form of demonstration of learning. The identified phases are a set of guiding principles that at any time …

Full- Time, In-Class, Face- To- Face Courses...Why (Then) Online Discussion?, Maha Bali Phd, Adham Ramadan, Nagla Rizk

Faculty Journal Articles

Most of the literature advocating online discussions cite the main advantage as encouraging interaction for students who either see each other rarely (e.g. in mostly distance learning courses) or have insufficient time to interact in class (e.g. in large lecture halls). However, at AUC, some faculty are using online discussions, despite the relatively small class size, and the regular meetings every week. In this paper we explore two different cases of using online discussion at AUC across several semesters: one for an introductory environmental science course and one for an advanced economics course. The instructors outline their reasons for using …

Senior Women Leaders In Higher Education Overcoming Barriers To Success, Nan-Chi Tiao

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to obtain a deeper understanding of what it takes for women to succeed as cabinet-level higher education administrators. The findings not only offer a wealth of strategies for career success and for overcoming professional and personal challenges, but also shed new light on critical factors that affect women’ experiences at work.

This qualitative, phenomenological study was based primarily on confidential interviews with nine senior women leaders. Two informants are presidents, six are vice presidents, and one serves as a senior executive officer of their universities. Before assuming their current posts, they worked in a …

University Students Of Tomorrow: Changing Experiences, Changing Expectations, Changing Brains, Neal Grandgenett, Neal Topp

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

The rapid pace of technological change is becoming a catalyst to a growing group of college students who are essentially "digital natives." Metropolitan universities need to become aware that these students have considerably different experiences, expectations, and even brains than past students. Universities must carefully adjust their programs and teaching methods if they are to retain these students and prepare them for a digital society. This article describes the basis for this call to action.

Introduction To Chinese Youth (With A Commentary), Jieying Xi, Yan Xia

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

Different countries and fields of study differ in determining the age group of youth. Based on the census result from the National Bureau of Statistics and the situation of Chinese youth, the age group of youth is defined as those from 15 to 29 years old. Therefore, Chinese youth described in this chapter refers to the age group of 15-29 living in the Chinese mainland, not including youth from Hong Kong, Macao Special Administrative Regions and Taiwan Province. According to China’s fifth census conducted in 2000, the youth population in the Chinese mainland is 315 million, accounting for 25.36% of …

“The Management Of Creativity”, Managing The Creative Mind: A Business Elective, Peter A. Maresco, John Gerlach

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

The immediate problem facing the authors was replacing someone with the background and stature of Joseph Abboud with an individual or, as it eventually worked out, four individuals with differing creative backgrounds and levels of success that would be of benefit to the students (in the spring 2006 semester the course was offered to undergraduate business students) enrolled in the course. Replacing Abboud proved to be not as difficult as the authors originally imagined. Within a period of three weeks, four individuals with diverse backgrounds in film, music, sports entertainment, and entrepreneurship were identified and agreed to take part in …

Technology Professional Development: Long-Term Effects On Teacher Self-Efficacy, George R. Watson

Educational Foundations and Technology

The West Virginia K-12 RuralNet Project was an NSF funded program to train inservice teachers on integrating the Internet into science and mathematics curriculum. The program involved training inservice teachers through an intensive summer workshop and supplemental online courses. This study examines the effects of the project on the long-term self-efficacy of inservice teachers and their use of the Internet in the classroom. The specific research questions addressed are: Do professional development programs affect the long-term self-efficacy of inservice teachers? Did the addition of online courses and follow-up to the program affect self-efficacy levels? Finally, do certain external factors, specifically …

Assessing Students’ Online Learning: Strategies And Resources, Patricia Comeaux

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Explore key strategies used by experienced online instructors, and learn about the wealth of resources for designing assessment instruments integral to online learning.

Phonological Awareness Instruction: Opinions And Practices Of Educators And Speech-Language Pathologists In West Virginia, Melinda J. Daniel

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Research has shown phonological awareness to be a strong predictor of literacy. To support literacy development, a phonological awareness project was piloted in several West Virginia schools in 2001. This study compared WV educators based on employment setting (schools participating and those not participating in the phonological awareness project) and professional category (classroom teacher, reading specialist, speech-language pathologist) on answers to survey questions related to phonological awareness. Results showed no significant relationships between employment setting and responses. However, reading specialists reported spending more minutes per week providing phonological awareness instruction to children at risk for reading difficulty than did speech-language …

Career Aspirations Of Selected Ffa Members, B. Allen Talbert, Mark Balschweid

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Faculty Publications

This descriptive study conducted in 2003 utilized random sampling techniques for accessing the 450,000 members of the National FFA Organization. The purpose of the study was to describe career aspirations of FFA members within, and related to, USDE career clusters, Supervised Agricultural Experiences, Career Development Event participation and career related demographic indicators. The study compared results to a similar study conducted in 1999. The data revealed that FFA members are busy with involvement in multiple sports and multiple clubs within their school and that a majority hold a job. FFA members across the nation consistently connect to agriculture with over …

Table Of Contents - Winter 2006

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

Academic Leadership Journal Winter 2006 Table of Contents

Decisional Deprivation, Equilibrium And Saturation As Variables In Teacher Motivation, Job Satisfaction And Morale In Nigeria, Pv. F. Permetomode

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

Decision-making is a key responsibility of all school administrators. While some single handedly take decisions, others consult with their subordinates before taking decisions, yet some others involve subordinates and they both take decisions collectively. This latter phenomenon has been aptly described as participative or collective decision making. One other major concern of educational administrators has been how to motivate, ensure a feeling of job satisfaction and engender high morale in their teachers and other subordinates. This is because it is assumed that motivated, satisfied teachers with high morale are likely to be more committed to their duties and also be …

Leadership And Job Satisfaction, Stephanie Brooke

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

The objective of this research is to understand the impact of leadership style on employee job satisfaction in an effort to improve leader-employee relations in nonprofit child care settings. Since turnover rates, separation costs, vacancy costs, and training costs are high in child care centers (Vickers, 2002), providing strategies for increasing job satisfaction will lead to a more stable environment for children and their families, promote positive leader member relations, and strengthen the organizational climate. Since leadership style can critically influence employee satisfaction, this study is of significant importance in promoting social change. Specifically, it focuses on a unique industry, …

Sabbatical Leave Programs As Form Of Faculty Development, Michael Miller, Bai Kang

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

A study looking at the prospect of sabbaticals as a form of faculty development.

An Hispanic-American Research-Based In-Service, Theresa Monaco

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

The majority of regular classroom teachers (i.e. those with no experience teaching gifted and talented students) have had little or no exposure to gifted education in college courses or in-service training. With this in mind, a thirty-clock hour, community-based ethnic in-service was developed to teach research-based theory and practices skills in five gifted student needs areas. The teacher skill areas were: (a) nature and needs of gifted and talented students, (b) identification and assessment of gifted and talented students, (c) social and emotional needs, (d) differentiated curriculum, and (e) creativity and instructional strategies for gifted and talented students. A pre/post …

Department Chairs’ Perception Of Faculty Participation In Accreditation Activities: A Follow-Up Survey, Cathryn Peterson

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

The purpose of this study was to explore physical therapy department chairs’ perceptions of the extent to which their faculty members participated in the activities leading to accreditation, and whether or not this participation was associated with accreditation outcome. This study was conducted and completed in 2004 as a follow-up to a previous study that explored the relationships among accreditation outcome and management style employed by the chair person, faculty participation in accreditation activities, faculty commitment to implementing the plans delineated in the accreditation documentation, and faculty support of the accreditation process.

Interviewing For The Professorship, Mack Hines Iii

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

Each year, colleges and universities advertise numerous faculty positions. However, some of these institutions experience difficulties filling these vacancies. Contrary to popular belief, these difficulties do not solely stem from the inability to find qualified applicants. They may also be attributed to the candidate’s lack of understanding of how to prepare for, participate in, and conclude the interview. As professors who coordinate numerous faculty interviews, the authors will discuss how preparation, participation, and confirmation can help candidates successfully interview for faculty positions.

The Power Of Now In Leadership, Greg Romaneck

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

In many ways leadership can seem like firefighting. On almost any day a seemingly constant stream of problems, difficulties, and impediments can flow into a leader’s life. At times it seems that any sort of focus on the “big picture” is impossible because so many nitty-gritty issues have to be dealt with. Yet, even in the face of such a negative onslaught of responsibility, it is still possible to maintain both your sanity and your focus.

Leadership In Educational Administration: Concepts, Theories And Perspectives, Saeid Farahbakhsh

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

An article discussing the various theories and types of leadership as applicable to educational administration.

Veterinary Professionals' Workplace Learning In A Corporate Organization: An Ethnographic Study, James F. Steele

Doctor of Education (EdD)

The purpose of this study was to investigate learning orientations, strategies and tactics of veterinarians, and generate explanatory theory grounded in ethnographic data. A theory of approaches to transdisciplinary and disciplinary learning emerged from qualitative analysis of interviews, learning journals and field observations. Eleven subjects in 4 regions were newly employed by a corporate veterinary practice. This research is framed by theories of adult learning, workplace learning, and occupational community. The study was guided by 3 research questions about learning orientations, approaches, strategies and tactics veterinarians applied in the workplace. Question 1 asked about orientation toward learning. Question 2 aimed …

Male Elementary Teachers: Myths And Realities, Robert Bonner

Faculty Publications - College of Education

This research project utilized a mixed method design to examine the myths and realities which confront male elementary teachers in Oregon public schools. Five research questions were posed which investigated the motivations, career ambitions, hiring experiences, potential issues, working environment, and the benefits of male elementary teachers. The quantitative process utilized a survey of male and female elementary teachers in the Oregon public schools. Potential participants were chosen through a stratified random sample determined by the gender of the teacher. The response rate for both male and female respondents was 51%, which yielded samples of 159 male teachers and 92 …

Comparing Science Teaching Styles To Students' Perception Of Scientists, Kevin D. Finson, Jon E. Pedersen, Julie A. Thomas

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

Many educational researchers seem to concur with the idea that, among other factors, the teacher's teaching style has some impact on student learning and the perceptions students develop about science learning and the work of scientists. In this study, nine middle grades teachers' teaching styles were assessed using the Draw-a-Science-Teacher-Teaching Test Checklist (DASTT-C) and categorized along a continuum from didactic to inquiry/constructivist in orientation. Students' (n = 339) perceptions of scientists were determined using the Draw-a-Scientist-Test Checklist (DASTC). Teachers' teaching styles and their students' perceptions of scientists were then compared using nonparametric correlational methods. Results showed that no significant correlation …

Teacher Experiences Of Culture In The Curriculum, Elaine Chan

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

In this study, I examined the experiences of two middle-school-level teachers as they attempted to acknowledge the ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity of their students in their curriculum and through their teaching practices, to identify the kinds of complications and challenges they encountered in the process. I presented one particular curriculum event to explore ways in which diverse beliefs and values intersected as the teachers implemented the event.

I employed a narrative inquiry approach with an emphasis on stories to learn about the experiences of my participants. I took part in all aspects of school life, including staff meetings and …

What Are We Tripping On?: Transgressing The Fault Lines In Research On The Preparation Of Multicultural Educators, Carl A. Grant, Vonzell Agosto

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Faculty Publications

How do we prepare multicultural educators? The purpose of the chapter is to discuss some of the research in multicultural teacher education that speaks to, and in doing so, participates in the life of this enduring problem. In what direction might other rationales and lines of inquiry lead the research in multicultural teacher education.

Harnessing Innovative Technologies In Higher Education: Access, Equity, Policy & Instruction, Kathleen P. King, Joan K. Griggs

Department of Leadership, Policy, and Lifelong Learning

This publication is an attempt to capture the evolution of distributed higher education over the last decade by tracing the applications of new technologies funded by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). As FIPSE surveyed the current state of distance/distributed education, there existed an opportunity to help post econdary education make the transition to this new generation of distance education made possible by the explosive growth of the Internet and other new technologies. These technologies created the potential for students to access learning that was interactive, customized, and self-paced; to more easily merge lifelong learning with the …

E-Learning Enhances Both Student Achievement And Career Change Options, Rochelle P. Ripple

Perspectives In Learning

It seems as if everyone is using e-learning (online learning) these days. There are many options available, including self-paced courses, skills-based courses, virtual classrooms (and their cousins, live web seminars), web-enhanced courses, and asynchronous courses. There is a plethora of technological methods that can be utilized for course delivery. Which of these technologies and methods of use will maximize e-learning’s effectiveness? In other words, for the university, the instructor and students, which seems to work the best? In a nutshell - all of them. The beauty of e-learning is that there are so many options that can be tailored to …

Career-Related Issues In Secondary Schools: A Literature Review, Jennifer E. Mcghee

Perspectives In Learning

The career counselor’s role over the past 100 years or so has evolved from being a placement tool in the industrial revolution to that of providing a more holistic approach to meeting both the career and personal concerns of individuals. More and more counselors are beginning to focus on the person as a whole, including values, interests, abilities, skills, and work-life experiences, as they counsel on career-related issues (Zunker, 2006). As a focus on human development and the whole person enters the counseling field, school counselors are faced with developing comprehensive school guidance systems that meet the needs of students …

Alcohol And Drug Use: The Negative Effect On Health And Academic Achievement, Judson Mccarley, Heather Holloway

Perspectives In Learning

Most know the damaging and lethal effects that drugs and alcohol pose upon our children and young people today. Parents and schools work hard at limiting these terrible and devastating results. However, is this effort enough and what is the latest research on alcohol and drug use by school age children? Although there are significant effects from drug and alcohol use on health and academic achievement, there are a variety of interventions used in keeping children clean. Alcohol and drug use by school-age children poses serious health and safety risks. The three leading causes of death for 15-24 year olds …

Curriculum Alignment Matrix: A Systematic Framework For Aligning Educational Leadership Program Curriculum, Martha C. Hall

Perspectives In Learning

The emphasis on educational accountability and the necessity of training highly qualified administrators and leaders, prompted changes to Columbus State University’s Educational Leadership programs. Curriculum alignment was the foundation of this initiative. There has been an evolution in thinking about the important ingredients and benefits of curriculum for the 21st Century leader. Lashway (2002) advanced the idea of totally revamping the leadership preparation program to stay current with the ever-changing world. Jacobs (1997), through her work with curriculum, saw a need for obtaining course overviews. Cunningham & Cordiero (2000) envisioned futurist thinking for the practitioners and purported changing the pedagogical …