Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Podcasting Essentials: Self-Paced Instruction For Instructors, Tracy Newman

SIDLIT Conference Proceedings

The presenter's handout illustrates the different principles and technologies used to develop a self-paced course for use in distributing and creating podcasts in an educational environment.

The Effects Of A Season-Long Relaxation Program On Anxiety And Performance In Female High School Track & Field Throwers, Jeremy Walker

Graduate Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a season-long relaxation breathing program on anxiety and performance in track and field throwers. It was hypothesized that the relaxation breathing technique would help to reduce anxiety and increase overall performance. Use of a single-subject research design was used to allow ongoing monitoring of each athlete’s anxiety levels and performance. Results indicated that 2 of the 3 participants had improved performance and reduced trait anxiety over the course of the season. Additional results indicated that there was no significant difference in performance between participants and non-participants and that the …

Induction And Peer Coaching Programs In A Middle School Setting, Shanti Ladawn Howard

Dissertations

While almost half of new teachers engage in some type of induction program, many programs only offer superficial types of assistance including district-wide orientations, periodic workshops, or instruction in classroom management (Gold, 1996). Some induction programs sponsored by the state institute an evaluation process that applies formulaic criteria for defining teaching behaviors to assess new teacher performances (Darling-Hammond et al., 1999). In the continued search for school improvement, there was a need to propose another option in staff development, e.g., peer coaching.

Peer coaching was examined because induction programs did not attend to the individual needs of alternatively certified teachers. …

Locating Supervision—A Reflective Framework For Negotiating Tensions Within Conceptual And Procedural Foci For Teacher Development, Jennifer L. Snow-Gerono

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This manuscript presents a theoretical construct for analyzing procedural and conceptual tensions within instructional leadership for teacher development. The dynamic, multi-dimensional framework demonstrates possibilities for locating supervision as having procedural and conceptual bases. By employing the questions identified, educators place themselves within the framework focused on specific areas and located along a procedural to conceptual continuum. Identifying tensions in practice guides educators to be more reflective when engaging in professional growth. Ultimately, teachers need to become empowered to engage in reflective supervision in order to guide professional development, teaching and learning.

Transformative Education For Culturally Diverse Learners Through Narrative And Ethnography, Aileen Hale, Jennifer Snow-Gerono, Fernanda Morales

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article presents a study of the effects of creating a bridge between the narrative and ethnographic methods and writing processes as a means to more effectively educate teachers of culturally diverse learners. Ten teacher-participants from a Masters of Education (M.Ed.) degree programme in Bilingual Education at a university in the northwestern United States took a sequence of courses in which instructor-researchers taught them narrative and ethnographic pedagogy, theory, and methodology. Through qualitative methods, instructor-researchers analyzed teacher-participants’ personal narratives and ethnographic case studies for generative themes. In discovering the commonalities of themes between these two methods of inquiry, the research …

International Teacher Perspectives On Using Computers To Teach Music, Jun-Ting Sun

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated how four expert teachers from Australia, Japan, Taiwan and the United States integrated computers into their music classrooms. Through the use of qualitative interviewing methodology (Kvale, 1996), in-depth interviews were conducted between the participants and the researcher. The questions focused on the decision making process behind how these expert teachers chose to integrate technology in their music classes as well as the impact of various cultural, societal, and political influences (parents, teachers, students, school administrators, government officials and policy, and the community) on the development and implementation of their curriculum. Findings from this study suggest that music …

From Traditional Delivery To Distance Learning: Developing The Model, Marie F. Holbein

Faculty Articles

Today’s classrooms are no longer bound by geography. Distance learning has provided an attractive and increasingly highly regarded alternative to traditional face-to-face instruction. However, effective implementation requires a shift in thinking for both students and instructors. The purpose of this article is to describe a model for applying a traditional campus-based graduate course to a distance format.

Perceived Attitude Towards Feedback In Athletic Training Clinical Education, Jessica Lynn Emlich

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to measure and compare the perceived mean attitudinal score towards clinical instructor feedback, of Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) accredited athletic training education programs (ATEP) program directors/clinical coordinators and affiliated clinical instructors. Additionally, the investigator was interested to see if relationships between attitudes towards feedback and the respondent's age, sex, employment setting and years of professional experience existed.

There were a total of one hundred and fifty eight participants in this study that comprised the two groups. Program directors and clinical coordinators (PD/CC) comprised 59 of the responses and 99 were …

Gifted Education Exposure In Introductory Special Education Texts: Quantitative Text Content Analysis, Sandra Kay Hansen Wentworth

Dissertations

This present study was designed to examine and compare 10 introductory special education textbooks used in mandatory introductory special education courses. The percentage of text devoted to gifted education chapters in comparison to specific learning disabilities, behavior disorders, mental retardation, autism spectrum disorders, and speech/language/communication disorders was explored for statistically significant differences. Paired samples t tests were conducted to analyze the data. A statistically significant difference was found between the coverage of gifted education and autism spectrum disorders among the 10 examined texts. No other significant statistical findings were found between various exceptionalities among the 10 examined texts. The prevalence …

Excellent Teachers’ Thinking Model : Implications For Effective Teaching, Sahandri G. Hamzah, Hapidah Mohamad, Mohammad R. Ghorbani

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study aimed to suggest an Excellent Teacher Thinking Model that has the potential to be utilized in the development of excellent teachers. Interaction survey method using survey questions, observation, document review and interview was conducted in this study. One hundred and five excellent teachers were selected randomly as research respondents. Two sets of instrument constructed and used in this study were Teachers’ Thinking questionnaire and Teachers’ Teaching Performance observation form. Cronbach Alpha reliability value was between 0.73-0.92 for every component in each division. Multiple regression analysis (stepwise) was used to answer the research questions. R square value (R2 = …

Best Practice Or Most Practiced? Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs About Effective Behaviour Management Strategies And Reported Self-Efficacy, Susan Main, Lorraine Hammond

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Managing student behaviour remains one of the most daunting aspects of teaching for educators and this is particularly so when children with disabilities are included in the regular classroom. Self-efficacy has been identified as having a significant impact on a teacher’s behaviour, and pre-service training can play an important role in preparing teachers to be effective classroom managers. The purpose of this study was to identify if pre-service teachers in an Australian university held high or low self-efficacy beliefs and whether the type of strategies they identified as most effective correlated with those highlighted in the research as best practice. …

In Search Of The Essence Of A Good School: School Characteristics Leading To Successful Pds Collaboration, Aviva Klieger, Anat Oster-Levinz

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Professional Development Schools (PDSs) are collaborative ventures between schools and teacher training institutions. We identify the characteristics of a school that lead to successful PDS collaboration, relating them to Teitel’s model (2003) that merges the principal standards of collaboration with the stages necessary for developing a PDS. We then describe an external evaluation of a PDS in action in Israel, noting that it took several years to achieve some of the objectives; others have still not been met. Finally, we describe the school’s characteristics that contributed to its success as a PDS.

Science And Mathematics Alliance For Recruiting And Retaining Teachers (Smarrt): Addressing The Teacher Shortage In At-Risk Schools, Denise Staudt, Michael Risku, Elda Martinez

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The Science and Mathematics Alliance for Recruiting and Retaining Teachers (SMARRT) is a collaborative partnership pursuing aggressive strategies to recruit high quality minority teachers to teach in high-need schools in urban school districts. This partnership is dedicated to recruiting, preparing, and retaining high quality teachers with strong academic content knowledge in science and/or mathematics and a wide repertoire of research-based teaching practices including ESL strategies. The SMARRT project is designed to allow urban school districts experiencing severe shortages in mathematics, science and ESL teachers to create a pipeline of highly qualified teachers by partnering with the university to recruit, prepare, …

Changing Preservice Teachers’ Attitudes For Teaching In Rural Schools., Peter Hudson, Sue Hudson

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Australia continues to face teaching shortages in rural schools. Indeed, preservice teachers may be reluctant to apply for rural teaching positions, particularly as most have had no rural teaching experiences. What may motivate non-rural preservice teachers to seek employment in rural schools? This study investigates 17 preservice teachers’ first experiences of teaching and living in rural areas. These second and third-year preservice teachers were involved in a five-day rural experience, which included interacting with local communities, living with host families, observing teaching practices, and teaching rural middle-school students. These self-nominated preservice teachers were placed in a variety of rural schools …

Making The Implicit Explicit: Values And Morals In Queensland Teacher Education, Amanda Mergler

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Since the mid-1990s, the role of the teacher has expanded to include overseeing and intervening in the moral development of students. In Australia, this expectation of teachers was generated largely by the national coalition government, and has been continued by the Labor government. As a result, it is essential that pre-service teacher education courses skill pre-service teachers in appropriate ways to educate students about values and morals. Additionally, education degrees must provide opportunities for pre-service teachers to analyse and reflect on their own values and morals. Professional Standards for Queensland Teachers (Queensland College of Teachers, 2006) takes the view that …

Amy Leh Tssa Summer 2008, Amy Leh

Teaching Skills Study Awards (TSSA) Reports

Enhances faculty's teaching by attending a conference devoted to university teaching, a high-impact practice, evidence-based practice or a newly developing teaching practice.

Building Accessible E-Learning Collaboratively, Shalin Hai-Jew

SIDLIT Conference Proceedings

The presenter discusses issues online instructors must consider when creating an accessible Web-based learning environment for those with or without disabilities.

Preparing New E-Learning Faculty For Online Instruction, Shalin Hai-Jew

SIDLIT Conference Proceedings

The presenter addresses concerns and issues associated with online instruction while providing information for instructors beginning their experiences in offering Web-based curriculum.

Standards Vs. 'Standard' Knowledge, Edmund T. Hamann

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

This chapter (one of 40 in the book "Everyday Antiracism", edited by Mica Pollock) matches the format of other entries in the book by providing direct, research-grounded advice for ways of reducing racism in American schools and reducing its damage for students. This chapter focuses on the de facto recognized skills of two English learners (ELLs) who were kept in an intermediate class because of their teacher's need to have their assistance as interpreters, but highlights how this linguistic competence actually de jure counted against these learners making their progress appear slower than it was.

Escuelas Nacionales, Alumnos Transnacionales: La Migración México/Estados Unidos Como Fenómeno Escolar, Víctor A. Zúñiga, Edmund T. Hamann

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

El artículo presenta datos recientes sobre una dimensión de la migración internacional que ha sido poco estudiada: la migración escolar. Con información de dos muestras representativas de alumnos de primaria y secundaria de los estados de Nuevo León y Zacatecas, los autores advierten la importancia del fenómeno y describen las trayectorias escolares de los alumnos transnacionales. De manera particular, en este trabajo, se analizan los dilemas que se le presentan la institución escolar, tanto de México como de Estados Unidos. La concepción mono-nacional de la institución enfrenta una población escolar transnacional en el sentido de que ha sido educada en …

Frances L. Self, Frances L. Self, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Frances L. Self was asked to “sub” for a few weeks in the cafeteria of Dickson County Tennessee Schools back in 1973. She is still there, and has been Manager for the last thirty-two years. She credits her ability to adapt and her dedication to lifelong learning as keys to her success.

Hester Dye, Hester Dye, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Lifelong Arkansas resident Hester Dye is a very active member of her local, state, and national food service associations, and is a past recipient of the Louise Sublette Award. She is currently the Food Service Director in Brinkley, Arkansas. She credits Ernestine Camp’s mentoring as playing a vital role in the success of her nearly 40-year career in child nutrition.

Phyllis Hodges, Phyllis Hodges, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Phyllis Hodges of Dickson, Tennessee, spent fifteen years as Food Service Director, and was instrumental in founding a local nutrition association in Dickson County. She is a firm believer in training and networking. For the past five years Phyllis has been the Director of Procurement and an Educational Consultant for her state agency.

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

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Marilyn Rylie was born in Ohio and grew up in Wisconsin before settling in Arkansas. She is currently the Food Service Director in Sheridan, Arkansas. Another firm believer in the value of training, she also credits Ms. Ernestine Camp as an invaluable asset to her career development.

Diane E. Duncan, Diane E. Duncan, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Diane E. Duncan was, as a teenager, an original member of the National Youth Advisory Council for the American School Food Service Association. The ASFSA started this group to learn more about the student perspective regarding school food service. This experience led Diane to decide to make the nutrition field her career. After working with the Rice Council, ConAgra Foods, and the Florida Department of Citrus, Diane is currently with McKee Foods.

Rita Hamilton, Rita Hamilton, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Rita Hamilton comes from a family with a history in child nutrition. Hamilton’s mother worked at the food service manager at Hamilton’s elementary school in rural Arkansas. After majoring in Home Economics at the University of Arkansas and working as an Arkansas Home Economics extension agent, Rita went on to serve as a state supervisor in the school nutrition programs at the Arkansas Department of Education.

Sandra Fisher, Sandra Fisher, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Sandra Fisher, a graduate of Penn State and Hood College, has spent her career working in Pennsylvania and Maryland. She started out as a hospital dietitian before getting involved with the development of the NET Program in Pennsylvania. She later spent twenty years in Maryland as a Processing Specialist for the Commodity Program.

Kathy Talley, Kathy Talley, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Kathy Talley spent twenty years teaching Home Economics in West Virginia. Since then she has served for nearly another twenty years in the Nutrition Education and Training position at the West Virginia Department of Education. She is proud that her state was the first in the nation to mandate the School Breakfast Program.

Barbara Smith, Barbara Smith, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Barbara Smith taught Home Economics for six years before becoming Food Service Director in Russellville, Arkansas, for four years. She then worked for the Arkansas Department of Education until her retirement is early 2008.

Changes In Kindergarteners' Writing Complexity When Using Story Elements, Lynne M. Watanabe

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined changes in kindergarteners' writing complexity after implementing writing instruction based on story elements (character, setting, problem, and solution). Writing samples from six students of three ability levels (i.e., beginning, intermediate, and advanced) were collected over a six-week period within a guided writing context. These samples included three types of texts (oral language, pictures, and written text)and were analyzed using two analytic rubrics specifically created for this study, one for writing development and the other for the inclusion of story elements. Findings from this study suggest that all students, regardless of ability level wrote in more complex ways …