Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Underrepresented Students' Perception Of Their Second-Year In College: A Phenomenological Study, Dena Kniess

All Dissertations

The majority of retention efforts have focused on the first-year of college, however just as many students leave college after their second-year (Berkner, He, & Forest, 2002; Lipka, 2006). Experiences of second-year students have been appearing in publications. These studies have identified the broad concerns of the second-year experience, but little is known about how the second-year experience is similar or different for underrepresented students.
This study sought to describe the experiences of underrepresented college students in their second-year of study at a predominantly White institution (PWI). The study was qualitative in nature, and used phenomenological research methods to form …

Empowering Literacy Instruction With Ipads: Teacher Reflection In A Multilayered Professional Development Approach, Kathleen M. Wilson, Laurie A. Friedrich

Research and Evaluation in Education, Technology, Art, and Design

This collective case study (Stake, 1995) examines teacher growth in applying mobile technology to teaching and learning as evidenced in reflections on integrating iPads as teaching and learning tools in a university clinical setting. Graduate students, who were new to tablet technology, were given iPads during a summer session course to use as part of their course requirements and for personal use. Each participant successfully incorporated this technology in completing course assignments, creatively tutoring an elementary grade child with reading and writing difficulties, coaching a preservice teacher in the Secondary Special Education program during tutoring, and communicating with instructors.

Group Counseling For Students Transitioning Out Of Postsecondary Education, Joel A. Lane

Counselor Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper proposes a Narrative-based group counseling model for postsecondary students preparing to graduate and transition out of university life. The challenges associated with this transition are both psychological and career-related in nature. The author utilizes multiple transition frameworks to provide a conceptualization of the graduation transition, and offers an overview of narrative therapy, its use in transition counseling, and its use in groupwork. The proposed intervention calls for two facilitators and between six and eight members. An intervention overview is provided that includes recruitment and prescreening instructions as well as content for eight sessions.

The Effects Of Children Properly Utilizing Cps Tools In The Classroom, Theresa Lyness

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

It is my responsibility as an educator to prepare students by teaching them how to think and not what to think. This project focuses on the importance of teaching our youth creative ways to solve problems and use creativity in a more meaningful way to assist with richer thinking. This project provides students with some necessary tools in order to help them become lifelong learners and problem solvers. It provides students with necessary tools and skills needed for success in the 21^st century. The project includes an introduction to Creative Problem Solving (CPS) process and tools for different age …

S.M.I.L.E. (Success Means Initiating Life Everyday), Charisma C. Dupree

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Abstract:

Motivation exists as an important aspect of our lives. Motivation comes in two main forms, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. No matter the type motivation employed, at some point we all experience motivation to help achieve our goals and in order to reach success in any capacity. The use of Creative Problem Solving (CPS) can also help in the process of motivation and succeeding. When the going gets tough, it is imperative to SMILE – Success Means Initiating Life Everyday.

Attracting Diverse Students To A Magnet School: Risking Aspirations Or Swallowing One’S Beliefs, Amanda Taggart, Alan R. Shoho

Teacher Education and Leadership Faculty Publications

This case study focuses on the ethics of advocating for a social justice perspective versus jeopardizing one’s career aspirations. There are numerous subplots to this case involving the start-up of a new magnet school, including its leaders’ concerns for meeting accountability measures and representing racially diverse, limited English proficient, and economically disadvantaged students. Through this case, we illustrate the conflicting choices school leaders may face when trying to balance their own career aspirations with their advocacy of social justice issues for underrepresented groups of students. By using Starratt’s ethical framework along with Strike, Haller, and Soltis’s and Shapiro and Stefkovich’s …

The Effects Of Race And Gender On The Satisfaction Levels Of Entering And Advanced Level Doctoral Students, Tiffany Nicole Labon

Dissertations

Doctoral education is an aspect of higher education that can be both rewarding and challenging for anyone who attempts the journey. Thelin (2004) stated many graduate students obtain the necessary skills that their individual fields of study require in their master’s and doctoral programs of study. Levine (2005), however, has found that the levels of satisfaction between what students expect and what they receive are at odds at many colleges and universities around the country. Thus, the need to assess graduate programs and services regarding satisfaction is warranted.

The purpose of this study was to compare the relationship of overall …

“Miss, I Am Not Being Fully Prepared”: Student - Teachers’ Concerns About Their Preparation At A Teacher Training Institution In Jamaica, Carmel G. Roofe, Paul Miller

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The issue of teacher preparation continues to occupy academic discourse relating to student outcomes and student achievement (Stronge, Ward & Grant, 2011). Research has supported the view that there is an inextricable connection between student outcomes, quality of teaching and teachers, and teacher preparation (Darling-Hammond 2005; Grover 2002). Similarly, theories about students’ self efficacy beliefs (e.g. Bandura, 1977; Dweck, 2000) and Institutional Habitus (Bourdieu, 1977) have been advanced in relation to students’ study experience, motivation and coping mechanisms. Using data from a focus group comprising 30 third year students enrolled in a four year teacher training pogramme in Jamaica, this …

Conceptualising Changes To Pre-Service Teachers’ Knowledge Of How To Best Facilitate Learning In Mathematics: A Tpack Inspired Initiative, Frank G. Bate, Lorraine Day, Jean Macnish

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In 2010, the Australian Commonwealth government initiated an $8m project called Teaching Teachers for the Future. The aim of the project was to engage teacher educators in a professional learning network which focused on optimising exemplary use of information and communications technologies in teacher education. By taking part in this network, participants were afforded opportunities to transform their practice through a range of localised initiatives that applied information and communications technologies to the art and science of teaching and learning. One of these initiatives involved re-engineering a university mathematics unit targeted at pre-service teachers. Information and communications technologies were purposefully …

Education For Sustainability: A Case Study Of Pre-Service Primary Teachers' Knowledge And Efficacy, Gerard Effeney, Julie Davis

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study investigated the relationships between knowledge and efficacy for teaching sustainability in a sample of 266 pre-service primary teachers at a large, metropolitan university in Australia. A survey gathered information about the participant’s attitudes and self-efficacy for education for sustainability, along with their perceived and actual knowledge of environmental sustainability issues. The participants typically believed they were confident in their abilities to engage with education for sustainability with self-efficacy increasing with increased levels of perceived knowledge. However no relationship was found between perceived knowledge and actual knowledge which suggests that the participants either do not feel constrained by their …

Teachers’ Knowledge Of Anxiety And Identification Of Excessive Anxiety In Children, Clea Headley, Marilyn A. Campbell

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study examined primary school teachers’ knowledge of anxiety and excessive anxiety symptoms in children. Three hundred and fifteen primary school teachers completed a questionnaire exploring their definitions of anxiety and the indications they associated with excessive anxiety in primary school children. Results showed that teachers had an understanding of what anxiety was in general but did not consistently distinguish normal anxiety from excessive anxiety, often defining all anxiety as a negative experience. Teachers were able to identify symptoms of excessive anxiety in children by recognizing anxiety-specific and general problem indications. The results provided preliminary evidence that teachers’ knowledge of …

Beginning Teachers’ Perceptions Of Their Pedagogical Knowledge And Skills In Teaching: A Three Year Study, Doris Choy, Angela F. L. Wong, Kam Ming Lim, Sylvia Chong

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the beginning teachers’ perceptions of pedagogical knowledge and skills in teaching in Singapore. Data was collected from the beginning teachers at three time points: the exit point of the teacher education programme, the end of their first year and third year of teaching. In this three year study, the focus is to examine the beginning teachers’ perceptions of their development in the following teaching related factors: lesson planning, classroom management and instructional strategies. The results showed that beginning teachers’ pedagogical knowledge and skills increased significantly, but at different rates, in all three …

The Moral Imagination In Pre-Service Teachers’ Ethical Reasoning, Amy Chapman, Daniella Forster, Rachel Buchanan

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper will discuss findings from a teaching project pilot study designed to investigate the ways in which pre-service teachers understand and reason through ethical tensions perceived to arise during their final professional experience situation. The project utilised an assessment strategy based on the ‘community of inquiry’ model to document the ways in which pre-service teachers understand and reason through ethical tensions perceived to arise in their profession. Whilst there is significant research examining the pedagogical development of pre-service teachers’ knowledge and skills after their internship experience, there is little research examining their experience of ethical tensions, nor ways to …

Perceptions Of Tennessee School Principals About The Tennessee Educator Acceleration Model (Team), Carmen Belcher Bryant

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to analyze the perceptions of Tennessee principals about the implementation of the Tennessee Educator Acceleration Model (TEAM) and the impact of TEAM on teachers’ instructional practice and professional growth. Participants in this study were PK-12 public school principals from 12 districts in the First Region of Tennessee who were implementing TEAM in the 2011-2012 school year. Specifically this research was guided by 8 research questions on principal’s perceptions about TEAM providing appropriate and effective professional growth for teachers and the principal’s perception about their ability to adequately perform the requirements of TEAM. The …

Summer School: Perceptions Of Summer School Teachers In A Northeast Tennessee School District, Kari Arnold

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The requirements of various educational reform movements such as No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top have left public education systems searching for ways to make sure students are reaching their highest potential. Because of the importance of accountability issues to school systems, it is important to examine ways to help students reach their potential. One tool school districts use to aid in improving student achievement is summer school. This qualitative study provides an overview of the history of summer school. Additionally, it offers a synopsis of various types of summer programs and populations often targeted by summer …

Professional Development And Teacher Perception Of Efficacy For Inclusion, Susan E. Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed for the purpose of quantitatively examining the significant elements of reform-based professional development and their relationship to teachers’ self-efficacies for inclusion. The theoretical frameworks for this study were drawn from Bandura’s (1997) self-efficacy and social cognitive theory in addition to pre-existing research pertaining to professional development and teacher efficacy for inclusion.

A web based survey was developed and made available for voluntary participation to a total population of 385 elementary school teachers in one East Tennessee school district. Data were collected from 79 elementary school teachers in 14 of the district’s elementary schools.

Findings included no …

Teacher Induction Programs In North Carolina: Factors Relating To Job Satisfaction And The Intent To Remain In The Profession, Hannah S. Reeder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Attrition rates continue to rise for beginning teachers. It is alarming that almost half of all new teachers leave the profession within their first 5 years. The “revolving door” that is created negatively affects student achievement. The most common solution to decreasing teacher turnover rates is implementing a comprehensive new teacher induction program. Comprehensive induction programs are designed to increase teacher efficacy, promote quality professional development, and facilitate a collaborative work environment among teachers (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2004).

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine beginning teacher induction programs in the state of North Carolina and the …

Student Attitudes Towards And Impressions Of Project Citizen, Sara Winstead Fry, Adil Bentahar

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Project Citizen is a civic education curriculum used across the United States and internationally, yet research about its impact on students is lacking in the literature. This article reports the results of a preliminary study designed to answer the following questions: What are students’ attitudes toward and perceptions of Project Citizen? How do their attitudes and perceptions compare to those of students who completed senior projects? Ten high school students and 23 first-year college students completed a questionnaire designed for this study. Our findings indicate that the high school students had positive perceptions of Project Citizen, and they self-reported an …

Common Misconceptions And Instructional Best Practices For Teaching Fractions To Students In Grades Three, Four, And Five, Dan Fairchild

Mathematics Graduate Theses

This research paper will identify common misconceptions related to the teaching and learning fractions for students in grades three, four, and five. Different fraction subconstructs will be identified and instructional best practices will be identified for the teaching and learning of comparing fractions, ordering fractions, adding fractions, and subtracting fractions.

Elder Academy : Curriculum Design And Operation Model = 長者學苑 : 課程設計與運作模式, Office Of Service-Learning, Lingnan University, Asia-Pacific Institute Of Ageing Studies, Lingnan University, Lingnan Education Organization, Cheung Ming, Alfred Chan, Hok Ka, Carol Ma, Lai Kuen, Stella Wong, Wing Yee, Nans Leung, Hau Hing, Elaine Tang, Miu Ching, Wendy Ho, Marc Craig Lebane, Emily Endres, John Fraier, Katy Sauer

OSL Book / Book Chapter / Manual 書刊/文章/教材冊

Ever since the launching of the Elder Academy in 2007, numerous schools have joined the fray bringing with them valuable innovations, presenting the elderly and students with a wide variety of educational activities. The experiences of the Elder Academy at Lingnan and other academies are summarized in this handbook, in order to provide a frame of reference and an operation guide for other schools and organizations, so that they may design their own comprehensive teaching and learning plans.

In this handbook, the roles and responsibilities of participating organizations are explained, and there are guidelines and suggestions regarding assessment methods. Apart …

La Barbe: Feminine Beards And Other Mysteries Of French Grammatical Gender, Robin F. Keller

Senior Honors Projects

Grammatical gender in French language is one of the biggest guessing games for a native English speaker. Why a table is feminine and a book is masculine is a question that plagues those learning French as a second language. In French, all nouns have gender, masculine and feminine. The complication: only a small percentage of the nouns are assigned gender semantically leaving the remaining which are assigned gender seemingly arbitrarily. For English native speakers, the distinction of these basic parts in a foreign language is not a natural skill. The simple fact that nouns are either feminine or masculine is …

A Professional Development Program To Improve Math Skills Among Preschool Children In Head Start, Jonathan Brendefur, Sam Strother, Keith Thiede, Cristianne Lane, Mary Jo Surges-Prokop

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of providing early educators professional development experiences and activities to improve the mathematical skills of preschool children in Head Start around four domains of mathematics. Because of the need to provide necessary mathematical experiences to young children to improve their early understanding and skills and provide the foundation for future success in mathematics, we provided the treatment group of early educators with professional development and center-based activities to promote four critical areas in mathematics. By randomly selecting Head Start centers to participate as the treatment group or control group, we …

Practicing And Preservice Teachers' Sense Of Efficacy For Character Education, Carolyn Lowe

Honors Scholar Theses

This study explored preservice and practicing teachers’ perspectives on their preparation to support students’ character development and their sense of efficacy in implementing classroom practices related to this area of education. The research questions framing the study were as follows: (1) What levels of efficacy around character education do practicing and preservice elementary teachers from the same teacher preparation program report? (2) How do efficacy levels differ between practicing and preservice teachers? (3) What influences on their efficacy for character education do practicing and preservice teachers report? The study involved a survey of 79 practicing and preservice teachers, with similar …

Editorial: The Long View, Jeff Sommers

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Microethnography On The Role Of Play In An After School Program, Amanda Kolacia

HIM 1990-2015

This study explores parents' views on the importance of free play when it pertains to what their children do after school. By studying this information, teachers, childcare providers, and administrators can use these perceptions in an attempt to discover why children are no longer engaging in unstructured play as frequently as they once were. Through the responses of 59 parents who participate in a large afterschool program, this study revealed that although 81% of parents ranked free play as valued in their own childhoods, free play ranked low in terms of parents' acknowledgement of play in after school programs of …

Factors That Impact Administrator-Teacher Relationships, Patrick Sean Gray

Dissertations

Retaining teachers continues to be problematic for educational leaders across the country. With these numbers steadily increasing, one must examine the reasons as to why teachers are leaving the profession and how school administrators can address these problems if schools are going to maintain and increase their levels of success. Reasons teachers leave the profession can be attributed to the relationship teachers have with their building-level administrator.

The purpose of the study is to identify as well as describe the frequency and relative importance of circumstances that may impact administrator-teacher relationships. A questionnaire, developed by the researcher, was mailed to …

Exploring Three Fifth-Grade Teachers' Understanding Of Historical Thinking: A Case Study, Deanne Rigby Murray

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Deanne R. Murray at Utah State University conducted a qualitative case study aimed at examining the understanding and practice of historical thinking of three fifth-grade teachers. These three teachers had each been a participant for 3 years in a federally funded Teach American History (TAH) grant project aimed at increasing teachers' historical knowledge and classroom practices. This TAH project in Utah was particularly focused on teachers learning to use cultural tools in socially mediated settings with the ultimate goal of improving their students' performance in history.

This study sought to understand the development of these three teachers' historical thinking through …

Lesson Study At The Bank Street School For Children, Ryan Harrity

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Lesson study, the primary form of professional development in Japan, is receiving increased attention in the U. S. Its efficacy in Japan is well documented, and it has been successfully implemented in the U. S. Other educator-scholars have adequately argued for its use in American schools. What is needed, however, is more documented evidence of its implementation and outcomes, as well as school-specific frameworks for conducting lesson study in various schools, especially independent schools. There has been extensive documentation of lesson study in public schools across the U. S., but none, as we know, in independent schools. This paper establishes …

Language Arts Achievement Of Fourth Grade Students With Regard To Gender, Ethnicity, And Socioeconomic Status, Paula C. Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted to see if a difference exists in the language arts proficiency levels of 2,080 fourth grade students with regard to gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status from 2010 through 2012 on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program. Specifically, this study considered the possibility that a difference existed in language arts proficiency levels between males and females.

A quantitative study was used to find differences in the language arts proficiency levels from 2010 through 2012 for males and females in the fourth grade in an upper East Tennessee urban school system. A quasi-experimental design was selected because preexisting data …

Cooking Up A Course: Food Education At Pomona College, Christina A. Cyr

Pomona Senior Theses

Cooking skills are important but declining, with significant health, social, cultural, political, economic, and environmental implications. Food and cooking education can begin to address some of the negative effects of the cooking skills decline. This thesis makes the case for cooking classes in the education system, especially in higher education. The paper begins with a history of cooking education and skills, outlines the implications of the decline in skills, and discusses the potential for cooking education in higher education. The second part consists of a course syllabus, designed for Pomona College. The third section includes a discussion of the implementation …