Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Perceptions Of Urban School Principals On Urban Teacher Retention, Latonya Stredic

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have indicated that principals can play a crucial role in motivating teachers to stay or leave. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the perceptions of principals who work in urban schools as related to overcoming the high attrition of teachers in their schools. Using transformational leadership theory as a framework to address research questions, data were collected from semistructured interviews with 12 principals. Using a 7-question interview protocol, this study sought perspectives on the causality of urban teachers’ attrition, including leadership practices that help with hiring, sustaining, and retaining teachers on urban school campuses. Interviews were …

How Teachers And Counselors Collaborate Formally And Informally To Improve The Precollege Curriculum, Amanda Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teachers and counselors in a large suburban district in the Southeastern United States strive to collaborate to equip students with key skills needed to succeed in their first year of college. The problem is that little was known about the collaborative challenges teachers and counselors faced as they implemented the precollege curriculum in secondary schools. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine how teachers and counselors collaborate formally and informally to improve the precollege curriculum as recommended by the guidelines of the American School Counselor Association and adopted by the local district. Knowles’s theory of andragogy provided …

Preschool Educators’ Perspectives On The Racial Disproportionality In Exclusionary School Discipline, Delesline Miller

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Black preschool students are disproportionately suspended and expelled from school compared to their same age White peers. The purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives of preschool educators in a single county located in a southeastern state to gain insight about the racial disproportionality in school discipline. Critical race theory was used as a framework to further understand educators’ perspectives concerning the influence of race and culture on student discipline and examine educators’ perspectives concerning the contextual factors that contribute to exclusionary school discipline. This was a basic qualitative study with semistructured interviews of 11 preschool educators. Participants …

Understanding Teachers’ Experiences Implementing An Innovative Early Literacy Program, Stephanie Callaway

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed in this study was the lack of effective literacy interventions for the development of reading skills for primary students who are at-risk for dropping out of high school. The purpose of this study was to examine early literacy instruction by exploring the insights and perspectives of primary educators who participated in a literacy intervention program known as the supporting literacy model. The conceptual framework was based on sociocultural learning theory and self-efficacy theory. The main research question for this qualitative multiple case study addressed the experiences of teachers and instructional coaches who implemented the supporting literacy model. …

Exploring Head Start Teachers’ Challenges Working With Dual Language Learners, Jolene Andriaschko

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although the number of dual language learners is increasing in the United States, little is known about the challenges Head Start teachers and education coordinators face in working with this population. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore Head Start teachers’ and education coordinators’ perspectives regarding the support teachers need to meet the challenges of working with dual language learners. This study was grounded in Jim Cummins’s language acquisition framework, which suggests that dual language learners benefit from instruction in their native language and the language of the classroom. A basic qualitative study design was used with …

Knowledge Of Content For Clinical Nursing Educators: An Ethnographic Investigation Of Clinical Experts Who Transition To The Role Of Novice Clinical Nursing Educator, Stacy Wheat Huber

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this research study was to identify and describe the teaching practices and the grounding experiences of the teaching practices novice educators use when teaching undergraduate students in the clinical patient care area. The following research questions guided this investigation: What teaching practices and teacher knowledge do novice clinical nursing educators demonstrate or draw from when teaching undergraduate nursing students in the clinical patient-care area? In what ways do novice clinical nursing educators change or adapt their teaching behaviors as a response to the context of the teaching/learning environment? What grounding educational or professional experiences do novice clinical …

Using Coaching Strategies To Support Parents When Promoting Social Communication In Individuals With Disabilities, Molly Baldridge

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The purpose of this practitioner’s piece was to provide educators with a research-based coaching model that will increase opportunities for meaningful collaboration with parents or guardians in order to promote family-centered and socially meaningful child outcomes for their children with autism or other intellectual disabilities. The training model was based on Lane et. al.’s (2016) brief coaching method approach. Other suggested components to parent training included cultural competency, goal setting, planning for generalization, following up and asking for feedback, and troubleshooting any problem behaviors.

Using Response Cards In Inclusive Classrooms, Kaitlin Ayers

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

Inclusive classrooms consist of students with and without disabilities. It is often difficult for teachers to find ways to incorporate all students equally in classroom discussions. Often students with disabilities tend to participate less than their typically developing peers. For teachers to be effective in their classroom it is important for them to follow high leverage practices. One high-leverage practice strategy for teachers to incorporate in their classroom is the use of response cards (RCs). Response cards are evidence-based practices for increasing active engagement, academic achievement, on-task behavior, as well as decreasing problem behaviors. In order for students to have …

Tensions Of Learning On The Job, Brandon M. Butler, Diane Yendol-Hoppey

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

What does it mean to lead in teacher education? This is a question to which self-study scholars have provided some answers, but there remain opportunities to more deeply explore this question. Although there is an extensive research base in self-study on the transition from teacher to teacher educator (e.g., Williams et al., 2012) and a broader base of scholarship on higher education leadership as department chairs (Buller, 2012; Cipriano & Riccardi, 2010) and the deanship (e.g., Clift et al., 2015; Elliott-Johns, 2015), self-study research into teacher education leadership is still in its relative infancy (Allison & Ramirez, 2020).

In this …

"We Need To Be In The Classroom More”: Veteran Teachers’ Views On Teacher Preparation And Retention, Jori S. Beck, Christina Lunsmann, Tiberio Garza

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Annual teacher attrition hovers around 8% and causes of teacher attrition have been studied widely. However, more needs to be known about specific aspects of teacher preparation that can foster retention. The goal of this study was to understand the perspectives of veteran teachers regarding retention. This investigation employed semi-structured interviews with teachers who graduated from a south western university and who have persisted in their teaching careers in a large, urban school district. Our analyses conveyed that rich field experiences and particular characteristics of mentor teachers can foster retention; however, these persisters also persevered through inauthentic teacher preparation experiences.

Be Creative Now: Seeking Creativity, Sam Kulla

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

A self-guided framework for professional and personal creative development including a series of five lesson activities geared towards developing a personal concept of creativity, with links to creativity videos, inclusive design features, and an annotated bibliography. In addition to guiding self-study, this document could be adapted into a syllabus for an online course.

Partnering Undergraduate Engineering Students With Preservice Teachers To Design And Teach An Elementary Engineering Lesson Through Ed+Gineering, Kristie Gutierrez, Stacie I. Ringleb, Jennifer Jill Kidd, Orlando M. Ayala, Pilar Pazos, Krishnanand Kaipa

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Major challenges in engineering education include retention of undergraduate engineering students (UESs) and continued engagement after the first year when concepts increase in difficulty. Additionally, employers, as well as ABET, look for students to demonstrate non-technical skills, including the ability to work successfully in groups, the ability to communicate both within and outside their discipline, and the ability to find information that will help them solve problems and contribute to lifelong learning. Teacher education is also facing challenges given the recent incorporation of engineering practices and core ideas into the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and state level standards of …

Exploring Preservice Teachers' Affective Response To Disruptive Student Behavior In An Immersive Simulation Classroom, Eileen Glavey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This mixed methods study investigated changes in preservice teachers' affective response to disruptive student behavior within the TeachLivE, immersive simulation classroom. Preservice teachers completed two simulation teaching sessions, during which they were exposed to five different disruptive student behavior events in each. All teaching sessions were recorded and post-processed using iMotions Affectiva Affdex software to collect data on preservice teachers' emotion expression and valence during their teaching experiences. At the end of each teaching session, participants completed a self-report survey on their level of stress. Simulated teaching sessions were followed-up with video stimulated recall sessions where participants reflected on their …

Teacher Shortages: An Analysis Of The Relationship Among First-Year Teacher Retention, Type Of Licensure, Teaching Assignment, And Professional Learning In One Urban Central Florida School District, Stephanie Stan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Over 95% of states in the nation experience teacher shortages in at least one subject or certification area (Espinoza et al., 2018). Specifically, special education is acknowledged as an area with a critical shortage of teachers (Florida Department of Education, 2018; U.S. Department of Education, 2018). The purpose of this study was to investigate teacher shortages through the analysis of the relationship among first-year teachers, teacher licensure, teaching assignment, professional learning, and teacher retention. This study examined the relationship between first-year teacher retention and whether a cohort of first-year teachers remained within the same school, moved to another school within …

Sexual Consent In Middle School Sex Health Education: An Analysis Of Health Education Standards In Minnesota, Ashley Parent

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Comprehensive sex education is designed to teach sexual health, reproductive health, human sexual anatomy, safe sex, birth control and sexual abstinence. Consent education focuses on sexually transmitted infection (STI), pregnancy prevention, sexual identity, and the risks of sexual violence (Willis, 2019). This qualitative content analysis and survey will explore consent education in middle schools adopted in Minnesota from the past ten years. The research questions for this study are: is consent a part of sex education? How has consent been taught in 8-10 grades in Minnesota over the past 10 years? What frameworks are being used to teach consent to …

Social Foundations Of Education: Community Study Assignment, Bethany Rogers

Open Educational Resources

This project engages teacher candidates in learning about an urban school's surrounding community - the "social contexts" of schooling - through four activities carried out over four weeks. Small working groups, assigned to a Staten Island North Shore zoned, Title One elementary school, are tasked with gathering and analyzing a variety of secondary, primary, and observational data through the cumulative activities and, supported through readings and discussions, individuals are encouraged to connect their findings to the development of a more informed, culturally responsive mindset.

Brokering Social Capital: A Qualitative Case Study On How A Hispanic Serving Institution Fosters Social Capital For First-Generation, Latinx, On-Campus Student Employees, Christian Corrales

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Around 80 percent of undergraduates enrolled in U.S. higher education institutions are employed (Carnevale et al., 2015; Kena, Musu-Gillette, Robinson, Wang, Rathbun, Zhang, & Velez, 2015). Research shows that student employment is one of the most critical activities that affect students' post-secondary experiences and decisions while enrolled (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005; Perna 2010; Riggert et al., 2006; Tinto, 1993). The present study aimed at understanding how employing organizations and workplace environments of first-generation Latinx on-campus student employees influenced their ability to build social capital and navigate through higher education.

A social capital lens was used to help understand student participants' …

Substance Use Among 7th - 9th Grade Adolescents: The Role Of Risk- Related Variables In The Probability Of Use Involving Tobacco, Alcohol And Marijuana, Susana A. Villalobos

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The role of schools in preventing substance use among adolescents is a priority for public health advocates across the United States. In recent years the United States has seen an increase in prescription medication overdoses in adults and adolescents. A lack of research exists of adolescents in middle school substance use (Welsh, & Rappaport, 2018). Trends of adolescent substance use of tobacco, alcohol and marijuana continue to rise. Early onset use of legal and illegal substances has proven to increase the odds of long-term use of adolescence into adulthood. Parents, educators, community advocates and law enforcement have long tackled the …

The Digital Literacy Practices Of Transfronterizx Esol College Students: Los De Esol, Laura E. Mendoza

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation aims to contribute knowledge to the literature about ESOL students' digital literacy practices related to educational purposes. I studied the varied digital literacy practices the students used as mediating tools to perform their university activities (e.g., crossing to come to school, communicate with classmates/instructors about assignments, completing assignments). This study takes place on the U.S. side of the borderland area of El Paso, Texas-Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. The participants were 43 transfronterizx ESOL college students, who were young adults between 18-25 years of age enrolled in the ESOL program at Sun University. I draw on ethnographic and netnographic …

Caregiver Experiences With The Dyslexia Identification Process In A Borderland Community In Texas, Angela Victoria Enriqueta Owens

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This phenomenological study (Moustakas, 1994; Peoples, 2020) uses critical disability theory (Devlin & Pothier, 2006) and intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1989) as a lens for investigating the experiences of caregivers in a borderland community in Texas during their childâ??s dyslexia identification process. I used Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) which has roots in hermeneutic phenomenology (Heidegger, 1971) as a research method to answer the research question, how do caregivers from minoritized backgrounds in a Texas Borderland community experience the Dyslexia identification process in public schools. The three caregivers in this study were able to participate through face-to-face and virtual formats, due to the …

Virtual Laboratory Of Industrial Scenarios For Training In The Areas Of Automation And Control, Jorge Alberto Ortega-Moody, William R. Grise

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

The incorporation of new technologies and technological developments in the area of automation and control requires constant training of the personnel involved in such area. The majority of this training begins in the laboratories of educational institutions and training centers for automation personnel. These laboratories are where theoretical knowledge gained in the classroom is applied. Unfortunately, being limited in infrastructure, the use of those laboratories, in the best case scenarios, are restricted to only some actuators and sensors. Industry training is another source in which individual companies have their own internal training programs led by experts in the field. However, …

Learning To Teach Reading Responsively Through Tutoring, Jodi Nickel, Scott Frederick Hughes

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

This article describes a community service learning collaboration between a teacher education program and a nonprofit literacy society. Seventeen teacher candidates (TCs) tutored young readers weekly for seven months as part of their course-related field experience and completed reflective assignments analyzing their own learning and the learning of their tutees. The study demonstrates how the tutoring experience enhanced the pedagogical competence of TCs (kid-watching, assessment, instruction, responsiveness, professional conversations, and affirmation of impact). These findings align with contemporary research in literacy teacher preparation, which identifies that the combination of coursework and tutoring is effective in promoting the integration of TC …

From Creative Idea To Implementation: Borrowing Practices And Problems From Social Science Disciplines, Anil Venkatesh, Erin Militzer

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

By collaborating with partner disciplines, mathematics educators gain valuable insight into the perspectives and needs of their students. This insight can lead to improved coordination of content and methods between courses in mathematics and the partner disciplines. This curricular coordination not only invites students to apply their mathematical knowledge in their own professional contexts, but also allows students to communicate mathematical mastery in the language of their intended professions. In this paper, we discuss the challenges specific to developing a mathematics course in collaboration with partner disciplines, with particular attention to portability to a wide range of math instructors. We …

Why They Care: An Exploration Of Adjunct Faculty Loyalty, Sara Elizabeth Barnwell

Wayne State University Dissertations

Higher education is always evolving and striving to be more effective and efficient. Over time, the use of part-time or adjunct faculty members has increased in an effort to achieve that goal. In this dissertation, the concept of adjunct faculty loyalty is explored using Intuitive Empathic Exploration which is a newly constructed qualitative methodology. Intuitive Empathic Exploration was created for this research study with the hope that it can be used in future research. It draws primarily from the concepts of phenomenology, empathy, intuitive inquiry, and in-depth interviewing. The focus of the research is to consider how adjunct faculty members …

Precarity In Feminism And Feminist Art Education: Decentering Whiteness Through Reproductive Justice Activism, Michelle Bae-Dimitriadis, Olga Ivashkevich

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

The article addresses precarity in mainstream feminism and feminist art education as a systemic dismissal and exclusion of the critical concerns and voices by disenfranchised women of color from its narratives and agendas. It draws on a case of the reproductive justice feminist activism to illustrate how the mainstream pro-choice feminist movement neglected the urgent and often life threatening reproductive concerns by Black, Brown, Indigenous and immigrant women, which led to an establishment of the reproductive justice coalitions by activists of color. The reproductive justice movement is an important call to action to challenge and decenter Whiteness in mainstream feminism …

Perspectives Of Mentor Teachers For Early Childhood Teacher Preparation, Shannon J. Rivera

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Early childhood (EC) teacher education programs and public-school partnerships have broadened preparation of preservice teachers by providing more learning opportunities during preservice field experiences. These experiences require mentoring from highly qualified supervising teachers. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore mentors’ perspectives of their qualifications to mentor EC preservice teachers in a 4-year university laboratory school. Ambrosetti’s theory of mentor preparation guided this study. The research question addressed mentor teachers’ perspectives of their mentoring qualifications for EC preservice teachers. A snowball sample of 8 mentor teachers, with at least 4 years’ experience mentoring EC preservice teachers, volunteered …

The Perspectives Of Early Childhood College Faculty On The Role Of Play, Susan Paula Mckoy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractEarly Childhood and Care Education (ECCE) educators are expected to understand the role of play and implement play in their classrooms, but specific classes on the role of play at the college level are not offered. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to examine the perspectives of full-time ECCE faculty at a Southeastern state technical college teaching preservice teachers to determine their students’ understanding of the role of play, the inclusion of play in their lesson plans, and how play is being implemented in their classrooms. The conceptual framework guiding the study was Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development. …

An Investigation Of Elementary School Teachers’ Culturally Relevant Teaching Practices In Two Cultures: A Comparative Study In China And The United States, Alicia R. Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

Effective teaching is one of the most important factors in student achievement. Throughout the world, there are high expectations for teacher and student performance. Teachers and students need to navigate the demographic and cultural shifts occurring around the world. Teachers’ cultural awareness and knowledge base of culturally relevant teaching practices is critical to their effectiveness. Based on the need to better understand the cultural responsiveness of teachers, this comparative study investigated elementary school teachers’ culturally relevant teaching practices in China and the U.S. through the use of video-cued ethnography. The following findings were revealed from the study: (a) differences in …

Accelerating Professional Socialization With An Undergraduate Proseminar Course, Carrie Anne Platt

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

Guiding students on their professional paths, from selecting a major to pursuing a particular career after graduation, can be a significant challenge for faculty and program leaders. Students, particularly those in broad fields like Communication, rarely know what the major involves, or how their studies will translate into a meaningful career. This uncertainty makes it harder for students to see connections between their coursework, campus resources, and extracurricular activities, a disconnect that impacts engagement, academic performance, and retention. In this best practices article, I explain how an undergraduate proseminar can accelerate professional socialization and help students develop more integrated perspectives …

Structured Engagement For A Multi-Institutional Collaborative To Tackle Challenges And Share Best Practices, Rosalyn H. Hargraves, Stella K. Hofrenning, Janet Bowers, Mary D.R. Beisiegel, Victor Piercey, Erica Slate Young

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

A National Consortium for Synergistic Undergraduate Mathematics via Multi-institutional Interdisciplinary Teaching Partnerships (SUMMIT-P), funded by the National Science Foundation, is a multi-institutional consortium with members from twelve institutions. The consortium adapted two protocols developed by the School Reform Initiative to: 1. provide advice on challenges or dilemmas a consortium member is facing and 2. share project successes with consortium members. The two protocols—a Modified Descriptive Consultancy protocol and a Modified Success Analysis with Reflective Questions protocol—provide a structured format for these discussions. This paper provides an in-depth description of the two protocols and how they have been used for this …