Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Creating In A Participatory Culture: Perceptions Of Digital Tools Among Teachers, Emily Howell, Rebecca Kaminski, Sarah Hunt-Barron

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

The following embedded case study examines teachers’ perceptions of using digital and Web 2.0 tools for literacy instruction. These perceptions are important if teachers hope to enact a more participatory culture of creation rather than consumption called for by scholars such as the New London Group and the New Media Literacies scholars. Case study participants were teachers involved in a NWP site’s Invitational Summer Institute (ISI), with embedded cases of rural teachers in a high-poverty school district. The findings suggest teachers still face extrinsic barriers to enacting a participatory culture, and professional development is needed to help teachers effectively use …

Reimagining Instructional Practices: Exploring The Identity Work Of Teachers Of Writing, Melody Zoch, Joy Myers, Claire Lambert, Amy Vetter, Colleen Fairbanks

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This article provides a cross-case analysis of three teachers who participated in a two-week professional development (PD) on the teaching of writing that addressed their own identities as writers. This is an area that is commonly overlooked and how teachers view themselves as writers may play an important role in how they help their students to think of themselves as writers, may shape the conversations they have about writing, and may influence the kinds of writing opportunities they provide. Drawing on an identity perspective, the findings illustrate how the opportunity to construct and enact writing identities shaped how the teachers …

The Effects Of Professional Development On Elementary Students’ Mathematics Achievement, Jonathan L. Brendefur, Keith W. Thiede, Sam Strother, Dan Jesse, John Sutton

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper describes the effects of a professional development (PD) program – Developing Mathematical Thinking – on student achievement. Six Title I elementary schools with similar demographics, within one school district, were chosen to participate as either a treatment or comparison school. Three schools were chosen to participate in professional development that incorporates effective PD recommendations. All the teachers had to participate in all aspects of the PD, thereby eliminating potential self-selection bias. Using the state standardized achievement test as the before and after measure, results suggest improved student performance after professional development was implemented over a two year period.

Using Data-Informed Instruction To Drive Education: Keeping Catholic Education A Viable And Educationally Sound Option In Challenging Times, Kristen Niemeyer, Laura B. Casey, Robert Williamson, Cort Casey, Susan E. Elswick, Tom Black, Denise Winsor

Journal of Catholic Education

This study was conducted to obtain an understanding of the perceptions that Catholic schoolteachers possessed regarding data informed instructional (DII) practices, specifically curriculum based measurement (CBM). The researchers investigated changes in teacher’s perceptions from pretest to posttest to determine the impact of the 90-minute professional development on teacher’s perceptions of DII. Results showed that Catholic schoolteachers did perceive that they lacked sufficient knowledge to effectively implement curriculum-based measures prior to the training. Significant growth was noted with regard to their perceptions of their knowledge in some areas. According to the results of the paired samples t-test, a meaningful change in …

Understanding Through Narrative Inquiry : Storying A National Writing Project Initiative., Amy Renee Vujaklija

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This narrative inquiry study informed the understanding of a professional development planning process within the National Writing Project Assignments Matter initiative sponsored by the Literacy Design Collaborative. Because little has been written about teacher-leaders in the roles of planning professional development for colleagues, this narrative inquiry used the three dimensions of situation, continuity, and interaction (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000; Dewey, 1938) to explore interviews, large and small group meeting recordings, and email communications among leadership team members during an initiative to plan professional development. Qualitative data analysis included coding of attributes, process, in vivo, and patterns (Saldaña, 2013). Pattern coding …

The Assimilation Of Beginning Teachers Into An Established School Improvement Project: A Qualitative Case Study Examining Formats Of Job-Embedded Professional Development, Lynn A. Fuller

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation examined formats of job-embedded professional development that were experienced by beginning teachers at a high-poverty, high-mobility elementary school in the third year of a School Improvement Grant. A qualitative case study was conducted to examine formats of job-embedded professional development that were most useful to help beginning teachers assimilate into an established school improvement project and support gains in effective teaching practices and student achievement.

In an effort to define what good teaching is and how we can support it, this study informs education leaders about the power of instructional coaching as a way to provide support and …

Faculty Knowledge And Use Of Best Practices In Online Professional Continuing Education, Gladys Montane

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A recent mandate by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists requires that U.S. radiologic technologists complete continuous qualification requirements (CQR). This study examined faculty skills and practices at an American university that developed online CQR courses in response to this mandate. It was specifically designed to assess the knowledge and skills of this university's faculty with regard to best practices in an online learning environment, so as to provide the basis for meeting faculty needs in distance education. Dewey's work on constructivism served as the framework guiding this study. A qualitative, intrinsic case study was employed to collect data using …