Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

The Diversity Dialogue: Rethinking Pedagogical Practices To Provide Hope For Pre-Service Teachers, Mildred M. Pearson Dr., Samantha Cantu

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

This study examines how a diverse dialogue addresses cultural differences and social injustices and how cultural responsiveness helps teachers approach education more equitably. When teachers use a diverse dialogue, they are able to create a classroom curriculum that includes all voices, experiences, and activities and satisfies the needs of all learners. The study also suggests that teachers adjust their pedagogical practices to the ever-changing multicultural classrooms. Through an examination of best practices, teachers will be able to invest in more creative and diverse approaches that will not only benefit the individual student, but also the entire classroom. Applying positioning theory …

The Diversity Dialogue: Rethinking Pedagogical Practices To Provide Hope For Pre-Service Teachers, Mildred Pearson, Samantha Cantu

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

This study examines how a diverse dialogue addresses cultural differences and social injustices and how cultural responsiveness helps teachers approach education more equitably. When teachers use a diverse dialogue, they are able to create a classroom curriculum that includes all voices, experiences, and activities and satisfies the needs of all learners. The study also suggests that teachers adjust their pedagogical practices to the ever-changing multicultural classrooms. Through an examination of best practices, teachers will be able to invest in more creative and diverse approaches that will not only benefit the individual student, but also the entire classroom. Applying positioning theory …

Theory Guided Professional Development In Early Childhood Science Education, Soo-Young Hong, Julia C. Torquati, Victoria J. Molfese

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

The importance of early and developmentally appropriate science education is increasingly recognized. Consequently, creation of common guidelines and standards in early childhood science education has begun (National Research Council (NRC), 2012), and researchers, practitioners, and policy makers have shown great interest in aligning professional development with the new guidelines and standard. There are some important issues that need to be addressed in order to successfully implement guidelines and make progress toward accomplishing standards. Early childhood teachers have expressed a lack of confidence in teaching science and nature (Torquati, Cutler, Gilkerson, & Sarver, in press) and have limited science and pedagogical …

“My Classroom Is A Bigger Place”: Examining The Impact Of A Professional Development Course On The Global Perspective Of Experienced Teachers, Steve Sider, Mary Ashun

Education Faculty Publications

How do experienced teachers develop a global perspective through a professional development course and how can this perspective impact classroom practice? These are the two key questions which this paper examines. We utilize Guskey’s (2002) model of teacher change as a framework for understanding the results of a study involving experienced teachers who took a professional development course which had a focus on global education. The participants engaged in a number of activities four months after the completion of the course to explore how the course had impacted their classroom teaching practice. Common themes were identified through participant reflective papers …

The Design And Implementation Of An Online Professional Development Program For Future Online Educators : A Case Study, Joy Quah

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study examines the practices of an instructor who designed and instantiated an online professional development program to foster expertise in online instructional design. The main purpose of this study is to investigate how her application of technological affordances may inform a re-examination of Cognitive Apprenticeship (Collins, Brown, & Newman, 1989). This theory was formulated to guide the design and research of a workshop-based learning environment that support students in thinking, problem-solving and accomplishing tasks like practitioners in the field. Since the theory was proposed prior to the advent of online teaching and learning, there is a need to reconsider …

A Phenomenological Study Of Indonesian Cohort Group's Transformative Learning, Markus Budiraharjo

Dissertations

This study was set to investigate how a cohort of ten Indonesian teachers experienced transformations in their teaching professionalism upon receiving an assignment of instructional leadership training to other school leaders. These ten teachers, who came from three different Indonesian Jesuit high schools and one archdiocese-based educational foundation in Jakarta, belonged to an initiative called Indonesia Secondary Education Development Program (ISEDP) intended to develop instructional leadership skills among school administrators in Indonesia. This six-year initiative (2006-2012) involved three international institutions, namely Loyola University Chicago (LUC), Indonesian Jesuit High Schools Association (IJSA), and Sanata Dharma University (SDU), Indonesia. The goal was …

Preparing Teachers For Use Of Impact Activities: An Exploratory Study, Jeremy Lee Ramirez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The iMPaCT project team has developed three modules of activities that use programming on TI-83/84 calculators as a means to engage students to explore foundational concepts in Algebra I. The developers conducted a 3-day summer Professional Development Program (PDP) for teachers to become familiar with the objectives, pedagogy, assessments, and resources of the three modules of iMPaCT activities. I have collected and analyzed various forms of data such as videotapes of workshop sessions, teachers' written work and a pre-post assessment. The purpose of this study is to provide the program coordinators with information about the PDP for planning of future …

I Am A Teacher Walking A Mile In Her Shoes: A Narrative Study Of Teacher Identity, Amy Parmenter

Educational Studies Dissertations

Using an adapted life story interview process, narratives of six female mid-career elementary teachers were collected and analyzed. The stories describe the values and beliefs of these educators as they reflect on their experience being a teacher employed in one of three public elementary schools undergoing reform. Findings suggest professional development for teachers that cultivates a collaborative school culture and develops reflective dialogue and evaluative thinking is beneficial for schools in the midst of change. Author keywords: teacher identity; community of practice; learning community; life story; public school; professional development; reflective dialogue; evaluative thinking; change; elementary education; educational change; teachers--in-service …

Changes In Perceived Teacher Self-Efficacy And Burnout As A Result Of Facilitated Discussion And Self-Reflection In An Online Course Designed To Prepare Teachers To Work With Students With Autism, Monica Boomgard

Doctoral Dissertations

A growing number of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who display complex learning needs present challenges to educators who struggle to meet their educational needs. Teaching is stressful and additional instructional challenges may increase teacher vulnerability to burnout, leading to a greater likelihood of attrition. Increasing teachers' knowledge of strategies specific to students with ASD within online professional development may create needed support networks increasing self-efficacy and decreasing perceived stress. The purpose of this study was to examine the changes special and general education teachers' perceived self-efficacy and burnout as a result of facilitated discussion and self-reflection embedded in …

School Library Media Specialists' Perceptions Of Collaboration, Leadership And Technology, Jozan Maria Powell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

School impact media studies indicate that a well-staffed and funded school library media program with a certified school library media specialist (SLMS) positively correlates with increased student achievement. SLMS must have a shared understanding of their roles and responsibilities to positively impact student success. In an effort to determine prior knowledge and differentiated learning objectives, the method of certification is critical for planning professional development. This dissertation presents a multi-method investigation of differences between Alternatively Certified (AC) and Traditionally Certified (TC) SLMS as it relates to their perceptions of collaboration, leadership and technology described in Information Power: Building Partnerships for …

An Exploratory Study Of Teacher Empowerment And Technical Education In Kentucky, Lee Ann Wall

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between teachers’ perceptions of empowerment and principal use of power within career and technical education in Kentucky. The researcher posits that, with the continual process of educational reform, principals need to understand what empowers teachers to perform as additional expectations and responsibilities are being mandated.

The researcher used a mixed methods design to examine power bases that career and technical education teachers perceived were used by their principals to identify teachers’ perceived empowerment, as well as influencers and barriers. Data were collected with a survey and two open-ended questions from …

Influence Of Teacher Qualifications, Experience, Instructional Methods, And Professional Development On Student Achievement On The Mississippi Writing Assessment In Grades Four And Seven, Stacy Kihneman Garcia

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if teacher qualifications, experience, instructional methods, and professional development influenced student achievement on the Mississippi Writing Assessment in grades four and seven. The study was conducted in the three coastal counties of southern Mississippi. Participants were fourth or seventh grade teachers who taught in one of the eight school districts that were included in the study.

Participants were asked to provide information regarding their qualifications, amount of classroom experience, preferred instructional methods, and feelings on professional development. Also requested from each teacher was his/her classroom average on the Mississippi Writing Assessment from …

An Examination Of Mississippi Public School Teachers' Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of Their Professional Development Experiences In Raising Student Achievement, Daniel Martin Rushing

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to provide insight into the elements needed to produce a high quality professional development program for teachers. The researcher sought to determine possible factors that had a significant relationship to Mississippi public school teachers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of their professional development experiences in raising student achievement. Furthermore, the researcher wanted to identify possible inequities with professional development opportunities for teachers in Mississippi. It is the hope of the researcher to highlight the characteristics of effective professional learning defined by research that would kindle a desire in classroom teachers to advance their skill levels …

The Value Based Professional Development For Teachers’ Attitude, Behavior And Enhanced Professionalism : A School Based Intervention Through A Whole School Improvement Program (Wsip), Khush Funer Murtaza, Abida Begum, Sharifullah Baig

Professional Development Centre, Gilgit

This paper highlights the strategies and approaches employed to bring about positive changes in the attitude and behavior of the teachers and enhance their sense of professionalism in a girl’s high school of Gilgit Baltistan Pakistan. In addition to that, it illuminates the successes, challenges and the influence of these strategies and approaches on the overall school environment. These interventions were part of the one year long whole school improvement program(WSIP) exercised by PDCN in the academic year 2009-10 of the particular school. The strategies started with vision building, team building and task delegation, distributing the leadership and teacher empowerment, …

A Personalised Needs-Led Group Approach To Induction: Perceptions Of Early Academics In A University School Of Education, Joy Jarvis, Claire Dickerson, Leo Chivers, Chris Collins, Libby Lee, Roger Levy, Dianne Solly

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Members of staff joining a school of education often have extensive experience in practice but not in academia and the university setting may present a complex diversity of roles, ways of working, values and goals. Colleagues may face issues of understanding the organisational structure and culture, changing identities, and concerns about their academic reading and writing abilities. This paper presents a study designed to examine the efficacy of a personalised needs-led self-study group approach to induction for experienced professionals joining a University School of Education. The approach was new to both current staff members and the four early academic …

“I’M Teaching What?!”: Preparing University Faculty For Online Instruction, Susan Ohara, Robert Pritchard

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

The percentage of higher education students enrolled in online courses has increased from 9.6 percent in fall 2002 to 33 percent in fall 2010. Due to the increased importance of online courses and programs on university campuses there is a need to better prepare novice technology faculty for the delivery of these courses. This article provides a description of the process through which a group of faculty with low to high technology skills prepared to deliver an online masters program. Minutes of meetings, documents produced, online discussion transcripts, and informal conversations were all used as data to analyze outcomes of …

Moving Forward On Common Ground: A Mixed Methods Exploration Of National Standards, Sharon Kay Cogan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

There is extant literature regarding teacher professional development; however, there is limited research in the area of "high-quality" teacher professional development practices which are advocated for at the government and district levels based on Learning Forward's (formerly National Staff Development Council - NSDC) guidelines for school reform.

The intent of this proposed research study is to examine the professional development practices of three elementary schools in a large urban area in the southwest region of the United States, and how well the professional development practices align with Learning Forward's national standards for constructing effective professional development. Administrators and teachers anonymously …

Education Preparation To Respond To The Needs Of Homeless Children & Youth: Perceptions Of School Personnel, Sarah Elizabeth Harris

Honors Scholar Theses

Each year, 1.5 million children spend at least one night in a homeless situation (Public Broadcast Station, 2009). These students struggle to achieve academically with schooling that is inconsistent in both location and curriculum and living conditions that are not conducive to homework and study. This study examined educators’ perceptions of homelessness and the academic and social needs of homeless students, as well as the preparation that teachers and other school personnel report that they have received in pre-service preparation programs and through professional development opportunities to address the unique needs of homeless children and youth. The project explored educator …

Narrative Education: Bridging Technology And Storytelling As Tools For Teachers And Students To Meet The Common Core Standards Of Education, Leslie C. Soodak

Cornerstone 2 Reports : Community Outreach and Empowerment Through Service Learning and Volunteerism

No abstract provided.

Bridging Contexts: Creating An Online Professional Development Tool For Enhancing Teacher-Family Communication, Joan Walker

Cornerstone 1 Reports : Expansion and Enhancements of the Thinkfinity Platform

No abstract provided.

Learning From Mentoring Relationships Within And Between Higher Education Institute Staff, Sinead Mccann

Staff Articles and Research Papers

As part of the PERARES project, staff on the Programme for Students Learning with Communities (SLWC) in DIT have been formally mentored by staff at Queen’s University Belfast, with over 20 years experience fostering community-based research (CBR) projects. This paper shares both experiences of the invaluable support, insight and practical guidance emerging from this mentoring relationship, and considers early outcomes from a pilot of informal mentoring relationships in DIT between academic staff experienced in CBR and staff starting CBR projects with students for the first time.

Assessing Content Knowledge And Changes In Confidence And Anxiety Related To Economic Literacy In A Professional Development Program For History Teachers, Julia M. Rollison, Larry H. Ludlow, Todd Wallingford

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a Teaching American History professional development program on content knowledge, and confidence and anxiety associated with teaching economic literacy. Two content assessments and a confidence and anxiety instrument were administered to teachers prior to and immediately following a two-week Summer Institute. Statistically significant findings included an increase in economics content knowledge and an increase in confidence combined with a decrease in anxiety. The scale and measurement model employed to examine status and subsequent change should be useful for similar professional development initiatives and evaluations.

The Development And Use Of Online Modules For Professional Development In Early Childhood Education, Angi Stone-Macdonald, Anne Douglass, Marylu Love, Institute For Community Inclusion, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The goals of this program is to examine the role of online training modules in professional development for early childhood educators, to understand the technological capacity of the early childhood workforce for using online professional development and to examine the challenges/barriers to the field in using online professional development and technology-mediated learning.

Member Perceptions Of Informal Science Institutions Graduate Certificate Program: Case Study Of A Community Of Practice, Lois A. Ball

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

This research attempted to understand the experiences of a cohort of informal and formal science educators and informal science institution (ISI) community representatives during and after completion of a pilot graduate certificate program. Informal science educators (ISEs) find limited opportunities for professional development and support which influence their contributions to America's science literacy and school science education. This emergent design nested case study described how an innovative program provided professional development and enabled growth in participants' abilities to contribute to science literacy. Data were collected through interviews, participant observations, and class artifacts. The program by design and constituency was …

Professional Learning Community Impacts On Student Achievement In Middle School Mathematics, Jessica Stuewe

Mathematics Graduate Theses

The development of professional learning communities in middle level education is a relatively new and trendy concept sweeping the nation. School professional development committees are training large numbers of teachers through conferences, book studies and online webinars on how to collaborate to improve student learning. This research will explore the impact of the first year of implementation of a departmental professional learning community (PLC) on student achievement at the middle school level in the content area of mathematics. Student standardized test scores from 2010 and 2011 will be compared as a measure of success of the PLC. Teacher surveys are …

University-School Partnerships: Pre-Service And In-Service Teachers Working Together To Teach Primary Science., John Daniel Kenny

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper reports on a partnership approach preparing pre-service primary teachers to teach science. Partnerships involving pre-service teachers and volunteer in-service colleagues were formed to teach science in the classroom of the colleague, with support from the science education lecturer. Each pre-service teacher collaboratively planned and delivered a sequence of at least six science lessons over six weeks.

An earlier paper reported on how the program affected the confidence of the pre-service teachers. Over three iterations, 61 in-service teachers from 23 local schools participated.

In this paper the data from the colleague teachers and principals who participated is explored. The …

Teacher Professional Development: Who Is The Learner?, Kirsten Petrie, Clive Mcgee

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

One of the challenges in in-service teacher education is how teachers can be given professional development (PD) that enables them to respond to national curriculum and policy change. In recent years primary teachers in New Zealand have been inundated with Ministry of Education-funded professional development programmes to help them implement a plethora of curriculum policy and reform initiatives. This paper explores how the design and delivery of one PD programme, the Physical Activity Initiative (PAI), positioned and supported teachers as learners. An evaluation of the programme sought data from 25 teachers and 14 advisers to schools. The focus was the …

Culturally Responsive Professional Development For Latinas In Family Child Care: A Dissertation, Jody Figuerido

Educational Studies Dissertations

Latina Family Child Care (FCC) Educators provide early education and care (EEC) for children in their homes. High quality EEC programs, including the FCC setting, help children form a firm foundation for future learning, resulting in positive outcomes. In order to provide this level of programming, educators must participate in specialized training related to early childhood education. Unfortunately, the literature provides limited guidance regarding professional development that meets the needs of the diverse adult learner in the field of early childhood education. The focus of this qualitative study is to articulate the elements of culturally responsive professional development for the …

The Effects Of Interactive Strategies Approach On At-Risk Kindergarten Children's Spelling Development, Sun Hwa Lee

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study involved secondary analyses of an existing kindergarten developmental spelling data set which was collected using the Developmental Spelling Test (DST; Tangel & Blachman, 1992, 1995) in Scanlon and her colleagues' 2005 study (Scanlon, Vellutino, Small, Fanuele, & Sweeney, 2005). The purpose of the current study is to examine whether the early literacy instruction/intervention approach called the Interactive Strategies Approach (ISA; Scanlon, Anderson, & Sweeney, 2010; Vellutino & Scanlon, 2002) is effective for improving at-risk children's spelling development.

Behind The Scenes: Understanding Teacher Perspectives On Technology Integration In A Suburban District Technology Initiative: A Dissertation, John Woolard

Educational Studies Dissertations

Efforts to prepare students with skills necessary to compete in a 21st Century global, digital economy require technological literacy, but many teachers are inhibited by antiquated models of education and epistemological beliefs that leave them reluctant to integrate educational technologies in their content instruction (Dunn & Rakes, 2010; Mouza & Wong, 2009). At the most basic level, apart from time constraints influenced by contradictory school improvement plans, elementary school teachers must contend with the barriers known to hinder the integration of information and communication technology (ICT) including: access, familiarity, training and support (Collins & Halverson, 2009, Levin & Wadmany, 2008). …