Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Spilling The Lgbt(Ea)Q: A Study Of Lgbtq Youth Early School Experiences, Nicholas Catania

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this arts-based qualitative study, I explore the experiences of LGBTQ youth regarding inclusion during their early schooling. The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of youth participants regarding inclusion during their early school experiences to better assist educators and policy-makers at all levels with information to provide safe and equitable learning environments for LGBTQ youth to succeed. The intent of this study was to uncover the ways schools may marginalize or be inclusive of LGBTQ youth by examining school experiences with a particular focus at the elementary level. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, focus groups, …

Christian University Teacher Education Graduates And Perceptions Of Parent Collaboration: An Exploratory Study, Marla J. Lohmann, Ruby L. Owiny

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Effective collaboration between families and schools is an important factor when developing high quality education programs. When schools and families work together, children, families, schools, and communities all benefit. Using an online survey of students who completed teacher certification programs at two Christian universities, this study seeks to understand the way that completers from two teacher preparation programs, both at Christian universities, interact with parents and encourage collaboration and involvement. The research findings and implications for future research are discussed.

Reading Knowledge Transfer From The Pre-Service Teaching Phase To The Novice Teaching Phase: A Phenomenological Study, Natalie Sajko

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

This qualitative study explored the experiences of eight novice teachers as they transferred knowledge of reading instruction from their teacher education programs (TEPs) into their first classrooms in a rural district. Specific mechanisms for learning transfer (prior knowledge, motivation, context, and culture) and their perceived influences were also explored. Phenomenology was utilized to help explore these experiences and perceptions. Social constructivism, Situated Learning Theory (Lave & Wenger, 1991) and critical pedagogies (hooks, 2014; Love, 2019) were used to interpret findings in this study. This study centered on the following questions: (1) how do elementary novice teachers perceive reading knowledge transfer …

Special Education Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions Of Cooperating Teachers’ Co-Teaching Relationships: A Qualitative Study, Christianna N. Vehlow

Theses and Dissertations

During clinical experiences, in-service teachers provide models of instruction for pre-service teachers to learn. With the inclusion of students with special needs in general education settings, these models of instruction often include co-teaching. It is vital for pre-service teachers to see productive co-teaching models since co-teaching is a complex form of instruction differing greatly from traditional solo instruction. Currently there is a dearth of research in the fields of co-teaching and special education regarding the influence of perceived quality of co-teaching modeled in clinical experiences and the development of pre-service teacher attitudes and confidence toward co-teaching. This study sought to …

Not Remotely Familiar: How Covid-19 Is Reshaping Teachers’ Work And The Implications For Teacher Education, Alisun Thompson, Lina Darwich, Lora Bartlett

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the teacher workforce into distance teaching essentially overnight. This educational migration, necessitated by the public health emergency, has dramatically altered and diversified the realities of teachers’ working lives and the conditions in which they teach. This changing environment has important implications for teacher education. This paper presents five assumptions about teacher education and the uncertain work of preparing culturally responsive and social –justice oriented teachers for a rapidly evolving teaching environment. We seek to animate questions and concerns about teacher education in the context of COVID-19 and the implications for social justice teacher preparation.

The Future Of Stem Education, Sandy Jenkins

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this literature review is to examine what quantifies an elite STEM program, what criteria makes STEM education impactful for students, and where the future of STEM education may lie. Integrated STEM is a key aspect of STEM education. STEM perceptions and understandings must be clarified in order to move forward with STEM reform attempts. Learning by doing, using real-world contexts, is vital to the success of integrated STEM education. Successful STEM learning environments must also focus on student engagement and motivation, as well as the incorporation of social-emotional and 21st century skills. Teacher preparation and professional development …

We Don't Teach To The Edtpa: Maintaining Authenticity And Attaining High Edtpa Scores, Holly J. Thornton

Current Issues in Middle Level Education

Concerns have been raised about the high stakes nature of edTPA potentially leading to reductionist, test-driven approaches to teacher preparation. This has come to fruition in practice within many teacher preparation classrooms. EdTPA can devalue anything that is not formally assessed and limit opportunities for faculty and teacher candidates to imagine new possibilities for education (Madeloni & Gorlewski, 2013). In middle level teacher preparation, we can build upon the connections found between AMLE standards (AMLE, 2012) and edTPA. This includes the goal of improving pedagogy through reflection, inquiry, and intentional design to positively impact student learning. As middle …

Social Justice Mathematical Modeling For Teacher Preparation, Patrick L. Seegmiller

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Today's math teachers face significant social and political challenges for which they receive little preparation. Mathematics content courses can potentially provide additional preparation in this regard by providing future teachers with experiences to mathematically explore social justice issues. This provides them with opportunities to increase their awareness and sensitivity to social justice issues, develop greater empathy for their future students, and serve as examples for high quality instruction that they can emulate in their future careers. This dissertation recounts the development and revision of three social justice mathematical modeling projects, and shares evidence from student work samples of the ways …

Video Analysis In Educator Preparation And Its Impact On Teacher Performance Assessment, Kirsten Koetje

Education Dissertations

The researcher analyzed data from two online cohorts of preservice teachers at a small, liberal arts university in Washington State. The researcher conducted a correlational analysis to determine if standardized writing scores and the quantity of video analysis conducted during the educator preparation program (EPP) predicted performance on the national Educative Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA). Contrary to the researcher’s hypothesis, academic writing ability did not have a predictive positive relationship with edTPA performance, r = -.004, p = .98. The total quantity of video analysis, both of self and of other, resulted in a statistically significant positive correlation with …

Perceptions Of Secondary School Special Education Teachers Of Their Preparation For Coteaching, Vicki Zands

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative multicase study was to describe and explain how secondary school special education teachers perceived that their special education teacher education programs prepared them to work as part of a coteaching team and how secondary special educators described the benefits and challenges of working as part of a coteaching team and sought secondary special education teachers’ recommendations for how teacher education programs could better prepare candidates to serve as members of a coteaching team.

Methodology: A qualitative multicase study was used. The researcher conducted semistructured, in-depth interviews with 12 secondary-level special education teachers who were …

Using The 5e Instructional Model In An Online Environment With Pre-Service Special Education Teachers, Delinda Van Garderen, Mary Decker, Rachel Juergensen, Heba Abdelnaby

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

In this practitioner article, we describe the innovative way the 5E Instructional Model was used in an online, hybrid special education undergraduate course to prepare pre-service teachers to teach academic content to their students with disabilities. We provide a rationale for the use of the model in the course, describe how we implemented the model in the course, teachers’ perceptions about the model as a way to facilitate and model the process of learning for themselves and students, and discuss implications for practice.

Making Teacher Preparation Policy Work, Bank Street College Of Education

Prepared to Teach

Making Teacher Preparation Policy Work is the fifth public report from Prepared To Teach. This policy-focused report shares lessons from New York's clinically-rich preparation pilot including principles for policy to support funded teacher residencies in New York and beyond.

Edpreplab As A Learning Community, Jessica Charles, Rebecca Rufo-Tepper

Graduate School of Education

As part of EdPrepLab’s work to strengthen educator preparation in the United States, network members from across the country partnered to form inquiry groups—each comprised of a cross- or intra-institutional team—focused on collaboratively exploring a topic related to deeper learning and equity. This brief summarizes the proposals of each group and highlights the line(s) of inquiry, scope of work, and intended outcomes of each project.

Reflections On Developing A Cross-Institutional Inquiry Project, Rebecca Cheung, Jennifer Robinson, Rebecca Rufo-Tepper, Jessica Charles

Graduate School of Education

Jennifer Robinson, Executive Director of the Center for Pedagogy at Montclair State University and Rebecca Cheung, Director of the Principal Leadership Institute at the University of California, Berkeley, are helping to lead a collaborative inquiry group comprised of three different institutions: Montclair State University, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley). This brief captures protocols and processes they used to support effective collaboration in the design of their inquiry project proposal.

Reflections On Developing A Cross-Institutional Team, Rebecca Cheung, Jennifer Robinson, Rebecca Rufo-Tepper, Jessica Charles

Graduate School of Education

Today’s educators need to develop the knowledge, skills, and disposition to support all students in deeper learning. Educator Preparation Laboratory (EdPrepLab) works to strengthen educator preparation in the United States by building the collaborative capacity of preparation programs, school districts, and state policymakers. Through cross-programmatic sharing of innovative practices, including models and artifacts of educator preparation practice, EdPrepLab’s network of preparation programs helps build leadership and high-quality practice through collaboration, research, and documentation.

Growth Mindset And The Gospel Community, Jillian Lederhouse

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Since publication in 2006, noted Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck’s research on mindset has influenced P-12 curriculum and instruction, helping pre-school, elementary and secondary educators create learning environments that help children and adolescents achieve more rigorous learning outcomes. This essay poses the question of whether it should create an equal impact on higher education, and, more specifically, on Christian teacher preparation programs. The article first reviews the differences between fixed and growth mindsets, misconceptions of the two, and how the two models affect learning at all levels. The essay then gives five scripturally grounded reasons for encouraging a growth mindset in …

Early Childhood Teacher Perspectives Regarding Preparedness To Teach Children Experiencing Trauma, Christina Lombardi-Davis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, approximately 26% of children will witness or experience a traumatic event before they turn 4 years old. Therefore, teachers must be prepared to meet the individual needs of children who exhibit symptoms of trauma. However, there is a gap in research regarding teachers' perspectives about how teacher preparation experiences influence teaching strategies and the creation of supportive environments for preschool children who have experienced trauma. Using Bandura's theory of self-efficacy, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore how teachers' perspectives about teacher preparation experiences influenced their teaching strategies and the creation of supportive …

Intercultural Competence In Pre-Service Teacher Candidates, Joan Barnatt, Lisa Andries D’Souza, Ann Marie Gleeson, Kara Mitchell Viesca, Jessica Wery

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

This mixed-method study utilizes survey and interview data reflecting teacher candidates’ beliefs about intercultural competence to identify areas of targeted support in teacher preparation. Intercultural competence is operationalized by performance on the Cultural Intelligence Survey (CQS) identifying relative areas of strength and weakness in four dimensions. Participants reported awareness of cultural differences and motivation to interact with those from other cultures, with less confidence in their knowledge base and ability to adapt behavior in intercultural interactions. Qualitative data provided explanatory support for understanding how program elements influenced intercultural competence along a developmental trajectory of learning.

A Study On Teacher Candidates’ Questioning Strategies For English Learners Through An Interactive Classroom Simulation, Alex P. Davies Ph.D., Donita Grissom Ph.D., Michele Regalla Ph.D.

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

This study examines a classroom simulation workshop designed for teacher candidates (TCs) to practice questioning strategies with English learners (ELs) at various English proficiency levels, through the lens of sociocultural theory. Data was collected from an assignment in an ESOL methods course consisting of questions that TCs prepared before the simulation, revised after the simulation, and responses to an open-ended questionnaire. Findings show that TCs made their questions comprehensible for beginner level ELs, however, overextended their question modification to both the intermediate and advanced levels. Implications highlight the importance of practicing questioning strategies that are appropriate for all proficiency levels.

The Effects Of Teacher Preparation On Student Teachers’ Ideas About Good Teaching, Eran Tamir

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Utilizing a mixed method approach, this study focuses on the perceptions of good teaching held by graduates of a teacher education program in the U.S. Specifically, this paper examines whether graduates embrace their program’s vision of good teaching and core standards as a guide to their self-reported teaching practice. Six cohorts of graduates’ responses were recorded and analyzed upon arrival and completion of preparation to examine whether students’ ideas changed during the course of the program. Findings suggest mixed results suggesting that teachers adopted several ideas about good teaching that are related to the core standards of the program (e.g., …

Three Ways To Help Esl Content Linger Beyond The “El Course” In Teacher Preparation Programs, Melanie Gonzalez

Journal of English Learner Education

Like many other states, our teacher preparation program arrived at this compartmentalized, “single-experience” ESL-focused course model as a result of local, state, and federal policies in the United States that have increasingly placed ELs into mainstream classrooms rather than into language and literacy development courses (de Jong, 2014). TESOL faculty might have questioned: how can everything related to effective ESL teaching be covered in one semester? The fact of the matter is that the onus on this work largely rests upon teacher candidates’ shoulders after they depart the ESL-focused course. What follows are three practices that largely have arisen …

Creating A Meaningful Experience: On Service Learning And Teacher Preparedness, Nhat-Dzu T. Bui, Telia M. Krown

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The focus of this Capstone project is on the effectiveness of service learning and its role in teacher preparedness. This is an important issue for Liberal Studies students, professors, and the community because in the Integrated Teacher Education Program, service learning is treated as preparation for teaching, and it can be seen that way for Traditional Pathway students as well. It is argued that while service learning works towards an admirable goal, there are obstacles and design decisions that keep it from being fully effective in preparing Liberal Studies students in becoming teachers. The three primary stakeholder perspectives chosen were …

Urban-Focused And Community-Based Teacher Preparation, John R. Walcott

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Existing challenges in many urban schools have led to an increased emphasis on urban-focused teacher preparation. While this work can be demanding and complex, many Christian teacher education programs desire to engage in this work as part of their efforts to prepare their teacher candidates to teach all students and to promote more equitable educational opportunities in urban communities. In this article, the author reviews the literature on effective urban teacher preparation and then discusses the potential for collaboration with local schools and communities to support this work in Christian teacher education programs. The author argues that authentic engagement with …

Teacher Candidates’ Emerging Perspectives On Trauma Informed Teaching, Mary S. Thomas, Penny B. Howell, Shantel Crosby, Elmedina Brkic, Kaleb Clemons, Lydia Mckinley, Sedekia Peter

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

A transdisciplinary team of candidates with teacher and social work educators describe their perspectives of trauma-informed teaching and intentions to use evidence-based practices in classrooms. We studied classroom management from a trauma-informed perspective in the first course in the program, then reflected back on these through a professional learning community created to intentionally focus on trauma informed teaching. We highlight findings around candidates’ perspectives and specific actions they attended to in order to incorporate those practices.

Music Therapy’S Role In The Education System, Madison Riley, Tori L. Colson, Moriah Smothers

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

Music therapy is a lesser-known and used related service, yet it provides significant benefits to students that have language, behavioral, and social needs. This article reviews the literature on music therapy, discusses its historical and theoretical roots, and examines its use in educational settings. Special attention is given to therapeutic practices that are geared toward students on the autism spectrum because their social and communication needs are often a good fit for music therapy practices. Recommendations on using music therapy in special and general education classrooms are also made. Additionally, recommendations for including music therapy content in teacher preparation programs …

Understanding Equitable Assessment: How Preservice Teachers Make Meaning Of Disability, Melissa K. Driver

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Disproportionality of historically marginalized populations in special education continues to be a critical concern. The identification of students with disabilities is reliant on valid and reliable assessment that is free of bias. The extent to which this is possible given measurement constraints and an increasingly diverse student population is unclear. How teachers are trained to design, select, administer, score, and interpret assessment data related to the identification of students with disabilities is vastly under-researched considering the significant implications of assessment practices. In this study, six special education preservice teachers engaged in an assessment methods course during their second semester of …

Professional Ethics, Decision-Making, And Interdisciplinary Collaboration: An Exploration Of Teacher Preparation Programs And Practice, Brittany Mccreary

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The first purpose of this research was to explore the prevalence, methods of instruction, and perceived value of professional ethics, ethical decision-making, and interdisciplinary collaboration in teacher preparation programs throughout the U.S. These factors were addressed using the Ethics Training and Curriculum Survey (ETCS). Participants for the ETCS included teacher educators (n = 977) from CAEP accredited preparation programs. Survey results suggest that professional ethics is widely addressed throughout CAEP accredited programs, but that instruction in ethical decision-making varies considerably. To connect these findings with practice, a second purpose of this study was to explore how educators make ethical …

Meeting The Vision Of The Ngss: Critical Factors Of Effective Science Teaching (Poster), Elizabeth B. Lewis, Lyrica L. Lucas, Amy Tankersley, Elizabeth Hasseler, Brandon Helding

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Presentations

With new national science education standards, we must understand how to prepare science teachers capable of advancing reform initiatives. In a 3-year longitudinal study we adopted a multi-method approach to investigate beginning science teachers’ instructional practices. We analyzed transcripts, observed science lessons, and documented weeks of lessons. Using this large dataset we posed research questions about the use of NGSS scientific practices in teachers’ science lessons (Project #1) and classroom diversity as it relates to teachers’ use of inquiry (Project #2). In order to expand our coding capability of science teaching data for use in our structural equation modelling efforts …

Collaborating Online: Tools For Improving Teacher Preparation In Literacy, Jennifer Van Allen, Lenora Forsythe

The Language and Literacy Spectrum

Teacher preparation programs face the continual challenge to provide experiences that foster collaboration between teacher candidates and go beyond the boundaries of particular programs and classrooms. Collaborative learning structures improve learner achievement, attitudes, engagement, satisfaction, and retention rates when interactions between learners are facilitated and fostered. These structures have the potential to foster genuine collaboration in which groups create products and processes that change individuals’ understandings and actions as well as those of the collective group. In this format, learning occurs not only from the instructor but from other classmates as well. Many agencies and professional associations are calling for …

A Phenomenological Investigation Of Early Childhood Education Preparation And Experiences Of California Certificated Elementary School Educators Assigned To Transitional Kindergarten, Elizabeth A. Golchert

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This dissertation represents original, independent research that is a contribution of new knowledge to the field of educational practice. As a new phenomenon in the California public school system, transitional kindergarten (TK) is now bringing about a closer look by researchers at legislative practices, TK program implementation, local school district policies, teacher preparation, and teacher implementation of best practices related to the education of children of approximately four years of age. The purpose of conducting this study was to broadly examine these topics, but more specifically, investigate the problem of children being assigned to teachers who do not have the …