Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Across Curriculums: A Need For Audiology Instruction For Teachers Of The Deaf And Hard Of Hearing, Jenna M. Morishita

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Objective: The purpose of this project is to gain insight into the requirements of teacher education programs with regard to instruction in audiology for teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing. Though individual teacher preparation programs have vast differences as they pertain to philosophy and methodology, graduates of each of these programs seek to work with children with hearing loss and therefore should have more than a basic understanding of audiology.

Method: The websites and course catalogs (when available) were reviewed for the 48 graduate programs listed on DeafEd.net. Data was collected on courses with the term “audiology” in …

Measuring And Modelling How And When Effective Science Teaching Occurs, Elizabeth B. Lewis, Lyrica L. Lucas, Amy N. Tankersley, Elizabeth Hasseler, Brandon A. 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, administered a teaching self-efficacy survey, 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 (Paper #1) and teacher- and student-level characteristics as it relates to teachers’ use of inquiry in the classroom (Paper #2). In order to expand our coding capability of science …

Preparing Elementary Writing Teachers: An Inquiry-Driven, Field-Based Approach To Instruction, Lisa K. Hawkins, Nicole M. Martin, Jennifer Cooper

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

Pre-service teachers’ [PSTs] preparation for teaching writing is foundational to writing instruction in elementary schools and children’s writing. Prior research has identified elements in writing-focused methods coursework that support their preparation. In this article, an innovative component in a stand-alone writing teacher preparation course that incorporated the research-based elements is showcased: a process for deconstructing and modeling inquiry-driven writing pedagogy. This process includes five phases: (1) using mentor texts during initial immersion, (2) using mentor texts to study structure, (3) using mentor texts to study writer’s craft, (4) using mentor texts to study sentence structure, sentence fluency, and language, and …

Enhancing Collaborative Practices With Preprofessional Occupational Therapists And Early Childhood Special Education Student Teachers: A Pilot Study, Kathleen M. Farrand, Megan Troxel Deeg, Oaklee Rogers, Allison M. Mullady, Stephanie S. Williams, Bjorg T. Lesueur

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

This article presents the Collaborative Design Model as a tool for developing collaboration and self-efficacy for preprofessional educators and service providers. As student populations continue to become more diverse, preprofessionals entering the classroom must be prepared to collaborate with colleagues effectively and efficiently to address the variety of needs presented in the classroom. Little research exists on the collaboration among preprofessional teachers and preprofessional occupational therapists. The proposed model provides a method for supporting preprofessionals in collaborating to meet the needs of students at risk for or with disabilities. Initial pilot findings suggest the Collaborative Design Model could potentially increase …

A Narrative Inquiry Into Experiences Of Indigenous Teachers During And After Teacher Preparation, James Alan Oloo, Lydiah Kananu Kiramba

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

This narrative inquiry is informed by a concern to increase the number of Indigenous teachers in Canadian classrooms. While the Indigenous population is younger and growing faster than the non-Indigenous population, educational attainment gap remains between the two groups of Canadians. The gap is widening at the university level. This study explores the experiences of two Indigenous teachers during and after teacher education in an Indigenous teacher education program and attempts to reframe teacher education to enhance the meaningful engagement of pre-service Indigenous teachers. We conducted interviews as conversations with the study participants as guided by open-ended unstructured research questions …

The Impact Of University Writing Curriculum On Preservice Teachers' Praxis I Scores, Virginia Ann Braithwaite

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Until 2014, admission requirements for the educator preparation program at a university in the north central United States included a minimum competency level on the Praxis I basic skills writing test and completion of one general education writing course. However, evidence from the university's ETS reports showed that less than 60% of students as first-time test-takers met the required score. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the required writing course in assisting students to meet the Praxis I writing competencies. In 2014, the ETS Core Academic Skills for Educators test replaced the Praxis I. Because …

Culturally Related Curriculum And How It Influences Preservice Teachers, Ana-Alicia Gonzales

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Variation in the way that teacher preparation programs implement culturally related curriculum leads to different preservice teacher perceptions on preparedness to teach in culturally diverse classrooms. Research has indicated that preservice teachers can feel prepared after taking a culturally related course, but there is a gap in understanding how culturally related curriculum influences preparedness. Thus, the purpose of this qualitative, explanatory study was to explore how preservice teachers' perceived intercultural competence and self-efficacy, which contribute to preparedness, are influenced by forms of culturally related curriculum in a U.S. university teacher preparation program. Deardorff's model of intercultural competence, Bennett's developmental model …

An Analysis Of Cooperating Teacher Feedback: A Qualitative Inquiry, Christopher J. Eck, Jon W. Ramsey

Journal of Research in Technical Careers

Cooperating teachers are a key component to the success of student teaching internships, serving an integral part in “raising” a teacher. To effectively facilitate the student teaching internship, teacher preparation programs must identify cooperating teachers who align philosophically with the pedagogical training delivered by university programs (Korthagen & Kessels, 1999; Tom, 1997), specifically, cooperating teachers who can reinforce the theoretical framework underpinning the professional coursework pre-service teachers experience in university teacher preparation programs. This qualitative study sought to better understand the feedback provided to future school-based agricultural education (SBAE) teachers during their student teaching experience. Through initial and secondary coding, …

Preparing Teacher Candidates To Collaborate With Families And Communities: Standards, Research, And Practice, Karen S. Buchanan, Thomas D. Buchanan

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

Preparing teacher candidates to engage with family and community in ways that align with the reality of today’s classroom is a critically important aspect of fostering student academic success and well-being. This paper examines how a set of professional preparation standards, the teacher preparation literature, and a qualitative inquiry into the practices and challenges of kindergarten teachers working with family and community converge to inform the work of teacher educators. Implications of these three sources of expert knowledge are instructive for teacher educator practice. Implications for the preparation of teacher candidates around family/community engagement include: the shaping of teacher candidate …

Developing Children’S Physical Literacy: How Well Prepared Are Prospective Teachers?, Judith Dinham, Paul Williams

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

While the known health impacts of sedentary lifestyles have focused attention on children’s outdoor activity, the development of their physical literacy – the physiological, social, cultural, cognitive, expressive, and psychological dimensions of their physicality – is much less in focus.

Developing children’s physical literacy is embedded in the Early Years Learning Framework and Primary curriculum: Health and Physical Education, and the performing arts subjects within The Arts. This study asks “How well prepared are pre-service teachers to implement a program that contributes to developing children’s physical literacy?”

This mixed methods study includes an environmental scan of BEd courses at 12 …

Democratic Education And An Urban Teacher Residency: A Case Study, Bryan P. Arnold

Theses and Dissertations

Over the course of American schooling scholars note that democratic education and citizenship have not been abandoned, but perhaps marginalized or pushed aside, as test scores and achievement have become the most desired outcomes. Democratic education must move out of the margins and into high priority. The current political climate of increased division and divisiveness could not illustrate this need any more. Another well-documented challenge within the American educational system, particularly in high need areas is the need for highly qualified teachers. Urban Teacher Residency (UTR) programs have offered a possible solution to this growing problem in recruiting, training, and …

Avid Tutor Training: Strengthening Connections Between Field Experience And Coursework, Laura H. Vandemark

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID) is a national college preparation program that seeks to help students who have the potential to attend college but need extra support and access to resources. This project explores the current connection between the Harrisonburg City Public Schools (HCPS) AVID program and the JMU Middle and Secondary Education teacher candidates placed in AVID classrooms for an undergraduate field experience. Overall, this project seeks to better prepare and improve the effectiveness of JMU students serving as AVID tutors. After reviewing the current training as well as anonymous end of semester course reflections from MSSE 371 students, …

Developing Clinical Reasoning Skills In Teacher Candidates Using A Problem-Based Learning Approach, Terry L. Goodin, Nancy G. Caukin, Heather K. Dillard

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

In 2013, the Educational Leadership Department at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) implemented a redesign of the teacher preparation program to transition from a traditional on-campus model to one delivered both on-campus and in off-campus school sites while using a problem-based learning method. This new program closely follows the medical school model of residency experiences coupled with problem-based learning events. This article describes the problembased learning process used in this program, comparing it with the early versions of medical school problem-based learning that encouraged the development of “clinical reasoning” skills. Similarities and differences are highlighted, along with key components of …

How Shall We Prepare Teachers For Deeper Community Partnerships?, Jared R. Stallones

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

Increasingly, high schools partner with local communities to provide students with meaningful work-based learning experiences, yet teacher preparation programs do not teach candidates how to facilitate, maintain, and make best use of these partnerships. This article investigates how to prepare candidates to work in these new school formats.

Fape, Lre, And Related Laws: Implications For Inclusion And Co-Teaching, Tori L. Colson, Moriah J. Smothers

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

Unfortunately, IDEA implementation is still a problem for many schools today (Hill, Martin, & Nelson-Head, 2011). What are the causes of this? Could it be because many teachers do not have knowledge of the law? More and more students with disabilities are being served in the general education program with their peers. This is a result of several federal laws enacted to ensure that students with special needs are educated in the least restrictive environment. Inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education curriculum is a way to make sure that students are taught in the least restrictive environment …

Collaboration Among Mathematicians And Mathematics Educators: Working Together To Educate Preservice Teachers, Amanda R. Mohn

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Collaboration among higher education professors who are responsible for the education of preservice teachers is one potential solution to the problem of poor teacher preparation. Specifically, collaboration among mathematics educators and mathematicians can enhance preservice teacher preparation because it provides opportunities for preservice teachers to develop pedagogical content knowledge. However, collaborative efforts are challenging, and collaborators often face obstacles and tensions arise among the collaborative group members. Learning about ways the collaborators approach their collaborative efforts, the issues and tensions that arise, the hindering and supporting factors that affect the collaboration, and the potential outcomes of collaborative efforts provides information …

Pre-Service Teachers’ Perspectives On How The Use Of Toon Comic Books During Guided Reading Influenced Learning By Struggling Readers, Ewa Mcgrail, Alicja Rieger, Gina M. Doepker, Samantha Mcgeorge

SANE journal: Sequential Art Narrative in Education

The study presented in this article examines the use of comic books, specifically the TOON comic books during guided reading instruction. The instruction was provided to struggling readers by the Literacy Center at a comprehensive university in southeastern United States. What most pre-service teachers in this study agreed upon was that comic books served as an effective tool for getting their students interested in reading. Reading comic books with tutors as partners in conversation with the struggling readers in this study was also a powerful medium for facilitating students’ literacy skills development, particularly in the areas of reading fluency and …

Secondary Mathematics Teachers’ Planned Approaches For Teaching Standard Deviation, Maryann E. Huey, Joe Champion, Stephanie Casey, Nicholas H. Wasserman

Mathematics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Research-based guidelines for learning variation exist (e.g., Franklin et al., 2007; Garfield, delMas, & Chance, 2007), but little is known about how teachers plan to teach standard deviation, or how these plans align with recent recommendations. In this article, we survey lesson plans designed by inservice and preservice secondary mathematical teachers. We report on the accuracy, technology usage, and visual representations in the lesson plans. We consider how many elements are used, the level of conceptual development, and the mathematical nature. Findings support differences between preservice and master’s level students in education, as well as a tendency by in-service teachers …

Moving From The Streets To The Classroom: Understanding The Teacher's Role For Creating A Robust Education For Homeless Youth In The Classroom, Desiree Vargas

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Homeless youth within the educational system have been neglected through the lack of teacher education. Teachers have been misdirected through their education in the Bachelor of Arts degree and the teacher credential program. They are learning how to teach to an “ideal” classroom with students who are always ready and mentally prepared to learn. Teachers are not made aware that every student brings a different background to the classroom, and how that background could affect their academics and behavior. Teachers are unaware on how to deal with issues such as homelessness in the classroom, and that the students’ situations outside …

Children's Mental Health: Reimagining Teacher Preparation, Karolina Camacho

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Current research sheds light on the importance of the mental health of school-age children and researcher’s efforts continuously point out that there is need for more to be done to support children with mental health needs, in the context of the classroom, in the United States. Particularly focusing on children with internalizing behavior under Emotional Disturbance, this paper will provide reasoning as to why these children have a need for prevention and intervention services, the reality of the lack of general knowledge teachers have on children’s mental health, and the need for elementary school teachers to have children’s mental health …

Following The Money: Exploring Residency Funding Through The Lens Of Economics, Karen Demoss, Prepared To Teach, Bank Street College

All Faculty and Staff Papers and Presentations

Following the Money digs into how the system for funding teacher preparation fuels a host of shortcomings: subpar routes to teaching, inadequate practice before entering the classroom, shortages in high need areas, underprepared teachers. Following the Money finds that financial barriers limit our ability to grow to a universally high-quality teacher preparation system, calling for a stronger knowledge base about the economics of teacher preparation to understand how we can realize the quality we need.

Developing Stragic Competence In The Service Of Inquiry Teaching: Assisting Pre-Service Elementary Teachers To Use Inquiry To Achieve Strategic Competence In Science Learning, Sheryl Mcglamery, Victoria Lentfer

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

Abstract: This paper describes the efforts of researchers to examine the understandings of pre-service elementary teachers regarding the role and use of inquiry and strategic competence in science teaching and learning. The pre-service elementary teachers were given multiple exposures to inquiry activities, and field teaching opportunities using inquiry with opportunities to pursue strategic competence in experimentation and problem solving. The findings support the use of inquiry labs and shows how field experience is valuable in helping build an understanding of inquiry and strategic competence.

Shattered Ground: Mental Health Disorders In Children – A Hidden Crisis, Yvonne Hefner

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

This session will offer teachers an in-depth understanding of mental health disorders, including basic information about these disorders, background information to assist in identifying early warning signs, and strategies for supporting students that may suffer from a mental health disorder. Teachers will learn classroom strategies that will foster a positive learning environment which will help to support these students

Preparing Elementary School Teachers To Learn From Teaching: A Comparison Of Two Approaches To Mathematics Methods Instruction, Rossella Santagata, Cathery Yeh, Janet Mercado

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Teacher preparation programs face a significant challenge in determining how to design learning experiences that develop the combination of knowledge, practices, and dispositions needed for effective classroom teaching. Time constraints and the theory-practice divide are two well-documented concerns. We introduce the conceptual framework and design elements of a video-enhanced mathematics methods course that targets these concerns. The course centers on systematic reflection and analysis of practice intended to foster career-long learning. We then examine the impact of this course on several facets of learning-from-teaching competencies, including teacher knowledge, beliefs, and practices. Sixty-two pre-service teachers, enrolled in a one-year post-bachelor elementary …

“Inquiry Is Confidence”: How Practitioner Inquiry Can Support New Teachers, Rachel Wolkenhauer, Angela Hooser

Journal of Practitioner Research

This paper focuses on the profile of “Hannah,” who was having a successful first year of teaching until February when her principal shifted gears. At this point administration expected, as Hannah quoted her principal, “to walk into your classroom, at any point of the day, and see you in front of the classroom and the kids sitting at desks answering bubble-in questions and not talking to each other.” Hannah teaches first grade. Rather than being discouraged by this, Hannah turned to her knowledge of practitioner inquiry to systematically study and stand behind the professional decisions she knew she needed to …

Impact Of Educator Preparation Routes And Teacher Characteristics On Student Academic Achievement, Robert Hagerman

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study investigated the effect of traditional and alternative teacher preparation, years of service, and type of licensure held and teacher quality on English language arts and mathematics summative assessment scaled scores and performance levels among West Virginia students in grades 5 and 11. Specifically, this research analyzed the existing assessment data in West Virginia’s 55 counties, regarding teacher preparation routes, teacher experience, teacher licensure, and the teacher’s Highly Qualified (HQ) designation to determine the effect on student achievement. The study was designed with the aforementioned variables and applied a standardized summative content assessment outcome to the two grade levels …

Within And Beyond A Grow-Your-Own-Teacher Program: Documenting The Contextualized Preparation And Professional Development Experiences Of Critically Conscious Latina Teachers, Amanda Morales

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

This study provides an account of seven Latina teachers’ select educational, professional, and personal experiences over the past 10 years as they completed a grow-your-own-teacher program, became licensed teachers, and established themselves in Latinx minority–majority public schools within their rural, mid-western community. More specifically, as a Latina researcher and participant observer, I sought to better understand the culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) Latina teachers’ process-oriented engagement and conscientization over time. Far from being ‘ready-made’ conscientized teachers, in this work I discuss the ways CLD Latina teachers’ multiple and developing identities as bilingual learners, mothers, racialized minorities in schools, and educated …

Understanding The Differences Between Novice And Experienced Reading Teachers, Katie Anderson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Education researchers have documented that first-year teachers are often less effective at reading instruction than their more experienced peers. Accordingly, this qualitative, comparative case study was designed to assess the instructional skills and strategies utilized by first-year and experienced teachers using Danielson's Framework for Teaching as the conceptual framework. The research questions were used to examine two groups of teachers using the framework and the Teacher's College Reading and Writing Project's defined levels of performance for effective reading instruction. The goal was to identify the instructional differences between the two groups of teachers. Purposeful sampling was used to select 3 …

Edtpa As A Tool To Measure Teacher Readiness: A Case Study On First Year Teachers, Dr. Molly Zhou

Georgia Educational Researcher

Reference MS#1124

The case study intends to study edTPA as a measure for teacher readiness. The case study examined four first year teachers’ edTPA experience, performance, and their perspectives on edTPA as a tool to measure teacher readiness in light of their first year teaching experiences and TKES assessment results. Three research questions were used to guide the study: What were first year teachers’ edTPA experience and performance? What were first year teachers’ TKES assessment results? What were first year teachers’ perspectives on edTPA as a tool to measure teacher readiness? Four first year teachers in north GA participated in …

International Mindedness: Phenomenological Inquiry Into Teacher Candidate Experiences, Kathleen Patricia Castillo-Clark

Dissertations

This dissertation contributes to the scholarship surrounding the development of international mindedness in teacher candidates. Phenomenological interview techniques were used to explore the experiences and perceptions of teacher candidates who enrolled in an undergraduate teacher preparation program leading to the International Baccalaureate educator certificate. By highlighting the teacher candidates, this study captured the strengths, challenges, and needs unique to this group. The findings can inform an understanding of how international mindedness develops in teacher candidates and subsequently how it is enacted, identifying curricular and instructional supports in practice that best support this learning. This study will also inform teacher educators …