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Secondary Education and Teaching Commons™

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Educational Psychology

2012

Articles 1 - 6 of 6

Full-Text Articles in Secondary Education and Teaching

Characteristics Of At-Risk Students, Michael Sollitto, Robert K. Gable Oct 2012

Characteristics Of At-Risk Students, Michael Sollitto, Robert K. Gable

K-12 Education

This study focused on a major problem facing today’s educators: high school dropouts. Research questions addressed differences in teacher perspectives of the characteristics of struggling students. Differences in teachers’ perspectives based on teaching level (elementary & secondary) were examined. The researcher conducted focus groups with a total of 12 teachers. The research was conducted in two suburban districts. Focus group questions were designed following a survey administered to 108 suburban public school teachers. The survey responses reported previously identified four dimensions of characteristics of at-risk students: behavior, achievement, family involvement, and family background. The data from the focus groups can …

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Former Juvenile Offenders Re-Enrolling Into Mainstream Public Schools, Thomas Richardson, Thomas Dipaola, Robert K. Gable Oct 2012

Former Juvenile Offenders Re-Enrolling Into Mainstream Public Schools, Thomas Richardson, Thomas Dipaola, Robert K. Gable

K-12 Education

This study examined school re-enrollment procedures employed by two school systems for N=578 former juvenile offenders re-enrolling from secured supervised settings to urban mainstream secondary public schools and alternative schools and programs in New England. Quantitative data regarding student demographics and qualitative data from interviews with 19 support personnel and selected documents were used to evaluate which program elements enhanced or disengaged former offenders from secondary urban schools. The characteristics of former juvenile offenders’ lack of school involvement with respect to truancy, school suspension and expulsion, learning, behavior, and emotional disabilities, as well as family, economic, and social disadvantages were …

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Blogging About Summer Reading, Janice Becker Place May 2012

Blogging About Summer Reading, Janice Becker Place

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

The purpose of this study was to investigate what happened when grade 11 high school honors students blogged about their summer reading under the monitoring of a teacher during vacation. I proposed that an educational blog might serve as an effective tool during summer vacation to help students retain skills or learning while at a physical distance from their school and teacher. In addition to the blog’s transcripts, a pre-project survey, post-project survey,and post-project interviews provided complementary data to inform my analysis. Qualitative analysis was applied to the blog discussion entries for evidence of peer learning, scaffolding, critical thinking, and …

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Perceived Efficacy Of Beginning Teachers To Differentiate Instruction, Michelle K. Casey, Robert K. Gable May 2012

Perceived Efficacy Of Beginning Teachers To Differentiate Instruction, Michelle K. Casey, Robert K. Gable

Teacher Education

A two-phase, sequential mixed-methods design was used to assess perceptions of teacher efficacy (10 item survey, alpha = .90) to differentiate instruction for N = 36 graduates from one MAT teacher preparation program. Research questions addressed levels of self-efficacy, perceptions of preparedness, teaching tenure, and number of certifications held. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA and t-test procedures. A focus group with N = 10 purposively selected 2010 graduates and interviews with N = 2 graduates each from the 2008 and 2009 classes, and N = 2 faculty were conducted. No significant relationships were found for tenure and …

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"Ok, I'M A Teacher Now:" Reading Young Adult Literature In A Teacher Education Program, Brittany Richer Apr 2012

"Ok, I'M A Teacher Now:" Reading Young Adult Literature In A Teacher Education Program, Brittany Richer

Honors Projects

After taking a young adult literature course as part of my Secondary Education/ English program, I felt I had gained only a limited understanding of the importance of the genre to my future career. In the class, we read several popular young adult texts, learned about their authors, identified censorship issues, and mentioned a few strategies related to the teaching of the texts. Much of the “understanding” related only to future applications in imagined classrooms, which left no room for critical reflection about what we might learn from reading the texts about ourselves as students and teachers. A sense of …

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Preparing Students For Careers That Do Not Yet Exist, Glenn W. "Max" Mcgee Jan 2012

Preparing Students For Careers That Do Not Yet Exist, Glenn W. "Max" Mcgee

Publications & Research

The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA), as a self-described "teaching and learning laboratory for imagination and inquiry," has a history of pursuing innovations closely aligned with the vision and framework of the National Science Education Standards. Innovations include both methods and materials for inquiry-based student instruction as well as for delivering professional development for pre-service and practicing teachers. Instructional innovations described include yearlong student inquiry and research projects (SIR), self-paced physics instruction, student-driven energy and engineering projects, instruction in innovation and entrepreneurialism, and a host of student-led outreach activities to "ignite and nurture creative, ethical, scientific minds of students …

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