This mixed methods case study investigated mathematics teachers‘ perspectives of the effects of the Lesson Study Process on their content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and the potential for students‘ achievement. The population was 55 teachers from elementary, middle, and secondary schools in a metropolitan area. The three research questions guiding this study were: (1) What are the perspectives of teachers on the impact of the Lesson Study Process on their mathematical content knowledge? (2) What are the perspectives of teachers on the impact of the Lesson Study Process on their pedagogical knowledge? (3) What are the perspectives of teachers on the potential impact of the Lesson Study Process on their students‘ achievement? Literature pertaining to constructivism, teacher professional development, and Lesson Study was reviewed. Data from surveys, questionnaires, and focus group sessions were examined both quantitatively and qualitatively to determine common categories, themes, and connections to each of the research questions. The teachers believed that their mathematics content knowledge was positively affected in the areas of deeper understanding which led to an increase in self-confidence. The teachers also believed that their pedagogical knowledge was enhanced in the areas of planning and attention to student thinking. Finally, the teachers mentioned five areas for potential improvement in students‘ achievement. They included: students‘ increased conceptual understanding of the topics taught during the research lessons, planning lessons more thoroughly by making them relevant to the students‘ daily lives and planning it within the context of the state‘s curriculum, shifting the focus of an in-class observation from the teacher‘s performance to student thinking, and a similar shifting of the manner in which students are assessed—from right/wrong answers to seeking thought processes whereby the student may correct misunderstanding.

Thesis advisor: Vincent Cho / Thesis advisor: Diana C. Pullin / This study explored the role of professional learning communities for district leadership implementing large-scale technology initiatives such as 1:1 implementations (one computing device for every student). The existing literature regarding technology leadership is limited, as is literature on how districts use existing collaborative structures such as professional learning communities (PLCs) to implement technology initiatives. This study examined how superintendents and their leadership teams expect educator collaboration and whether and how they connect these expectations to large-scale technology implementation. Specifically, the concept of professional learning communities (PLCs) and their constructs were studied as collaborative mechanisms designed to support educators implementing large-scale technology initiatives. This qualitative study employs a multiple case study method to explore how the use of collaborative structures supported large-scale technology implementation in five school districts. These respondents and their stories detail a unique moment in educational leadership as increasing numbers of districts seek to implement such large-scale initiatives in school systems. Study results highlight how superintendents use leadership planning and implementation teams to serve as PLCs at the district level. This study confirms that the collaborative constructs of the PLC do serve to assist in the implementation of large-scale technology implementations in school systems, but largely at the central office strategic planning level. Superintendents utilize these collaborative structures for personal learning as they design implementation but do not scale up such structures for use by all educators across the implementation or system. Recommendations are made for use of collaborative structures to create technology educator learning ecologies across school systems. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Thesis advisor: Elizabeth A. Twomey / Thesis advisor: James Marini / This qualitative case study focused on a Response to Intervention (RTI) literacy initiative in a suburban elementary school near an urban area in New England. The initiative incorporated professional development about RTI and implementation of components of an RTI model. The participant-researcher analyzed teachers' feedback regarding the professional development and the RTI model, as the initiative developed, with a specific focus on the teachers' perceptions about the impact of the initiative on the school's capacity to effectively instruct urban students of color who are participants in a voluntary desegregation program. The professional development about RTI incorporated three features which are recommended for professional learning communities: content which is research-based, process which includes reflection and dialogue, and context which is job-embedded. The RTI model utilized the "problem-solving" approach, and incorporated progress-monitoring and interventions. The findings from the study indicated that the combination of three elements (sustained professional development about RTI, implementation of RTI in the school setting, and conversations and questions about addressing the needs of urban students of color) resulted in increased teacher confidence in their ability to provide effective instruction to this population of students. Further, the interaction of these three elements resulted in identification of next steps which the teachers believe will specifically address these students' needs. However, several teachers questioned whether RTI was adequate to address the complex issues of students of color in a voluntary desegregation program. They recognized that they needed more information about effective instructional strategies to match the learning profiles of this population of students. Combining the results of this case study with the recommendations of the professional literature about culturally responsive teaching, it appears that Response to Intervention has the potential to address the learning needs of urban students of color, but only if practitioners incorporate some basic principles of culturally responsive teaching. Integrating the results of this study with the professional literature about Response to Intervention, culturally responsive teaching, and effective professional development, the participant-researcher recommends that policymakers and educators should consider incorporating culturally responsive teaching into their RTI models in order to truly make RTI effective for addressing the achievement gap. Further, the researcher recommends that schools should provide sustained professional development (with content based upon research, process which includes reflection and dialogue, and context which is job-embedded) to increase teachers' understanding about Response to Intervention and about culturally responsive teaching. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Administration.

Thesis advisor: Lauri Johnson / District leadership has been found to have a measurable effect on student achievement by creating conditions within which teachers and administrators frame their daily work with children. The superintendent is uniquely poised to build the needed infrastructure of support and assure its alignment with the philosophy and mission of the district and, in turn, with the work of the school. By attending to the habits and conditions that allow a staff to work as a unit, superintendents are able to contribute to the development of a community of professional learners within and among district schools. This qualitative case study analyzed district leadership practices that support ongoing teacher growth in a Massachusetts school district by examining the work of the superintendent and the impact of his leadership on the ongoing development of a community of professional learners at the district and school level. Data included interviews with teachers and administrators, artifact analyses, and observations of district meetings. Findings reveal the superintendent's use of a PLC process to model and provide support to school-level leaders by encouraging broad-based participation in the skillful work of leadership; establishing a clear vision which resulted in program coherence; fostering a system of inquiry-based accountability that informed decision making and practice; and nurturing organizational relationships that involved high district engagement and low bureaucratization which supported school-based collaborative teacher growth. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Thesis advisor: Diana Pullin / The current high stakes testing environment has resulted in intense pressure on schools to become more data-driven. As a result, an increasing number of schools are implementing systems where teachers and school leaders collaboratively analyze assessment data and use the results to inform instructional practice. This study examined how teacher participation in the analysis of assessment data influences instructional outcomes. It also examined how levels of capacity in the areas of data use, professional learning, and leadership interact to influence the ability to respond to data. The method is a qualitative case study of an elementary school in the southeastern United States that has implemented formal structures for analyzing and collaborating around assessment data. Data collection occurred through teacher and administrator interviews, data analysis meeting observations, and through the examination of school and district documents. The school in this study responded to data analysis results through three major actions: large-scale initiatives designed to improve instruction in various content areas, remediation, and individual teacher variations in instructional practices. Findings show that while teachers express support for data analysis and suggest positive benefits for the school, they also indicate that participation in data analysis and the resultant improvement efforts have had minimal to modest impact on their teaching practices. Possibly contributing to this outcome was the finding that the school had uneven capacity in the areas of data use, professional learning, and leadership. The school has a well-developed system for data access and reporting. However, it has been less successful in providing the professional learning experiences that will enable more substantial changes in teacher beliefs and practices. Furthermore, a lack of clarity regarding the instructional purpose of data analysis from multiple levels of district and school leadership and the procedural nature of the data analysis process has reduced the ability of school leaders to effectively leverage data analysis for the purpose of substantive and sustained instructional improvement. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Collaboration is touted as a solution to modern challenges in education, but the difficulties of establishing truly collaborative communities are many. From a conflict-resolution lens, collaboration requires both assertiveness and cooperation (high preference for both completing tasks and maintaining relationships). This study uses surveys and interviews to explore the ways that teachers balance task and relationship orientations in resolving conflict between themselves and the impact that teachers’ behaviors while in conflict have on collaboration. Specifically, this study examines the role that trust, relationships, and process norms play in encouraging collaborative behaviors. Results suggest that teachers’ perceived ineffectiveness with conflict resolution and the fear of damaging relationships discourage open communication. Consequently, focusing on trust and relationship building does little to promote authentically collaborative exchanges. Instead, the perception of available time and a familiar process for raising concerns with colleagues are more likely to promote open communication and more authentic collaboration.

This study investigates the dominant discourse of the failure of public education and the 'reform du jour' response ; and seeks ways school leaders could disrupt and transform to create possible alternate discourses for schools. This critical autoethnography included interviews, a focus group, document analysis and a research journal permitting participant research at the heart of a high school reading department. The data were synthesized in ways that made sense of power, practices, and culture allowing the personal to become valid data. ... This narrative illustrated the complexity of the emotional context and illustrated how school leadership discourse could turn the dialogue away from an economic and back to a teaching and learning relationship. The narrative aimed to give rise to a counter narrative, but found that the site of the high school reading department was currently too confused, too complex and too contradictory to establish any meaningful conclusions for its future that are not underpinned by extensive reforms designed to end its isolation. / by Mary Webster. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

The purpose of this study was to assess the goal intent and achievement of university students, during the Fall 2011 semester, at Blue Wave University, a high research activity public institution in the southeast United States. This study merged theories of motivation to measure goal setting and goal attainment to examine if students who chose to participate in a learning community program set goals at different levels than the students who chose not to join a learning community program. This study investigated if there was a difference in motivation, by studying goal intent and goal achievement of Freshman Learning Community participants, Living- Learning community participants, or non-learning community participants at Blue Wave University. . Moderation analyses concluded that none the seven contextual variables (choice of college, ethnicity, gender, high school grade point average, living on-campus, SAT score, and ACT score) moderated the difference in the level of change from goal intent to goal achievement in this study. / by Carole F. Pfeffer-Lachs. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

This project evaluates a proposed framework designed to support professional learning for teacher educators, focusing on Post Compulsory Education & Training, and particularly practices in Further Education. The intention of the framework is to enhance practice and promote professional recognition for people who support others in becoming or developing as teachers: teacher educators. The project proposal is that this can be achieved through engagement with processes of professional learning (Timperley, 2011) in the form of professional pathways, defined here as professional and individual learning journeys supported by principles and research-based recommendations within a recognised framework of underpinning factors. The theoretical framework for the project is interpretative, based on transformative learning (Cranton, 1994, 2002; ; Mezirow, 1997) with a constructivist epistemology and reflexive ontology (Door, 2014). It builds on previous research (Exley & Ovenden-Hope, 2013) using new data to develop initial ideas through a methodology of creative praxis, representing practices and approaches where reflexive, innovative thinking and impact on the world are equally important. The intention is to arrive at a robust, flexible and well-considered framework designed to support the professional formation and development of prospective, new or experienced teacher educators practicing in the Further Education sector.

Submitted by Sara Ribeiro (sara.ribeiro@ucb.br) on 2018-06-19T17:14:28Z No. of bitstreams: 1 WilliamResendedeFariaDissertacao2018.pdf: 1996974 bytes, checksum: 2a7aadbe952e231f54ab103d2c7aa32b (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Sara Ribeiro (sara.ribeiro@ucb.br) on 2018-06-19T17:15:03Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 WilliamResendedeFariaDissertacao2018.pdf: 1996974 bytes, checksum: 2a7aadbe952e231f54ab103d2c7aa32b (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-06-19T17:15:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 WilliamResendedeFariaDissertacao2018.pdf: 1996974 bytes, checksum: 2a7aadbe952e231f54ab103d2c7aa32b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-02-22 / The interest for the topic addressed in this research is due to the fact that adolescents who are apprentices of a Philanthropic Institution of Social Assistance in the Federal District, presented different results when joining and leaving the Learning Program. Therefore, the research becomes relevant in order to analyze the meaning that the program entrants to the work, as well as the impact of the insertion in the work world to its term. In fact, the objectives of the research are to investigate the meaning and impact that work and job training has on the lives of adolescents in situations of social vulnerability in the Federal District. In this sense, we opted to verify in legislation the meaning that is attributed to work in adolescence; what is the meaning that adolescents attribute to work in their life; and what are the changes perceived by adolescents between before and after joining a Professional Learning Program. The research is configured with a qualitative approach. The research instruments that enabled the achievement of the intended objective are: review of specialized literature, semi-structured interviews and documental analysis procedure. Some of the apprentices entering the vocational apprenticeship program participated in the study and have already concluded their work contract. Of the research universe with more than 1,200 adolescents and young people hired per year in which the sample is 12 graduates of the Learning Program. The results indicated that the meaning attributed by the norms of the area to the work of the adolescent, rather than having the character of legislation, has the character of a public policy for the youth to promote the insertion of adolescents and young people into the world of formal work, in a qualified and protected way, thus allowing the the connection between education and work. The meaning that adolescents attribute to work as an adolescent apprentice is presented as a means of social insertion to the adult world through remuneration and also a consequence of the level of education of each individual. However, a meaning of transformation is reaffirmed far beyond the experience of a job or job. Adolescent assessment of before and after joining the program is related to the perception of an opportunity for life transformation beyond employment, better preparation for the world of work, greater maturity, greater responsibility, independence, routine work, punctuality, attendance, discipline, social interaction, financial support to the family, preparation for the world of work, combating school dropout and encouraging continuity of studies (especially in higher education), professional growth, feedback evaluation, intelligence development emotional (self-control, self-confidence, emotional awareness and self-evaluation), establishment and fulfillment of individual and collective goals and objectives, among others. Understanding the impact of professional learning can contribute to the formulation of new public policies for children, adolescents and youth in the public and private sphere of the Federal District. / O interesse pelo tema abordado nesta pesquisa se deve ao fato de que adolescentes aprendizes de uma Instituição Filantrópica de Assistência Social no DF apresentaram distintos resultados ao ingressar e ao sair do Programa de Aprendizagem. Assim sendo, se torna relevante a pesquisa no sentido de analisar o significado que o ingressante do programa aufere ao trabalho, bem como o impacto da inserção no mundo do trabalho, ao seu término. De fato, os objetivos da pesquisa pretendem investigar o significado e o impacto que a formação no trabalho e para o trabalho têm na vida dos adolescentes em situação de vulnerabilidade social no Distrito Federal. Neste sentido optou-se por verificar na legislação qual significado é atribuído ao trabalho na adolescência, qual o significado os adolescentes aprendizes atribuem ao trabalho em sua vida e quais são as mudanças percebidas pelos adolescentes entre o antes e o depois do ingresso em um Programa de Aprendizagem Profissional. A pesquisa configurouse com uma abordagem qualitativa. Os instrumentos de pesquisa que viabilizaram a consecução do objetivo pretendido foram a revisão de literatura especializada, as entrevistas semiestruturadas e o procedimento da análise documental. Participaram da pesquisa aprendizes ingressantes no programa de aprendizagem profissional que já concluíram seu contrato de trabalho. Em um universo de pesquisa com mais de 1.200 adolescentes e jovens contratados por ano, a amostra pesquisada elegeu 12 egressos do Programa de Aprendizagem. Os resultados indicaram que o significado atribuído pelas normativas da área ao trabalho do adolescente, além do caráter de legislação, tem caráter de política pública para a juventude de promoção à inserção de adolescentes e jovens ao mundo do trabalho formal, de maneira qualificada e protegida, que permite a conexão entre educação e trabalho. O significado que os adolescentes atribuem ao trabalho na condição de adolescente aprendiz se apresenta como um meio de inserção social ao mundo adulto por meio da remuneração e também consequência do nível de educação de cada indivíduo. Todavia, reafirma-se um significado de transformação para muito além da experiência de um cargo ou emprego. A avaliação por parte dos adolescentes entre o antes e o depois do ingresso no programa está relacionada à percepção de uma oportunidade de transformação de vida para além do emprego, melhor preparação para o mundo do trabalho, maior amadurecimento, criação de maior responsabilidade, independência, rotina, pontualidade, assiduidade, disciplina, interação social, apoio financeiro à família, preparação para o mundo do trabalho, combate à evasão escolar, estímulo à continuidade dos estudos (sobretudo na educação superior), crescimento profissional, avaliação por feedback, desenvolvimento da inteligência emocional (autocontrole, autoconfiança, consciência emocional e auto avaliação), estabelecimento e o cumprimento de metas e objetivos individuais e coletivos, entre outros. Assim, a compreensão do impacto da aprendizagem profissional pode contribuir para subsidiar a formulação de novas políticas públicas para crianças, adolescentes e juventude na esfera pública e privada do Distrito Federal.