This study investigates the foundation and the first three decades of the teacher training institution at Cheltenham. Its main thesis is that the Cheltenham training college was primarily the work of one man, the Rev. Francis Close who was the incumbent of Cheltenham between 1824-1856. He played a key role at every stage including the ini tial period when the first proposal was made in 1845. Contrary to previous accounts it was not founded there in response to a widespread demand for a national institution based on evangelical principles. It was established as a result of Close's religious position within the Church of England, his dominant personality and the situation which he had helped to create in Cheltenham by that time. An evaluation of his career, his work in making Cheltenham a centre of education, his involvement in controversies and his educational ideas reveal him as a leading pioneer of education during the nineteenth century. His ideas on the training of teachers and the way he ensured that they were carried out are particularly important. The second part of the study includes research into the way the college was governed, an account of how it was financed, in particular how it was affected by the Revised Code, the staff, the students and their professional training. composition of the student body The chapter on the includes a detailed analysis of the first 288 students who were trained between 1847 and 1851 and of 2054 who were trained between 1852 and 1878. Throughout this period a very strong element of continuity in attitudes towards religious education and teacher training, which originated with Close, persisted against a background of rapid change.

abstract: The majority of the teacher preparation programs in the US adhere to a traditional curriculum that includes foundational work, liberal arts classes, methods courses, and student teaching (Boyer & Baptiste, 1996; Kozleski, Gonzalez, Atkinson, Lacy, & Mruczek, 2013). Unfortunately, this approach rarely provides sudent teachers with opportunities to explore the role that culture plays in identity, learning, and community building--activities that are considered hallmarks of culturally responsive teaching (Artiles & Kozleski, 2007). To address this issue, Urban Teacher Education Program (UTEP) was created in 2010. UTEP was a one-year program designed to better prepare teachers currently in the classroom to work with children who have been marginalized. The present study examined the opportunities that UTEP provided for teachers to interrogate their own thinking about issues related to (1) identity, (2) culture, (3) learning, and (4) assessment, and the impact it has had on their professional practices in urban settings four years later. To understand if the teachers' experiences in UTEP were transformative and sustained this study addressed one primary question: In what ways have teachers professional practices changed as a result of being in UTEP? Using a grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) lens, the study used a constant comparative method (Strauss and Corbin, 1990) in which codes were developed, categorized, and analyzed to identify themes. The teachers were interviewed, their classroom teaching practices were observed, and their applied projects (archived documents) were examined. Thematic analysis (Riessman, 2008) was used for the applied projects to categorize themes during each semester across all participants. The study revealed that as a result of UTEP all five teachers' made a transformation in their thinking, which is still maintained today and continues to impact their professional practices. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Curriculum and Instruction 2015

abstract: Undergraduate teacher preparation programs face scrutiny regarding pre-service teachers' preparation upon graduation. Specifically, scholars contend that teacher preparation programs do not adequately prepare pre-service teachers to plan for effective instruction. Situated in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University, this action research study used the Theory of Pedagogical Content Knowledge to examine (a) how pre-service teachers developed unit planning practices using the Backward Design framework and (b) the pedagogical teaching practices used as they implemented the unit plan in the classroom. During the student teaching course, pre-service teachers received instruction on how to use the Backward Design framework to plan a unit of instruction to implement in their placement classroom. Results from the mixed-methods study provided evidence that Backward Design was an effective way for pre-service teachers to plan instruction. Results from the study indicated that implementing and reflecting on lessons taught from the unit plan contributed to the pedagogical teaching practices used in the classroom. Furthermore, results demonstrated that designing, implementing, and reflecting on the unit plan contributed to a shift in how participants viewed themselves. Through the study, they began to view themselves more as a teacher, than a pre-service student teacher. Keywords: teacher preparation programs, unit planning, instructional practices / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Curriculum and Instruction 2014

<p> This research investigated the experiences of six elementary preservice teachers as they learned to teach writing during a language arts methods course where they were immersed in a Writing Workshop. In addition, this study illuminates how five preservice teachers' experiences were transformative, according to Mezirow's theory of transformative learning (1991, 2000). A qualitative case study methodology was employed and data collection included three in-depth phenomenological interviews, observations of 13 course meetings, and documents written by participants as requirements of the course.</p><p> First, participant data were analyzed inductively to describe each preservice teacher's experience. Across all cases, seven common categories of findings emerged: learning to write, start of course beliefs, course experiences, sharing writing, intern placement, course learning, and change in beliefs. Cross-case analysis revealed that preservice teachers experienced learning to teach writing through their beliefs about writing and themselves as writers; beliefs were informed by their prior experiences with writing, primarily K-12 school experiences. Strategies used by the instructor and course experiences - especially, ample opportunities to write, share writing, and take writing through the writing process - contributed to preservice teachers having more confidence in themselves as writers and less fears about writing.</p><p> Five of the six preservice teachers had learning experiences that could be classified as transformative. Their transformation process included: 1) experiencing a disorienting dilemma sparked by an aspect of the course; 2) engaging in critical reflection to examine assumptions; 3) participating in discourse to better understand their experiences with writing; 4) trying out new ways of being a writer or writing teacher and gaining confidence in those new roles; and, 5) making plans to act on reframed perspectives of themselves as writers and writing teachers.</p><p> This study concludes with a discussion of how the findings relate to the extant literature on learning to teach writing. In addition, the discussion suggests how using Mezirow's theory of transformative learning as a lens can enhance teacher educators' understandings, but also describes the five ways the researcher found using the framework problematic. Finally, recommendations for teacher educators are offered and future research topics are suggested. </p><p>

<p> Many independent boarding schools have customarily hired significant numbers of novice faculty who are not certified teachers and who do not have significant teaching experience. Additionally, the time available to help such novice faculty learn about the many aspects of their jobs is quite limited. Therefore, the methods used to help novice faculty learn, while they already enacting their roles as educators, are important. As a result, this study examined the effectiveness of using school context based learning scenarios as a tool for teaching novice faculty at independent boarding schools. Specifically, the study tried to determine if such scenarios helped novice faculty feel greater self-efficacy and helped them to more effectively gain the benefits of their own experiential learning, thus acquiring more quickly the important knowledge of their craft that senior teachers developed through their own experiential learning. I theorized that this would ultimately lead to their achieving better educational outcomes with their students in all facets of their jobs. First, the researcher interviewed six master teachers from three different junior boarding schools to gather information about the key experiential learning events of successful teachers and then analyzed this data to identify common themes and types of experiences. These narrated, real experiences and the analyses of them were used as the basis for the construction of learning scenarios. These scenarios attempted to both highlight important concepts and approaches to working with adolescents that the master teachers felt they gleaned from the actual experiences and reflect the specific details of the independent boarding middle school where they were used. These scenarios were then read and discussed with the novice faculty at the school as part of their induction to life and work there over the course of a four-month period. To assess the impact of the use of scenarios, the researcher audio recorded, video taped and analyzed two of the scenario learning sessions; had the new faculty respond, in written form, to two scenarios; conducted a focus group with the new faculty, and administered a pre and post scenario learning experience self-efficacy scale.</p>

New understandings of human potential and ways of learning have contributed to the possibility of radical change in education. Research has demonstrated that children have vast learning potential and has suggested a wide range of methods for enhancing creativity in the classroom. It is the responsibility of educators to develop a climate that encourages creativity and the discovery of the self. However, there are limited opportunities available for teacher training in creativity. When creativity training has been conducted with teachers, it has made a difference in their approaches to teaching and has expanded their own creativity. Testimonies from teachers who have explored creativity in the classroom are encouraging, but so far they are sparse in the literature. Through in-depth phenomenological interviewing of six teachers from pre-school through high school, this dissertation explored the impact that teacher training in creativity has had on teachers' perceptions of themselves and their students, whether they provided more opportunities for creative expression and self-discovery in the classroom, whether they felt empowered to make change in their environment, how they think education needs to change to accommodate teachers' and students' creativity, and their visions for education. It was found that coursework in creativity does make a difference. These teachers' self-esteem was enhanced and creativity became a value which was implemented in the classroom. The teachers in this study were empowered to make changes and to empower others to change, including both their students and colleagues. They were willing to try new methods and to take risks because they enjoy facilitating growth and creativity in themselves and their students. Teachers' ideas for educational change include creating community in the classroom, addressing different learning styles, including emotions, intuition, and cooperative learning in the curriculum, and extending the classroom beyond four walls. They realize that teachers need to know how to bring creativity out in themselves in order to foster students' creativity, and that for this to occur, teachers must have educational opportunities, time to plan creative curriculum, and support from colleagues and administrators.

Utilizing a multi-method, in-depth, qualitative approach, this study investigates the impact of structured reflective practice on the teaching decisions of five in-service classroom teachers. Over a twelve week period, participants engaged in daily reflective practice about their teaching. Through the use of daily journals, a structured format for reflection, and regular sessions with a content-expert observer/facilitator, participants became specifically aware of their teaching decisions and engaged in a comprehensive analysis of them. Most participants developed their reflection to the stage of actively generating alternative decisions to those made during instruction. The findings of the study confirm that reflective practice is a developmental competence that can be nurtured in all teachers. Further, the model described in the study can be used to effectively support the acquisition of reflective practice capabilities by experienced teachers. The participants in the study stated that the reflective practice they engaged in as a result of this training was personally and professionally validating,that it positively impacted their self image, that it gave them greater control over the teaching/learning environment, and that it increased the impact they perceived they had on learners. The study concludes that the process of engaging in structured reflective practice on a regular basis can be personally and professionally enhancing to teachers in a variety of ways. Recommendations for improving subsequent training efforts are offered and several fertile areas for additional study are suggested.

Urban school teacher preparation and retention have been a major concern of teacher educators, school administrators and policy makers. The purpose of this case study is to explore urban school teachers' understanding of the ways in which their experiences in an urban immersion teacher preparation (UITP) program and in urban school workplace influence their perceived self-efficacy, persistence and institutional commitment as urban school teachers. Literature review is conducted on alternative teacher certification, the Professional Development School movement, the nature of urban school teaching and learning, and the context of teaching theories. A case study approach is employed to investigate the research problem, with the social cognitive theory of self-efficacy used as the conceptual framework for data analysis. The major source of data is semi-structured interviews of UITP program graduates in addition to their personal statements as part of the UITP program application requirement. The case study findings indicate that urban school teacher perceived self-efficacy is a belief that teachers have in their capabilities to meet the task demand of teaching at urban schools with the requisite competence of urban school teachers. The findings suggest that those participants who are staying as urban school teachers have a strong sense of integrated self-efficacy of three dimensions including classroom management, classroom instruction and contextual congruence, and they are motivated to persist and learn new competence despite setbacks and obstacles. The findings suggest that self-efficacy is a necessary but not a sufficient factor influencing the participants' persistence and institutional commitment. Non-efficacy factors, such as salary pay and education managerial bureaucracy, are the most serious barriers to the stayers' persistence in and commitment to teaching at the urban schools. The results have both practice and policy implications for teacher preparation and retention. Given that teachers' self-efficacy beliefs, persistence and institutional commitment interact with school contextual variables, urban school teacher education needs a better defined context sensitive knowledge base of the task demand of teaching and the requisite competence required of urban school teachers; urban school districts need to implement policies addressing teachers' financial concerns and professional development needs to alleviate teacher turnover.

Abstract not available

This study involved the creation and implementation of an acting course for educators, entitled Teaching as a Performing Art. The primary objective of this course was to aid the course participants in their role development by providing them the space and technical support (through arts training) to experiment with different ways of being in the classroom. The nine participants in this experiential learning course performed the work of the actor/performing artist and developed the articulate voices and bodies critical for communication and presentation in the classroom arena. Simultaneously the participants practiced using the new skills to consciously shape and rehearse their emerging teacher selves, the roles they would play when they enter the practicum classroom as a teacher. Additional data was collected on two of the participants as they completed their student teaching practica the following semester. Results indicate that new teachers have several performance obstacles to overcome in the creation of efficient and effective teacher roles including: indecision, terror, assumption, embarrassment, denial, extremism and ennui. The findings catalog a number of arts-based activities that enable new teachers to move toward improved ways of being in the classroom by embodying strategy, courage, awareness, presence, honesty, poise and excellence.