This dissertation describes the personal struggle of one high school English teacher to conduct her classes according to her vision of student-centeredness, within a school whose culture sometimes made her doubt her own decisions. It suggests that the outside support of a teacher educator was the pivotal force for her gaining of perspective, through non-judgmental feedback, dialogue and reflection. It concludes that both roles, teacher and teacher educator, need to be reconceptualized if teachers whose vision is the empowerment of students are to remain in the public schools.

This work describes the culmination of two separate projects. In the first endeavor, efforts to synthesize peptidomimetics are described using trans-hydroxy proline to make a functionalized bis-peptides, or spiroligomers. The bis- peptide was then tested for catalytic activity on esterification reactions. The remainder of this manuscript describes a method to create complex molecular scaffolds using [4 + 4] photocycloaddition of trimethylsilyl substituted benzyl ethers tethered to 2 – pyridones. Upon irradiation at low concentrations, these structures intramolecularly react to give cyclobutanoid compounds. Initially, it was thought that [4 +4] photoreactions would would yield cyclooctanoid structures. Finally, a meta substituted methyl ester is intramoleculary reacted with a benzyl pyridone and eventually transformed into a dimethyl alcohol, creating a cubane – like structure. This caged structure is then subjected to rearrangement when exposed to strong acid conditions. / Chemistry

The purpose of the thesis is to investigate a specific case of curriculum change; that of organizing teacher training courses around learner outcomes in line with the Bologna process. The investigation is an example of a practitioner research case study and looks at how official Bologna policy messages are re-interpreted and recontextualised at the local micro level. A variety of methods are used to collect and analyse the data produced. A form of discourse analysis, as well as a survey of research literature, is used to identify policy discourses connected with the Bologna process. At the local micro level, local documentation as well as teacher talk in planning meetings are analysed to throw light on how the Bologna process was implemented. A number of discourses were found in policy documents; including the need to modernize higher education and to move towards a more student centred approach to learning. The thesis shows that these discourses were mediated locally by a regulative discourse portraying teachers as role models who have the task of passing on knowledge that is essential for the students to obtain before entering the profession. Instead of challenging the pedagogic identities for teachers and students, the introduction of learning outcomes acted to strengthen the fundamental vertical relations between teachers and students, cementing and confirming the level of control that teachers had over all aspects of the curriculum. Changes made in connection with the introduction of learning outcomes had a minimal influence on practice and were contested by some teacher educators. Teacher educators resisted and mediated the changes made by continuing to use their traditional practices. / <p>Akademisk avhandling som med tillstånd av utbildningsvetenskapliga fakulteten vid Göteborgs universitet för vinnande av doktorsexamen i pedagogiskt arbete framläggs till offentlig granskning Fredagen den 20 september, kl. 13.15 vid Högskolan i Borås.</p>

abstract: Past experiences influence how teachers identify as teachers, writers, and teachers of writing and impacts what they do in their classrooms, including their motivation and effectiveness in teaching writing. When teachers fail to identify as writers, they tend to spend less time teaching writing and may find it difficult to model a genuine passion and love for writing. Because of this, it is important to address the writing identities of preservice teachers before they enter their own classrooms. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to investigate and address preservice teachers' identities as teachers, writers, and teachers of writing using an adaptation of a visual literacy strategy known as full circling. Quantitative data were collected through a pre- and post Teacher/Writer Identity Survey and qualitative data were collected through classroom discourse transcripts, student reflective journals, field notes, and the researcher's reflective journal. Data analysis included a t-test comparison of pre- and post survey results and open and axial coding of qualitative data to establish major themes from emerging codes. The following conclusions were derived from the data: a) past experiences in writing affected the writing identities of the preservice teachers in the study; b) the full circling process provided a means for the preservice teachers to build knowledge on the traits and skills of effective teachers, writers, and teachers of writing; and, c) through full circling the preservice teachers demonstrated shifts in their identities as teachers, writers, and teachers of writing. Findings provided evidence that using a full circling strategy assisted preservice teachers in uncovering their identities as teachers, writers, and teachers of writing. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Leadership and Innovation 2014

Thesis advisor: Marilyn Cochran-Smith / This dissertation presents an institutional and historical analysis of the emergence of new graduate schools of education, or nGSEs. A controversial reform in the field of teacher preparation, nGSEs offer teacher preparation, state certification, and master’s degrees in a variety of new non-university contexts. With bipartisan support and philanthropic backing, the nGSE phenomenon has gained traction quickly. Today, 11 nGSEs, some with several branches, are operating in 16 different states. The dissertation examines the emergence of nGSEs using concepts from sociological neoinstitutionalism through primary document analysis and institutional analysis to answer the following questions: (1) What is the nature of nGSEs as organizations, including their historical features, funding models, and organizational environments? What changes have occurred in these features since the inception of nGSEs? (2) What institutional logic animates nGSEs as organizations? (3) What happens to teacher preparation in market-organized environments? Analysis revealed that nGSEs have diverse organizational origins and that they have largely reconfigured time and place for teacher preparation. As organizations that have moved the bulk of teacher preparation to K-12 schools and/or the internet while evolving rapidly in different environments, nGSEs naturally have different cultural-cognitive schemata. However, market logic is evident in some form, though to varying degrees, at each new organization. nGSEs tend to be private sector solutions to problems in the public education system, and they enjoy the support of education philanthropists who fund alternatives to the public education bureaucracy. I show how nGSEs are fundamentally responses to specialized, and oftentimes regionalized, circumstances that create demand for new kinds of teacher preparation programs. nGSEs are tailored for particular contexts and conditions—some nGSEs serve certain geographical communities while others serve certain kinds of school communities or pedagogical movements. I argue that this has led to the creation of highly specialized niches in the 21st century market for teacher preparation. Though they all constitute one reform, namely the relocation of teacher preparation from universities to new and different kinds of organizations, nGSEs are remarkably different from one another and from the wider field of teacher preparation. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

No description available.

<p> Without education, many South Sudanese will continue living in poverty. There are numerous factors that limit their educational opportunities including tribal warfare, colonialism, missionary malpractice, civil wars, a high illiteracy rate, low government funding, and threats of war. These factors have left a substantial deficiency in available training for teachers. The purpose of this study was to determine the pedagogical needs of the teachers of South Sudan. Within a conceptual framework of participatory action research, this qualitative study examined educators&rsquo; view of the effectiveness of the teacher education that they had received, the pedagogical needs of teachers, and the ideal training models for teachers given the country&rsquo;s current situation. The research design was a case study focusing on 5 primary and secondary schools. The mode of data collection was interviews and observations among 15 K-16 educators and educator leaders selected by snowball sampling. Observations and interviews took place in school classrooms and campuses, best suited for data collection as South Sudanese are, for the most part, a preliterate people who value listening and storytelling. Themes found related to classroom management, lesson planning, differentiated instruction, and motivation to teach. Key results indicated that the teachers had little to no preparation, varied in their motivation to teach, and perceived challenges and needs differently based on their level of education. A 5-day teacher-training project was developed. Social change will be achieved by improving teachers&rsquo; ability to successfully educate the next generation of leaders for South Sudan.</p>

<p> Teacher retention is a concern in all educational sectors in America. It is of special importance to Islamic schools, which tend to lack the resources necessary in recruiting and training new teachers. This dissertation addressed this problem in full-time Islamic schools in New York State by conducting a discrete choice experiment, which reflects an innovative, interdisciplinary, new methodological approach borrowed primarily from the fields of economics, social psychology, and decision theory. This approach re-conceptualized teacher retention as a series of decisions or discrete choices made throughout a teacher's career (as suggested by human capital theory) and has not been employed in this manner previously in educational research on teacher retention. This new approach offered additional insights in this important area of educational research, theory, and practice. This study examined the effects of six position-related characteristics in the discrete choice experiment: (a) opportunities to practice Islam, (b) work environment, (c) amount of work, (d) salary, (e) prestige, and (f) health benefits on the decisions of teachers in Islamic schools to continue teaching in those schools. The study also determined how the subjects&rsquo; characteristics (case-specific attributes) interacted with these position-related characteristics (alternative-specific attributes). All six alternative-specific attributes were found to be important to a certain extent, but their levels of influence varied across three preference profiles. Generally, the single most important factor affecting teacher retention in Islamic schools is the work environment of the school followed by the presence of opportunities to practice the Islamic faith. Contrary to the common belief, salary (and prestige) had the least impact on retaining Islamic school teachers. </p>

<p> This dissertation is a qualitative study in which I, the researcher and public school teacher, seek through writing the self in a narrative and evocative autoethnography to explore three emergent themes: My family&rsquo;s six year and six month circumnavigation, spirituality, and important literature that I have shared with other readers that direct our hearts toward God. Insomuch as the title posits living to remember God, my hope is to make the interior mind visible to my reader as I explore what embracing this position has meant to me; I hope in making myself vulnerable to speak to our human experience of love so that other educators may come to understand the need we have in our American public school classrooms to be guided by agape.</p>

<p> This study examined the effects of a 2-day professional development for special education teachers of students who have Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). The professional development included general knowledge of ASDs and teaching strategies that could be used in the classroom to assist children with ASDs. This study also ascertained teachers&rsquo; perceptions and knowledge gains as a result of participating in professional development opportunities on ASD. </p><p> The overarching research question addressed in this study was: Does a professional development on ASDs for special education teachers increase their knowledge of ASD and their knowledge and ability to implement strategies in the classroom? The specific research questions were: 1. Does the professional development change teachers&rsquo; perceptions of students with ASD? 2. Does the professional development increase the special education teachers&rsquo; knowledge of ASD? 3. Does the professional development provide specific teaching strategies directly related to students with ASDs&rsquo; success? </p><p> The researcher employed a mixed methods approach for this research study. The researcher collected data using the ASD Inventory (pre and post assessment). The study measured participants&rsquo; perceptions and knowledge of ASD, provided evidence-based practices to the participants, and assessed the participants&rsquo; comfort levels teaching students with ASD. The inventory assessments were analyzed using paired-samples t-test to obtain the final results. </p><p> The overall goal of this study was to learn about how to create effective professional development experiences for special education teachers in the area of ASDs. The goal was to enhance teachers&rsquo; perceptions of teaching students with ASD, increase their technical knowledge of ASD, and improve their knowledge of strategies to use when teaching students with ASD, as assessed by the ASD Inventory. </p><p> The major findings in this study were that after a 2-day professional development on ASD, there was a significant change in teachers&rsquo; perceptions of students with ASD, as well as a significant increase in teachers&rsquo; knowledge of ASD. Evidence of teaching strategies provided by the professional development was indicated through the assessment and teacher participation. Therefore, teachers learned strategies to meet the needs of students with ASDs.</p>