This non-experimental, quantitative study explored the leadership of college professors and the relationship to student assessments of their teaching performance. The leadership constructs under investigation were strategic thinking capacity (cognitive agility) and leader influence actions (behavioral agility), which are rooted in the theories of behavioral and cognitive complexity. Research indicates that cognitive and behavioral agility are two factors that produce more effective results for leaders in varying organizational contexts. However, previous research does not include college professors in those studies. Thus, this study sought to explore professors as classroom leaders and the relationship between college professors’ cognitive and behavioral agility and their students’ perceptions of their teaching effectiveness, if behavioral agility plays a mediating role, and if that relationship is moderated by alterable and unalterable contextual variables. Ninety-two full-time professors from one Florida college participated in the study. The professors’ strategic thinking capacity (cognitive agility) was measured using the STQP, an adaptation of Pisapia and Reyes-Guerra’s (2007) Strategic Thinking Questionnaire (STQTM), and the professors’ leader influence actions (behavioral agility) were measured using the SLQP, an adaptation of Pisapia, Reyes-Guerra, and Yasin’s (2006) Strategic Leadership Questionnaire (SLQTM) with both instruments employing Pisapia’s (2009) framework of strategic leadership. The ‘P’ denotes the ‘professor’ version of the original STQTM and SLQTM. Locus of control orientation as a contextual variable was measured using Spector’s (1988) Work Locus of Control Scale (WLCS). To measure student perceptions of professor effectiveness, the student assessments of courses and faculty were compiled from existing records from Palm Beach State College’s Institutional Research and Effectiveness (IRE) website. The data were statistically analyzed using correlational and regression analyses and tested for mediation and moderation effects. The findings of this study revealed that college professors demonstrated the same strategic thinking capacity and leader influence actions as leaders in more traditional leadership roles as measured by the STQP and SLQP. The findings were also consistent with previous studies that found that cognitive agility is a significant predictor of behavioral agility. However, it also found that student perceptions of professor effectiveness as measured by student assessments were not correlated to any of the research variables in this study. Findings and conclusions, as well as recommendations for future research, are presented in the concluding chapter. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Classroom Management: Even though our classrooms are “out there”, we still have classroom management issues, just like we do in face to face classes. Some of these issues are similar but some are different enough that we may not think about them. Come find out what those are and ways to address them! New to Online: Teaching class in your pajamas may sound like a great idea, but when you’re into the semester and pulling your hair out over the various and sundry “stuff” that happens in your online classes, you may think you’re alone. You’re not! Come join other online instructors for some problem solving and idea sharing specifically aimed at instructors new to online teaching. Share and Tell: Teaching online is constantly changing and evolving. Come hear other instructor’s tips and tricks for teaching online and bring your own experiences to share in this informal discussion hosted by Dr. Susan Epps, Assistant Professor in Allied Health. Assignments and Discussions, Tests…Oh My!: Tired of reading the same thing over and over? Discussions falling flat? Tests – Ugh! How about some ideas for keeping assignments fresh, discussions going and tests – well, maybe there is another alternative!

Book Summary: A teacher’s ability to manage the classroom strongly influences the quality of teaching and learning that can be accomplished. Among the most pressing concerns for inexperienced teachers is classroom management, a concern of equal importance to the general public in light of behavior problems and breakdowns in discipline that grab newspaper headlines. But classroom management is not just about problems and what to do when things go wrong and chaos erupts. It’s about how to run a classroom so as to elicit the best from even the most courteous group of students. An array of skills is needed to produce such a learning environment. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Classroom Management raises issues and introduces evidence-based, real-world strategies for creating and maintaining well-managed classrooms where learning thrives. Students studying to become teachers will need to develop their own classroom management strategies consistent with their own philosophies of teaching and learning. It is hoped that this work will help open their eyes to the range of issues and the array of skills they might integrate into their unique teaching styles.

School staff was concerned that disruptive student behaviors at an urban, middle school in central Ohio had continued even with positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) implementation and professional development (PD) for more than 4 years. The purpose of this study was to explore teachers' perspectives of school training on the implementation of the PBIS system. Skinner's reinforcement theory and Bandura's social learning theory served as the conceptual frameworks for this study. Specifically, this study explored the training of teachers using the PBIS framework in diminishing students' negative behaviors. This study used triangulated data from interviews, observations, and document analysis. Of the 13 study participants, 7 participated in both interviews and observations. The remaining 6 participants were split evenly with 3 participating in the interviews and 3 in the observations for a total of 10 participants in each data source. The findings revealed the following: PBIS was not given full administrative support; PBIS did not have full funding for an effective implementation, and embedded continuous professional development was added to the PBIS program for all staff. Based on 1 of the findings, quarterly professional development programs led by the school leader were developed to address the inconsistent implementation of PBIS and the ongoing professional development that was needed. Effectively implementing PBIS should increase positive behaviors of students. As such, there are implications for social change in the quality of the school environment; change in school rating that results in more attractive neighborhoods; and increase academic achievement due to more instructional time on task.

Higher education instructors experience many uncivil behavior challenges among students in the classroom that affect learning. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the effect of higher education classroom management behavior strategies on learning. Guided by Bandura's social learning theory and Piaget's cognitive theory, the research questions were designed to explore the perceptions of instructors and students about classroom management behavior strategies used in college settings and how student classroom incivility affects learning. The study included a panel of experts to aid in determining the feasibility of the project study protocol, testing the adequacy of research instruments, and identifying weaknesses in a study. There were 19 prewritten open-ended interview questions used to gather in-depth feelings, attitudes, and perceptions of 5 instructors' and 5 students' experiences toward classroom incivility from a 2-year college in Texas. Participant interviews were transcribed using open, axial, and selective coding to identify common themes. Discipline referral reports and researcher observation notes were gathered to triangulate the data. The findings indicated the instructors needed training on how to better manage uncivil classroom behaviors among students. The findings were used to develop a professional development training called "Classroom Incivility: Address it Now, Later, or Never." This project resulting from the study could have a direct effect on positive social change by equipping instructors with better tools to effectively manage uncivil behavior among students in their classrooms.

Each day, foreign language teachers are faced with issues that render the control of the K-12 classroom challenging, at best, and virtually impossible at worst. Even preservice foreign language teachers, those going through a teacher education program towards K-12 licensure, understand that no content can be taught or learned if there is mayhem in the classroom environment. Effective classroom management practices are often what consume these teachers' time and energy, even before the first page of the textbook is turned. However, it would be an error to over-generalize foreign language teachers' challenges with classroom management in an effort to introduce possible solutions without first considering the uniqueness of this particular teaching and learning environment. It was the researcher's contention that the foreign language classroom is unlike any other, and thus thrusts its teachers, both preservice and in-service, into management situations that are rare or non-existent in the classrooms of other subject areas. The purpose of this longitudinal study, therefore, was to describe five foreign language teachers' experiences with classroom management and to identify the distinct issues they have faced, both during their student teaching semester and currently as in-service teachers. The data gathered from the five subjects' weekly reflective journals and teaching philosophies, their observations of other classrooms, responses to a questionnaire, interviews, and observational field notes were analyzed qualitatively using a case study approach. The study confirmed that these foreign language teachers often contended with issues that were exclusive to their teaching field. Target language usage, the systemic lack of respect for the study of foreign language, and the inclusion of students who were heritage speakers of the language being taught were among the issues most commonly cited by these five teachers, and were shown to have a significant impact on student behavior, motivation, and attitude. Many teacher education programs already offer courses that explicitly present appropriate classroom management strategies. However, data from this study suggest that a further breakdown of how foreign language classroom management may differ from other subject areas may ultimately enable foreign language teacher educators to better prepare and better support both their preservice and in-service teachers.

This thesis, grounded in an empirically-based study of pedagogic practice in primary school classrooms, examines the corporeality of learning and its role in the process of learning how to write. The central concern in the formation of scholarly habits in the primary years and the degree to which the embodiment of specific dispositions is fundamental in students acquiring the ability and desire to write. This thesis explores the enabling dimensions of embodiment and how these can be generated through the pedagogic practices of schooling. The body is not simply perceived as being shaped by the external, nor capacitated by its ability to retain affects, but rather as mindful, where these affects form the basis of consciousness with embodied understanding being integral to how we learn. This thesis asserts the inseparability of body and mind. Different conceptualisations of the body are examined, and assessed in terms of their usefulness in understanding the role of the body in learning and the need within education to posit an ontology that embraces both the body and the mind. A genealogy of the educative body is provided through an analysis of English syllabus documents within the New South Wales education system. An empirically-based study is conducted examining the pedagogies employed by six teachers and the ways in which disciplinary techniques they employ can contribute to their students’ acquisition of a scholarly habitus and their ability and desire to write. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Integration has been the policy of the New South Wales Department of Education and Training since 1981. Regular classroom teachers are responsible for implementing this policy at the classroom level. In order to achieve this, teachers need to make informed decisions about aspects of the class program and practice that may need to be adapted or modified to provide opportunities for integrated students to participate meaningfully in regular classroom environments. The purpose of this study is twofold: to extend research into adaptations made by New South Wales teachers under a policy of integration by surveying teachers' perceptions on various adaptations/modifications and to explore factors related to teachers? implementation of these adaptations/modifications to programs and practices for students with mild disabilities and/or learning difficulties. Researchers have studied integration (variously named and interpreted) since the eighties and the current research is based on a body of research conducted over the last twenty-five years. The current research identified the frequency of different types of adaptations/modifications used by regular classroom teachers. An attempt is made to identify various barriers and isolate particular factors that may influence the use of these adaptations/modifications in regular classrooms. Results indicated that teachers reported using different adaptations and modifications to varying degrees. Teachers indicated that they held a preference for adaptations and modifications that could easily be implemented for all students in the class. Teachers reported that barriers such as: 'Lack of preparation and planning time'; 'Demands on instruction time'; and 'Inadequate staff ratios' have the greatest affect on their implementation of adaptations and modifications. The level of qualifications held by the teachers was the only factor that had a significant correspondence to the frequency of adaptations and modifications implemented for students with mild disabilities and learning difficulties. Further research is recommended to investigate across a larger area of population, the type and level of disabilities experienced by the students and the influence of teachers? choice on frequency of adaptations and modifications.

Thesis (M. Ed.(Assessment and quality assurance))-University of Pretoria, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M. Ed.(Opvoedkundige sielkunde))-Universiteit van Pretoria, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.