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Thesis (MEdPsych)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005 / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

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The knowledge-based economy, advances in information and communication technologies and new pedagogical perspectives all influence the need to improve competencies in the 21st century. Innovative educational ideas and concepts have transformed the roles of teacher educators and their students. Adequate technology training is therefore a prerequisite for the teacher educator to develop prospective teachers who can use new technologies to support and improve their students’ achievement gains. However, many of these efforts fail since they are mostly based on a formal, institutional delivery of instrumental knowledge and skills. Adequate technology training is a major factor that can help to promote the uptake of emerging technologies into the curriculum, which in turn benefits students (Yoon et al, 2007; Collins & Halverson, 2009; Earley & Porritt, 2014). This research seeks to add to current knowledge about teacher educators’ technology professionalisation and to provide an instrument for the purpose of mapping teacher educators’ technology learning preferences in the workplace. The technology learning preferences instrument (TLP-instrument) designed, implemented and evaluated in this research is intended to create a link between teacher-educators’ technology learning needs in the workplace and the way in which professional development programmes should be tailored to meet teacher educators’ evolving learning needs. The investigation employs a design-based research approach which is cyclical and appropriate for addressing complex problems in educational practice for which no clear guidelines for solutions are available. To collect and analyse the data, a mixed methods approach was used. The rationale for mixing both types of research is that qualitative and quantitative methods complement each other (Creswell & Plano-Clark, 2011). Findings in this dissertation and in follow-up research are intended to lead to more effective technology professionalisation programmes through suggestions for better design and development based on teacher educators’ learning needs.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not components within middle school organizations promote and nurture efforts to implement collegial coaching programs. Three schools were selected on the basis of the following criteria: (1) the schools were middle schools, (2) coaching was in at least its third year of implementation, (3) the coaching concept encompassed a transaction among equals, and (4) the program was not related to staff evaluation. Data was collected at each site through interviews, direct observation and document review. Findings were reported using a cross-case analysis format in which cross case issues and information from the individual cases were dispersed throughout the data presentation in Chapter 4 and the data analysis in Chapter 5. The effects of teaming and common planning time on school climate and the enabling nature of enhanced levels of teacher empowerment were identified as powerful variables which contributed to the successful implementation of coaching programs at each site. Factors such as common planning time, supportive leadership, teacher accountability and empowerment in the areas of curriculum, scheduling, grouping, staff development, and staffing are analyzed. Ultimately the form of coaching in accepted use became much less formalized following the implementation period. As coaching becomes an accepted part of the fabric of the school, its practice becomes much more informal and focuses on the improvement of current instructional techniques. Time and the reluctance of teachers to assume quasi-administrative roles were found to be significant factors in this area. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)

The major focus of this study is to identify the effect of teacher's verbal expression on children's learning during the free-play period. The verbal expression of teachers was identified as a form of the adult's reinforcement of the child's performance during the free-play period. This reinforcement of the primary learnings which are the children's on-going activities, lead to the elaboration of learning into associate and concomitant learnings. Fifty four-year-old children in ten classrooms were selected and observed. The Child Activity Observation Form designed for 40 minute observations and adapted from Day and Weinthaler (1982) was used to collect the data. A videotape of two classrooms was used for training twelve teachers for inter-observer reliability. The researcher and the twelve teachers observed the tapes and recorded observations. The observation results were correlated with each other to identify the percentage of agreement amongst the thirteen observers. The percentage agreement for all variables was calculated for the activities observed. Findings indicate average percentage agreement amongst variables in two activities ranged between 84% and 94%. SPSS/PC+V.3.1--Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (1988) was used to analyze the data. Contingency table analysis was used, which showed the frequency distribution and crosstabulations. The analysis of the results indicate that there was no significant difference between teacher and child on "who initiated activities." The teacher initiated in 61 activities while the child initiated in 53 activities. In looking at the effect of teacher interaction on the child's achievement of elaborated learnings, results revealed significant differences in the roles of the teacher and the frequencies of both associate and concomitant learnings. Results show that teachers were observing in 43 percent of all the activities, directing in 28.9 percent, participating in 17.5 percent and absent in 10.5 percent. There was no observed associate learnings in 61.4 percent of all activities and no observed concomitant learnings in 57.0 percent of all activities.

This study focuses on the education of adult students as being more complex than traditional students. Because jobs are more complex, and the growing emphasis on credentials, these factors create a demand for better access to a greater range of educational programs. These demands can be an opportunity for creative institutions to design individualized curricula, new roles for faculty, and new approaches to learning. The (COP) Project was designed to do some of the above in the past. A survey study focusing on participants in the (COP) Project in Springfield, Massachusetts, was conducted. Three questions were addressed: (1) Was (COP) able to attract persons who would not normally have pursued educational careers? (2) Did (COP) provide career ladders for the participants. (3) Did (COP) improve education and career advancement for the participants. A sample of 75 participants were selected from the Springfield (COP) Project based on their availability. A questionnaire was mailed to the participants and a return rate of 50% was achieved. Some highlights of the responses collected were: (1) The participants viewed the (COP) Project participants, instructors, and administrators as being very supportive, cooperative, flexible, and available when help was needed. (2) There was strong evidence of support among the participants. (3) The participants were appreciative of the opportunity offered by (COP). (4) The participants indicated that without COP, their goals would not have been achieved. Generally, there were only positive comments about the (COP) Project. The only negative comments were that the program ended when there were many more people in need. The data indicated a need for more men in the secondary school levels for, role models, and that over 75% of those entering education through the COP remained and pursued advanced degrees. The participants were more secure and comfortable, learning with other adults from similar backgrounds. It is suggested that the work environment is considered a potential learning environment, and that learning is not limited to academic institutions but a lifelong process.

This study is a descriptive analysis of the perceptions of selected first and second grade teachers on the design and implementation of writing-portfolio assessment. The literature supported the need to examine alternative writing assessments that include both product and process-oriented information about developing writers. Writing-portfolio assessments focus on day-to-day interactions in the classroom and provide on-going diagnostic information about students' writing development and involvement with various instruction processes and procedures from one month to the next and from one year to the next. Two first grade teachers were chosen for an indepth investigation of their portfolio assessments of the early writer. Data were gathered using indepth interviewing, field observations and the analysis of student portfolios. The data collected were analyzed around categories derived from five main areas of investigation: (A) Changes in writing instruction. (B) Instruction and assessment. (C) Reporting procedures. (D) The Changing role of the teacher. (E) Support for teachers. Data gathered in this study indicated that as changes in writing instruction occurred in teachers' classrooms, a need for alternative assessments developed that would focus on a closer analysis of students' writing strengths and needs and would "capture" writing process opportunities and self-assessment activities in the classroom. As student portfolios were analyzed, teachers were able to outline patterns of strengths and needs that led to designing specific goals and implementation plans with individual students and the class as a whole. The specificity of the assessment allowed teachers to include students in self-assessment processes that focused on their development. Reporting portfolio assessment results to parents, future teachers, administrators and students themselves proved to be positive and informative. Teachers implementing writing-portfolio assessments needed time and opportunities to discuss and define good writing, determine the kinds of information to collect, articulate realistic writing goals and expectations, design appropriate implementation plans and writing strategies and organize necessary record-keeping that would document and report on progress in students' writing portfolios. Student writing-portfolio assessments documented students' development as writers, informed instruction and provided a "window" into the classroom. They offered teachers a greater potential in understanding and supporting their students' literacy development.

This case study reported on the process of designing, implementing, and evaluating a low-cost, school-based staff development program for teachers at the Ulysses Byas elementary school in Roosevelt, New York serving a predominantly African American population. The study was designed to provide teachers with useful resources for building multicultural curriculum into their regular school program. Action research methodology was used in this case study as a vehicle for the staff development program. The success of this project was contingent upon voluntary participation by staff members who perceived the information and activities of use in their classroom. Prior to this study, the researcher gathered information about teachers' needs and then reviewed numerous studies pertaining to multicultural education and possible answers. A series of four workshops were held. The workshops focused on providing opportunities for teachers: (a) to understand the concept of multicultural education; (b) to acquire some basic cultural knowledge about ethnic diversity; (c) to learn to analyze their own and students' ethnic attitudes and values; and (d) to develop different methodological skills for implementing multicultural education in their classroom activities. Staff development workshops relating to multicultural education among elementary teachers were successful because of the support gained from the school district, administrators, the building principal, the auxiliary staff and the participants. Effective Staff development procedures facilitated a number of essential processes and practices: (1) Opening dialogue among colleagues and administrators. (2) Allowing individual teachers to attend workshops during their work day. (3) Increasing peer interaction and sharing of ideas and knowledge among colleagues. (4) Introducing activities that address the basic concerns and needs of staff and students. (5) Elevating teacher morale by enhancing teacher professionalism. (6) Allowing staff to work collaboratively and supportively to implement school change. (7) Increasing teacher cultural literacy and comfort with cultural diversity in the classroom. Although this project took place within a particular setting, the planning processes, staff development activities may be adapted to other settings.

During the past fifteen years there has been increasing interest in the role of reflection in professional development, especially amongst teacher educators. Yet although many preservice programs now place considerable emphasis on encouraging and assisting student teachers to reflect on their practice, reflection remaings a problematic notion. There is little consensus, for example, about what constitutes reflection, how it might be identified, and whether it can be promoted. This thesis reports a longitudinal study conducted over four years which explored the above issues within the context of an early childhood teacher education program, in Sydney (NSW), Australia. The specific purpose of this study was to investigate changes in student teachers' reflection on their professional development and practice during their enrolment in the Guided Practice component of their preservice program. A strength of this study is its focus on reflection as a multidimensional phenomenon involving far more than the processes of analytical thought typically addressed by most previous research in this area. Drawing on an eclectic range of literature, this thesis argues that emotion, imagination, intuition, and contemplation can also play an integral role. As such, it asserts that reflection can be seen, in effect, as a complex and holistic search for meaning. Conceptualising reflection in this holistic manner raises numerous methodological challenges. These challenges and the methodological decisions made in response to them are outlined prior to developing profiles of the participants' reflection. These profiles indicated that there was little consistent change in the reflection of eight of the 18 participants. For four student teachers, on the other hand, there was some change, while for six, there was considerable change. Several factors which appeared instrumental in hindering or promoting these student teachers' reflection are identified. These include commitment (or lack of) to teaching and to reflection; an epistemological perspective of received or constructed knowing; and the extent to which the learning environment was perceived as supportive. The study concludes with a discussion of some of the implications for teacher educators and for those intending to undertake further research into reflection.