The problem with which this study is concerned is the development of a program for teaching composition skills to children in the intermediate grades. The study is based on a survey of research, reports, books, and articles in the field, and on the teaching experience of the author. The organization of the study follows the actual steps in initiating a program for composition teaching in the intermediate grades.

The problem of this study is to determine the effects of two different social climates, as created by different teaching methods, upon the characteristics of college class groups. The social climates utilized in the present investigation were: (a) a democratic social climate, and (b) an autocratic social climate. The actual meaning of the adjectives used to label these social climates is necessarily somewhat different from the meanings attributed to them in political or economic discussions.

The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of two methods of teaching literature. An attempt will be made to ascertain whether the teacher-directed method or the free-reading method will be more effective in meeting the needs of the elementary children in the field of literature.

No description available.

This study is a qualitative investigation of the professional identity structure of teachers in Barbados, a small post-colonial Caribbean territory. The aim was to determine whether Barbadian teachers regard themselves as professionals and to what extent their occupational/professional identity structure could be described by a pre-conceptualized set of categories. Data was collected from a focus group made up of teachers of both genders from primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions in the country. Teachers in the study claim to be professionals despite acknowledging that teaching in Barbados is not recognized as a profession. This seemingly paradoxical claim is explained by the fact that teachers regard being a professional as an individual determination characterized by a different set of criteria from those that define a profession. By making this claim, Barbadian teachers appear to have mitigated the potential threat to the coherence of their professional self-concept brought about by the perceived discrepancy between the importance of their role as teachers and the non-recognition of teaching as a profession. The empirical data supports the four pre-conceptualized identity categories but four additional categories were uncovered. Overall, the findings support the contention that professional identity is an aspect of the self-concept; consequently, it is subject to the principle of self-concept maintenance.

No description available.

Classroom mathematics discussions are difficult for teachers to orchestrate. They require attending to and responding to studentsâ ideas about mathematics in ways that are responsive to their approaches, yet also guiding the group toward more sophisticated mathematical understanding. Deliberate practice is a promising approach to preparing teachers for this work. In this dissertation I focus on a form of deliberate practice called rehearsal that provides teachers an opportunity to role-play these discussions while instructors provide coaching and feedback. I provide a synthesis of literature that illuminates the learning opportunities in rehearsal and situates rehearsal as one component of a larger learning cycle that helps teachers learn how to learn from their own practice. I then offer two empirical analyses that examine the role of rehearsal in changes to the classroom practice of inservice middle school math teachers. These analyses conclude that the content of teachersâ questions are particularly susceptible to change as a result of rehearsal and are propelled through moments of teacher self-correction and conflict with previously-established classroom norms.

“The evidence base on numeracy interventions is patchy” (DfE, 2012, p. 6), and in the majority of studies the statistical analysis of data is not without its limitations (Dowker, 2009). The purpose of this study is therefore to add to this evidence base. A mixed methods explanatory sequential design was used to explore the efficacy of a Numicon-based intervention on the numeracy attainment and attitudes towards numeracy of children in Year 3 experiencing mathematical difficulties. Phase 1 implemented a pre-test post-test quasi-experimental design to explore the impact of a Numicon-based intervention across four primary schools. Twenty-five children aged 7 to 8, working at Levels 1C to 2B in numeracy, were allocated to the experimental condition (n = 15) and waiting list control (WLC) condition (n = 10). Interventions were delivered during the autumn term to children in the experimental condition by trained staff within school. The duration and content of sessions varied depending upon the needs of the children. The WLC condition received the intervention during the spring term. The Sandwell Early Numeracy Test- Revised (SENT-R) was administered to investigate the impact of the intervention on numeracy attainment. At post-testing, no statistical significance was found between the experimental and WLC conditions. The null hypothesis was therefore accepted. The ‘Maths and Me Survey’ was used to measure children’s attitudes towards numeracy. Again, at post-testing, no statistical significance was found between conditions, and so the null hypothesis was accepted. During phase 2 of the study, interviews were conducted to obtain the facilitators perceptions of the intervention. Using thematic analysis, two overarching themes were identified: ‘outcomes of the intervention’ which focussed on affective factors and children’s knowledge and understanding; and ‘factors and underpinning mechanisms’, which considered the importance of a whole school ethos, the role of parents, features of Numicon, practicalities of implementing an intervention and theoretical underpinnings. The findings of the current study are considered in light of previous research, as are the implications for Educational Psychologists and other professionals. Methodological issues that arose during the study are also discussed. Areas of future research are considered, focussing on the need for more research into the efficacy of Numicon-based interventions and on the development of attitudes towards numeracy.

No description available.

No description available.