Learning how to plan for effective instruction is a critical part of the work performed daily by the elementary school teacher. While some new and struggling teachers in urban school districts have access to professional development on a variety of topics including instructional planning, teachers in rural school districts often struggle to find training opportunities. This study sought to gather information and insight from rural teachers who demonstrate expert instructional planning. The specific planning decisions they made and activities they engaged in while planning were studied. Not only were the planning practices identified, but the reasons said practices were employed were investigated. Five expert elementary school teachers employed in a remote Utah school district served as the cases for this qualitative research. Observations, lesson plan documentation, and interview data were collected and analyzed. It was found that the expert rural elementary school teachers spent the majority of their planning time thinking about curriculum goals, learning objectives, and selecting appropriate resources. Very little thought was invested in how teachers would interact with students, how students would interact with each other, or how students would interact with their environment. This was because of a repertoire of teaching skills that could be used on an improvisational basis depending on how students responded. From this study, instructional leaders may gain insight into the thought processes behind successful planning and thus have new tools for working with novice teachers to improve their lesson planning.

The word "interactive" is used commonly when describing many teaching, learning, and training software. Yet, this word does not provide a clear picture to the users what interactivity will provide. In order to better define and understand how, and if at all, interactive software affects learning, this study examined different components of interactivity. Two components of interactivity, frequency and quality, were used in this study. Much of the literature describe and provide comments that interactive learning is "good," but none seem to examine the components of interactivity within an empirical research study. Therefore, this study examined frequency and quality of interactivity in a human factors experiment using a Web browser and a computer simulation game. This study seems to be one of the first to experimentally investigate and test components of interactive learning. The two components of interactivity both had two levels and therefore were varied factorially as four different types of learning materials. After going through the learning materials, each participant in the study had to go through two different testing methods. The first method was a traditional paper test of knowledge, and the second method was applying the knowledge in the computer simulation game. The latter is considered analogous to applying learned information at a workplace. The results showed neither frequency nor quality to be significant. But, the interaction of the two components showed significance. The results lead to the conclusion that interactivity is more than one dimensional. One component alone will not alter effectiveness, but the right combination of components can provide an effective interactive learning material. / Master of Science

This study looked at whether a procedure of interspersing individual targeted questions would improve participation by low-responding students during a choral responding activity. Improved participation involved increased responding, increased accuracy, and decreased disruptive behavior. The study was conducted in two established elementary school classrooms. In each class, data were collected on two low-responding and two high-responding students. The choral activity was conducted in each classroom for 10 minutes a day. An ABAB reversal design was used. During baseline conditions, teachers conducted whole-group choral responding only. During the intervention conditions, teachers interspersed targeted questions to individuals who responded at low levels during the whole group choral responding activity. During the intervention (targeted questioning) conditions, the low-participating students in each classroom (a) responded to a higher percentage of the teacher's questions, (b) maintained or increased response accuracy, and (c) decreased disruptive behavior. During these same conditions, the high participating students maintained or slightly increased their participation levels. Teachers gave high social validity ratings to the targeted questioning procedure, noting that it made choral responding more effective with unwilling responders.

Instructional design and delivery may be one tool available to teachers to increase the academic and social behaviors of all students in the classroom. Effective instruction is an evidence-based teaching strategy that can be used to efficiently educate our youth across all learning environments. One effective instructional strategy includes increasing students’ opportunities to respond to instructor-posed questions during lectures. Students may respond to questions using a response card system as a way to promote active engagement. This study examined the most common form of instructor-posed questions presented during lecture, recall and recognition questions, to determine the differential effects on students’ academic and participation behavior in a college classroom. Results found no differentiation in students’ academic behavior with respect to question type. Students’ participation behavior was greater when the instructor used class wide active responding procedures than observed in baseline conditions that represented typical college instruction.

Faculty development is a means by which institutions can assist faculty in addressing the challenges they face each day in the classroom. Certainly the importance of faculty development is never more evident than within community colleges where access is provided to all students through an open-door admission policy which often produces a more diverse student body creating numerous institutional challenges. Overtime, on many campuses, faculty development practices have come to play a prominent role in attending to these challenges. This study: (a) examined faculty development practices offered in the last three years by Floridas 22 public community colleges and determined if the total number of different practices offered as well as the different types of practices were related to institutional size as measured by the number of full-time faculty (b) assessed and compared the relative perceived value of these practices as viewed by full-time faculty, faculty development practitioners, and academic administrators in these institutions, and (c) assessed and compared the relative perceived value of faculty development practices as viewed by full-time faculty within six different discipline areas. An original web-based questionnaire was used to gather data from the chief academic officers, faculty development practitioners, and full-time faculty at Floridas 22 public community colleges. Chief Academic Officers of 18 of the institutions reported that all 42 faculty development practices included in the survey were offered by at least one institution in the last three years. Results also revealed clearly that on all campuses, many full-time faculty were unaware that these practices were offered. No significant relationship was found between the total number of practices offered and the number of full-time faculty employed by institution. A relationship was noted between institutional size and the cluster of faculty development practices labeled general teaching enhancement practices. The mean perceived value by each respondent group on 42 faculty development practices reported three of six clusters revealed significant differences between fulltime faculty and chief academic officers. The perceived value ratings of faculty across six different discipline groups were observed for each of the six clusters of faculty development practices. Implications for future research were identified.

Urban settings are described in scholarly literature as areas beset with high concentrations of poverty, high incidences of crime and violence, and are typically occupied by high percentages of people of color (McKinney, Flenner, Frazier, & Abrams, 2006; Mitcham, Portman, & Dean, 2009; Vera, 2011). For many children who live in low-income urban school districts, our educational system is failing them (McKinney, Flenner, Frazier, & Abrams, 2006). Swanson-Gehrke (2005) reported that at least two-thirds of these children fail to reach basic levels of achievement in reading. Such dismal achievement results may be attributed to a myriad of issues faced by students living in high poverty that may impede the learning process. Improving the school achievement of these students requires comprehensive knowledge, unshakable convictions, and high-level pedagogical skills (Gay, 2010). The identification of effective instructional practices used to address the academic and social needs of these students has appeared to be an elusive task. The current study focused on this reality by investigating a school that has been able to create systems that result in improved academic and social outcomes of their students. Specifically, the study examined the instructional practices and beliefs of teachers of students of color with disabilities or at-risk of identification of disability at a high-performing high-poverty school.

abstract: This action research addressed teacher effectiveness in supporting students’ critical thinking skills by implementing differentiated instructional strategies in eight 3rd- and 4th-grade, self-contained, inclusive classrooms. This study addressed how third- and fourth-grade teachers perceived their instructional effectiveness, how differentiated instructional strategies influence third- and fourth-grade teachers, and how third- and fourth-grade teachers make further use of differentiated instruction to support students’ critical thinking skills across cultures, linguistics, and achievement levels to increase student achievement. Out of the enrollment in a southwest Phoenix elementary school, there was a 35% mobility rate; 76%, free and reduced lunches; 35%, Spanish-speaking homes; 10%, ELL services; and 10%, special education. The school was comprised of 52 certified teachers, out of which there were five related arts teachers, and four teachers who served gifted and special education students. Participants included all eight third- and fourth-grade teachers, 75% female and 25% males; 75% identified as Caucasian and 25% Hispanic/Latina, middle-class citizens. Professional development training was provided to these eight individual teachers during four months on differentiated instructional strategies to support students’ critical thinking. At this study’s beginning, these teachers perceived an obstacle to supporting students’ critical thinking as they struggled to learn new curriculums. Persevering through this challenge, teachers discovered success by implementing design-thinking, developing students’ growth mindsets, and utilizing cultural responsive teaching. These teachers identified three differentiated instructional strategies which impacted students’ academic progress: instructional scaffolds, collaborative group work, and project-based learning. Building upon linguistic responsive teaching, cultural responsive teaching, and Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory, teachers revealed how to support students’ critical thinking through the use of graphic organizers, sentence frames, explicit instructions, growth mindsets, cultural references, and grouping structures. In addition, the outcomes demonstrated teachers can make further use of differentiated instruction by focusing on instructional groups, teachers’ mindsets, and methods for teaching accelerated learners. This study’s results have implications on teachers’ perception toward using differentiated instructional strategies as a viable method to support the multiple ways all students learn. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Leadership and Innovation 2018

No description available.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA, 2004) requires a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment (LRE) with access to the general curriculum. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) emphasizes academic achievement for all students in public schools, and the use of challenging assessments to improve the quality of instruction. Because students with emotional disabilities (ED) are more likely to attend special day schools outside of the public school setting, and less likely to be instructed in general education classrooms (U.S. Department of Education, 2006), the professional responsibilities of teachers within special day schools must be addressed. The researcher examined the professional responsibilities and professional needs of teachers in special day schools, and how their administrators support them. Data were collected through a qualitative design using focus group methodology. Major findings that emerged regarding professional responsibilities were categorized as (a) knowing content, (b) designing instruction, (c) assessing student learning, (d) monitoring student behavior, (e) communicating with parents and agencies, and (f) remaining current through professional practices. Findings regarding the professional needs of teachers included improved professional development practices, and administrative support. Data revealed that teachers believed their administrators support them when they provide performance appraisal and offer opportunities for collegial support and collaboration. The findings suggest that (a) most of these special day school teachers were non-traditionally prepared special educators; (b) these teachers were challenged in achieving and maintaining instructional focus; (c) despite multiple challenges they were highly motivated; and (d) were provided insufficient instructional support. Considering the current national trend regarding the improvement of academic performance for all students, high stakes assessment, and accountability, more attention should be paid to preparing teachers in private day school for academic programs while still addressing the behavioral, social, and emotional needs of students. Joint participation in professional development activities would be beneficial and welcomed by these private day school teachers. / Ed. D.

Active student responding increases student academic outcome and on-task behavior. Response cards are an effective and efficient strategy for increasing active student responding. This study examined the effects of response cards on student disruptive behavior, percentage of questions answered, and accuracy of questions answered while alternating the number of teacher-directed questions across sessions. An alternating treatments design was used with 5 teacher-nominated students. During baseline (BL), the teacher used her standard lecture format, having students raise their hand when responding to a question. During the response card (RC) intervention, the teacher asked students to write responses on their white boards. Following BL, 3 conditions were rapidly alternated across sessions. Conditions included BL, RC in which the teacher asked 6 questions, and RC in which the teacher asked 12 questions. During the RC conditions, there was a decrease in disruptive behavior and an increase in the percentage and accuracy of responding.