The purpose of this research study was to determine K-12 school leaders' concepts of ability and technology readiness. The Theories of Intelligence Scale (TIS) was used to analyze concepts of ability and the Technology Readiness Index (TRI) 2.0 was used to analyze the technology readiness of K-12 school leaders. Data from the two instruments were used to determine if there was any relationship between K-12 school leaders' concept of ability and technology readiness. This analysis filled a blank spot in the research contributing to the literature on leadership, Mindset Theory (Dweck, 2006; Dweck, Chiu, & Hong, 1995), and Technology Readiness (Lin & Hsieh, 2012; Parasuraman, 2000). Furthermore it helped to determine the state of K-12 school leaders' status as 21st century leaders. The sample consisted of the school leaders of School District of Palm Beach County (SDPBC). This included 158 principals from 104 elementary, 31 middle, and 23 high schools. The researcher was a school district employee and therefore had access to the participants. Each of the four null hypotheses were rejected as SDPBC school leaders scored significantly higher on the TIS (p < .05) and TRI 2.0 (p < .01), there was a significant (p < .0125) positive relationship between TIS and the TRI 2.0, and that relationship was affected (p < .05) by gender, race, and experience. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (Nursing) / Nursing is the largest healthcare profession in Malawi with more than 11,000 registered Nurses (RNs) and Nurse Technicians and Midwives (NTM) practicing in hospitals and other settings like nursing colleges nationwide. Nursing tutors in all the nursing colleges use numerous types of teaching aids in student preparation. There are numerous teaching strategies that suit pedagogical learning, however not all can yield the desired outcome and are properly applied in both classroom and clinical areas. Therefore, identifying the new teaching strategies for nurse tutors is very critical in nursing education hence this study concentrates on teaching competence, interaction and performance on the use of the strategies. Nurse tutors must encourage teaching and learning discovery through deliberate interactive teaching actions. However, some outcome actions, competences and performance or interactive behaviour of the nurse tutor are much to be desired in most nursing colleges in Malawi. Nurses need to possess classroom and clinical teaching competences to perform the role of a tutor properly.

This think piece captures some of the thinking that emerged in and through the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Regional Environmental Education Programme research programme. This research programme emerged over a five-year period (2008–2012) and involved ten southern African teacher education institutions from eight countries (see ‘Acknowledgements’). The research programme sought to understand what contributions environment and sustainability education could make to debates on educational quality and relevance. Issues of educational quality are high on the national agendas of governments in southern Africa, as it is now well known that providing access to schooling is not a sufficient condition for achieving educational quality. Educational quality is intimately linked to the processes of teaching and learning, but the concept of educational quality is not unproblematic in and of itself. It is, as Noel Gough (2005) noted many years ago, an ‘order word’ that shapes the way people think and practise. Our enquiries during this research programme involved a number of case studies (that were reported on in the Southern African Journal of Environmental Education (SAJEE) in 2008, and are again reported on in this edition of the SAJEE), but the programme also involved theoretical engagement with the concept of educational quality and relevance. This think piece helps to make some of this thinking and theoretical deliberation visible. The author of this think piece was also the leader of the regional research programme and was tasked with synthesising the theoretical deliberations that emerged from the research design which were found to be useful for guiding interpretations and deliberation on more detailed case studies undertaken at country level.

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The purpose of this study was to describe the moral purposes of successful teachers. Moral purpose was defined as the values and beliefs associated with serving society and serving individuals other than oneself Key informant interviews were conducted with the 18 finalists for Tennessee Teacher of the Year. Interviewees, were asked four basic questions: (1) Why did you choose teaching as a career? (2) How would you describe your moral purpose in teaching? (3) Has your moral purpose changed over time? (4) How would you describe the teacher's role in society? Data were analyzed qualitatively. Detailed profiles of each of the informants and reports of each interview are included. Conclusions were generally consistent with the literature. Teachers expressed several reasons for entering the profession: (1) working with people; (2) serving society; (3) continuing successful school experiences; and (4) desiring to emulate a significant teacher. Teachers described their moral purposes as related to caring, community awareness, lifelong learning, efficacy, and ethics. The teacher's role in society was described in similar terms. Several other important conclusions are described. First, these successful teachers had a sense of destiny with regard to entering the profession. This sense of destiny demonstrated the degree to which these successful teachers value the profession. Second, they described the importance of teachers serving others as role models. Third, most of the teachers suggested that their moral purposes have not changed very much over time even though students and methodologies have changed. Finally, they described community service as an important activity of the successful teacher. Again, these findings were consistent with the literature describing the dispositions of effective teachers. Recommendations for further research are included along with implications for teacher education and for in-service teachers. A model for devising a moral development plan for teacher education units is presented. Another model describes the process whereby in-service teachers can work to describe and develop their moral purposes. This study provides a detailed analysis of how successful teachers described their profession. The attitudes and beliefs underlying these descriptions are of significance to teachers and to teacher educators.

In Part A of this ethnography, I explain how my life experiences have shaped who I am and why I want to be a teacher. In Part B, I describe my experience of working with three focus students—an English learner, a student with a 504 Plan, and a student with significant life experience. My work with these students allowed me to learn of their strengths and assets, and areas of need. Based on the knowledge that I compiled over the course of the Fall Semester 2018, I created an action plan to help each student improve his/her academic standing and socio-emotional well-being. In Part C, I identify and evaluate the assets of the school and the community in which my students live, and how such assets help students thrive. I also assess the challenges that both the school and community face, and their continuous efforts to overcome them. In Part D, I reflect on my first year of teaching to assess my instructional practices, and I evaluate the progress made by my whole class, and more specifically my focus students.

The purpose of this study was to examine secondary mathematics teachers' questioning, responses, and perceived influences upon their instructional decisions regarding questioning and response to students' ideas. This study also compared the questioning practices, responses, and influences of beginning teachers to more experienced teachers. Previous studies on teacher quality in mathematics education have focused on general characteristics of mathematics teachers' instructional practice including a broad range of instructional strategies. Little is known about mathematics teachers' questioning practices and responses to students' ideas that research has repeatedly reported are critical to student mathematics learning in secondary classrooms. Furthermore, it is not clear how different novice teachers are in questioning and responding to students from experienced teachers. This understanding can provide significant insights into teacher education programs for mathematics teachers. With those issues in mind, this study was designed to answer the following questions: (1) What similarities and differences exist in questioning patterns between novice and experienced teachers when guiding a classroom mathematical discussion? (2) What similarities and differences exist in responses to students during pivotal teaching moments between novice and experienced teachers when guiding a classroom mathematical discussion? (3) What perceived factors impact the responses teachers give to students' ideas, and how are these factors of influence different among novice and experienced teachers? This study employed a multiple case study research design to compare the questioning practices and responses of three beginning teachers and three experienced teachers. Multiple sources of data were collected, including two interviews (i.e., initial interview and follow-up interview) for each teacher, five days of classroom video footage for each teacher, and field notes by the researcher for each interview and observation. The researcher conducted initial interviews with each teacher to gain a general sense of the teacher's philosophy and use of questions in guiding classroom discussion. Five instructional days of observation followed the initial interview, and then the researcher conducted a follow-up interview by use of video-stimulated response. All interviews were transcribed verbatim for analysis. The data was analyzed mainly using the constant comparative method to identify regularities and patterns emerging from the data. Results showed differences between beginning and experienced teachers in the frequency and variety of questions asked. Although all teachers showed the largest number of questions in the Socratic questioning category, differences were prominent in the semantic tapestry and framing categories. Results regarding teacher responses to pivotal teaching moments showed that four teachers favored a procedural emphasis in their responses to students, and two teachers used responses to direct students to make clear connections within or outside of mathematics. Perceived influences identified include: (1) reflection on experience and mathematical knowledge for teaching, (2) time, and (3) relationship with students, teachers, and parents, and knowledge of student background. Practicing teachers can expand the types of questions they use in the classroom, making particular efforts to include those areas that this study showed to be most lacking: semantic tapestry questions that help students build a coherent mental framework related to a mathematical concept, and framing questions that help frame a problem and structure the discussion that follows. The comparison between beginning and experienced teachers also shed light on important practices for teacher education. The beginning teacher participants from this study had no trouble noticing pivotal teaching moments in their lessons but were less developed in their responses to them. Recommendations for mathematics teacher education programs are to provide opportunities to develop content, pedagogical knowledge including specific instruction on questioning strategies, and also to provide parallel field experiences where pre-service teachers can apply the knowledge and skill they are learning.

This is a historical study of preschool nationally and partly internationally with a focus on elucidating the development of quality elements. The study will trace the beginnings of perkindergaten and how the programs have evolved to their current state. The study contains a look at the current state of prekindergarten programs within the United States and how the differing states are measuring their programs. The use of the word quality is examined as it relates to how programs are designed and implemented. The study will also examine several different states that have been acknowledged as the front runners in prekindergarten education services. The international perspective includes at look at several different countries and how they have implemented their early childhood programs. This is section looks at some of their standards for their programs and the requirements for their teachers. The final part of the study draws conclusions as to how to best proceed when making polices for prekindergarten programs in the United States taking into account the many perspectives.

A growing body of international research has indicated that teacher effectiveness is the most important factor affecting student achievement. At the heart of effective teaching and learning are learning conversations, in which teachers play a pivotal role in mediating learning by orchestrating discussion with students. This action research study had a dual purpose, firstly to investigate the effects of teachers’ knowledge and thinking on their ability to mediate students’ learning in classroom learning conversations, and secondly to provide the participating teachers with opportunities to investigate and develop their professional knowledge and practice. The action research approach allowed the collection of substantive information about teachers’ thinking and practice, while at the same informing and developing that practice through cycles of data collection, analysis, and reflection. The study involved two New Zealand primary school teachers in four cycles of action research. Information was gathered about the teachers’ knowledge, thinking, and practice through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and reflective journals. Observation transcripts were analysed, coded, discussed, and reflected upon during reflection days at the end of each cycle. The initial findings of the study revealed that although the two teachers were very different in their teaching styles, there were strong similarities in the fragmented nature of their knowledge of learning and assessment theory. Discrepancies were found between the teachers’ espoused theories and their theories-in-use. In addition, the teachers’ practice was strongly influenced by implicit beliefs and routinised behaviours, which had a powerful and often detrimental effect on the quality of their interactions with students. However, the process of examining the evidence in their own lesson transcripts enabled the teachers to develop awareness of weaknesses in their practice. This was a catalyst for reflection that resulted in change and improvement. After an initial regression both teachers made small but incremental changes in their interactions with students. By the end of the final cycle both teachers had appreciably improved the quality of their classroom learning conversations. The study demonstrates the effectiveness of classroom-based action research as a model for reflective professional development.

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