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This qualitative case study of two primary teachers during their first year of using a new provincial art curriculum was concerned with the effect of a special relationship between the two teachers on their implementation efforts. The relationship was part of an implementation strategy devised by arts consultants in the school board office; one teacher in every school was designated a “Catalyst Teacher” with a loosely defined role of acting as an on-site “cheerleader” (or catalyst) for the implementation activities of colleagues. This use of a non-specialist member of a staff is related to peer-centred improvement and change efforts discussed in recent literature under such terms as “peer coaching,” “cooperative professional development,” and “collaborative consultation.” It has been shown that a collegial approach to change efforts tends to contribute to the successful implementation of change. Through a series of semistructured interviews with the two teachers individually and together, and supplemented by observations of their art teaching and by interviews and informal conversations with Ministry of Education personnel, the local art consultant, and the school principal, a picture was produced of the meanings constructed by the two teachers about the new curriculum, their roles as teachers and colleagues, the place of art in their total programs, and the effect of the Catalyst Teacher Program on their own implementation efforts. At the end of the interview series, the teachers considered their own progress with the help of Hall and associates’ Levels of Use scale (1975). Looking through the lens of a symbolic interactionist approach to studying this working relationship, I was able to focus on the interdependence of all the elements in the cyclical process of data gathering, sorting, coding, reflecting, and analyzing. The qualitative causal network described by Corbett and Rossman (1989) provided a framework within which the case data could be analyzed and compared to Corbett and Rossman’s findings. The progress of the participants in this study showed the positive effect of the implementation strategy in use in their board. These two teachers’ special qualities of collegiality contributed to their early success, suggesting that conditions of teacher empowerment and collegiality need to precede other specific change efforts. Conditions of distancing between grade-level units within the school, that may have contributed to differences in implementation progress, point to a need to reconsider the wide scale of most implementation efforts.

This qualitative case study of two primary teachers during their first year of using a new provincial art curriculum was concerned with the effect of a special relationship between the two teachers on their implementation efforts. The relationship was part of an implementation strategy devised by arts consultants in the school board office; one teacher in every school was designated a “Catalyst Teacher” with a loosely defined role of acting as an on-site “cheerleader” (or catalyst) for the implementation activities of colleagues. This use of a non-specialist member of a staff is related to peer-centred improvement and change efforts discussed in recent literature under such terms as “peer coaching,” “cooperative professional development,” and “collaborative consultation.” It has been shown that a collegial approach to change efforts tends to contribute to the successful implementation of change. Through a series of semistructured interviews with the two teachers individually and together, and supplemented by observations of their art teaching and by interviews and informal conversations with Ministry of Education personnel, the local art consultant, and the school principal, a picture was produced of the meanings constructed by the two teachers about the new curriculum, their roles as teachers and colleagues, the place of art in their total programs, and the effect of the Catalyst Teacher Program on their own implementation efforts. At the end of the interview series, the teachers considered their own progress with the help of Hall and associates’ Levels of Use scale (1975). Looking through the lens of a symbolic interactionist approach to studying this working relationship, I was able to focus on the interdependence of all the elements in the cyclical process of data gathering, sorting, coding, reflecting, and analyzing. The qualitative causal network described by Corbett and Rossman (1989) provided a framework within which the case data could be analyzed and compared to Corbett and Rossman’s findings. The progress of the participants in this study showed the positive effect of the implementation strategy in use in their board. These two teachers’ special qualities of collegiality contributed to their early success, suggesting that conditions of teacher empowerment and collegiality need to precede other specific change efforts. Conditions of distancing between grade-level units within the school, that may have contributed to differences in implementation progress, point to a need to reconsider the wide scale of most implementation efforts. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

M.Ed. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

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Thesis--University of Florida. / Description based on print version record. Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 156-162).

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The purpose of the study was to construct a test, referred to as the Teacher Perception Test, for determining the ability of students to observe with understanding in a classroom situation prior to student teaching. In developing the measurement device, three steps were included: (1) filming the scenes in the test and the design of the accompanying directions; (2) comparing the student teacher responses to the Teacher Perception Test with (a) overall grade point average, (b) previous experiences in teacher-learner activities, (c) a self-concept scale, (d) a classroom teacher's observation rating, and (e) final grades received at the completion of the teaching semester; and (3) comparing two different methods of scoring the students' responses to the Teacher Perception Test--the score of total number of items listed by students as perceived in the filmed scenes and a score derived from the' students' assignment of instructional purpose to each item listed.

The purpose of this study was to determine if elementary student teachers applied the training received in a communication course on a thirteen week practicum, and if so, what specifically was applied or transferred. The practicum took place a year after the communication course; this study was undertaken nineteen months after the completion of the communication course. The participants had obtained a bachelor's degree prior to enrolling for a two year teacher training program. The critical incident technique and a structured questioning technique were used respectively in an intensive interviewing process. The findings reveal that the transference occurred in terms of attitude, knowledge, and skills from the experience of the communication course to the practical experience of the thirteen week practicum. These factors were helpful in creating a focussed and motivating presentational style, verbally and nonverbally, and in reducing stress and conflict in interactions with students, parents and collegues. Student teachers were adamant in stating that the success of their learning was due to the positive atmosphere of the communication course, the caring, enthusiastic and motivating nature of the instructors, and the bonding which occurred between the participants as a result of this caring. These factors provided the basic human needs of affection and community. / Education, Faculty of / Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of / Graduate

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