This instructional study of fostering student independence while teaching them to read revealed how first grade students develop independent reading behaviors during their 18-22 weeks of instruction. The observations were made of three Reading Recovery teacher/student dyad behaviors during three videotaped lessons; one in the beginning of instruction, one near the middle of instruction and the last just before the students discontinued from their respective programs. Individual units of reading behaviors were identified and labeled as assisted, assisted dependent, assisted independent, or independent based on specific behaviors observed when miscues occurred. The questions guiding the study were directed at student behaviors, teacher behaviors, and student changes over time. The data collected comprised transcripts of the taped sessions, daily lesson plans, running records, and results from scheduled Observation Survey assessments. The concept of independence was discussed as (1) a disposition for independence, (2) functional independence, (3) independence as a self-regulatory behavior, and (4) examples of how children contribute to and extend their learning independently. When they began, the students, Title I students, were among the bottom 10% of readers in their classrooms. When they discontinued (graduated), they functioned as average readers in their classrooms. When the students were assessed again in June after Reading Recovery lessons had ended, they had maintained their gains. In addition each student had acquired an expanding disposition of independence that is expected to be maintained as learning continued. The findings suggest that fostering independence in tutorial settings accelerates learning and enables students to become average readers. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among high school teachers' self-reported social and emotional competencies (SECs), social interaction teaching practices, and instructional interaction teaching practices. Yoder's (2014) research suggests to successfully implement social-emotional learning (SEL) practices, teachers must have strong social and emotional competency skills (Brackett et al., 2009; Jennings and Greenberg, 2009). This study included a quantitative descriptive method to examine the anonymous survey data collected. Additionally, the data were examined for possible correlations between social, and instructional interaction teaching practices to identify areas of strength or weakness and suggest professional learning options for teachers related to their scores. This study sought to answer the following research questions: 1. What is the relationship among high school teachers' self-reported social, and instructional interaction teaching practices that influence students' social, emotional, and academic skills? 2. What is the relationship between educators' self-reported self-efficacy of their social and emotional competence and how it influences their ability to implement social, and instructional interaction teaching practices? 3. What is the relationship between teachers' overall social interaction score and their overall instructional interaction score? 4. What do the scores from the overall social interaction score and the overall instructional interaction score suggest about the professional learning needs of the participating high school teachers? High school teachers in this study who reported a higher self-efficacy in positive social interactions had a higher self-efficacy in social interactions influencing students' social, emotion, and academic skills. High school teachers with a high self-efficacy in Teacher SEC: Social Interaction Teaching Practices strongly correlated to a higher self-efficacy of Teacher SEC: Instructional Interaction Teaching Practices. Furthermore, high school teachers with a higher self-efficacy in their Overall Social Interaction to that of their self-efficacy of their Overall Instructional Interaction also strongly correlated. Conversely, high school teachers who reported higher self-efficacy with instructional interaction did not report the same level of self-efficacy of their social interaction, albeit the finding was deemed small. The study suggests division and school leaders could prioritize supporting teachers' development of their self-efficacy of their social and emotional competence. / Doctor of Education / The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among high school teachers' self-reported social and emotional competencies (SECs), social, and instructional interaction teaching practices. The study examined the possible correlations between the self-efficacy of social, and instructional interaction teaching practices to identify areas of strength or weakness and to identify and differentiate the professional learning needs of teachers related to their scores. This study included High School teachers from one school division in Virginia. The high school teachers participated in a pre-published survey from Yoder, 2014a (see Appendix A). The findings suggest teachers with a higher self-efficacy in their SECs were more likely to implement them in their teaching practices. Whereas high school teachers that had a higher self-efficacy in their Instructional Interactions practices did not have a statistically significant higher self-efficacy in their Social Interaction practices. Future actions could include building leaders can provide on-going professional learning to improve the self-efficacy of teachers' SECs and implementation of school-wide practices. Additional implications and future study suggestions are shared.