Due to teacher shortages at the study site, teaching positions in the state that is the focus of this study are filled by alternate route (AR) teachers, who earned bachelor degrees in the fields that were not related to education and received teacher certification through alternative teacher education programs. Because there is limited information about the preparation and performance of AR teachers at the site of this study, the purpose of this sequential mixed methods project study was to explore AR teachers' preparation and their effect on student learning as measured by Northwest Evaluation Association's Measures of Academic Progress/Discovery Education Assessments. Guided by Mezirow's experiential learning theory and Dewey's educational philosophy, this project study investigated the relationship between the alternate route teachers' field experiences and years of experience, and teachers' effect on student learning. Data collection included a survey of 36 K-12 AR teachers selected through convenience sampling, document analysis of their student assessment scores, and 6 structured interviews with purposefully selected high performing AR teachers. Data were triangulated and cross-analyzed. Findings indicated that when AR teachers engage in field experiences prior to teaching, their students have higher levels of achievement as evidenced in their assessment scores. There was no correlation between AR teachers' years of teaching experience and their student assessment scores. Analysis of AR teachers' interview responses revealed a need for professional development, which was then created to address those needs. This study may contribute to social change by offering the targeted professional development of AR teachers and improving the design of AR preparation programs to better influence student learning.

New teachers entering the urban pre-K-12 school setting require an induction program to perform their teaching duties. Despite modifications to improve an existing induction program, novice teachers in a Midwestern urban school district were underperforming in the classroom, leaving administrators to address new teacher turnover and a disrupted learning process for students. Drawing from Knowles's adult learning theory and state guidelines to fulfill federal legislation mandates for proper induction, this qualitative case study was designed to explore beginning teachers' perceptions of the modifications in the district's induction program. A sample of 8 novice teachers was recruited to participate in open-ended, semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis and hierarchical coding were used to build themes and capture recurring patterns. Participants' responses suggested that the district's induction program is in accordance with state guidelines; however, the participants voiced that additional program modifications are needed to improve novice teachers' performance in the classroom. Participants requested more classroom management strategies; an understanding of the urban community norms, policies, procedures, building logistics, and the student population; and strategies to communicate effectively with parents. A 4 'day professional development workshop was developed to offer skills and strategies specific to the urban experience and school environment to improve novice teachers' performance. This endeavor may contribute to positive social change by increasing the performance of beginning teachers, thus, reducing teacher turnover and increasing student academic performance.

Recent literature suggests that communicative language tasks widely used by English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers to try and improve Japanese students’ learning have had little effect on improving their language ability and their intrinsic motivation to improve. Consequently, a number of teachers are now using interactive technology in the classroom although it has not been systematically implemented or widely studied. Understanding the approaches of successful EFL teachers—specifically, how teachers using an andragogic approach through experiential learning might affect student engagement—was the purpose of this qualitative study. The conceptual framework focused on student-centered learning and included Knowles’s theory of andragogy and Kolb’s experiential learning. The perceptions of 10 EFL teachers chosen through purposeful sampling and who regularly used technology in the classroom were gauged through structured interviews, direct observations, and document analysis. Emergent themes were extracted from the data through interpretive analysis. Results supported the fact that andragogic-based tasks with technology increased student engagement in the Japanese EFL university classroom by directly improving interaction between students and by stimulating communication and autonomous learning. The outcome of the study was a professional development program that was designed to provide better teacher training on facilitating technology-based lessons that engage learners and improve their language skills. Positive social change will result from providing better teacher training that focuses on facilitating technology-based lessons that engage Japanese university learners’ full potential and improve their language skills in more meaningful ways.

The diminution of Alternative Certification Program (ACP) teachers contributes to the teacher shortage and complicates the challenges of hard-to-staff schools. Some ethnic minority, economically challenged districts have experienced a growing attrition rate of teachers prepared by ACPs, resulting in a scarcity of qualified teachers. The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of stakeholders, including teachers currently in the program, teachers who left the program before completion, and program administrators, in order to understand the ACP program. A conceptual framework was based upon theorists Feistritzer and Klagholz, the originators of the ACP movement. Ten participants were selected for this qualitative case study using purposeful sampling, and data were collected through open ended interviews focused on training, challenges, support, and improvements. The hand analysis method was used to generate codes and subsequent themes. The themes developed from the interview questions and that provided some insight into stakeholders' perceptions included the influences of a positive school environment, the detriments of lack of support and preparation, and the apparent need for program restructuring. An ACP training manual based on study findings was designed to address the immanent training and support needs of ACP teachers. The manual may be implemented to train and retain ACP teachers in the district of study. Positive change implications of this study and of this manual may include more relevant professional development and a more structured ACP.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of professional development in the Seminaries and Institutes of Religion (S&I) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) through a descriptive analysis of the processes and outcomes of faculty inservice. To accomplish this purpose, 140 randomly selected LDS seminary teachers completed a survey measuring the processes and outcomes of faculty inservice training. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the frequency and variation that teachers reported five features of effective professional development (content focus, active learning, coherence, duration, and collective participation) as being part of seminary faculty inservice training. Descriptive statistics were also used to provide information about the frequency and variation of perceived impact of faculty inservice training on teaching and learning and on feeling prepared to implement seven objectives of LDS seminaries known as the Teaching and Learning Emphasis. Correlational statistics were used to explore the relationship among the five features of effective professional development and the reported outcomes. Teachers reported that the five features of effective professional development were generally moderate in frequency and more frequent in summer inservice than school year inservice. Reported impact of faculty inservice on teaching and learning was also moderate in frequency and more frequent during summer inservice. Teachers reported moderate agreement that inservice directly prepared them to accomplish the objectives of the Teaching and Learning Emphasis. The results of this study indicated that current efforts are moderately effective at implementing five features of effective professional development and achieving the outcomes of improved teaching and learning according to S&I standards. Results also indicate a correlation between the processes of the five features of effective professional development and the outcome measures of teaching and learning. These findings suggest that seminary faculty inservice could improve by increasing the frequency with which faculty implement five features in faculty inservice. To accomplish this, I propose that faculty inservice instructors teach concepts from upcoming scripture blocks, provide more opportunities to observe teaching that meets S&I standards, provide more follow-up, and select seminary principals who are qualified and prepared to provide effective faculty inservice.

This dissertation examined a combined approach to teach novel vocabulary in English and Spanish for dual language learners prior to an English storybook read- aloud in a preschool setting. The 6-week intervention study was conducted in a Head Start program in the U. S. Mountain West with 60 dual-language preschoolers randomly assigned to small groups to receive the vocabulary intervention, using images and word definitions from researcher-trained teachers, teacher assistants or parent volunteers. The experimental design included pre- and posttest assessments of target and general receptive vocabulary in English and Spanish, as well as language exposure, instructional quality, and fidelity of treatment. Teachers demonstrated a high level of fidelity in the preteaching of vocabulary in small groups. A multiple regression analyses and t-test comparisons indicate that preschoolers made comparable gains in breadth and depth of target vocabulary in Spanish and English, with higher definitional gains of vocabulary outcomes among those receiving vocabulary instruction in Spanish. For example, the Spanish-language group provided more diverse and robust definitions for target words. The results suggest that an explicit, target vocabulary intervention can improve Spanish-speaking preschoolers’ academic vocabulary in Spanish and English. Use of the home language seemingly supported word learning in both Spanish and English and appeared to increase linguistic awareness more than those receiving only English. The brief, small-group, vocabulary instruction was relatively easy to implement and shows promise as a curricular component available to Head Start programs. Implications for instruction and future research are included.

Digital technologies allow people with disabilities to participate independently in society in ways they never could before. The full realization of these new opportunities remains elusive, though, because working professionals in the information and communication technology (ICT) field rarely receive adequate training in how to make digital ICT accessible to people with disabilities. Adding accessibility to the university ICT curriculum can help create a critical mass of ICT professionals with accessibility awareness and expertise to finally realize the full accessibility potential of digital technologies. This dissertation provides a rich informational context from which ICT curriculum leaders can decide how to best infuse accessibility into their own curriculum.

This was a qualitative case study that compared data across six district-level literacy coaches’ epistemological and ontological beliefs about how to teach reading. All six coaches were working as a cohort of literacy coaches on the development and implementation of a secondary reading intervention program for seventh-grade struggling readers. Data were collected over a 6-week period where the coaches responded to questions and vignettes through a think-aloud protocol. The data collection instruments addressed personal, work, and educational experiences that influenced the development of their beliefs about how to teach reading. A survey of their professional library was also taken. The coaches responded to three other instruments and questions to glean epistemological beliefs about knowledge and to address the instructional needs of a struggling reader. There were three major findings. First, the report of the National Reading Panel (NRP) was very influential to the forming or affirming of their beliefs about how to teach reading. The findings of the NRP were privileged in instructional decision making by the coaching cohort, while the adolescent literacy research was ignored or marginalized. Second, self-stated instructional choices were made by the literacy coaches based upon three models that reflected their perspective about how to teach reading. These models were: (a) a skills development model that focused on beginning reading skills, (b) a deficiency model that focused on intervention and remediation, and (c) a proficiency model that focused on social-constructivist learning. Third, the literacy coaches’ epistemological and ontological beliefs about how to teach reading to struggling were either flexible (changing) or rigid (unchanging) as reflected by whether they changed their instructional approaches or choices across grade levels or populations.

This applied dissertation was designed to verify the effectiveness of professional learning communities (PLC), as it relates to the participation of administrators and teachers. Prior studies have emphasized the importance of continuing learning experiences for school administrators while working. Chiptin (2013) pointed out the importance of a learning network for principals, in which principals would support each other and share knowledge as well as having a forum to discuss common problems. The writer used a quantitative questionnaire copyrighted by Southwest Educational Development Laboratory as the instrument for the research. The main purpose of analyzing the data quantitatively was to measure the effectiveness of the PLC and the participation levels of the administrators and teachers in the PLCs in the target public school district. The results suggested that administrators and teachers perceived PLCs as a collaborative process in which their opinions and suggestions are shared in a democratic fashion. However, when it comes to the final decision, administrators have the last say. Moreover, administrators listen to teachers’ opinions and suggestions on how to solve problems and how to make the best decisions when it comes to student-centered learning. Furthermore, administrators take into consideration the opinions and suggestions of faculty and staff members when making the final decision. Recommendations include conducting a mixed-method study using both qualitative and quantitative data to provide a better understanding of cultural background between schools’ geographic location and culture as well as the individual staff members’ culture, as contrasted with the PLC dynamics. In addition, this study was conducted to provide better insight into specific student-centered activities and teacher practices.

This thesis proposes to develop a one-year sculpture program for high school art students. The intention is to present a reference and guide for those teachers interested in establishing their own sculpture program. Justifications for the course are discussed, including the importance of experiencing three-dimensional forms for any student interested in the visual experiences of life - be it nature or the man-made environment. The general approach to teaching sculpturing is presented along with a sequence of projects designed to provide the student with a variety of experiences with sculpturing as an art form and means of personal expression. Also included is a description of desirable classroom characteristics, materials and tools. The conclusion contains my personal views on the value of offering sculpturing at the high school level and the benefits to student, school and community. I also recommend a means of selecting students for the class and reasons for such selection. Here also, as a result of three year's of teaching at the high school level, I feel that it is necessary to make comment about the importance of the high school art teacher's commitment to their subject matter.