This multiple case study describes the relationships between literate practices of five self-identified Mennonite youth and their faith identities. It also examines other salient identity enactments for each participant and the relationships among salient identities. Specifically, this research addresses the question: How do Mennonite high school students who engage in leisure reading enact identities in their literate practices? Participants were in 11th grade at a Mennonite high school. Theoretically based on the social practice theory of identity, data sources included field notes from nine weeks of observations in English and Bible classes, interviews with each participant and the English and Bible teachers, written documents from both classes, and two verbal protocols for each participant with self-selected texts, one of which was faith-related. Multiple analytics were used to analyze the various data sources. Findings suggest that the relationship between faith identity performances and literate practices plays out in different ways for different youth based, in part, on the salience of the faith identity. / Literacy & Learners

This study analyzes the use of audiovisual media in the Evangelical practices of liturgy, teaching, and community engagement. In order to gain a more holistic perspective on the role media plays in these practices, the study focuses on media examples taken from prominent religious institutions. By analyzing these examples through the lens of critical theory, the study reveals aspects where the spectacle trends of our culture has permeated the media produced to help audiences engage in religious practices. Because religion helps people cultivate meaning in their lives, the influence of the spectacle trends on religious practices is important to examine as it has the potential to control that meaning. As a result, the contributions of religious media can become indistinguishable from those of mainstream media. Therefore, critical theory can be a powerful tool to help religious institutions discern where media amplifies meaning in practices and where it becomes a distraction. As the study examines existing content already utilized in Evangelical practices, the impact is compared across the three practices, which better illuminates the overall influence. / Media Studies & Production

Reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1997 set higher standards for the education of students with disabilities. In addition, to the original purposes of the law that ensured a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) for students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment (LRE), amendments mandated that students with disabilities be included in state accountability and assessment systems, moving educators from an age of accessibility to an age of accountability. This legislation also ensured that students with disabilities have access to the general curriculum to the maximum extent appropriate, which has influenced educators toward including more students with disabilities in the general education environment. With the increasing numbers of students with learning disabilities (LD) educated in the general education environment, educators face the challenge of providing these students opportunities to access the general curriculum, while ensuring that they receive FAPE. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the teaching practices of special and general educators in the planning, instruction, classroom management, progress monitoring, clinical assistance, and caring of students with LD in inclusive instructional settings to examine how they are aligning their practices to ensure FAPE for these students. Data were collected through a qualitative design, using focus group methodology. A total of 3 special educator and 3 general educator focus groups were conducted for data collection. Major findings that emerged included (a) the absence of common planning time, (b) the use of whole group instruction rather specialized instruction, (c) the unshared responsibility of classroom management, (d) the limited time dedicated to monitoring the learning and academic progress of students with LD, (e) the controversy surrounding adjusting instruction for students with LD, and (f) the importance of teachers showing students with LD that they care about them and their success. Data revealed that the practices of special and general educators align only in the areas of classroom management, particularly in providing classroom routines, and caring. In all other areas, not only do their practices not align, emphasis placed on each area varies within and between special and general educator focus groups. / Ed. D.

As schools are growing more diverse and opportunity and achievement gaps remain, educational leaders are called to develop an equity lens to meet the needs of students (Grissom et al., 2021). The Professional Standards for Educational Leadership explicitly outline critical dispositions for educational leaders to act with equity and cultural competence in all decisions (National Policy Board for Educational Administration, 2015). The purpose of this study was to identify principals' self-reported equity leadership practices and their perceptions of their preparedness to lead for equity in one urban school division. For the purposes of this study, equity leadership was defined as "conditions for learning that interrupt historically discriminatory practices, support democratic schooling, and achieve fair, inclusive, and just outcomes. Further, leadership for equity is acting on those beliefs and understandings intentionally, regularly, and systematically" (Rigby and Tredway, 2015, p. 6). The following research questions guided this study: (a) How do principals in one urban school division indicate they demonstrate equity leadership practices outlined in the Leadership for Equity Assessment and Development framework? (b)What are principal perceptions regarding their preparedness to lead for equity? (c)What professional development do principals indicate they need? This study utilized a convergent-mixed-methods design with self-rated surveys and semistructured interviews. Findings included that while principals (n = 44) felt they were prepared to lead for equity, their practices fell on a continuum with majority of responses associated with the emerging to proficient equitable practices ratings based on the Leadership for Equity Assessment and Development (LEAD) rubric. Moreover, principals noted that personal backgrounds and professional learning helped shape their preparedness to lead for equity most significantly. Principals indicated a need for professional growth relative to developing and evaluating teachers to be more equitable and culturally responsive. Additionally, principals suggested a need for more equitable approaches in engaging families and communities. Implications and recommendations for future studies were provided. / Doctor of Education / As schools are growing more diverse and opportunity and achievement gaps remain, educational leaders are called to develop an equity lens to meet the needs of diverse students (Grissom et al., 2021). The purpose of this study was to identify principals' self-reported equity leadership practices and their perceptions of their preparedness to lead for equity in one urban school division. Through surveys and semistructured interviews, this study examined the current equity leadership practices of 44 principals in one urban school division in southeastern Virginia leveraging the Leadership for Equity Assessment and Development (LEAD) framework (Galloway and Ishimaru, 2017). Additionally, this study examined the perceptions of preparedness of principals to lead for equity and what professional development is still needed in this school division. The results of this study indicated that while principals felt they were prepared to lead for equity, their practices fell on a continuum, with a majority of responses associated with the emerging to proficient equitable practices ratings outlined on the LEAD rubric. Moreover, principals noted that personal backgrounds and professional learning helped to shape their preparedness to lead for equity. Implications for school division leaders and school leadership preparation programs were described based on the findings, as well as considerations for future research.

The following study is a demonstration of the effectiveness of porous pavement and an infiltration trench as Best Management Practices (BMPs) in the reduction of stormwater and its constituents. The field work of the study was conducted from 1986 through 1988 and the report was written in 1990 and finalized in 1996. Results of the study show that porous pavement and the infiltration trench significantly reduced the volume of stormwater runoff as well as its constituents from an urban parking lot area. In addition, wetfall and dryfall were found to be the major contributors to the runoff loading and yet were not comparable to associated studies. Peak and total flow runoff volumes were reduced significantly thereby reducing the overall pollutant loading. Antecedent dry period was found to be related to pollutant loading but only up to about 5 days total. / Master of Science

The purpose of this study was to examine elementary teachers' perceptions of administrators' classroom observational feedback and its impact on their instructional practices. This study analyzed interviews of elementary teachers to determine their definition of effective feedback, the role of principal observational feedback, and the extent to which they utilize the principal's feedback to adjust their instructional practices. The research sought to answer the following questions: 1. What do teachers identify as timely, effective feedback? 2. What do teachers indicate is the role or purpose of administrative classroom observational feedback on a teacher's instructional practice? 3. What do teachers indicate is the potential impact of administrative classroom observational feedback on a teacher's instructional practice? 4. What do teachers indicate would compel them to change (or not to change) their instructional practice based on administrative feedback? The participants in this study included nine elementary teachers in one school district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Data were collected to determine the teachers' perception of timely, effective feedback; the delivery or communication of the administrative observational feedback; and what factors determine if the teacher changes (or does not change) their instructional practice as a result of the feedback. The intended result of classroom observations is to understand what goes on in the classroom and the links to student achievement as well as to provide feedback for teacher improvement (Martinez, Taut, and Schaaf, 2016; Reform Support Network, 2015). Findings indicated that elementary teachers desired immediate feedback following an observation and dialogue from their administrator within one to two weeks of the observation in the form of a post observation conference to improve their instructional practices. Additionally, teachers desired clarity about the process for evaluations and observations, their feedback, and how to improve their instructional practices from administrators with strong instructional backgrounds and experiences. The participating teachers described the need for more administrators and therefor more administrative support, emphasized the importance of the relationship between the administrator and the teachers, and indicated that three observations, and observations alone, were not enough to adequately assess the quality of their instruction or their effectiveness. / Doctor of Education / The purpose of this study was to determine if the feedback that administrators provided elementary teachers following a classroom observation caused them to change the way they instruct their students. This researcher interviewed nine elementary teachers to obtain their definition of effective observation feedback, the role of the principal's observational feedback, and what prompts teachers to utilize the principal's feedback to adjust their instructional practices. The research sought to answer the following questions: 1. What do teachers identify as timely, effective feedback? 2. What do teachers indicate is the role or purpose of administrative classroom observational feedback on a teacher's instructional practice? 3. What do teachers indicate is the potential impact of administrative classroom observational feedback on a teacher's instructional practice? 4. What do teachers indicate would compel them to change (or not to change) their instructional practice based on administrative feedback? Nine elementary teachers from one school district in the Commonwealth of Virginia participated in interviews. The researcher collected the data to determine the teachers' perception of timely, effective feedback; their preferred delivery of the feedback following the observation from a principal; and what caused the teacher to change (or not change) their instructional delivery as a result of the feedback they received. The purpose of classroom observations is to understand what occurs in the classroom, how student achievement increases, and how the observation feedback helps teachers improve (Martinez et al., 2016; Reform Support Network, 2015). The research found that elementary teachers wanted feedback directly following an observation and the ability to participate in a post observation conference with their administrator within one to two weeks following the observation to improve their instruction. Additionally, teachers wanted to clearly understand the process for evaluations and observations, to obtain feedback, and to receive suggestions to improve the art of teaching from administrators. The teachers described the need for support from more administrators, emphasized the importance of their relationship with the administrators, and indicated that three observations, and observations alone, were not enough to adequately assess them.

Many military children face obstacles during their lives, and these obstacles can affect their classroom environment due to their mobility, social-emotional behavior, and academics. The purpose of this study was to identify challenges, if any, that teachers indicate exist while educating military-connected students in public schools and teacher actions to address any challenges. Existing literature on military connected students and teacher perceptions of military-connected challenges was reviewed. This study examined teacher perceptions of the challenges, responses to challenges and training these teachers experienced while teaching military-connected students. A Likert-type survey of questions was administered through an online survey tool to elementary school teachers in two public school divisions in Virginia. The survey instrument was developed by Mittleberg (2014). After collecting the data, the researcher examined and analyzed data based on the survey responses. The following research questions were addressed: What challenges do teachers identify related to educating military-connected students? What practices do teachers use to address the perceived challenges? What do teachers indicate as their level of training to teach military-connected students? The study concluded with eight findings and eight implications. The findings provided teachers with the tools necessary to address the needs of military-connected students as well as provided schools and school divisions with information that could impact their professional learning decisions. Findings included but were not limited to how teachers perceived that assessment of students' background knowledge was a challenge when teaching military-connected students, how filling in students' knowledge gaps was a challenge, and how adjustment to students leaving and arriving at various times during the school year were a challenge when teaching military-connected students. A few implications were, school leaders should investigate ways to assist teachers in assessing students' background knowledge. It should be a consideration that personnel be provided with resources to help focus on meeting the needs of the students who have knowledge gaps and the development of a handbook of team building and getting to know you resources should be given to teachers to assist in building a strong classroom environment. / Doctor of Education / There are many public school divisions in the United States that service military-connected students. Of the 132 school divisions in the Commonwealth of Virginia, there is at least one military-connected student in each school division. According to Wykes (2015), Virginia is one of the top 10 states for military presence with 10% (Wykes, 2015, p. 23). Teachers in these school divisions face perceived challenges that need to be addressed. Some of those challenges include mobility, academics, and the social-emotional well-being of the military- connected student. This quantitative study focused on the perceived challenges public school teachers face when teaching military-connected students. Data were collected using a Likert-type survey with participants from two school divisions who service military-connected students. There were limitations in this study beyond the researcher's control such as the accuracy and honesty by the respondents and response rate. This study produced eight findings and eight implications. Of the eight findings, three were teachers perceived the adjustment to students leaving and arriving at various times, having a routine in place when new military-connected students arrive into the classroom after the start of the school year, and receiving the level of training needed to prepare them to support parents/guardians of military connected students in their classroom were a challenge. A few of the implications included, the need for teacher preparation programs to address the challenges military connected students face, the development of a handbook of team building activities for teachers to use in the classroom as a resource and the need for resources that could focus on meeting the needs of students' knowledge gaps to support those military connected students.

Instructors in higher education are typically hired for teaching positions based on their research expertise in a particular area, understanding that subject matter expertise is necessary for teaching and instruction. What is sometimes overlooked and not given enough importance is that teaching is also a relational activity, and because of this, care can be considered to be a fundamental component of effective instruction. Research has shown that some faculty are hesitant in showing care to their students since this might suggest a lack of academic rigor and lessening expectations for students. It might also be that faculty view care as a concept that does not belong in higher education and is something that is more appropriate for younger children. Yet there is research in higher education which shows that implementing care to students motivates them to perform well in class, meet and exceed the goals set for them by the instructors, make constructive improvements and create overall ideal conditions for learning. Along with this, prior research on care in teaching has focused mostly on primary and secondary education levels, with far less attention given to care in teaching in higher education specifically, and little in the context of Engineering Education. To advance our understanding of the potential value of care in teaching in higher education, this study presents an empirical case study of how care can be enacted in teaching in an Engineering Education classroom. The study draws on Tronto's political ethics of care framework, originally developed in the context of feminist theory and methodology, and operationalizes it in the teaching and learning setting by situating the context of the study in a first-year general engineering classroom in the department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. Since the purpose of the study is to understand what teaching behaviors can act as evidence of care, this context was selected as a likely scenario where these teaching approaches might be present. Virginia Tech is an R1 institution, the Department of Engineering Education values student-centered teaching, and the foundations of engineering course: ENGE 1216, is a project-based course where it may be more likely to see care being implemented in the teaching. Along with this, the three instructor participants that were chosen to bring light to this phenomenon have been recognized for their teaching expertise by being given teaching awards in the past, and also have experience in teaching this specific course, having taught it at least twice before. This study used a case study approach and included two interviews with the instructor participants to understand their general beliefs about care as well as how they intended to implement care in relation to Tronto's ethic of care framework. It also included three observations of their classrooms, one for each phase of the semester, and looked at three years' worth of students' SPOT comments. Tronto's framework includes four ethical elements: attentiveness, responsibility, competence, and responsiveness. Findings suggest that instructors' intentions with implementing care, their enactment of care in the classroom, and students' perception of what instructor behaviors they found to be most valuable to their learning, all have strategies and approaches that relate to each of the four ethical elements. The responsibility element iii was seen to have the most approaches and strategies. Findings also showed that despite different instructor backgrounds, beliefs and personalities, each instructor had relatively similar approaches to implementing care in relation to each of the four ethical elements, with some unique features for each instructor. There also seems to exist, a reasonable degree of alignment between instructors' intention with implementing care, their enactment of the care in the classroom, and what students commented was helpful. This study took a framework developed in accordance with another discipline and operationalized it in a teaching setting. It has shown what teacher behaviors can act as evidence of care in the context of Engineering Education. The study has also disaggregated common instructor actions that usually tend to be conflated, to more specific behaviors to understand the impact each behavior can have in relation to care. It has also grouped common approaches and strategies together that instructors use, to show how when this is combined, is also a way of implementing care. There are a list of specific teacher approaches and strategies that instructors should be using that can satisfy each element in the care framework and can thus implement care in the classroom. / Doctor of Philosophy / With the idea that subject matter expertise is required for teaching and training, instructors in higher education are frequently chosen for teaching roles based on their research competence in a particular field. Care can be regarded as a vital element of good instruction because teaching is also a relational activity, which is sometimes disregarded and not given enough priority. According to research, some professors are reluctant to show their students that they care because doing so would imply lowering standards for students. Another possibility is that faculty believe that the concept of care is inappropriate for higher education and is more suitable for young children. However, studies in higher education demonstrate that providing care to students inspires them to perform well in class, fulfil and exceed the objectives set for them by the instructors, offer helpful adjustments, and generally foster the best learning environments. Additionally, earlier studies on care in teaching have mostly concentrated on the primary and secondary education levels, paying little to no attention to care in teaching, specifically in higher education or in the context of Engineering Education. To better understand the value that care in teaching in higher education can have, this study chose a context where care being shown in teaching would be likely to be seen. Since the purpose of the study is to understand what teaching behaviors can act as evidence of care, a first-year general engineering classroom in the department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech was chosen. This is because Virginia Tech is an R1 institution, the Department of Engineering Education values student-centered teaching, and the foundations of engineering course: ENGE 1216, is a project-based course where it may be more likely to see care being implemented in the teaching. Along with this, the three instructor participants that were chosen to bring light to this phenomenon have been recognized for their teaching expertise by being given teaching awards in the past, and also have experience in teaching this specific course, having taught it at least twice before. This study included two interviews with the instructor participants to understand their general beliefs about care as well as how they intended to implement care, ore specifically in relation to Tronto's ethic of care framework which was the theory that guided this study. It also included three observations of their classrooms so it could be seen how care was enacted, and looked at three years' worth of students' SPOT comments to understand what students described the instructors doing, that was most helpful for their learning. The theory used for this study had four main elements to it: attentiveness, responsibility, competence, and responsiveness. The findings suggest that instructors' intentions with implementing care, their enactment of care in the classroom, and students' perception of what instructor behaviors they found to be most valuable to their learning, all have strategies and approaches that relate to each of these four elements. The responsibility element was seen to have the most approaches and strategies. An example of a strategy to be attentive is to be signal availability and emphasize proximity with the students, as well as checking in on them. Examples of approaches to satisfy these strategies would be to walk around the classroom as well as to ask students questions to see how they are doing. Findings also v showed that despite different instructor backgrounds, beliefs and personalities, each instructor had relatively similar approaches to implementing care in relation to each of the four elements, with some unique features for each instructor. This study took a theoretical framework that was used in another discipline and was able to use this and show how the four elements that made up this framework could look like in a teaching setting. It has shown what teacher behaviors can act as evidence of care in the context of Engineering Education. The study has also broken down some instructor actions that usually tend to be grouped together, to more specific behaviorsto understand the impact each behavior can have in relation to care. It has also grouped common approaches and strategies together that instructors use, to show how when this is combined, is also a way of implementing care. There are a list of specific teacher approaches and strategies that instructors should be using that can satisfy each element in the care framework and can thus implement care in the classroom.

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Pour l’apprentissage de l’accord sujet-verbe, l’élève doit faire face à des difficultés tant linguistiques que psycholinguistiques. Pour pallier ces difficultés, des recherches en didactique font des propositions qui s’appuient sur les modalités explicites d’acquisition, les verbalisations métagraphiques et les manipulations syntaxiques lors d’interactions entre pairs, comme la phrase dictée du jour de Cogis (2005) ou la phrase donnée du jour de Brissaud et Cogis (2011). Cependant, enseigner l’orthographe selon des démarches actives et faire procéder aux verbalisations par les élèves s’avèrent des tâches difficiles et peu mises en œuvre. Etudier les pratiques d’enseignement est par ailleurs une orientation de recherche récente avec un manque de données empiriques sur l’enseignement en classe, notamment pour l’orthographe. L’objectif de cette thèse est alors de documenter les pratiques d’enseignement sur l’orthographe « telle qu’elle s’enseigne », du point de vue des pratiques d’enseignement observées in situ. Nous décrivons et analysons les pratiques de quatre enseignants de fin d’école primaire en situation de classe ordinaire, grâce au recueil d’une séance initiale d’enseignement de l’accord sujet-verbe, et les pratiques de six enseignants de fin d’école primaire, grâce au recueil de plusieurs séances filmées et retranscrites, pendant lesquelles ils mettent en œuvre une ingénierie proposée. A partir du triplet mésogénèse, chronogénèse et topogénèse, nous procédons à une analyse des choix effectués et des interactions en classe sur les tâches, la planification et les supports, le temps de travail disponible, le mode de regroupement, la place laissée à l’engagement des élèves. Nous souhaitons alors croiser ces pratiques d’enseignement avec les tests orthographiques des élèves de ces classes pour dégager quelques caractéristiques saillantes de l’enseignement de l’accord sujet-verbe et tenter de relever des invariants de ces pratiques d’enseignement qui favoriseraient les apprentissages. / To learn subject-verb agreement, pupils have to face both linguistic and psycholinguistic difficulties. To overcome those challenges, didactic researches put forward proposals relying on explicit acquisition ways, metagraphic verbalization and syntaxic manipulations during interactions between pupils, such as the dictated day sentence from Cogis (2005) or the given day sentence from Brissaud and Cogis (2011).However, teaching spelling through active ways and making pupils verbalize turn out to be seldom used difficult tasks. Morever, studying teaching practices is a recent way of research lacking empiric data about teaching, particularly for spelling.The aim of this Ph D is then to document teaching practices concerning spelling « as it is taught » in situ.We describe and analyze four last year primary school teachers ‘practices thanks to an initial subject-verb agreement lesson and six other last year primary school teachers’ practices thanks to filmed and retranscribed lessons during which they implement a proposed engineering. From the triplet mesogenesis, chronogenesis and topogenesis we analyze the choices made by teachers and class interactions on tasks, planning and supports, the available amount of working time, the way of grouping and the scope dedicated to pupils ’commitment. We wish to compare and match these teaching practices with spelling tests made by pupils from these forms in order to draw some key characteristics of subject-verb agreement and to try and list invariants from such teaching practices that could favour learning.