This research investigated the uses of computer-mediated communication in providing an online field experience in an educational psychology course for pre-service teachers at a large research university in the southeastern United States. Twenty-seven pre-service teachers in one section of a Psychological Foundations of Educational Psychology course for pre-service teachers, eight practicing teachers, and eight university professors participated in this study. The participants viewed CD-ROM based video case studies as part of an online field experience component and communicated electronically through chat rooms and threaded discussion lists. Data sources included transcripts of all chat room and threaded communication, surveys, field notes, observations, and student tasks and reflections, as well as interviews with the pre-service teachers, practicing teachers, university professors, and one technical support person. The methodology involved a mixed method approach. A template organizing approach with the constant comparative method was used in order to develop patterns and themes. Content analysis was applied to the content of the chat transcriptions. Finally, a quantitative component was included in the analysis of the thread transcripts with a measurement of the development of the pre-service teachers' reflective comments over time using an analysis of variance test of within subjects effects. This document reports the findings concerning the nature of the conversations among the participants as they developed across time; the learning outcomes of the students, teachers, and professors; how a computer-mediated learning environment supports reflection; the benefits and challenges of using computer-mediated communication to study and learn about educational psychology and teaching; and the benefits and challenges of creating and maintaining such a learning environment. / Ph. D.

Science instruction in the early years of a student’s education career is essential to a student successfully continuing science in their secondary and postsecondary careers. However, the amount of high-quality science instruction students receive at the elementary level has been steadily declining for two decades, resulting in an inequitable imbalance in those who pursue STEM careers, a lack of critical science literacy in the U.S. populace, and a shortage of qualified employees entering the U.S. economy. Much of the lack of science instruction can be traced to decreased training of teachers to teach science during elementary credentialing programs or the complete absence of said training. This qualitative study sought to understand, through multiple-case study analysis, what makes one university “successful” at teaching science methods to their pre-service teachers and what makes another “unsuccessful.” Through interviews, observations, and an online document review, the author found that pre-service teachers entering the elementary school classroom need to feel they have the content knowledge necessary to teach science, feel they can overcome and work within barriers to high-quality science instruction in the K-12 system, and feel ready and prepared to teach science by their chosen Teacher Preparation Program.

This qualitative study was designed to investigate the influences on nontraditional pre-service teachers as they negotiated the teaching of science in elementary school. Based upon a sociocultural theoretical framework with an identity-in-practice lens, these influences included beliefs about science teaching, life experiences, and the impact of the teacher preparation program. The study sample consisted of two nontraditional pre-service teachers who were student teaching in an elementary classroom. Data, collected over a five-month period, included in-depth individual interviews, classroom observations, audio recordings, and reviews of documentations. Interviews focused on the participants' beliefs relating to the teaching of science, prior experiences, and their teacher preparation program experiences relating to the teaching of science. Classroom observations provided additional insights into the classroom setting, participants' teaching strategies, and participants' interactions with the students and cooperating teacher. A whole-text analysis of the interview transcripts, observational field notes, audio recordings, and documents generated eight major categories: beliefs about science teaching, role of family, teaching science int he classroom, teacher identity, non-teacher identity, relationships with others, discourse of classroom teaching, and discourses of teachers. The following significant findings emerged from the data: (a) the identity of nontraditional student teachers as science teachers related to early life experiences in science classes; (b) the identity of nontraditional student teachers as science teachers was influenced by their role as parents; (c) nontraditional student teachers learned strategies that supported their beliefs about inquiry learning; and (d) nontraditional student teachers valued the teach preparation program support system. The results from this qualitative study suggest that sociocultural theory with an identity-in-practice lens provides a theoretical frame work for understanding the influences that affect why nontraditional pre-service teachers select strategies to teach science in the elementary classroom. / Ph. D.

The United States continues to face a national shortage of teachers with large numbers of vacancies in districts creating crisis situations for many schools. Novice teachers often quit within five years, with highest attrition in schools serving minority and economically challenged students. Among the reasons teachers cite leaving the profession is lack of preparation. The most impactful teacher preparation experience is field placement with a mentor teacher during supervised student teaching. While research highlights its benefits, little is known about how mentor teachers are matched with pre-service teachers. This study sought to investigate the decision-making process of school leaders in this regard. This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews with 20 PreK-12 public school principals to investigate the following research questions: 1) What criteria do principals use to make decisions involving the matching of mentor and pre-service teachers within PreK-12 schools? 2) What are principals’ perceptions of matching mentor teachers with pre-service teachers? Regarding the first question, findings indicate that principals played a more pivotal role in the matching process than university partners, principals used similar criteria to select mentors as they use when hiring new teachers, and principals had little insight into pre-service teachers' backgrounds, experiences, and goals to inform the matching process. As for the second question, findings indicate that principals often struggle to find mentors, relationships forged between mentor and pre-service teachers were the primary contributor to positive outcomes from the matching process, and pre-service teachers were often blamed for negative outcomes from the matching process. Additionally, principals often regarded the matching process as a potential pipeline for recruiting and hiring prospective teachers and as a vehicle to meet the urgent need for effective teacher preparation, given teacher shortages. Principals noted the need to increase university involvement to improve the matching process. A framework for matching was created using the research in this study to inform future matching decisions. / Educational Leadership

Response to intervention has become a widely implemented early intervention and pre-referral program in many schools due to the reauthorization of the 2004 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Limited studies exist that validate how teacher preparation programs are preparing the next generation of teachers to assess students, apply early academic interventions, monitor progress, and make educational decisions for students with learning difficulties as part of an RTI program. The purpose of this study was to examine elementary pre-service teachers’ perceptions and experiences in a mathematics intervention project (MIP), as part of a university mathematics methods course as related to RTI practices. Data were collected from multiple sources, including: Seidman’s three-step interview series with pre-service participants and course instructors, document analysis of the Mathematics Interactions Project (MIP) students’ responses, mathematics methods course syllabi, and observations of the mathematics methods course instruction. Haskell’s transfer theory was used as the framework from which to analyze the data. It was assumed that if a majority of the 11 principles of meaningful transfer were addressed, higher levels of transfer from university instruction to intervention instruction would be observed during the MIP. Findings indicate differences in RTI understanding according to elementary education degree plan. Candidates in the English as a Second Language (ESL) program did not demonstrate a strong foundational understanding of RTI, evidenced by a lower level of transfer about RTI. Alternately, pre-service teachers in the special education degree plan had a stronger foundational knowledge of RTI, discussed how RTI learning was supported, and had more experiences to implement RTI (principles 1, 7, and 9). Pre-service teachers in the Special Education (SPED) certification degree plan demonstrated a higher level of transfer since more of the principles were met; this was foundational in Haskell’s transfer theory. Implications are that elementary education programs, and particularly projects such as the MIP, should focus explicitly on RTI practices, as these are increasingly necessary in the field of elementary education practice.

Essa pesquisa foi desenvolvida no período de 2013 a 2017 e buscou investigar o quanto e de que forma o Projeto Institucional de Bolsas de Iniciação à Docência (Pibid) (subprojeto Inglês), que se materializa numa universidade pública federal no nordeste do Brasil, a qual denominei UPNE, permite a problematização do trabalho com letramentos digitais na formação inicial do professor de inglês. Para o seu desenvolvimento, a pesquisa qualitativa exploratória de cunho etnográfico realizada, inserida no campo da linguística aplicada crítica, foi delineada consoante um estudo de caso etnográfico. Além da linguística aplicada, a pesquisa fundamentou-se nos estudos pertencentes a diferentes áreas do conhecimento, principalmente das ciências sociais e da educação. Buscando entremear a análise dos dados coletados no contexto com as perspectivas teóricas adotadas, o trabalho foi construído de forma a promover o diálogo Pibid Inglês da UPNE e sua relação com neoliberalismo, globalização, formação de professores no Brasil, formação crítica de professores, tecnologias digitais e a língua inglesa. Nesse contexto, os estudos dos letramentos, em especial dos letramentos digitais, são trazidos à discussão, considerando-se as sociedades ditas digitais, as epistemologias digitais delas decorrentes e o contexto da educação linguística, por meio de um mergulho no universo do subprojeto Pibid inglês da UPNE, principalmente focando nos projetos Focus on Future e English Everywhere. Os principais instrumentos de coleta de dados empíricos utilizados foram: observação participante, entrevista semi-estruturada realizada com os coordenadores do subprojeto (uma vez) e com os graduandos participantes da pesquisa (em dois momentos), além de análise documental. Documentos nacionais e institucionais (locais) relacionados ao projeto Pibid, documentos específicos do subprojeto Inglês, bem como projetos e relatórios escritos pelos graduandos complementam o conjunto dos dados coletados. Contou-se também com o diário de campo da pesquisadora (enriquecido mediante conversas informais com graduandos e coordenadores) e os relatos dos graduandos em relação ao desenvolvimento dos projetos. Os resultados principais apontam que o Pibid-Inglês da UPNE, ainda que permeado por ambiguidades, mostrou-se um campo fértil para problematizações, no que concerne aos letramentos digitais na formação inicial de professores de inglês. / This research was developed from 2013 to 2017 and sought to investigate how much and in which ways the National Pre-service Brazilian Teacher Education Program (Pibid) (English subproject), that takes place in a federal public university in the northeast of Brazil, which I named UPNE, allows the problematization of digital literacies within pre-service English teacher education. For its development, an exploratory qualitative research of ethnographic nature, inserted in the field of critical applied linguistics, was conducted as an ethnographic case study. Besides the focus on applied linguistics, the research was based on studies belonging to different fields of knowledge, especially on social sciences and education. In order to analyze the data collected in the context, together with the theoretical perspectives adopted, this investigation was built to promote a dialogue involving Pibid English at UPNE and its connection to neoliberalism, globalization, teacher education in Brazil, critical teacher education, digital technologies and the English language. In this context, literacy studies, especially digital literacies, are brought to the discussion, considering the so-called digital societies, the digital epistemologies resulting from them, and the context of language education, through immersing in the universe of Pibid (English subproject) at UPNE, with the emphasis on Focus on Future and English Everywhere projects. The main instruments of empirical data collection were: participant observation, semi-structured interview with the coordinators of the subproject (once) and with the undergraduates participating in the research (in two moments), besides documentary analysis. National and institutional (local) documents related to the Pibid project, specific documents related to the English subproject, in addition to the projects and reports written by the undergraduates complement the set of data collected. The researcher\'s field diary (enriched with informal conversations with undergraduates and coordinators) and the students\' reports on the development of the projects were also part of data collection. The main results indicate that Pibid English at UPNE, although permeated by ambiguities, proved to be a fertile place for problematizations regarding digital literacies in preservice English teacher education.

Esta pesquisa refere-se a um estudo que avaliou a concepção de currículo de Química para o Ensino Médio de dois grupos de alunos da Licenciatura em Química da Universidade de São Paulo. Estes grupos de licenciandos foram observados durante um semestre, na disciplina Instrumentação para o Ensino de Química, uma \"disciplina de intersecção\", que relaciona conhecimentos químicos e conhecimentos pedagógicos. Este trabalho focou a compreensão da construção do ideal de currículo desses licenciandos, os fatores que influenciam tal construção e a contribuição da disciplina investigada nos conceitos de currículo ideal para estes estudantes. Entrevistas, atividades e planejamentos desenvolvidos pelos licenciandos durante a disciplina foram estudados. As entrevistas foram analisadas por meio da interpretação de unidades de significado com a intenção de encontrar elementos que participam da construção dos conceitos curriculares destes estudantes. Atividades foram produzidas no início e no final da disciplina e foram analisadas para a observação do processo de construção do ideal de currículo. Os planejamentos de Química foram agrupados segundo duas categorias: Educação Geral e Currículo de Química. A primeira categoria é composta por seis ênfases: Carreira, Disciplina, Produto, Pedagogia, Democracia e Processo. A segunda categoria é composta por três ênfases: Química Fundamental, Química, Tecnologia e Sociedade e Desenvolvimento do Conhecimento em Química. Os resultados obtidos com aproximadamente cinqüenta alunos indicaram que a legislação educacional brasileira exerce uma influência significativa em suas concepções de currículo de Química, como pôde ser observado pela unanimidade da categoria Pedagogia para os dois grupos. Entretanto, os grupos diferem quanto à concepção de um ideal de currículo na abordagem específica da Química. O primeiro grupo valoriza tanto os conceitos de Química Fundamental como os de Química, Tecnologia e Sociedade. O segundo grupo vê como prioridade o ensino de Química relacionado à Tecnologia e à Sociedade. Para este grupo, a ênfase no Desenvolvimento do Conhecimento em Química é comparável à ênfase em Química Fundamental. Quando analisamos as respostas dos estudantes que enfatizaram tanto a Química Fundamental quanto a Química, Tecnologia e Sociedade, verificamos que eles mantêm o foco do ideal de currículo de Química em ambas as orientações: focada no conteúdo e centrada na aprendizagem. Todas as atividades produzidas pelos alunos e que foram analisadas indicaram que a disciplina Instrumentação para o Ensino de Química influencia a concepção de currículo de Química dos licenciandos. No início da disciplina observase para ambos os grupos idéias de planejamento que enfatizam a organização de conteúdos. Ao final da disciplina os dois grupos mudaram a idéia de planejamento relacionada estritamente à organização e acrescentaram características como flexibilidade e reflexão. Os futuros professores têm uma história que influencia suas concepções curriculares, mas nem todas são condizentes com as mudanças que necessitam serem feitas na educação. Apesar disso, nosso estudo mostrou que, através de atividades planejadas com intencionalidade nas disciplinas integradoras é possível minimizar as diferentes interpretações dos textos legais realizando na prática um trabalho significativo com os alunos da licenciatura. / This research reports on a study that evaluated the conception of chemistry curriculum for secondary level for two groups of undergraduate students in a Chemistry Teacher Education Program in the University of São Paulo. These groups of pre-service teachers were observed during a one-semester Chemistry Teaching Method discipline, an \"intersection discipline\" which joins chemical and pedagogical knowledge. This work focuses on the understanding of the construction of pre-service teachers\' ideal curriculum, on the main factors that influence the curriculum construction and on the contribution of the investigated discipline to the students\' concepts of ideal curriculum. Interviews, activities and plannings developed by the student teachers were studied. The interviews were analyzed by the interpretation of significative units in order to search for the elements that build the curriculum conceptions of these students. Activities were carried out in the beginning and in the end of the discipline and were analyzed to follow the ideal curriculum construction process. The chemistry plannings were grouped in terms of two different categories: General Education and Chemical Curriculum. Six emphasis constitute the first category: Career, Discipline, Product, Pedagogy, Democracy and Process. Three emphasis constitute the second one: Fundamental Chemistry, Chemistry, Technology and Society and Knowledge Development in Chemistry. The results obtained with ca. fifty students indicated that the Brazilian Educational Legislation has meaningful influence in their conceptions of chemical curriculum as could be observed by the unanimity of the Pedagogy category for both groups. However, the groups are different regarding the conception of an ideal chemistry curriculum. The first group values the concepts of both Fundamental Chemistry and Chemistry, Technology and Society. The second group sees as a priority the Chemistry teaching related to Technology and Society. For this group the emphasis in Knowledge Development in Chemistry is comparable to the emphasis in Fundamental Chemistry. When we analyze the answers of the students that emphasized both Fundamental Chemistry and Chemistry, Technology and Society, the results show that they support an ideal chemistry curriculum focused on both orientations: subject matter and learner-centered educational orientation. All analyzed activities produced by the two groups indicated that the discipline Chemistry Teaching Method influenced their chemistry curriculum conceptions. In the beginning of the discipline, an emphasis in organization was observed for both groups. After the discipline, the idea of organization is complemented by other characteristics such as flexibility and reflection. At the end of the discipline both groups have changed the idea of planning as strictly related to content organization. Future teachers have a history of influences that shape their curriculum conceptions; not all of them are in accordance to the changes that need to be made in Education. Nevertheless, our study reveals that the intersection disciplines offer an important opportunity to overcome the consequences of the different interpretations of the official texts and positively impact future teacher students.

Many studies evidence the importance of metacognition in successful learning. Metacognitive skills improve the academic outcomes of learners. Additionally, metacognitive skills build lifelong learning skills, which are transferable to employment and other contexts. As such, developing metacognition in students is of great value to universities as society as a whole. This study explores the perceptions of lecturers and student teachers in a College of Education at a University in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) regarding the presence and promotion of metacognitive skills at the University in which the study took place. The study spanned three departments in the College, namely Kindergarten, Special Education, and Art Education. The study employs an interpretive research approach and case study methodology to gather this rich understanding of lecturers’ and students’ perceptions. Data were collected from twelve lecturers and twelve undergraduate students through a combination of lecture room observations, semi-structured interviews, and group interviews. The most significant finding emerging from this study is the lack of lecturer participants’ knowledge regarding metacognition generally. My study found that skills such as planning, monitoring, and evaluating skills were sometimes present in their teaching, but were not used to engage students in thinking metacognitively or developing their own metacognitive abilities. I found that metacognition was not present consistently or intentionally in lecture rooms. The findings further exposed some obstacles which could inhibit the promotion of metacognition in higher education in KSA. For example, traditional methods of rote learning were shown to discourage metacognitive thinking. Large student numbers and lecturers’ lack of time could prohibit lecturers from investing in teaching metacognitive skills to their students. Students’ apathy towards anything other than memorising facts to pass examinations and acquire grades could also demotivate them to learn valuable skills like metacognition without comprehensive changes to educational norms. The study identified multiple ways in which metacognition could be promoted in higher education in KSA. For example, diversifying teaching practices to include more active learning methods such as discussion and questioning would be more effective than the current prevalent method of lecturing and learning by memorising. Lecturers could role-model metacognitive skills to their students by incorporating metacognition into their own practice, and thus incorporate it into existing courses. Students could be motivated to develop metacognitive skills by discovering the benefits to them of metacognition on both their academic success and their future careers. The study’s findings supported the importance of including metacognition in higher education and advocating it to students as a valuable skill. Thus, there is a need to establish mechanisms or frameworks for integrating metacognition into higher education in KSA, and communities of practice which support the development of metacognitive skills among lecturers and student teachers who will be the teachers of tomorrow. I therefore offer a model with recommendations for practical uptake to expedite this, and support it with this study's evidence.

This study explores the reading difficulty level of the Constitution for pre-service elementary teachers in a large, public university in the southeastern United States. For our purposes, the difficulty level of the Constitution for the target readers was determined through administration of a cloze measure based on Article 2, Section 1.

Book Summary: As technology continues to develop and prove its importance in modern society, certain professions are acclimating. Aspects such as computer science and computational thinking are becoming essential areas of study. Implementing these subject areas into teaching practices is necessary for younger generations to adapt to the developing world. There is a critical need to examine the pedagogical implications of these technological skills and implement them into the global curriculum. The Handbook of Research on Integrating Computer Science and Computational Thinking in K-12 Education is a collection of innovative research on the methods and applications of computer science curriculum development within primary and secondary education. While highlighting topics including pedagogical implications, comprehensive techniques, and teacher preparation models, this book is ideally designed for teachers, IT consultants, curriculum developers, instructional designers, educational software developers, higher education faculty, administrators, policymakers, researchers, and graduate students.