Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / F. Todd Goodson / As the curriculum of American schools becomes more standardized, while teachers face the elevated levels of accountability, and definition of adolescent literacy rapidly expands, teacher education programs must do more to help pre-service teachers prepare for the realities of public education (Boyd, Ariail, Williams, Jocson, & Sachs, 2006). Among these realities exists the looming pressure to demonstrate the ability to help students succeed on standardized assessments that test comprehension-based literacy skills. Meyer (1999) suggests two sets of teacher education reforms have emerged as a result of rising awareness of adolescent literacy in public schools. Meyer (1999) explains “one set focus[es] on the content of teacher education—what courses and topics should be included—and another set focus[es] on the structure—where and when should teacher education take place and who should manage it” (p. 459). In addressing the second set of teacher education reforms, pre-service teachers are often afforded the opportunity to gain valuable professional training in public school classrooms, as field experiences are increasingly seen as an integral piece in the training of pre-service teachers. And, though these initiatives have shown improvement in teacher education, there are concerns, specifically in the field of language arts, that new teachers are not successfully negotiating the void that exists between theory and practice that is evident in some public school settings. So, with an expanding definition of literacy, and the rising awareness of secondary students’ literacy practices, there is a concern that pre-service teachers may in fact be unprepared to negotiate the demands of the career they have chosen for themselves. This study sets out to examine this problem. In preparing for a career in public education, certain expectations are formed by the teacher candidate based on what he or she understands adolescents should be able to do. These expectations are formed from a variety of sources. This study utilizes narrative inquiry to investigate the experiences of pre-service undergraduate language arts teachers who are completing a series of arranged field experiences. This study uses the stories of the participants to examine how the expectations of undergraduate pre-service language arts teachers are formed in regards to the range of high school students’ literacies. The data collected in this study indicate that while each participant in the study is operating from a different life stage, each has developed her own understanding of literacy and has the ability to apply that understanding to improve her practice. The ways in which these individually unique understandings of literacy vary widely and are, by in large, based on the personal experiences of each participant. This narrative study utilizes narrative analysis to investigate the storied experiences of three pre-service language arts teachers, on traditional undergraduate, one nontraditional undergraduate, and one self proclaimed “semi-nontraditional” undergraduate. Throughout the inquiry period, the primary research participants completed a field experience at a public high school located in American Midwest. During this field experience, each primary participant assisted a classroom teacher and tutored high school students during a common study hall period. Data was collected from a variety of sources including: personal interviews, video taped observations, reflective journals, and field notes. The storied experiences provided by the primary participants and field data were then reconstructed into narratives that present a meaningful representation of each participant’s experience in the field. These narratives also served as a meaningful platform for discussion in the final chapter of the report. The results of the study indicate that the participants base their expectations of high school students’ literacies on their own personal experiences. Throughout the inquiry period, each participant recalled their own experiences as a high school student when referencing literacy practices of the high school students under their direction. The narratives further illustrate noticeable differences in the understandings of literacy between the traditional and non-traditional participants. Where as the traditional undergraduates in the study were more reflective in their assessment of high school students’ literacies, the non-traditional undergraduate was more active in meeting the needs of the students she tutored and assisted during the field experience. In addition to providing answers to the primary and secondary research questions that investigate the participants’ developing expectations in terms of high school students’ literacies, the data also present themes that contribute to a better understanding of how the three pre-service language arts teachers negotiate the challenges that come with the major life transition of entering the professional workforce as a schoolteacher. While all three participants represent three different populations of undergraduate college students (i.e.: traditional, “semi-nontraditional”, and nontraditional), common themes of fear and uncertainty are present in each participant’s narrative. While these results are reminiscent of Fuller’s (1969) findings, it is important to understand that these feelings of fear and uncertainty are still present after forty years of advancements in teacher education. Which leads to further examination of the experiences these three participants have shared about the training they have received. Additionally, because each participant’s life experiences vary greatly from the other participants in the study, these feelings of fear and uncertainty are manifested differently for each participant. The findings of this study could have lasting implications to the fields of adolescent literacy and teacher education. While the definition of literacy is expanding to include not only academic literacy but social literacy practices that students experience beyond the classroom, the data in this study indicate that the participants who are close in age to the students the are preparing to teach seem open minded to use alternative texts that support academic literacies while encouraging students to explore their own interests. Additionally, each participant shared that she could benefit from more extensive field experiences where she could learn more about teaching as it is done in the field. And, as the data collected in this study indicate, more varied experiences tend to provide undergraduates with the necessary context to more successfully negotiate the demands of providing quality instruction.

Published Article / In this article we use the concepts identity, agency and social justice education as a lens to explore the role of life history research in the study of the interconnection between emerging teacher identities, critical agency and social justice education. By exploring the life history of a white woman pre-service teacher, this study foregrounds the use of life history research to help teacher educators to understand the contexts through which student teachers' identities are constructed, and how these identities feed into agency and a stance to bring about social change.

Mainstream teachers are key for developing inclusive schools. Many times they do not feel prepared to deal with inclusive classrooms and may have negative attitudes towards inclusion. The aim of this study was to examine interventions that can affect mainstream pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion during their studies. Nine studies were identified through a systematic literature review and twelve inter- ventions emerged. Results show that interventions focusing on imparting knowledge of inclusion through a study unit or through an infusion approach can create a positive effect in pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion. Some factors found to influence the change in attitudes towards inclusion were knowledge of inclusion, gender, and interaction with people with disabilities. This study gives a promising view of the actions that are being taken towards having more inclusive teachers. Nevertheless, inclusion is a complex concept and future research on the content imparted during the interventions and the scales used to measure the change is needed.

Social Stories™ are one of the most commonly-used interventions for children with autism (Green et al., 2006; Hess, Morrier, Heflin, & Ivey, 2008; Stahmer, Collings, & Palinkas, 2005). While there is a rapidly-growing literature base of Social Stories research, much of the work has focused on student behavior in special education resource settings; the current study examines the use of Social Stories with students in inclusive general education settings. Six students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders participated and behaviors that occurred in the general education classroom were selected as targets. Pre-service teachers, autism resource teachers, and a paraprofessional were trained to implement the intervention. Social Stories were presented on a personal computer for 5 of 6 participants; the 6th participant’s Social Story was presented in a bound book. Participants were observed in their general education classrooms during 30 min data collection sessions. A multiple baseline across participants design was used. For 3 participants, an alternating treatments design was also used, which examined 2 viii conditions: an Immediate condition in which classroom probes were conducted immediately following Social Stories intervention sessions, and a Delay condition in which a time delay of at least 3.5 hrs was presented between intervention and observation sessions. Results of the Immediate vs. Delay conditions show no conclusive effects of one condition over the other. Overall, results indicate improvements in target behaviors for 5 of 6 participants. Peer comparison data indicate that participants who showed improvement in their behavior performed the target skills at levels comparable to classmates without disabilities. Treatment fidelity data indicate that pre-service teachers were able to accurately implement the intervention over the course of the study. Social validity questionnaires were distributed to in-service and pre-service teachers, who rated the intervention as acceptable and feasible within the classroom setting. Implications for practice and future research directions are discussed. / text

Changes in the field of education require teachers’ acquisition of specific knowledge of technology and the skills of its effective use in the classroom. With the expansion of the traditional classroom to include virtual learning environments, concern still exists regarding characteristics necessary for quality teaching and learning.<br> This research is an examination of pre-service teachers’ needs relevant to integrating technology in an online learning environment. It is a first step toward acknowledging the responsibility teacher preparation programs have in the formation of educators equipped to instruct in dual learning environments, thus providing pre-service teachers with opportunities and experiences to become fluent in the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) required for online learning environments as well as the traditional face-to-face instruction. <br> The purpose of this study was to determine if active engagement with content of an online instruction module would affect the attitudes, knowledge and skills, and instructional centeredness of pre-service teachers’ towards technology integration in an online learning environment. A mixed-methods concurrent triangulation design procedure was utilized to measure characteristics of pre-service teachers in a teacher preparation program. A two-way within-subjects analysis of variance was conducted to evaluate the effect of engagement with the content of the online instruction module for all three domains. Participants began the intervention with limited knowledge and skills of technology integration and online learning environments; however, they made statistically significant gains upon completion of the intervention. The implementation of an intervention such as this online instruction module may support other teacher preparation programs in identifying strengths and weaknesses of their pre-service teachers and provide valuable information necessary to guide program goals. / School of Education; / Instructional Technology (EdDIT) / EdD; / Dissertation;

Using a hybrid portraiture interpretivist case study methodology, this study explores the development of democratic educational values of pre-service teachers who participated in a “nested” service-learning practicum during their first semester in a secondary teacher preparation program. In this nested model, both the pre-service teachers and the middle school students with whom they worked participated in service-learning. The study is in response to the findings of previous researchers that democratic educational values have, in many classrooms, been pushed aside by the pressures of the standardization and accountability movement and by the belief that democratic educational values are critical to a public educational system which supports civic identity and participation. Data collected over the course of one semester included reflective journals, blog postings, observations of the service-learning seminar, observations of teaching practices in the field, and audio-recorded semi-structured interviews. Four participants were interviewed three times each, and all four participants were observed both in the service-learning seminar and in their field placements. While this study did not find that participation in a nested service-learning model led to pre-service teachers becoming active agents of change, it did find that the nested service-learning experience helped the pre-service teachers to begin to lay a solid foundation in their understanding of basic democratic educational values, in their plans to embrace democratic educational values in their future classrooms, and in their view of themselves as democratic educators.

The purpose of this case study with supporting quantitative data was to investigate the influence of paired grouping on student participants' perceived attitudes toward technology, perceived proficiency with technology, and perceived technological knowledge after completing a required educational technology course. Additionally, student participants' perceptions regarding the use of paired grouping on their attitudes, proficiency, and technological knowledge with regard to technology was also investigated. To measure the difference between perceived attitudes toward technology, perceived proficiency with technology, and perceived technological knowledge after completing a required educational technology course, 83 student participants enrolled in a required educational technology course at a suburban midsized Gulf Coast University in the southern United States, completed the Attitude Toward Technology Scale (ATTS), Technology Proficiency Self-Assessment for 21st Century Learning (TPSA C21), and Technological Knowledge Tool (TK). Additionally, 24 student participants participated in semi-structured interviews.

A case study was used to survey 308 teacher trainees in western Kenya to investigate the extent to which pre-service teachers in two Kenyan teacher training colleges are prepared to integrate technology in teaching. . The study uses the technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) framework to understand the knowledge needed by the pre-service teachers to integrate technology effectively. Data was gathered using the Survey of Pre-Service Teachers' Knowledge of Teaching and Technology and three open-ended questions. Data from the survey does not distinguish the TPACK variable among the respondents. The data suggests that the pre-service teachers rate themselves highly on the other six TPACK subscales of technological knowledge, content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, technological pedagogical knowledge, and technological content knowledge. Further, the data suggests that the respondents' personal use of technology, to a large extent, influences how they use technology in classrooms. Lastly, the data indicates that the survey instrument is inadequate in capturing all the TPACK subscales in this population as it shows weak internal consistency. These findings imply that faculty in these colleges need to be more intentional and deliberate in teaching the trainees how to integrate technology in lessons. Policymakers and college administrators may also influence the teachers' personal use of technology to inculcate into the trainees tested methods of technology integration. Another implication is that future research could employ other supplementary methods, in addition to surveys, to find out the levels of technology integration in the teacher trainees.

The problem of this study was to investigate the relationship between the degree of authoritarianism expressed by pre-service secondary science teachers and the ways in which they spent their instructional time. This study was conducted on all students enrolled in the secondary science instructional methods course at a large North Texas area university for the fall semester of 1972 and the spring semester of 1973. The total population for the study was 55 students. To aid in resolution of the problem three purposes were formulated. The first purpose was to determine whether authoritarianism expressed by prospective science teachers was related to the ways they spent their instructional time. The second purpose was to determine if the authoritarianism expressed by prospective science teachers was related to their use of an indirect teaching style. The third purpose was to provide feedback to the prospective science teachers on the ways they spent their instructional time. It was concluded that teachers who were very authoritarian asked fewer questions and a different type of question than someone of lesser authoritarianism. The authoritarian asked questions that could be answered with a short answer such as yes or no, while the lesser authoritarian asked questions that allow the student to have more freedom in his response. Further studies of this type should focus on the teaching of questioning techniques to extreme authoritarians to establish whether they might learn to use divergent questions to teach science indirectly.

O Processo de Reflexão Orientada apresenta-se como uma nova proposta formativa, a qual pode contribuir para a formação inicial professores. Nesse processo, o futuro professor, mediado por um professor mais experiente, tem a oportunidade de elaborar e avaliar suas ideias sobre o ensino e a aprendizagem, suas metodologias e suas práticas de ensino, podendo clarificar e confrontar suas teorias pessoais. Neste sentido, este trabalho investigou as contribuições do PRO na atuação pedagógica de licenciandos em Química, visando um ensino por investigação e para a promoção da alfabetização científica no Ensino Médio. Para isso, mediados pela pesquisadora, os três licenciandos participantes da pesquisa elaboraram uma sequência de aulas e a desenvolveram em sala de aula, refletindo sobre suas concepções e práticas durante todo o processo envolvido. Diversas propostas de uma mesma sequência de aulas, sobre um mesmo conteúdo químico, foram elaborados pelos licenciandos, de forma a contemplar uma sequência investigativa e para promoção da AC. A última proposta foi aplicada em sala de aula. Os licenciandos avaliaram e refletiram sobre a sua prática em sala de aula e sobre os planos desenvolvidos, utilizando referenciais teóricos sobre ensino por investigação, AC e exigência cognitiva das questões. Para compreender a evolução dos licenciandos durante o PRO, a pesquisadora analisou os níveis investigativos dos elementos pedagógicos presentes nos planos elaborados e nas aulas ministradas por eles; o nível de AC dos planos e das aulas ministradas, bem como, o nível cognitivo das questões propostas nos planos e nas aulas. O processo reflexivo sobre a prática dos licenciandos é evidenciado por meio de categorias de análise e exemplificadas por trechos das transcrições dos encontros reflexivos realizados entre eles e a pesquisadora. As contribuições do grupo durante o processo também foram avaliadas. Os resultados mostram que os planos desenvolvidos pelos três licenciandos apresentaram evoluções na maioria dos tópicos avaliados, o que pode ser justificado pelas reflexões proporcionadas pelos encontros individuais e em grupo. No entanto, algumas dificuldades foram evidenciadas quanto a proposição da questão problema e de materiais para o levantamento das ideias prévias dos estudantes. A análise das aulas evidencia algumas dificuldades vivenciadas pelos licenciandos durante suas regências, como a sustentação da questão problema, bem como, das interações dialógicas. As reflexões realizadas entre a pesquisadora e os licenciandos, durante os encontros individuais, evidenciam momentos relevantes para a formação inicial, visto que os futuros professores expunham suas concepções, anseios e dilemas. Os encontros reflexivos em grupo também evidenciam contribuições, o que possibilitou ao grupo socializar, confrontar e compartilhar suas ideias e experiências. Esta pesquisa também mostra a importância do papel do mediador, já que a confiança dos licenciandos pela pesquisadora parece ter contribuído para o comprometimento deles durante o processo. Assim, o PRO vivenciado pelos licenciandos parece ter contribuído para eles desenvolverem uma postura crítica com relação à prática docente. Ao elaborar os planejamentos e avaliar suas ações, baseados em referenciais teóricos, puderam construir novas ideias sobre o processo de ensino e de aprendizagem em Química. / The Reflection-Oriented Process is a new educational trainning proposal that may contribute to pre-service teachers trainning. In the process, the future teacher, mediated by a more experienced teacher, has the opportunity to develop and evaluate their ideas about teaching and learning methodologies and their teaching practices, may clarify and confront their personal theories. Thus, this study investigated the contributions of PRO in pedagogical proceeding on pre-service teachers chemistry, aiming investigative approach and the promotion of scientific literacy (SL) in high school. For this, mediated by the researcher, the three pre-service teachers developed lessons\' sequence and teaching in class, reflecting on their conceptions and practices throughout the process involved. Several proposals of a same sequence, by the same chemical content, were developed by future teachers in order to contemplate a investigative approach and the promotion of SL sequence. The last proposal was developed in the classroom. The pre-service teachers evaluated and reflected on their practice in the classroom and on the plans developed by using theoretical frameworks for investigative teaching approach, SL and cognitive demand of the questions. To understand the pre-service teachers evolution in PRO, the researcher analyzed the investigative levels of pedagogial elements present in elaborate plans and classes taught by them; SC level presentes on plans and classes, as well as the cognitive level of the questions proposed in the plans and in class. The reflective process on the practice of pre-service teachers is evidenced by categories analysis and exemplified by excerpts from transcripts of reflective meetings held between them and the researcher. The group\'s contributions during the process were also investigated. The results show that the plans developed by the three future teachers showed gains in most analyzed topics, which can be justified by reflections provided by individual and group meetings. However, some difficulties were highlighted as the proposition of the question problem and materials to identify the previous ideas of students. Analysis of classes shows some difficulties experienced by future teachers during their regencies, such as support problem concerned and, of dialogic interaction. The discussions held between the researcher and the pre-service teachers during the individual meeting, evidence relevant times for pre-service training, as future teachers expounded their views, concerns and dilemmas. Reflective group meetings also show contributions, which enabled the group to socialize, compare and share their ideas and experiences. This research also shows the importance of the mediator\'s role, since the pre-service teachers reliability by the researcher seems to have contributed to their commitment throughout the process. Thus, the PRO experienced by pre-service teachers seems to have assisted them to develop a critical position relative to teaching practice. Propose plans and evaluate critically their actions based on theoretical frameworks, it seems to cotributed to build new ideas about teaching and learning in chemistry.