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This study examined whether the Koru mindfulness intervention led to improved wellness outcomes, as evidenced by decreases in anxiety and stress scores, and increases in mindfulness scores of preservice teachers. This study also investigated the extent to which participants implemented the Koru intervention with fidelity and were satisfied with the intervention. The research is guided by the following questions: (1) To what extent do preservice teachers who volunteered and were randomly selected for a mindfulness practice (MP) intervention implement the intervention with fidelity (i.e., come to the workshop and practice at home) throughout the period of the intervention? (2) How satisfied are participants with the intervention throughout and at the end of the intervention? (3) To what degree does intervention participation affect students’ stress levels, as measured by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS; Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983)? (4) To what degree does intervention participation affect students’ anxiety levels, as measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Scale (STAI-Y; STAI-Y; Spielberger, Gorsuch, Lushene, Vagg, & Jacobs, 1983)? (5) To what degree does intervention participation affect students’ mindfulness levels, as measured by the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS; Brown & Ryan, 2003)? Major findings from this study demonstrate that Koru did significantly reduce preservice teachers’ anxiety and stress levels; however, no significant effects on mindfulness were observed. Findings from this research show mindfulness training can potentially benefit preservice teachers’ wellness outcomes. / Educational Psychology

Preservice teachers engaging in practicum experiences often express anxiety and uncertainty related to providing discipline and classroom management. This uncertainty seems to increase when the classroom environment, in which they are student teaching, functions in ways that are unfamiliar to them. For most student teachers, the Virginia Tech Child Development Lab School is an unfamiliar environment. The Lab School provides developmentally appropriate opportunities for young children based on a social constructivist, Reggio-inspired, inquiry-based philosophy. The Lab School values constructive guidance as a means of helping young children learn how to regulate their emotions, act in socially-acceptable ways, and become a caring classroom community. This study explores how preservice teachers make sense of and implement constructive guidance strategies within the Maroon Room at the Lab School. Specifically, this study explores the experiences and perceptions of eight undergraduate students who were junior child development majors focusing on early childhood education. Results indicate that although these student teachers had prior coursework in constructive guidance, many felt ill-prepared and uncertain as they entered the Maroon Room. They had difficulty seeing order within the Maroon Room, a classroom of fourteen four- and five-year old children. Through careful observation of the children, their fellow student teachers, and the Head and Supervising Teacher, the student teachers adjusted to the classroom. Regular, on-going conversations about the classroom, the children, and their own dilemmas and uncertainties also assisted in the student teachers negotiation of constructive guidance. Through developing an understanding of and relationships with the children, the student teachers were able to constructively guide the children s development, individually and as a group. Some of the student teachers remained uncertain about their ability to implement some of these strategies in an elementary school classroom. However, most of the student teachers expressed an increased value for and confidence in using the constructive guidance methods used at the Lab School. I offer suggestions for easing future student teachers transition from learning about constructive guidance theoretically to becoming skilled at using constructive guidance. I, further, offer additional ideas of how teacher educators could support student teachers negotiation of constructive guidance. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to examine how two different groups of preservice teachers from two universities identified and described appropriate and inappropriate teaching practices and suggest appropriate changes. The investigation was also designed to provide teacher educators with insights into how to better prepare prospective teachers for their first teaching experience. Participants for this study were 30 undergraduate preservice teachers from two southeastern universities. There were 15 participants from each group, which included 17 males and 13 females. Eight video vignettes were created from the Developmentally Appropriate Practices document developed by NASPE (1992). Two vignettes depicted appropriate practices and six portrayed inappropriate practices. Participants viewed the vignettes during scheduled appointments and were instructed to identify and describe what they saw in the vignettes according to the criterion guidelines developed for this study. Data sources for the investigation were the participants' written responses gathered from the Qualitative Response Chart (questionnaire) and the Debriefing Sheet. The research project attempted to answer the following questions: Were there differences in how University A and University B identified and described appropriate teaching practices in physical education? What were the differences in the teaching practices recommended? To what experiences did the two groups attribute their ability to identify and describe appropriate and inappropriate teaching practices? Results indicated that the amount and kind of experiences provided by the respective teacher education programs did have an impact on how the participants identified and described appropriate teaching practices in physical education. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this investigation was to gain insights into the process of guiding reflection during an early field experience. Four preservice teachers' (PTs') reflection on teaching was guided by the Reflective Framework for Teaching in Physical Education (RFTPE) (Tsangaridou & O'Sullivan, 1994). Other reflective assignments included a reflective journal, video analysis, and peer observation/reflection. Data collection techniques included open-ended interviewing, reflective journals, videotape analysis, and field notes. In contrast to previous Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) research, the findings indicated PTs were able to focus on multiple aspects of teaching: technical, situational, and sensitizing. All four PTs demonstrated the ability to consistently describe, justify, and critique meaningful events that occurred in the teaching/learning environment. Furthermore, the PTs' views on the value of guided reflection by the RFTPE (Tsangaridou & O'Sullivan, 1994) and the reflective assignments suggest that they perceived the early field experience as meaningful for their professional growth and development as prospective physical education teachers. / Ph. D.

Investigated in this study was whether a university education course that covers the topics of diversity and cultural responsiveness would change teacher candidates\' existing prejudicial attitudes.  The major variables reported in this study were exposure to diversity coursework which served as the independent variable and teacher candidates\' prejudicial attitudes, which served as the dependent variable. Using the Yoder-Hartman Survey of Beliefs Scale, three research questions were addressed: (a) Are there differences in prejudice level between preservice teachers who have taken a diversity course and those who have not taken a diversity course? (b) Are there differences in prejudice level in preservice teachers before and after taking a diversity course? and (c) Do preservice teachers who have taken a diversity course and those who have not taken a diversity course display different pre/post levels of assessed prejudice? No differences were found between students who had taken a diversity course and those who had not. The current study suggests that one diversity course is not sufficient to have a significant effect on prejudice reduction among preservice teachers. Analyses of the current study results suggest that the coursework designed to reduce prejudicial attitudes was ineffective. Continued investigation will be required to: (1) refine and develop a program that will reduce prejudicial attitudes among teacher candidates and (2) refine and develop measures of prejudice reduction. / Ph. D.

Building on the epistemological foundations of constructivism (Creswell, 2014) and qualitative research methodologies, a FADE framework (Reinking and Bradley, 2008) and a case study approach (Merriam, 2002) were selected to develop an understanding of preservice teachers' thinking about student learning during their planning, teaching, and reflection through the lesson study (Lewis, 2009) process. Through qualitative methodology, the triangulation of data occurred using qualitative data sources: (a) pre and post interviews, (b) participatory field notes, (c) research lesson plans, (d) debriefing interviews, (e) field notes created by the preservice teachers. Each data source was analyzed individually and then compared across the case providing a deeper understanding of how preservice teachers think about student learning in the context of lesson study including how: (a) preservice teacher grew their thinking about student learning, (b) preservice teachers were better able to observe and look for evidence of thinking about students' learning, (c) the lesson study process allowed them to work as a team, (d) they associated lesson study with being a positive learning experience. This research provides additional insight into how teacher preparation programs can strengthen preservice teachers learning in classrooms through lesson study (Darling-Hammond, 2009; Lewis, 2009; Lewis et al., 2012). It also provides opportunities for further research on connecting planning, reflection, and teaching practices as well as, how to build connections between mentor teachers, preservice teachers, and teacher preparation programs (Parks, 2009). / PHD / This case study explored the impact of a collaborative learning cycle with preservice teachers in elementary classrooms. The research question was: What was the impact of lesson study on preservice teachers thinking about student learning. Preservice teachers participated in a lesson study cycle where they collaboratively developed goals for students, planned a lesson, one teacher taught the lesson and the others observed, and lastly they reflected on this process as a group and adjusted their lesson based on their thinking about student learning. Each of the lessons was taught in real classrooms with students whom they were familiar. The data suggested that preservice teachers were able to deepen their understanding of thinking about student’s learning and identify it in their work together. The collaborative process enabled them to further their understanding of thinking about student learning by having additional insight to what they observed in their lessons. The cyclical process of lesson study allowed the preservice teachers to attend to additional observations of their students because they were familiar with the lesson, content, and had considered what evidence of student learning they could collect. This study provides insight into how preservice teacher preparation programs could better connect theory to practice through lesson study cycles and provide authentic collaborative learning experiences for preservice teachers that mimics actual teaching in the classroom.

My dissertation is comprised of two manuscripts on preparing educators to address the needs of students with disabilities. The first manuscript is a systematic review of 23 empirical studies published over the last two decades, addressing how traditional teacher preparation programs prepared preservice educators to learn about teaching students with disabilities in inclusive settings. A conceptual model was developed to synthesize the findings. Better outcomes in dispositions, knowledge, and skills were associated with preservice educators placements in inclusive classrooms where supportive supervising teachers modeled effective collaboration and provided opportunities for developing specific teaching skills. Although student disability type and teacher education program type are not directly related to preparation, researchers suggest that they mediate preservice educators' dispositions. The second manuscript examines the demographic, preparation, and school poverty level of a nationally representative sample of 51,340 early career special educators and the extent to which more and less preparation predicted their perceived preparedness for eight instructional practices. Data analyses included descriptive statistics, cross tabulations, and multiple linear regression. Findings indicated that more preparation significantly predicted educators' feelings of preparedness as they began teaching. The majority of educators with more preparation entered teaching through traditional routes while those who were less prepared tended to enter through alternative routes. Additionally, the majority of all educators felt least prepared to use student data to inform instruction and most prepared to differentiate instruction. Implications for education policy, teacher preparation, and future research are considered in both manuscripts. / Ph. D. / What matters most in preparing educators to teach students with disabilities has often been debated but has yet to be clearly determined. This dissertation is comprised of two manuscripts that explore this topic. The first manuscript examines how traditional teacher preparation programs prepare classroom teachers to teach students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms. A conceptual model is provided that reflects how key factors interact to shape preservice educators’ development of inclusion-related dispositions, knowledge, and skills. Findings indicate that experiences in inclusive classrooms with supportive supervising teachers who are skilled collaborators result in positive outcomes for preservice educators. The second manuscript explores the demographic characteristics, teacher preparation, and school poverty level of new special educators across the United States, and whether their preservice preparation had a significant affect on their feelings of readiness to teach during their first year. Findings indicate that more preparation helps new special educators feel better prepared. Most of these better-prepared educators entered the profession through traditional teacher education programs while those with less preparation tended to enter through alternative routes. Implications for improving how new educators are prepared to teach students with disabilities are considered in both manuscripts.

This study investigates the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) assistants in reducing administrative burdens on public school teachers in the United States, where approximately $1.04 billion annually is allocated for teachers to perform non-teaching tasks. As AI technologies advance, their integration into educational settings presents an opportunity to automate 20-40% of administrative activities, reallocating up to 13 hours per week toward more impactful educational engagements. This shift could significantly mitigate teacher burnout, a significant factor in the profession’s high turnover rates. The introduction of the AI chatbot, “EL” (Education and Learning in Inclusive Environments), is posited as a transformative tool designed to assist with routine administrative tasks, potentially enhancing educational efficiency and allowing teachers to focus more on direct student interaction and pedagogical innovation. The quasi-experimental research design employed a T-test, Chi-Squared, and Cohen’s d to analyze the effects of AI assistant usage among pre-service teachers at the University of Central Florida. Through a pretest and post-test approach, the study assessed the effectiveness of EL in creating lesson plans that included accommodations and modifications. Additionally, the research examined the correlation between the frequency of AI assistant usage and the likelihood of pre-service teachers allowing their future students to use AI tools and pre-service teachers use of AI over four weeks. Preliminary results indicate a significant change in the attitudes and practices of pre-service teachers regarding AI, with notable improvements in their familiarity and ethical considerations of AI use in educational settings. The findings suggest that integrating AI assistants like “EL” can effectively support teachers and enhance student learning experiences, highlighting the necessity of including AI literacy in teacher education programs.