The purpose of this study was to examine if professionalism and instructional practice of in-service teachers have been influenced due to the collaboration created by a Professional Development School (PDS) partnership. Within 15 elementary schools in Northeastern Pennsylvania, this researcher explored the perceptions of all teacher groups and building level administrators who have worked at a PDS site. Data were gathered using a survey distributed to 601 staff followed by a one-time interview of 13 teachers and four administrators. The mean score for all Likert Scale questions was above the expected mean. The results of the MANOVA tests showed no overall significance among level of involvement, years of experience, number of PDS students or teaching assignment. Significance was found for the number of student teachers, however a follow-up ANOVA did not support the overall finding. Interviews of the teachers and administrators revealed that each thought the PDS program has benefited in-service teachers by introducing them to new or fresh ideas, concepts and practices. The data also revealed that the requirements for the PDS pre-service teachers’ projects have fostered collaboration among multiple groups of teachers within the PDS site. This study determined that there is a connection among collaboration, professionalism, and instructional practice. All three terms are intertwined and many responses to the open-ended survey questions and the interview questions included more than one for a single answer. The data unearthed sub-categories under each main term. Additional research includes the need to determine the degree or level to which professionalism and instructional practice are impacted by the collaboration brought to a school through the PDS program. / Dr. Alison Rutter Dr. Monte Tidwell Dr. Marilyn J. Narey

Two needs of Georgia State University Professional Development School Partnerships are to show increases in both student academic achievement and teacher efficacy. The Teacher-Intern-Professor (TIP) Model was designed to address these needs. The TIP model focuses on using the university and school partnership to support Georgia State University student intern preparedness and student academic achievement for those participating in the program. TIP Model outcomes were analyzed using a quasi-experimental design for achievement data and a Bayesian approach to mix methods for efficacy data. Quantitative data, in the form of test scores, were analyzed to compare mean student academic achievement at the classroom level. Mean differences between treatment and comparison groups were not significant for the TIP treatment factor (F(1, 60) = .248, p =.620) as measured by a benchmark test. Results favored the treatment group over control group for the TIP treatment factor (F(1, 56) = 17.967, p < .001) on a geometry test. A methodological contribution is the exploration and development of an approach to mix methods using Bayesian statistics to combine quantitative and qualitative data. Bayesian statistics allows for incorporation of the researcher’s prior belief into the data analysis. Narrative Inquiry was the qualitative framework employed to gain understanding of the participants’ qualitative data, thus providing a particular way of prior belief elicitation. More specifically, a content analysis of the qualitative data, which included interviews, observations, and artifacts, was used in conjunction with quantitative historical data to elicit prior beliefs. The Bayesian approach to mix methods combined prior beliefs from the teacher efficacy qualitative data with the quantitative data from Gibson’s and Dembo’s Teacher Efficacy Scale to obtain posterior distributions, which summarized beliefs for the themes of teacher efficacy and personal efficacy.

The professional development school (PDS) has had a recent resurgence in teacher education. Professional development schools were designed to reform teacher education programs and revitalize K-12 education. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a professional development school: The School Teacher Education Partnership (STEP) at Elizabeth City State University (ECSU). STEP is a partnership between Elizabeth City State University and one elementary school in each of three participating school districts -- Edenton-Chowan, Elizabeth City-Pasquotank, and Gates -- in North Carolina. The study took place over two years. Participants from the 1998-2001 school years were the primary informants. Data were collected through extended interviews. Documentary data and end-of-the-year qualitative evaluations were used to substantiate interview data. The constant comparative method of Maykut & Morehouse (1994) was used to analyze the data. Data were unitized, coded, grouped, categorized, and compared for patterns and themes. The results of this evaluation were strong enough to recommend that a year-long internship be required for all prospective teachers at the university. The STEP graduates come from the program with strong pedagogical skills. The students are prepared to begin working with children from the first day of teaching. They can manage classes well handling routines with little difficulty. Mentor teachers were found to be primary contributors to the development of new teachers, and they are paid little for their efforts. It is recommended that they be paid an amount commensurate with their effort and contributions to the development of new teachers. This compensation should be an integral part of the budgets of the state, local, or university agencies responsible for the preparation of teachers. / Ed. D.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to analyze the idea of ¡§professional development schools (PDSs)¡¨ which was a new school setting and one of collaborative models with universities developed in the past decade in USA. The researcher inquired into PDS¡¦s goals, functions, operations, major influential factors, and ¡§PDS Standards¡¨ in depth, and aimed to explore the collaborative models and the developing stages of Taiwan¡¦s PDSs according to the five standards, which was the key concept of PDS model and was designated by National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. These five standards are ¡§learning community¡¨, ¡§accountability and quality assurance¡¨, ¡§collaboration¡¨, ¡§equity and diversity¡¨, and ¡§structures, resources and roles¡¨. The researcher selected six staffs as the participants from each partnership of university/affiliated high school and used qualitative research methods to collect research data, including documentary reviews and semi-structured interviews. After careful examination and analyses of the data collected, the following conclusions are reached: 1. About professional development schools: (1) PDSs are innovative school settings and establishments which were initiated and refined progressively along the educational reform movements. (2) PDSs are not only the ¡§learning communities¡¨; but also the settings for the professional development of participants. (3) The establishment of PDSs needs support in terms of structure and system building from both sides of the partnership. They also need more resources to be invested in. (4) ¡§PDS Standards¡¨ are both guidelines and criterion for the assessment of the PDSs. 2. About the collaborative models between universities and affiliated high schools: (1) The cases actually demonstrate the function of ¡§learning community¡¨, but the degree of ¡§collaboration¡¨ is not close enough. (2) The standard of ¡§accountability and quality¡¨ for the collaborative models can¡¦t be presented due to lack of evaluation measures for the partnership. (3) Two case high schools have developed some supportive activities for low-achievement students by their own. The involvements of two universities on this aspect are apparently not enough. (4) Two cases need to enhance their support for the partnership in terms of structure and system building. (5) According to the ¡§PDS Standards¡¨, the developing stages of two cases are between beginning level and developing level. (6) The collaborative models between universities and affiliated high schools are influenced by internal and external factors. According to the conclusions of this study and the related problems encountered, suggestions to government, two case partnerships, universities, high schools and future researchers have been proposed.

Using a quasi-experimental design, the author examined the effects of the Professional Development School Partnerships Deliver Success educational model on student academic achievement in science and mathematics in 12 high-needs, urban elementary, middle, and high schools in the southeastern United States. Student achievement was measured for first to eighth grade students by the State Criterion-Referenced Competency Test and for 11th-grade students by the State High School Graduation Test. 6 ANOVAs were used to compare baseline and year 1 performance data. Student ethnicity was used to disaggregate the data to investigate the extent, if any, to which achievement gaps narrowed. For the different ethnic groups, the small changes in proportion passing across the first year of implementation were not correlated with mean scale score changes as measured by Hedges’s g effect sizes. This result has national implications for the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 policy in terms of reporting results. Three of the 6 ANOVAs showed significant change in achievement means for the PDS schools when using PDS school data only. However, when data from both PDS and matched comparison schools were analyzed, the overall results indicated no statistically significant gains in mathematics and science means for the professional development schools in relation to the comparison schools for the first year of professional development school implementation.

No description available.

The purpose of my study was to determine if there are any differences in performance measures of student teachers with varying levels of participation in professional development schools. The population in my study was the 2002 through the spring of 2006 kindergarten through 6th-grade student teachers from a small, private postsecondary institution. A requirement of the teacher education program was to complete sequential, field-based experiences in kindergarten through 6th-grade schools culminating in student teaching. My study included kindergarten through 6thgrade student teachers who had experienced a number of semesters in a Professional Development School (PDS) classified into 4 levels: (a) 0 or 1 semester, (b) 2 semesters, (c) 3 semesters, and (d) 4 semesters of field experience in PDSs of partnership. Using analysis of variance procedures, the relationships between levels of participation in a PDS with each of 6 student performance measures were investigated. Several sources of data were used to evaluate the student teachers' performances. My study was based on the test results from 3 subtests of the PRAXIS II series examinations, the student teacher evaluation instruments, and the senior exit interviews. The performance evaluation scores were used to determine the knowledge, skills, and professional dispositions of every student teacher before graduating from the teacher licensure program at Lincoln Memorial University. Based on the analysis of the data and findings of my study, PDS field-based experiences appear to have no significant relationship with student teachers' PRAXIS II examination subtests scores, student teacher evaluation instrument scores, or their senior exit interview scores.

Preparing all teachers to work with culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) populations is essential in teacher education (Banks, Cochran-Smith, Moll, Richert, Zeichner, LePage, Darling-Hammond, Duffy, & MacDonald, 2005). Simultaneously, current literacy policy serves to dictate how teachers teach literacy; requiring specific curricula and assessments, particularly in urban and low performing school districts (Woodside-Jiron & Gehsmann, 2009). As new teachers enter classrooms, they are forced to negotiate the realities of teaching in urban, diverse schools with what they learned in their preparation programs (Achinstein & Ogawa, 2006). The purpose of this study was to understand the literacy teaching experiences of three beginning teachers, graduates of an alternative teacher preparation program, who teach at the same CLD, Professional Development School. This naturalistic inquiry explored the intersection of these constructs through the questions; (1)What instructional decisions, resources, and strategies do alternatively certified beginning teachers enact when teaching CLD students? and (2) What are the contextual factors that influence beginning teachers’ literacy pedagogy? Luke and Freebody’s (1999) Four Resources Model, critical theory (McLaren, 1995), sociocultural views of literacy (Street, 1995), and constructivism (Savery & Duffy, 2001) served as theoretical lenses. Data collection took place over nine months and included interviews, observations, questionnaires, and teacher debriefs. The data was analyzed using a constant comparative approach (Merriam, 1998) and elements of Grounded Theory methodology (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). These beginning teachers struggled to negotiate the prescriptive literacy mandates from the county and school. The context of the school challenged many of the theories and strategies teachers learned in their preparation program and caused tension between what they espoused about literacy and their enacted practices. Teachers felt that they were not adequately prepared to work with English Language Learners in particular, thus, they chose to adhere closely to the prescriptive curriculum. Decontextualized literacy activities dominated instruction and constrained CLD students’ opportunities for critical literacy learning. These findings suggest that teachers should be better prepared to work with ELLs and educated about the research behind current literacy policies. A Professional Development School model offers opportunities for continued learning in these areas.

Preparing all teachers to work with culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) populations is essential in teacher education (Banks, Cochran-Smith, Moll, Richert, Zeichner, LePage, Darling-Hammond, Duffy, & MacDonald, 2005). Simultaneously, current literacy policy serves to dictate how teachers teach literacy; requiring specific curricula and assessments, particularly in urban and low performing school districts (Woodside-Jiron & Gehsmann, 2009). As new teachers enter classrooms, they are forced to negotiate the realities of teaching in urban, diverse schools with what they learned in their preparation programs (Achinstein & Ogawa, 2006). The purpose of this study was to understand the literacy teaching experiences of three beginning teachers, graduates of an alternative teacher preparation program, who teach at the same CLD, Professional Development School. This naturalistic inquiry explored the intersection of these constructs through the questions; (1)What instructional decisions, resources, and strategies do alternatively certified beginning teachers enact when teaching CLD students? and (2) What are the contextual factors that influence beginning teachers’ literacy pedagogy? Luke and Freebody’s (1999) Four Resources Model, critical theory (McLaren, 1995), sociocultural views of literacy (Street, 1995), and constructivism (Savery & Duffy, 2001) served as theoretical lenses. Data collection took place over nine months and included interviews, observations, questionnaires, and teacher debriefs. The data was analyzed using a constant comparative approach (Merriam, 1998) and elements of Grounded Theory methodology (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). These beginning teachers struggled to negotiate the prescriptive literacy mandates from the county and school. The context of the school challenged many of the theories and strategies teachers learned in their preparation program and caused tension between what they espoused about literacy and their enacted practices. Teachers felt that they were not adequately prepared to work with English Language Learners in particular, thus, they chose to adhere closely to the prescriptive curriculum. Decontextualized literacy activities dominated instruction and constrained CLD students’ opportunities for critical literacy learning. These findings suggest that teachers should be better prepared to work with ELLs and educated about the research behind current literacy policies. A Professional Development School model offers opportunities for continued learning in these areas.

This qualitative research study investigated the role of the principal in implementing change in the professional development school (PDS). The study involved 7 elementary schools and 4 school-university collaboratives in the Texas network of 17 Centers for Professional Development and Technology (CPDTs). The research questions focused on the role, leadership, and management concerns of the PDS principal.