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Student achievement is rooted in a teacher’s ability to identify and assess student understanding of material. This is particularly challenging in classroom settings, which are dynamic and full of distractions, especially in science classrooms where discussion and inquiry are paramount. In mathematics education, the concept of professional noticing of children’s thinking refers to a teacher attending to, interpreting, and responding to student content understanding throughout a class period (Jacobs, Lamb, & Philipp, 2010). This skill is equally important when teaching other content, such as science, and is a key component of responsive and reflective practice used by excellent educators as outlined by reform standards for science (National Research Council [NRC], 1996, 2012; NGSS Lead States, 2013). Before a teacher can adapt to student needs, they must first identify critical moments of student sense-making and interpret the student’s ideas. Only then can they respond effectively. This set of teaching skills can be learned, and then later improved upon with practice and reflection. Recent research suggests that preservice science teachers can learn the fundamentals of noticing skills during specialized courses (Barnhart & van Es, 2015) and are able to carry forward this learning into their teaching experiences as full-time teachers (Amador, Carter, Hudson, & Galindo, 2017). However, little is known about the role of different aspects of preservice teacher education program experiences in laying the foundation for life-long development of noticing skills. This study used a multiple case study design to explore the experiences of six preservice science teachers, as related to professional teacher noticing of student thinking about science, during the semester before their full-time student teaching experience. Based on a situated learning framework (Lave & Wenger, 1991), this study centered on the university- and field-based experiences associated with a middle and secondary teacher education program at a large, Mid-Atlantic, urban university. Participants were enrolled in a teacher residency program. Observations, semistructured interviews, and artifact analysis were used to identify opportunities for and experiences with learning professional teacher noticing of student thinking about science content throughout the first semester of this residency program. Analysis of data included the use of a combination of a priori codes about the degree of teacher noticing of student thinking about science (Barnhart & van Es, 2015) and emergent codes of contextual events relating to opportunities for preservice science teachers to notice student thinking during field experiences. Case studies were developed, and a cross-case analysis performed to identify themes and trends in the learning experiences and development of the participants around noticing practices. Broadly, I found that the most access residents have to noticing is in their field experiences, and that their opportunities to learn to notice may be primarily mediated by their mentors’ abilities to “unpack” their own practice, communicate effectively with the resident, and help residents hone in on the content goals of lessons. This study provides a unique examination of preservice science teacher learning opportunities at the interface of education coursework and field experiences. Assertions developed from this multiple case study analysis provide insight into which experiences have the most impact on the development of preservice teachers’ attention to student thinking. / Math & Science Education

In this ethnographic study, I draw on interviews, audiorecordings of course meetings, observation notes and student work to explore the experiences of White preservice teachers in two sections of a Social Contexts of Education course. The instructors of both sections sought to challenge students’ color-blind racial ideologies. Whereas prior research documents prospective teachers resisting learning about race, this study’s participants evidenced a willingness to engage with this content. Nevertheless, most participants still remained committed to color-blind ideologies at the end of the course. This research offers insights into two obstacles that hindered most participants from adopting color-conscious ideologies as well as four pedagogical strategies that successfully interrupted, at least temporarily, some participants’ color-blind ideologies. The findings lead to pedagogical recommendations for teacher educators, structural suggestions for teacher education programs, and a theoretical contribution about the important role of socio-cultural understandings of identity in the preparation of color-conscious teachers. / Urban Education

Social Foundations of Education (SFE) courses have long been a staple of traditional teacher preparation programs. However, with the rise of alternative pathways to teacher certification, a debate has emerged around the usefulness of SFE courses, particularly as it relates to the development of pre-service teachers into effective educators. Employing a mixed methods design, this study explores the impact of SFE courses by examining how these classes affect pre-service teachers’ critical awareness and teacher expectations. Data for this study was collected through pretest and posttest surveys and interviews during the Fall of 2017 at two mid-Atlantic universities. In total, 132 individuals participated in the quantitative portion of the study, with 18 of these subjects also comprising the study’s focal sample. Results of this research show that SFE courses significantly increase pre-service teachers’ critical awareness but do not have an effect on teacher expectations. However, in analyzing the data by institution, this study found that SFE courses are capable of raising pre-service teachers’ expectations when course instructors adopt certain pedagogical and rhetorical practices. / Urban Education

Self-determination, as it applies to special education, has been studied extensively. While the effects of self-determination for students with disabilities are established, there is still limited knowledge of the presence of the construct in preservice teacher preparation programs. This study begins to addresses this gap. In particular, a nationwide sample of secondary general education and special education teacher preparation programs was examined. Department chairs and program coordinators were surveyed and revealed a significant difference in the mean self-determination score of participants representing special education teacher preparation programs and participants representing secondary general education teacher preparation programs. Specifically, special education teacher preparation participants had a significantly higher mean score on the ‘Autonomy’ and ‘Self-Regulation’ sections of the survey across all participants, ‘Autonomy’ had the lowest mean of all of the sections. Participants identifying as a department chair had a significantly higher self-determination score than participants that did not identify as a department chair. Finally, participants representing a university located in a state with standards for secondary special education and self-determination had a significantly higher self-determination score than participants located in a state without a standard for secondary special education and self-determination. / Special Education

Recruitment and retention of ethnically diverse students in college education preparation programs remains a difficult challenge for many colleges and universities across the United States. Low numbers of education majors yield low numbers of ethnically diverse teachers in the teaching workforce. According to 2010 data from the National Center of Education Statistics, African American students comprise about 16% of our public school students nationwide, but African American teachers only represent about 8% of the teaching workforce. While Asian students comprise 4.6% of the total public school population, only 1% of the teachers in American public schools are Asian (National Center of Education Statistics, 2010). Additionally, Latinos are expected to make up a third of the total U.S. school-age population (ages 3-17) by the year 2036, while Latino teachers represent only 14% of the teacher workforce (NCES, 2012). Although college going rates for ethnically diverse students are increasing, many of those students are not choosing education as a major. Researchers have studied the perceptions ethnically diverse students have about teaching and have identified numerous barriers, such as: limited educational opportunities, more lucrative career options and standardized testing requirements (Madkins, 2011). Furthermore, Gordon's (1994) research points to not graduating from high school, negative experiences in school, lack of respect, teachers not being prepared for diversity, lack of support for college, lack of academic encouragement, racelessness, absence of role models of color, low status of the profession, too much education for the return, low pay, negative image, poor school conditions, having more opportunities elsewhere, and racism as contributing factors affecting students' decisions not to pursue a career in education. Graham and Erwin (2011) who studied African American boys discovered three themes: negative perceptions of teachers and teaching, perceptions of schools as oppressive institutions, and African American men are nonconformists. While these are all significant potential barriers to ethnically diverse students choosing careers in education, those ethnically diverse students who do choose to pursue teaching may be able to shed some light on the issue. Since much of the research focuses on the barriers and limitations ethnically diverse students face in our society, part of the purpose of this research is to highlight what is working for ethnically diverse students who are pursuing a career in education. The purpose of this dissertation is to describe the factors that contribute to an ethnically diverse education major's career aspiration and college success. Since the disparity problem is multifaceted, I addressed historical, personal and social aspects that may impact the overall phenomenon, including: desegregation of teachers of color, students' experiences within the context of secondary schools, issues surrounding institutional racism, students' perceptions of teachers and teaching, college readiness, college recruitment and retention of teacher candidates, mentoring, personal motivations and identity development. I endeavored to capture the rich stories of ethnically diverse college students' journeys to becoming a teacher and to understand what impact mentoring may have had on their career aspirations and college success. Results from this study can inform students, schools, and colleges and universities about the barriers and support systems that successful education majors of color report affect them. Since the primary focus is on the perceived effect of mentoring, the results may also provide insights regarding the retention of ethnically diverse students once they enroll in college. / Educational Psychology

This study examined the motivations pre-service teachers possess as they progress though a teacher education program. Using Watt and Richardson’s (2007) Factors Influencing Teaching Choice (FIT-Choice) model as the theoretical underpinnings, the following research questions set the foundation for this study: 1) Do pre-service teachers’ motivation to pursue a teaching career change over the course of a teacher education program, and 2) Is there a relationship between pre-service teachers’ values and their satisfaction with their choice to pursue a teaching career? Quantitative results indicate significant drops in motivation from students’ Freshman/Sophomore year to students’ Graduate year. Qualitative results demonstrated a greater frequency of responses for social utility values, intrinsic motivation, positive prior teaching and learning experiences, career development aspirations, and epistemic values. / Educational Psychology

Teacher education enrollment has decreased 74% since 2013. Simultaneously, attrition rates have increased, with 20-50% of new teachers quitting within the first five years. These combined factors have brought California into a new teacher shortage, necessitating fast-track pathways to credentialing. Fast tracks and lowering of requirements often result in teachers not being prepared to teach as they begin their careers, and as data illustrates, children in high-poverty communities of color are those who are predominantly taught by non-credentialed teachers. This dissertation is a historical policy study on how educational policies enacted in California to address shortage have affected the supply and demand of teachers and how effective these policies have been in terms of recruitment and retention. Findings revealed a search for balance between maintaining high standards for teacher education, while still meeting the needs of the field through creating alternative pathways to credentialing. An interpretive analysis of these policies and corresponding data informed the formulation of a set of recommendations, including the need to increase retention through ensuring high quality teacher education and ensuring the support of new teachers. The residency model is one recommended approach that increases the clinical component of teacher education while making it more affordable. Also recommended is greater attention to making compensation competitive with other fields, as well as increasing financial assistance for tuition and providing housing subsidies. A last recommendation is to create a state-wide database to track teachers and their career paths in order to maintain a greater understanding of the field.

Collaborative models of teacher education have grown from the belief that through such models we can improve the quality and availability of truly inclusive opportunities for children with diverse abilities and their families. Little is known however as to the extent collaborative models are capable of influencing inclusive service delivery or in terms of their efficacy to impact the relative inclusive practice of their graduates as compared to other models of teacher education. As an important first step toward examining the relative worth and efficacy of collaborative models of early childhood teacher education, this case study applied a conceptual framework derived from activity systems theory (Engeström, 1987; 1999) and the recommended research framework for investigation into collaborative models (Pugach & Blanton, 2009) to consider one such teacher education program as a system. Doing so offers the literature a description of one program's parameters of practice and efforts to produce effective, inclusive teachers and leaders through a collaborative approach; something that was previously lacking in the literature base. Working to understand how this teacher education program operates as a system helped characterize the parameters of practice specific to collaborative program dimensions. Elements of harmony and tension as well as cultural tools specific to the program's attempts to meet its object and ultimate outcome per activity theory were also identified. Finally, case study analysis of this particular program through the conceptual framework provided insight related to current and future efforts of collaborative early childhood teacher education and broader teacher education reform

The problem of this study was to identify teacher training principles which would aid day care teachers in integrating handicapped children into their classrooms. This was a descriptive study which utilized a questionnaire methodology. The questionnaire was administered to teachers of randomly selected day care centers in Tennessee. The sample size was 347. The questionnaire identified from the literature review was the Stages of Concern Questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed to identify concerns of individuals toward an innovation. The instrument was modified to be used in identifying the concerns of day care teachers toward mainstreaming young handicapped children into day care centers. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data obtained from 105 respondents to the 35-item questionnaire. Analysis of the data collected to answer the research questions revealed the following: The educational and training background of teachers involved in mainstreaming should be developmentally oriented. From a developmental base day care teachers can make the transition from teaching normally developing children to teaching an integrated classroom by mastering five additional topics: assessment techniques, systematic planning techniques, knowledge about developmental exceptionalities, knowledge and teaching skills related to the promotion of positive social interaction of children, and an understanding of the additional job demands of an integrated classroom. The concerns of individuals tend to be developmental and tend to move from self concerns (Stages 0, 1, 2) to task concerns (Stage 3) to impact concerns (Stages 4, 5, 6). The movement through the stages of concern can be facilitated but not forced. The person(s) planning the interventions or training must plan training that helps resolve existing concerns while facilitating the individual(s)' move to the next stage of concern (Hord, Rutherford, Huling-Austin, & Hall, 1987). Teacher training principles were designed using the findings obtained from the questionnaire. The mainstream topics suggested by the review of literature necessary for teachers of integrated classrooms were cross-tabulated with the intervention strategies suggested by the stages of most intense concerns. The suggestions obtained from the review of literature related to the format of adult inservice training were considered as factors in the presentation of the intervention strategies. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)