The pilot study involved ten experimental and ten control mainstreamed special needs students. Three negative behaviors, known as x, y, and z behaviors from the Teacher Questionnaire, were targeted and charted, initially, on No Effect, and then on Effect Charts. Also charted were four rating areas: academic achievement, self-esteem, misdirected learning activities, and negative social behaviors, in a range from one to ten. Both groups were administered the Weinberg Screening Affective Scale Modified Form and the Piers-Harris Children's Self Concept Scale. The experimental group were involved with a ten day mini course and workbooks and, later, teacher directed reality testing of the targeted behaviors at three different times over nonconsecutive five day period. Educators should be aware that dissonance manifested in academic dysfunction is the student's attempt to maintain consonance of his or her perceptions of failure. Academic dysfunction is based on Festinger's (1957) cognitive dissonance theory and Beck's (1979) cognitive therapy of depression. Academic dysfunction uses positive affect to reduce dysfunction and achieve consonance. Negative affect influences levels of success of middle school students. Academic dysfunction is an educationally related condition based on early childhood experiences of negative feedback by parents and significant others, and relates to the child's and the student's, success in thinking and doing. In the home, this is manifested by an inability to respond to the parent's satisfaction in parent-child relationships. The result is a lowering of self-esteem and the expectation of future failure. The condition continues in the school, manifested by non productive behavior, misdirected learning activities, and/or negative social behaviors. Amelioration is through positive affective teacher interaction with reality testing of student ability in the classroom, and a mini course which offers suggestions for study scheduling, evaluation of current school status and booklets concerned with: understanding the self, self-esteem, peer pressure, stress management, attitude, using imagination, managing time, improving personal skills, and talking about mental health. The assumption is that both home and school contribute to school failure. The school must offer failing students a means for overcoming academic dysfunction.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not components within middle school organizations promote and nurture efforts to implement collegial coaching programs. Three schools were selected on the basis of the following criteria: (1) the schools were middle schools, (2) coaching was in at least its third year of implementation, (3) the coaching concept encompassed a transaction among equals, and (4) the program was not related to staff evaluation. Data was collected at each site through interviews, direct observation and document review. Findings were reported using a cross-case analysis format in which cross case issues and information from the individual cases were dispersed throughout the data presentation in Chapter 4 and the data analysis in Chapter 5. The effects of teaming and common planning time on school climate and the enabling nature of enhanced levels of teacher empowerment were identified as powerful variables which contributed to the successful implementation of coaching programs at each site. Factors such as common planning time, supportive leadership, teacher accountability and empowerment in the areas of curriculum, scheduling, grouping, staff development, and staffing are analyzed. Ultimately the form of coaching in accepted use became much less formalized following the implementation period. As coaching becomes an accepted part of the fabric of the school, its practice becomes much more informal and focuses on the improvement of current instructional techniques. Time and the reluctance of teachers to assume quasi-administrative roles were found to be significant factors in this area. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)

No description available.

<p> Research reveals that for American secondary teachers, mere participation, or the desire to participate, in professional development is not a matter of concern, as many in the educational community have assumed. Yet, there is a void in the literature regarding American, lower secondary educators of literacy and their overall perceptions of professional learning. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the perceptions of lower secondary English language arts (ELA)/literacy teachers, specifically in regard to what motivates these educators to participate in professional development, what they value in professional learning opportunities, the challenges that keep them from participating, and their overall professional development needs. </p><p> This qualitative study draws on two theoretical frameworks, constructivism and adult learning theory, as there are varied philosophies that contribute to the understanding of a teacher&rsquo;s perception of professional learning. A non-experimental, phenomenological methodology was chosen, aiming to better understand participant&rsquo;s individual experiences through their comprehensive, self-reported descriptions. The population of this study consisted of experienced, lower secondary ELA/literacy teachers employed in southern California public schools. Purposive, criterion sampling was used for this research, collecting data from a total of 13 semi-structured interviews of participants from two school districts. </p><p> The findings from this study resulted in five thematic categories that present the essential drivers and impediments to the participants&rsquo; involvement in professional learning opportunities: (a) teachers desire to improve their professional practice, (b) professional learning should be immediately applicable to professional practice, (c) teachers prefer to learn from other experienced teachers, (d) the culture of the school district and or site influences teacher learning, and (e) a teacher&rsquo;s learning is influenced by their perception of themselves and previous experiences. Six conclusions were drawn from the thematic findings of this study. They rely upon the literature and findings to argue how teachers&rsquo; motivation, personal values, and aspirations for participation in professional learning opportunities is centered on personal and organizational factors along with the historical and current culture of American K-12 public schools.</p><p>

<p> This is a qualitative case study using youth-based participatory action research as a model. The author views the youth-based participatory action research through both a social justice and multicultural lens. The prevalence of Eurocentric ideals in society and in the classroom are addressed and solutions on how to remedy these ideals to foster a greater sense of awareness to discrimination, encourage positive ethnic identity, and increase self-esteem are some of the issues addressed in this research. Instead of approaching the research individually, the researcher joined ranks with middle school students to help research these issues as she felt they were important in improving her practice as an educator as well as empowering the students who participated in conducting the research. Both researcher and participants worked together to inform each other and broaden awareness of issues. Some outcomes of this study included empowerment of female adolescents, awareness of when to speak up for oneself, adolescents collaborating with teachers and administration, and teachers implementing instructional strategies based on student feedback.</p><p>

<p> Professional learning environments and professional development practices among educators throughout the United States have experienced a great deal of attention in the need for changes toward collaborative learning models and professional learning opportunities that engage in hands-on work focused on student learning and the growth of teachers&rsquo; practice to help students develop their ability to think critically. This qualitative phenomenological study explored middle and high school teachers&rsquo; and administrators&rsquo; previous professional learning experiences through the practice of School-Based Instructional Rounds and Student Shadowing. The research focused on exploring the impact, if any, on transforming teaching strategies that provide deeper learning experiences for students in college and career readiness. A transformative framework under the theory of Mezirow&rsquo;s transformative learning theory and Knowles&rsquo;s adult learning theory using a constructivist paradigm and grounded theory approach informed the exploration of worldviews from the data of this research study. </p><p> The participants who took part in School-Based Instructional Rounds included 8 high school and middle teachers and administrators in 3 school districts representing 4 Southern California schools. In-person interviews support the research findings in this study. The participants represented in the Shadow a Student Challenge consisted of school leaders and a teacher who work in public and private middle and high school districts in the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Rhode Island. Document analysis and personal interviews support the research findings of this study. Professional learning experiences of School-Based Instructional Rounds and Student Shadowing were explored within the lived experiences of teachers and administrators professional learning practices. Perceptions of deeper learning opportunities in middle and high school classrooms were examined, connecting professional development and the transformation of deeper learning instructional practices. This study will contribute to the body of literature on the value of implementing School-Based Instructional Rounds and the Shadow a Student Challenge as hands-on professional learning practices for teachers and administrators toward supporting the adoption of engaging, meaningful, and relevant strategies for 21st-century learning skills in middle and high school classrooms.</p><p>

<p> This study investigated secondary mathematics pre-service teachers&rsquo; (PSTs) knowledge of resources in terms of digital technologies, and explored the processes of both selection and integration of technology into their lesson plans. This study employed a case study design. Participants were six secondary mathematics PSTs who enrolled in a methods course. Data sources included technology portfolios submitted as a requirement in the methods course and semi-structured interviews. The types of digital technologies were classified either conveyance technologies which are used to convey information or cognitive technologies which enable users to perform mathematical actions and receive immediate feedback (Dick &amp; Hollebrand, 2011). Each task in these lesson plans was evaluated by using the Task Analysis Guide (Stein, Smith, Henningsen, &amp; Silver, 2009). Finally, the intended way of technology use was identified whether as amplifier which enables students to accomplish a task more efficiently and accurately or as recognizer which transforms students&rsquo; actions and enables them to reorganize their thinking (Pea, 1985). </p><p> The findings indicated that the PSTs&rsquo; technology knowledge was limited in terms of the content. It was clear that these PSTs&rsquo; technology knowledge, the capability of technology, ease of use, availability of technology in the context, students&rsquo; familiarity with technology, and appropriateness of technology to meet the learning objectives were the most important factors influencing their technology selection and integration. Furthermore, the findings exhibited that the PSTs preferred to build their lesson around with a high cognitive level tasks which were either doing mathematics or procedures with connections and their intended way of technology use in these tasks was identified as either an amplifier or a reorganizer. In general, the findings also revealed that when the level of cognitive demand of the selected task was doing mathematics, the intended way of the technology use in these tasks were as reorganizer. </p><p>

Student academic growth is one of the most heated issues surfacing in the frequent debates revolving around school reforms, particularly since the enactment of the No Child Left Behind mandate. Often missing in such debates is a clear articulation of what available resources students have drawn on to grow academically. Informed by socio-cultural theoretical and systemic functional linguistic frameworks and drawing on data collected in a three-year ethnographic case study, this study explores what contributed to the academic growth of Pablo, a middle school English language learner, who was institutionally recognized as an "achiever." Specifically, this study examines in what ways and to what extent school resources, such as teaching practices, enabled Pablo to grow academically. This study also explores how and to what degree outside resources, such as parental involvement and support from the community, led to his growth. In addition, this study examines to what degree Pablo's level of motivation contributed to his growth in academic writing. To determine whether or not Pablo's writing changed over time and whether Pablo made progress with his academic writing, I performed a textual analysis of a selective set of essays Pablo wrote over the course of one academic year. Findings suggest that Pablo's institutional status as an achiever stems from his ability to find ways to produce essays that were institutionally valued, recognized, and defined as "good essays." Findings also suggest that while such a status helped Pablo maintain his institutional identity as a "good student," it may at the same time have slowed down his learning process, prevented the school personnel from exploiting his full potential as a student and, worse yet, led to the over-generalization of student achievement.

<p> In today&rsquo;s K-12 educational environment with the newly adopted Common Core State Standards (CCSS), improving student literacy as a foundational skill to obtain success in all other subject areas is one of the most important goals. Unfortunately, many literature curricula suffer from a lack of innovative pedagogy despite the introduction of various educational technologies meant to aid student learning. This study focused on developing a new game-based constructionist pedagogical model for literature education using tabletop role-playing game creation. Using Shulman&rsquo;s (1987) Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) that eventually evolved into Mishra and Kohler&rsquo;s (2006) Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) as the main theoretical framework, this design-based research showed how tabletop role-playing game creation as a constructionist pedagogical strategy successfully helped high school students to receive the benefits of high quality literature education. </p>

The problem. Teachers have been given responsibility for providing the academic, social and vocational education necessary for students to function as whole and healthy citizens in society. In the United States, public schooling has stood at the center of viable democratic processes. This study examines the extent to which one large, urban school district with a multicultural population, provides multicultural educational opportunities to classroom teachers. Scope of study. The primary questions this study seeks to address include: (1) What multicultural staff development opportunities are available to teachers in the District of Columbia school system? (2) Are teachers given release times to participate in multicultural staff development training? (3) What incentives are provided to encourage teachers to participate in multicultural staff development training? and (4) What resources have been made available to assist teachers with training and development in multicultural education? Chapter one outlines the statement and background of the research topic and research questions. The significance of the study and study's assumptions and limitations are described. In addition, definitions of the key terms used in the study are provided. Chapter two provides a review of the literature on multicultural education. Research on teacher education and staff development and multicultural curriculum development is also reviewed. Chapter three outlines the research design. This includes a description of the data collection and analysis procedure, the population of the study and the methodology used in the data analysis. Chapter four presents the study's findings and chapter five provides a summary of the conclusions, implications and recommendations of the study. Method. A six-point Likert type scale questionnaire consisting of 27 items was designed to measure four categories related to multicultural education training and development opportunities for middle school teachers in three randomly selected middle schools. Subsequently, a total of 57 out of 65 respondents returned questionnaires. In conclusion, an overall review of the qualitative data reveals the level and frequency of participation of middle school classroom teachers within three randomly selected middle schools in multicultural staff development activities. Further, the analysis of the data will serve as a guide for subsequent planning with system-wide training.