published_or_final_version / abstract / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / abstract / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / abstract / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / abstract / Education / Master / Master of Education

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship of teachers’ and administrators’ perception of the effectiveness of a teacher evaluation system to the effects of the system on student learning. Teacher surveys were administered electronically and administrator and teacher focus group discussions were held to determine the relationship between the following variables: Teacher perception of evaluation activities, teacher perception of the effectiveness of the evaluation system, administrators perception of evaluation activities, administrator perception of the effectiveness of the evaluation activities, professional development of teachers and teacher perception of the effects of the evaluation system on student learning.

This ethnographic study investigated teacher leadership and professional learning in a secondary mathematics department. Qualitative data were collected through in-depth face-to-face interviews, observations, and document analysis. It is the social aspect of the school environment and specifically, the subject department, which presents an opportunity for teachers to learn and share their expertise with one another in an informal setting and for teacher leaders to emerge using their expertise and close proximity to affect the learning of colleagues. Teachers were asked to share their thoughts on leadership and learning within their department. A narrative was written to give the reader a better understanding of the day-to-day practices, behaviors, and habits of the teachers in the department, creating a holistic picture of the culture studied. ... teacher leadership is experienced informally through teachers sharing and talking about their practice. Teacher leadership is also experienced outside the department when teachers have opportunities to lead school professional development seminars and to practice leadership through role modeling. Professional learning is experienced one-on-one, as well as formally and informally through colleagues and organized workshops. Implications for administrators, department and team leaders, and policy implementation are discussed. This study may contribute to the development of teacher leadership and professional learning, which ultimately may lead to improving student achievement. / by Christine Higgins. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Thesis advisor: Marilyn Cochran-Smith / Beginning in 2000, a number of new graduate schools of education (nGSEs) have been established in the U.S. in response to increasing calls for more effective teachers. Among these are programs affiliated with “No Excuses”-style charter schools, which are focused on closing the achievement gap in urban K-12 schools. Teacher education programs at nGSEs affiliated with “No Excuses” schools were designed to prepare teachers specifically for these schools. Although these nGSEs have been applauded by the press and by education reform advocates, there has been almost no independent research about them. Systematic study of the goals, practices and beliefs of teacher educators and candidates at these programs is necessary to understand the impact “No Excuses”-affiliated nGSEs may have on teacher preparation for urban schools. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to analyze teacher preparation from insiders’ perspectives at the Sposato Graduate School of Education, which is connected to the Match Education charter management organization. For this study, the Sposato GSE was regarded as an illustrative and an instrumental case of the nGSE phenomenon. Drawing on multiple data sources and using qualitative data analysis methods, this dissertation found the Sposato mission was to create “jaw-droppingly effective rookie teachers,” and it argues this mission was in large part realized due to the remarkable coherence of the program’s design, curriculum, and vision. However, this dissertation also argues the success of the Sposato teacher education program came at a cost. My analysis shows that Sposato leaders and faculty members zeroed in almost exclusively on two goals: (1) implementing a technical, moves-based epistemology of teaching in their teacher preparation curriculum; and (2) socializing teachers into a gradualist and technically rational vision of equity and justice consistent with the goals of “No Excuses” schools. This study has important implications for the practice of urban teacher preparation, research into the nGSE phenomenon, and policies related to improving teacher education program quality and the goal of closing the achievement gap.

The current qualitative study focused on understanding the process of learning to teach. Using interviews of teacher educators, the study explored the importance of a set of teaching activities developed as part of the Teacher Self Efficacy Survey (Tschannen- Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) as well as the inclusion of instructional and assessment strategies for the teaching activities and the quality of beginning teacher performance of the activities. Data were collected from interviews of 15 teacher educators. A process of open, axial, and substantive coding was applied to the data to inductively identify and categorize data relevant to the purpose of the study and to allow comparisons among and between categories. Findings suggested that teaching activities are critically important to and a comprehensive description of effective teaching, and that beginning teachers struggle with differentiation and applying their learning to their practice. Further, findings suggested that the source of beginning teacher struggles was found within the teacher education program, within school contexts, and between the two institutions. In addition, findings suggested that beginning teachers perform the student engagement activities and those related to instructional strategies more proficiently than classroom management activities, and that all three teaching activity categories were included in the curriculum, but to different degrees and not all as part of curriculum design. A variety of pedagogies were used to prepare preservice teachers; however, there was no reported knowledge of assessment instruments used to measure preservice teachers’ readiness for teaching and to obtain data on the performance of their graduates. Lastly, this study revealed that teacher education program leaders were reluctant to participate in a study that sought to draw direct connections between the skills taught in the program and how well beginning teachers perform them. Based on the findings, the researcher recommends further studies to determine the viability of the teaching activities as a comprehensive and accurate definition of effective teaching. Further the researcher recommends that teacher education programs and school districts adopt the teaching activities as a consistent framework for providing preservice education, for setting school district expectations, and for conducting teacher evaluations. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

This study problematizes teacher education, and its accreditation guidelines as set forth by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation. The analysis herein conceptualizes teacher education as contextually contingent on sociocultural metanarratives, as functioning paradigmatically through consensus and gatekeeping mechanisms, and as a structure existing within a matrix of discipline and surveillance that is designed to perpetuate status quo power dynamics. This conceptualization grounds dominant teacher education modalities within a specific meta-theory orientation. Through this analysis, the author also explores an alternative conceptualization of teacher education that appeals to the educative power of contextual awareness, ontological sensitivity, and democratically recursive pedagogical and relational processes. Such a conceptualization reflects an alternative meta-theory orientation. For the purposes of this analysis, the author employed textual analysis of sampled website literature from Teacher Education Programs in six geographic regions within the United States. This textual analysis was grounded in the aforementioned conceptualizations and was intended to reveal meta-theory orientations as expressed in a program’s official text. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Employment coaching is essential for performing job duties and for developing and enhancing skills. Coaching in the school setting typically follows the traditional format of pre-conference, observe, and post-conference, where feedback on teaching performance is shared but often delayed. Professional development provides teachers with skills to enhance their teaching practice with little to no follow-up or support. The most effective way to produce change in the school setting is to show the connection between professional development and student performance, and iCoaching can help to bridge the gap. Research shows that effective feedback is immediate, systematic, positive, constructive, and detailed (Scheeler & Lee, 2002). Bug-in-ear (BIE) coaching is a way to provide immediate feedback so correction can be made live, and errors are reduced. iCoaching uses iPods as a BIE device with a coach serving as a remote observer providing coaching prompts or immediate feedback to the teacher to allow the teacher to implement ideas or make corrections immediately. Increasing opportunities to respond (“Increasing Opportunities to Respond,” 2015) is a way to increase academic achievement and on task behavior (Sutherland, Alder, & Gunter, 2003). This study utilized a multiple probe across participants design to investigate the effect of iCoaching on teacher-delivered OTR. Four teacher participants and their students participated in the study, where the teachers completed a teacher preparation session and live iCoaching sessions to increase their OTR. Data were collected on OTR (including the type of OTR), coaching comments, student responses, and student curricular performance. The results indicate that iCoaching was effective in increasing teacher-delivered OTR and increasing student responses and academic performance. Implications for future research are discussed. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection