Response to Intervention (RtI) integrates assessment and intervention within a school-wide, multi-level prevention system to maximize student achievement. RtI requires that educators collect ongoing information about student progress and provide instruction that aligns with that progress. By providing rigorous interventions prior to students failing and by tracking them as they advance through the grades, students can have successful school careers. A majority of RtI research has been conducted in the elementary grades and while research in middle schools and high schools is emerging, few developments in effective implementations have been made. This study was conducted to address the gap in the educational literature concerning middle school implementation of RtI. More specifically, the purpose of this study was to better understand general middle school teachers’ perceptions of RtI implementation by comparing middle school teacher perceptions to elementary school teacher perceptions using the mean scores on the five variables (i.e., universal design for learning, evidence-based literacy, collaboration, data-driven decision-making, and implementation of interventions) of the Multi-Tiered Instruction Self-Efficacy Survey (MTISES). A causal-comparative design was used for this study. The statistical analysis of data, using the Mann-Whitney test, determined that no significant differences were found for 9 of the 10 pairwise tests calculated. Significances were only found for the implementation of interventions information variable. This significance indicates that middle school teachers have lower self-efficacy than elementary teachers in using print or web-based resources to implement interventions (such as those used in the Tier process) to small groups and individuals. Because teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs are related to the effort teachers invest in teaching, the goals they set, and their persistence when things do not go smoothly, teachers would be less likely to use web-based resources to guide their implementation of intervention to small groups and individuals. Future research should include studies focusing on specific issues within the Tier process that middle school teachers find troublesome. While this research showed concern with intervention implementation, a more descriptive study would assist teacher educators and administrators in developing specific guidelines for implementing small group and individualized interventions in the middle school.

No description available.

Agricultural educators encounter unique teaching challenges as they teach applications of plant production in the greenhouse classroom. The teacher self-efficacy construct has been used broadly to link student learning outcomes to teachers' beliefs in their ability to attain certain instructional goals in the classroom. Few studies have used this construct to examine teacher-efficacy in the greenhouse classroom. This study uses the teacher self-efficacy construct within the agricultural educator domain. It seeks to measure change in agricultural educator self-efficacy beliefs using established self-efficacy scales to determine if a professional development experience in greenhouse operation and management effects educator beliefs in their ability to teach in the greenhouse classroom.

This study examined the impact of providing general education teachers with increasing levels of information about autism. Specifically, the amount of information given to teachers was examined as it impacted: 1. teacher self-efficacy, 2. teacher knowledge about autism, and 3. whether knowledge mediates self-efficacy. An online survey format was utilized to randomly assign 129 teachers to one of four information conditions. Namely, these conditions were 1) a control condition in which neutral information regarding sleep, retention, and zero tolerance policies was provided to the teachers (Control), 2) a diagnosis only condition in which only educational and medical diagnostic information was provided to the teachers along with information regarding sleep and retention (Diagnosis only), 3) a diagnosis plus functioning condition in which teachers were provided with diagnostic information plus information regarding how children with autism function in daily lives along with neutral information regarding sleep (Diagnosis + Functioning), and 4) a diagnosis plus functioning plus strategies condition in which teachers were provided with the diagnostic and functioning information in addition to information concerning efficacious educational strategies for students with autism (Diagnosis + Functioning + Strategies). A pre-test/post-test design was implemented to determine the effects of the information provided to the teachers. Increased levels of information resulted in a significant increase in autism knowledge overall. Regarding teacher self-efficacy for teaching students with autism, self-efficacy was observed to increase from pre-test to post-test; however, these increases were not significant. Additionally, a mediation model could not be established due to a lack of correlation between the independent variable of information condition and the dependent variable of self-efficacy. Results indicated that when given specific, demonstrative information about autism, teachers' knowledge subsequently increases; however, this given information does not result in an increase in self-efficacy for teaching students with autism, indicating that information alone is not enough to increase teachers' self-efficacy, and additional practice may be needed to truly enhance teachers' confidence for teaching this population.

ABSTRACT PREPARING TEACHERS OF STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER: EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES AND TEACHER SELF-EFFICACY By Jane E. Strong A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2014 Major Director: Evelyn Reed, Ph.D., Associate Professor Department of Special Education and Disability Policy School of Education There is a need for intensified, rapid, and special emphasis on training of teachers for students on the autism spectrum (NRC, 2001). The current movement in the field emphasizing the use of evidence-based practices in designing instructional methods should be emphasized during teacher preparation and professional development activities to increase teacher effectiveness. Further, it has been established that a teacher’s sense of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1979; Hoy & Tschannen-Moran, 1998) impacts his/her performance and that of his/her students. The purpose of this study was to discern and describe teachers’ perceptions of their self-efficacy following professional development that includes training in the use of evidence-based practices. This was accomplished through analysis of survey data, field based observations and interviews from teachers completing their Post-baccalaureate Graduate Certificate in Autism Spectrum Disorders at a large, urban university in a mid-Atlantic state. To add to the literature base about the influence of ASD-focused professional development, this study examined teacher perceptions of the professional training and the relationships between teachers’ knowledge and skill acquisition and self-efficacy.

<div>The purpose of this study was to examine the factors attributed to teacher candidates’ perceptions of self-efficacy throughout their student teaching semesters. This study used a narrative inquiry methodology to enhance the researcher’s understanding of variables attributed to teacher self-efficacy among a group of secondary content area teacher candidates. In this study, the purpose of using a narrative inquiry methodology was to share the stories of content area teacher candidates’ student teaching experiences and inform teacher educators about the extent to which teacher education preparation affects the self-efficacy of beginning content area teachers, as well as which recurrent elements of teacher education affect the self-efficacy of beginning teachers, regardless of their respective content areas. The findings of this study suggest that teacher education preparation affects the self-efficacy of secondary teacher candidates across the content areas; accordingly, the findings of this study provide insight for teacher educators to consider the areas where teacher education programs are failing to provide adequate preparation. The 10 teacher candidates who participated in this study emphasized the value of adequate preparation throughout their teacher education programs to help inform their student teaching experiences. In order to feel prepared for student teaching and effective as teacher candidates, the 10 participants referenced the following areas as requiring further implementation within teacher education curricula: increased opportunities to apply the practical application of their teaching skills prior to the student teaching experience, the incorporation of classroom management strategy coursework into their curriculum, and opportunities to explore the extensive demands of the teaching profession ranging from time management to dealing with difficult parents, to name a few.</div>

Recently, changes in graduation requirements in some states have made it more important than ever for students to be literate in all content areas. State assessments not only measure student academic ability, but they are a necessary component of graduation from high school. After completing required courses, students are expected to take assessments covering the content of those courses. In order to safely meet the graduation requirement, students must score at least 3 points per assessment on a 5-point scale. This has proven difficult for over 50% of students expecting to graduate. Students at Midwestern-American High School (MAHS) have been struggling to achieve the required minimum scores on the state achievement assessments, as have many others in the region. A review of the report card data for MAHS reveals the area of greatest need (i.e. category of lowest performance) is in science. Research suggests a leading cause for these struggles is waning teacher efficacy and lack of ability to build capacity in staff members due to high mobility in teacher populations, especially in urban communities serving high-poverty and minority populations. For these reasons, it is necessary for leaders to have the skill to quickly build effective instructional teams. During the 2017-2018 schools year, I utilized the Community of Practice (CoP) framework to establish entities that align closely with the criteria of CoPs. I used mixed methods research throughout the bounded period (August 2017 – May 2018) to conduct the proposed study. Data sources included: meeting agendas and minutes, participant interviews, survey results and reflections on the action by researcher and participants. I used the information gathered from this study to continue or modify the action and/or propose new strategies for the capacity building of staff.

Framed in theories of pragmatism, self-efficacy, and ecology, this design-based research study attempted to make explicit connections between theory and field-based research. The pedagogical goal of this study was to expose in-service teachers to a scaffolded model of professional development for writing (IMSCI) that could be implemented in their own teaching. This model of professional development also served to place research participants in a professional learning community. Teachers worked in focus groups made of another teacher in their own discipline, and a collective focus group, and worked through the steps of the scaffolded model in consideration of their own writing instruction in an effort to increase their self-efficacy, while also experiencing a participatory approach to instruction that in turn improved their ability to enact this instruction in their own classrooms. The data, which included focus group interviews, blog posts by the teachers, and member checking, were analyzed using constant comparative methods. The analyses indicated that the majority of these content teachers had not experienced effective writing instruction models as students and did not learn how to teach writing in their preservice teaching programs. Additionally, their professional learning experiences as inservice teachers had not given them the tools they needed to overcome ecological factors that stopped them from teaching writing. Teachers' responses about their experience with the IMSCI model indicate that it has the potential to help teachers understand what effective writing instruction looks like, how to implement it in their own classrooms, and to increase their perceived self-efficacy as teachers of writing.

Previous experiences with mathematics, particularly negative ones, can influence an individual’s attitudes toward mathematics. Children’s first experiences with mathematics are often in their childcare settings. Elementary teachers appear to have more mathematics anxiety than other professionals, but the level of mathematics anxiety among childcare providers is not known. The presence of mathematics anxiety correlates with lower teacher self-efficacy or the teacher’s belief of how effective he/she is in influencing a student’s learning. Grounded in Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy, this study examined the level of mathematics anxiety and teacher self-efficacy among 122 licensed Utah childcare providers in center and family home childcare. Providers responded to a survey assessing their attitudes about mathematics, feelings of teacher self-efficacy, frequency of developmentally appropriate mathematics and reading activities in the childcare program, and demographic information. Descriptive statistics, correlations, and one-way ANOVAs were calculated. Results indicate that the participants reported more favorable than anxious attitudes toward mathematics as well as moderately high feelings of teacher self-efficacy. There were no statistically significant differences in mathematics anxiety or teacher self-efficacy by the type of childcare provided, provider’s level of education, or years of experience. Results of the ANOVAs revealed that the best predictors of mathematics anxiety were provider attitudes toward reading/literacy as well as the number of developmentally appropriate mathematics and reading activities provided. As providers showed an increase in favorable attitudes toward reading/literacy, they also expressed less mathematics anxiety. This is the first study of its kind to assess these variables among childcare providers.

Teacher self-efficacy refers to teachers&rsquo / belief in their abilities to perform an action. In the present study, a new scale was developed to measure teacher self-efficacy beliefs toward measurement and evaluation practices, called &ldquo / Teacher Self-Efficacy toward Measurement and Evaluation Practices Scale&rdquo / (TEMES). The purpose of this study was to test a model of relationships among teacher self-efficacy toward measurement and evaluation practices, teachers&rsquo / sense of efficacy, year in teaching, and frequency of using traditional and alternative measurement and evaluation tools. Three hundred ninety-four teachers participated in the study. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA), Canonical Correlation Analysis, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were conducted to answer the research questions. CFA provided evidence for five-factor structure of the TEMES. Cronbach&rsquo / s alpha coefficients of these five factors were satisfactory, ranging from .76 to .87. Teachers reported more frequent use of traditional measurement and evaluation tools than alternative tools. Separate MANOVAs yielded non-significant effect of gender on the factors of TEMES, but of teaching level. In addition, findings of canonical correlation analysis indicated that factors of TEMES were correlated with factors of Turkish teachers&rsquo / sense of efficacy scale (TTSES). Results of the SEM indicated that teacher self-efficacy toward measurement and evaluation practices was positively correlated with frequency of using traditional and alternative measurement and evaluation tools. Year of teaching was found to be a non-significant predictor of teachers&rsquo / sense of efficacy, teacher self-efficacy toward measurement and evaluation practices, and frequency of using traditional and alternative measurement and evaluation tools.