This qualitative study examined the unique perspectives of participants, who recently completed their elementary teacher education training, of their sense of effectiveness in leading students to learn, also known as teacher efficacy. This study used a comparative case study approach to compare and contrast the differences in teacher efficacy as impacted by the internship experiences and supervision of cooperating teachers, within two different teacher preparation models. Volunteers were selected from a population of 2017 elementary teacher education graduates from Florida Atlantic University and Florida State University who had completed their pre-service internships during the 2016-2017 academic year. Participants responded to open-ended questions during telephone interviews. Data were analyzed to compare participants’ descriptions of their teacher efficacy, how their teacher efficacy may have developed through the progress of their programs and impacted by their internship experiences. This study also examined whether comprehensive training in coaching and mentorship, as provided by one of the two state universities, contributed to the participants’ level of teacher efficacy. The outcomes corroborated current research literature but also revealed unique findings in the formation and development of perceived teaching effectiveness through the preparation program experience. The findings for show that pre-service teachers do not succinctly connect their perceived teacher efficacy to students’ learning and accomplishing instructional goals. Also, that internships need to provide frequent, timely and diverse experiences within an environment of learning and support. The key differences between FAU and FSU were in consistency within placements and in diversity of student populations. Impactful events were noted by participants of both FAU and FSU as opportunities for instructional growth and improvement. Finally, the deepest connection with pre-service teachers in developing their teacher efficacy is the mentor/mentee relationship that encourages and supports instructional practice and improvement. Although FAU has provided multiple professional development trainings for supervising pre-service teachers, other factors such as support, encouragement, flexibility and empathy led to developing a more positive teacher efficacy. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. / Summer Semester 2018. / June 13, 2018. / Includes bibliographical references. / Courtney Preston, Professor Directing Dissertation; Fengfeng Ke, University Representative; Stacey Rutledge, Committee Member; Marytza Gawlik, Committee Member.

The primary purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable instrument to examine science teachers' assessment beliefs and practices in science classrooms. The study also investigated the relationship between teachers' beliefs and practices regarding assessment issues, the certain factors, influencing their assessment practices and teachers' feelings towards high-stakes testing. The participants of the study were 408 science teachers, teaching at middle and high school levels in the State of Florida. Data were collected through two modes of administration of the instrument as a paper-and-pencil and a web-based form. The response rate for paper-and-pencil administration was estimated as 68% whereas the response for the web administration was found to be 27%. Results from the various dimensions of validity and reliability analyses revealed that the 24 item-four-factor belief and practice measures were psychometrically sound and conceptually anchored measures of science teachers' assessment beliefs and self-reported practices. Reliability estimates for the belief measure ranged from .83 to .91 whereas alpha values for the practice measure ranged from .56 to .90. Results from the multigroup analysis supported that the instrument has the same theoretical structure across both administration groups. Therefore, future researchers may use either a paper-and-pencil or web-based format of the instrument. This study underscored a discrepancy between what teachers believe and how they act in classroom settings. The majority of teachers reported that instruction time, class size, professional development activities, availability of school funding, and state testing mandates were the primary factors, influencing their assessment routines. Many teachers drew attention to several negative impacts and consequences of the high-stakes testing both on teaching and learning. Teachers stated that both the preparation process and the results of the test created unbelievable tension both on students and teachers. Implications of the study indicated that it would be valuable to conduct alignment studies to examine whether state tests are fully aligned with the state standards and classroom assessment. Perhaps, such analyses would assist state level decision makers in reconsidering the current policies and "unintended" influences of mandated tests on classroom practices. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Middle and Secondary Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2005. / Date of Defense: November 7, 2005. / Self-Reported Practice, Teachers' Beliefs, Instrument Development, Assessment, Science Education / Includes bibliographical references. / Alejandro J. Gallard, Professor Directing Dissertation; Paul H. Ruscher, Outside Committee Member; Akihito Kamata, Committee Member; Nancy T. Davis, Committee Member.

Focus on education for the future, often termed 21st Century education, is on the minds of educators and much is being said about particular ways to enact curricula and teaching that supports the needs of 21 century thinking, learning, and teaching. 21st century skills, frameworks, system/practitioner examples that apply these skills and a variety of literature on the different structures and content have been disseminated through articles, professional development, and district-wide initiatives. However, there is an absence of literature that focuses on how system wide initiatives, rooted in 21st Century research, impacts teachers and their perceptions of teaching and learning. In this study, the discourse on 21st Century education is defined in relation to educational frameworks that outline specific skills students and teachers need in order to be successful in academic and workplace settings in the 21st Century. The objective of the study was to answer the following research questions (1) How does a district-wide PD initiative focused on educating students for the 21st Century impact teachers' examinations and revisions of assessments, curricula, and instructional activities? (2) How does a district-wide PD initiative focused on educating students for the 21st Century impact three 10th Grade English teachers' examinations and revisions of their literature curricula and instructional activities? (3) What factors influence the ways teachers react to the PD plan implemented in the EEF initiative? Through a qualitative examination of a professional development initiative called Envisioning Education for the Future (EEF) 2010-2013, this research study aims to bridge a gap between theory and practice by examining how Parnell School District attempts to achieve the goal of enhancing their teaching and preparation of students for the 21st Century. I explore how Parnell School District provided its teachers opportunities to focus on providing a more global-focused education by offering, a coherent professional development plan that focused on activities that included: assessment creation, instructional activity adaptation, curriculum design, practitioner reflection, and student work analysis. Outcomes from this study include recommendations for how to overcome logistical obstacles; address teachers' varying levels of self-efficacy; adapt curricula, teaching strategies/activities, and classroom assessments to reflect more 21st Century skills. What was also revealed during this study was the emergence of a new discourse amongst teachers and researchers as they attempted to create a common language around 21st Century education. This discourse is referred to as a Critical 21st Century Discourse. The EEF PD initiative encouraged individuals to examine their assumptions and biases by engaging teachers in deep questioning about their teaching philosophies in their particular disciplines, providing teachers with activities that facilitate teachers reflections on existing beliefs and ideologies and the impact thereof, and by providing teachers with the research literature and experiences that help broaden perspectives of underlying critical issues to investigate how teaching is impacted

The purpose of this study was to explore the development of second graders' spelling knowledge across the academic year using a researcher developed, word-dictated spelling test administered in fall, winter, and spring of second grade. Second grade students (N =100) from 10 classes were the participants in this study. Students' spelling tests were analyzed for patterns of overall growth, spelling pattern, and linguistic knowledge (i.e., phonological, orthographic, and morphological). Words were crossed with students to identify significant predictors of spelling accuracy. Hierarchical linear modeling and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Results revealed that students demonstrated significant growth in their spelling performance from fall to spring. Number of letters predicted spelling accuracy at the end of the year, but word frequency and number of phonemes did not. Females were more accurate at spelling words than males. Students struggled with mastery of the spelling patterns expected to be taught and learned during second grade. There were relatively few phonological errors made in comparison to orthographic and morphological ones. Students in second grade, even those who made many spelling errors, tended to represent all the phonemes in their spellings. Orthographic errors occurred most frequently and there were no significant differences based on student demographics. Morphology remained difficult for all students throughout the year and would benefit from explicit instruction. Interestingly, results indicated that students and classes varied significantly in their spelling performance at the beginning of the year, but did not vary in their rate of growth. It is speculated this could be due, in part, to the lack of meaningful spelling instruction occurring at school. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Teacher Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2010. / Date of Defense: December 8, 2009. / Second Grade, Spelling, Literacy / Includes bibliographical references. / Barbara R. Foorman, Professor Directing Dissertation; Christopher Schatschneider, University Representative; Stephanie Dent Al Otaiba, Committee Member; Young-Suk Kim, Committee Member.

This descriptive research study was designed to investigate the relationship between the personal characteristics of high school mathematics teachers and the frequency of technology use in their classes, while describing the strategies high school mathematics teachers utilize to integrate technology into their curriculum as the hindrances or obstacles to their technology use was examined. The Mathematics Teacher Technology Usage Survey (MT-TUS) was designed as a web based questionnaire instrument to gather data from high school mathematics teachers across the state of Florida. 813 teachers responded to the survey offering insights into their usage of technology. Data analyses revealed that the majority of the teachers in the sample population made use of graphing calculators and projection devices (overhead or lcd) on a regular basis. Most teachers classified themselves at the "Developing Tech" level of technology integration and used technology as a supplement to instruction as their students used technology to test and practice for skill mastery. The biggest obstacle to technology use was access to technology resources. The results of the study provided information that is useful to mathematics educators, professional development leaders, local, state, and national policy makers and teachers of mathematics who are interested in understanding the factors that affect technology usage in the mathematics classroom. By examining teachers' technology use within the context of demographics, approaches, and hindrances, this study sheds new light on the role of technology in mathematics education. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Middle and Secondary Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2007. / Date of Defense: October 17, 2007. / Technology, Survey, Integration, Mathematics / Includes bibliographical references. / Elizabeth Jakubowski, Professor Directing Dissertation; Paul Ruscher, Outside Committee Member; Leslie Aspinwall, Committee Member; Pamela Carroll, Committee Member.

Abstract not available

Due to the new demands placed upon schools in our current learning society, teachers are expected to learn continuously. However, not much is known about how teachers learn. Three major problems are identified in the emerging literature. First, little is known about what constitutes meaningful learning from the teachers’ own perspectives. Second, there is a lack of a common framework for analysing and comparing findings across different studies on the process of teacher learning. This is a major obstacle in advancing the field. Third, factors affecting teacher learning are often studied in an isolated manner without acknowledging the interaction among these factors. As a result, this fails to provide a holistic picture of how teacher learning can be enhanced or impeded. In view of the above, this study adopted a teacher perspective to investigate teacher learning and the factors affecting it in a holistic manner, using an interpretive framework that can be applied across different studies. The study was situated in the context of a year-long school-based teacher professional development (TPD) programme. Seven teachers of two different schools participated in the study. Teachers in each school formed a community of practice that made use of classroom videos to improve their practice. A case study approach was used to document the content and process of teacher learning, as well as to illuminate how various factors interact to affect teacher learning within the two communities. Data was collected from individual teacher interviews, teacher reflection tasks, discussion in the TPD meetings and non-participant observation. The Interconnected Model of Teacher Professional Growth (IMTPG) and Community of Practice (CoP) were adopted as the interpretative frameworks for data analysis. Besides gaining knowledge and skills, the teachers also exhibited affective and social learning. More than half of the teachers considered affective learning (e.g., confidence in their own identity as a good teacher)and social learning (e.g., building a trusting relationship with colleagues) as the most important learning to them. The idiosyncratic and recursive nature of teacher learning is consistent with existing literature. Three types of factors that have a bearing on teacher learning were identified. First, the individual factors, which include the teacher’s will to learn, level of reflectivity and time available for professional development. Second, the communal factors, which include: (i) the ways in which members in a CoP engage with each other (i.e., engagement), (ii) the ways in which members construct an image of themselves (i.e., imagination), and (iii) the ways in which members coordinate perspectives, interpretations, and actions so that the CoP can realise higher goals (i.e., alignment). Third, the features of the TPD programme that were reported by teachers as helpful in facilitating their learning, including the multiple strategies adopted, videos, and facilitation from a university educator. Implications for video-based TPD and for research on teacher learning were identified, in particular, a need for more research on teacher learning from the teachers’ own perspective in order to better understand teachers’ authentic learning experiences and to build a more holistic model of teacher learning. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

No description available.

This is a study of seconded teachers' experiences as university instructors and faculty advisors in the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia. Data were gathered for this study through interviews with 17 seconded teachers (5 first-year seconded teachers, 8 continuing seconded teachers, and 4 teachers who reentered the school system after secondment). The purpose of my study was to understand more clearly the experiences of seconded teachers in the teacher education program through the use of Glaser and Strauss's (1967) grounded theory approach. The results indicated that the seconded teachers in this study moved through stages: seeking the position, preparing for secondment, expressing self doubts and loneliness, adjusting to the tempo and workload, working with adult learners, and looking for support. As university instructors, seconded teachers bring realism to the teacher education program by presenting fundamentals of teaching, by modeling teaching strategies, by connecting theory and practice, and by sharing narratives. Seconded teachers acknowledge with reservations that as evaluators they possess power over student teachers. Regardless of how they might prefer to conceive of their role, in the end, they become evaluators. Seconded teachers displayed various communication styles. Reflection, an aspect of communication, was also identified as important. The themes that have emerged in this study point to 5 general central issues: the contrast between university and school cultures, the strength of reflection on practice, seconded teachers' commitment to classroom teaching, seconded teachers' professional identities, and secondment as professional development. The results of this study suggest that the temporary, short-term nature of secondment, as it now stands, may be a lateral career move rather than a vertical progression. Comments suggest that the Faculty of Education could do a better job of educating seconded teachers about, not only the preservice teacher education program, but specifically the expectations and roles for the seconded participants.

There is no abstract available for this dissertation.