Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2004. / Supervisor: Elaine K. Horwitz. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available from UMI.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, August, 2005. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 276-294)

Dissertation (Ph. D.)--University of Akron, Dept. of Psychology, 2006. / "May, 2006." Title from electronic dissertation title page (viewed 10/11/2006) Advisor, James L. Werth, Jr.; Committee members, Susan I. Hardin, Loreto R. Prieto, Kevin P. Kaut, Catharine C. Knight; Department Chair, Paul E. Levy; Dean of the College, Ronald F. Levant; Dean of the Graduate School, George R. Newkome. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2006. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (May 2, 2007) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Research has shown that social interaction and the development of friendships is important in promoting academic, personal and emotional development. Social interaction is a core difficulty for children and young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). An increasing number of pupils with ASD are being educated within mainstream school where it is hoped that they will benefit from social opportunities with their peers and that the professionals working with them will be confident to support them (Keen and Ward, 2004). There is however growing evidence that school staff do not feel confident in supporting these pupils (House of Commons Education and Skills Committee, 2006; Robertson, Chamberlain and Kasari, 2003) and that this population of children are vulnerable to experiencing significantly poorer academic and social and emotional outcomes than their peers (Department for Education, 2012a; Humphrey and Lewis, 2008; Howlin and Goode, 1998). Teaching assistants (TAs) are often employed by schools to support pupils with ASD however research has suggested that the deployment of TAs might actually compound social interaction difficulties (Humphrey and Symes, 2011; Blatchford et al., 2009). TAs are in a unique position to support the social interaction of the pupils they work with however there is limited research into how TAs can be best utilised to facilitate social interaction between pupils with ASD and their typically developing peers within the classroom. This study piloted a researcher developed intervention, Better Together and conducted a process and outcome evaluation in order to investigate potential outcomes for TAs and pupils and examine systemic factors which might support or impede the intervention’s implementation and sustainability. The Better Together intervention aimed to train TAs to facilitate social interaction between pupils with ASD and their mainstream peers. The study involved three TA: pupil pairings within a single mainstream primary school and a single project coordinator. An evaluation of the ‘Better Together’ intervention package was undertaking using a fully mixed, sequential, dominant status design. Information pertaining to TA confidence levels was gathered pre and post intervention through semi-structured questionnaires. Structured observations were undertaken pre and post intervention and after a school term to gather information about the rate, range, maintenance and success of facilitative strategies used by the TAs. Semi-structured interviews with the TAs and project coordinator were carried out in order to obtain information about the implementation and outcomes of the intervention. The Social Inclusion Survey was administered at three time points to ascertain whether any changes in the social inclusion of target pupils had occurred.13Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. The findings from this small scale study suggest that the TAs had an increased rate and range of facilitative behaviours following the intervention and that there was a simultaneous increase in student interactions between pupils with ASD and their peers. These gains were sustained over time. The intervention was valued by staff and plans were made to extend the principles to other schools within the area through the establishment of a TA network of support. Core facilitators and barriers to the implementation of the intervention were explored and discussed and implications for future research and the role of the Educational Psychologist (EP) are considered.

The Foundation Phase in education is the most important learning years for the learners, since what happens during these years determines later academic success. The focus of this study is to obtain Grade 1 teachers' perspectives on the need for teaching assistants in the classroom. In South Africa, teaching assistants are normally reserved for preschools, institutes for learners with special needs, schools that practice inclusive education and some private schools. It is therefore needed to gain information from Grade 1 teachers on how they perceive and experience the presence or absence of a teaching assistant, and what effect it has on teaching and learning in their classrooms. It is also necessary to hear the statements of teaching assistants on how they experience this role in Grade 1 classrooms. Early Childhood Education (which includes the Foundation Phase) forms the basis of all other education; however, the South African education system is faced with numerous challenges which in various ways impede the teaching and learning of young children. These barriers include overcrowded classrooms, learner diversity and indiscipline which call for additional support in the classroom. By using a qualitative approach, this study attempts to collect and analyse the data obtained from teachers and teaching assistants, and interpret this information to gain insight into and explore various perspectives on the need for teaching assistants in a Grade 1 classroom. By making use of semi-structured interviews, data were collected from three groups of participants: teachers with teaching assistants, teachers without teaching assistants, and teaching assistants. These participants were selected from public, private and rural schools in order to allow for a broad spectrum of inputs. Findings indicate that all participants regard the presence of teaching assistants as non-negotiable in the Grade 1 classroom, as it allows the teacher to focus on teaching, whereas the administrative tasks may be channelled to the assistant. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Early Childhood Education / MEd / Unrestricted

<p>Although there have been efforts to advance undergraduate chemistry laboratory learning, how graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) negotiate their teaching within-the-moment is still underexplored. This dissertation addresses this gap by foregrounding GTA experiences and pedagogies as foci of interest. The present study is divided into two phases. The first phase consisted of understanding the contextual meaning of eleven GTA participants’ self-recognized experiences via Communities of Practice and capital D Discourse analysis. The findings suggest that although participants recognize obligations to become better chemists as opposed to better teachers, they are active sensemakers of their pedagogies. However, due to obligations, the pedagogies they enact may inadvertently hinder learners’ sensemaking in their attempts to mitigate learners’ failures. Participants’ reliance on accuracy, completion, and efficiency within the laboratory led me to delve deeper into the theoretical conceptualizations of learning from successes and from failures. After creating the <i>Play First, Reflect Later </i>(<i>PFRL)</i> conceptual framework, I endeavored to better understand the extent that the chemistry laboratory can be integrated with productive failure. Thus, the second phase takes a more fine-grained approach in which nine participants were video recorded during their teaching and were later prompted to explain their rationale via video-stimulated recall interviews. Combining both the video and interview analysis conveys overlaps and incongruities. On one hand, participants effectively enact teaching practices that draws their learners’ attention to target concepts, leverage prior experience, and boosts affects. On the other, participants must not compromise learner agency and better prepare learners for long-term learning. Theoretically, errors and direct instruction should also be reconsidered for the laboratory context. I conclude by drawing implications for both researchers and practitioners. Namely, spaces in which GTAs learn to teach should be modified to be more learner-centric, collaborative, and inquiry based like the laboratories they are expected to teach. Furthermore, laboratory curricula (e.g., protocols and experiments) can be redesigned to facilitate learners to explore the hows and whys of their experiments with both their failures and successes. Changing the context of the chemistry laboratory itself, both in terms of teaching and curriculum, may be a more sustainable approach to enhance learners’ chemistry experiences. </p>

AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF RYAN J. THORNSBERRY, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in ENGLISH, presented on December 27, 2013, at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. TITLE: COMPOSITION, PEDAGOGY, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE STUDENT-TEACHERS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR TEACHING ASSISTANTS IN ENGLISH DEPARTMENTS MAJOR PROFESSOR: DR. LISA J. MCCLURE The history of teaching assistant training has followed a tenuous road of development. For English departments, the primary role for teaching assistants has always been staffing sections of the basic composition sequence. Because inexperienced teachers are teaching inexperienced students, a fundamental concern was, and still is, what is the best way to prepare teaching assistants? This study explores this complexity by investigating the popular trends and approaches utilized by current TA training programs. This qualitative study surveyed 195 English departments from various Division I colleges and universities and focused on three basic questions: 1) What types of training programs do English Departments offer TA? 2) During their tenure as TAs, what efforts are used to enhance their teacher training? 3) How do institutions determine the effectiveness of their training programs? In an effort to identify TA training elements, the data gathered consisted of a program's schedule and duration, supervision, materials (physical as well as technological), required courses, TA opportunities (professional and teaching), assessment tools, and training for International Teaching Assistants. From a small sampling, this study reported findings collected from a 10-item Teaching Assistant Training Survey and an 8-item Demographic Questionnaire. The findings highlighted several training program issues such as time, duration, conductors, materials, courses, and assessment tools as key components of TA training. The findings suggested that even though most teaching assistant training programs contained some similarities, most training programs continue to evolve. Future research into the basic questions, what, how, why, and when of TA training, still need to be conducted in order to provide more detailed conclusions.

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