THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF THE TEACHER'S USE OF GUIDED INQUIRY IN A FIFTH GRADE SCIENCE CLASSROOM. INQUIRY IS SUPPORTED BY THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL(2000), AND INDICATES THAT ALL STUDENTS SHOULD DEVELOP THE ABILITIES NECESSARY TO DO SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY AND DEVELOP UNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY (P.21). THIS STUDY WAS A QUALITATIVE ACTION RESEARCH DESIGN, FOCUSING ON SEVENTEEN STUDENTS AND THEIR RESPONSES TO A GUIDED INQUIRY METHOD OF SCIENCE INSTRUCTION ON MATTER, ENERGY AND MOTION, AND EARTH AND SPACE. AN ANALYSIS OF STUDENTS' PERFORMANCE AND STUDENTS' ATTITUDES ABOUT SCIENCE IN THE CLASSROOM WAS CONDUCTED ABOUT EACH UNIT OF INSTRUCTION. THE 5-E MODEL OF GUIDED INQUIRY WAS USED TO ELICIT MEANINGFUL UNDERSTANDINGS WHILE COMPLETING THE UNITS OF MATTER, ENERGY AND MOTION, AND EARTH AND SPACE. STUDENTS WORKED IN COOPERATIVE GROUPS TO SUPPORT LAB ACTIVITIES, WHICH REQUIRED EACH MEMBER TO PARTICIPATE IN THE INVESTIGATIONS, PROJECTS, AND PRESENTATIONS. STUDENTS KEPT JOURNALS, RECORDED THEIR FINDINGS, AND WROTE RESPONSES ABOUT THEIR FINDINGS AND FEELINGS ON THE ACTIVITIES IN WHICH THEY WERE ENGAGED. STUDENTS' ATTITUDES WERE AFFECTED POSITIVELY BY THE USE OF GUIDED INQUIRY IN LEARNING SCIENCE. STUDENTS' PERFORMANCE FOR LAB ACTIVITIES WAS ALSO POSITIVE AND WAS SUPPORTED BY STUDENTS' RESPONSES IN JOURNALS, TEACHER OBSERVATIONS, AND PERFORMANCE TASKS. THIS STUDY SUPPORTS GUIDED INQUIRY IN THE SCIENCE CLASSROOM FOR IMPROVING STUDENTS' ATTIDUES AND STUDENTS' PERFORMANCE DURING CLASSROOM ACTIVITES.

Administrators who observe mathematics teachers need to have knowledge and an understanding of mathematics teaching and learning to effectively evaluate teachers and how their instructional practices relate to student thinking. This research study was conducted to illustrate the importance of understanding the thought process of administrators as they make decisions about teacher effectiveness based on what they notice during observations of mathematics classrooms. The purpose of this study was to examine what administrators attend to in the instructional environment and how what they notice influences their ability to identify the Common Core State Standards, Standards for Mathematical Practice. A purposive sample of six administrators engaged in cognitive interviews, known as think alouds, while observing two mathematics classroom videos. This study was designed to explore how administrators* instructional leadership knowledge or skills influence what they notice during mathematics instruction. There was evidence that administrators did notice aspects of the instructional environment pertaining to teachers, students, and, content. However, in this study it was found that administrators with an understanding of mathematics teaching and learning attended more to student*s mathematical thinking during instruction. It was also found that there was an increase of the administrators* mathematical language and attention to student interactions with mathematics content when the administrators were presented with a tool describing the elements of a classroom engaged in the Standards for Mathematical Practice.

This paper reports on a meta-analysis performed on forty one studies evaluating classroom-based substance abuse primary prevention programs. Studies included were delivered in a classroom to the general student body, had a primary focus of substance abuse prevention, measured behavior change, and were published in peer-reviewed outlets between 2000 and 2011. Comprehensive Meta-Analysis was used to calculate a random effects Cohen’s d and moderator analyses. Results indicated a significant effect for alcohol (d=0.10) and tobacco (d=0.09) in multi-target interventions. Specific program components and characteristics associated with more effective prevention programs are discussed. Despite the best efforts of those who develop and deliver intervention programs, as a whole, the impact is smaller than “small.” New or evolved programs should seek to incorporate the best predictors of effectiveness thereby improving efficacy.

Teachers of poetry to high schoolers must navigate special challenges and balance competing tensions, including analysis “versus” appreciation, their status as both novice and expert readers of poetry, and differing conceptions of poetry “mastery” that are historically at odds. What does it mean to be an exemplary teacher of poetry in an era of high-stakes assessment, when poetry itself and poetry teaching have been marginalized? Though existing research highlights poetry’s capacity to cultivate students’ higher-order habits of mind, this mixed-method, phenomenological study fills a research gap by creating a rich portrait of exemplary teaching of poetry at the high school level. For this study, I recruited, surveyed, observed, and interviewed five exemplary teachers of poetry--all identified as experienced, motivated, supported, committed, and reflective--currently teaching in five diverse high schools surrounding Boston, to answer the research question: What are the practices and attributes of five exemplary teachers of poetry in the secondary English-Language Arts classroom? Teachers were observed for three classes teaching three “anchor” poems (one researcher-selected poem, one collaboratively-selected poem, and one participant-selected poem), and interviewed post-observations. The study drew on Elliot Eisner’s conception of students as connoisseurs and critics and Rosenblatt’s conception of poetry reading as a transactional event. It found that these teachers of poetry are specialists who value student agency and share power, make their pedagogical aims transparent and their strategies for reading poetry explicit to students, use multiple modes of representation and manipulate poetic texts to demystify and enrich poetry study, and balance a host of competing tensions. These exemplary teachers, two of whom are published poets, were humble, confident, relational, responsive to both student and text, caring, passionate, and authentic. The most resonant finding was the centrality of the student-teacher relationship to the poetry teaching endeavor. The study found that being an exemplary teacher of poetry is as much about how one is in and out of the classroom as it is about what one does in the classroom. Recommendations are made at the teacher, school, and community level regarding practices and structures that support exemplary teaching of poetry in the high school ELA classroom.

In Cyprus elementary classrooms, as in many classrooms around the world, there is an increasing number of children learning with attention difficulties and sensory difficulties. International researchers have focused on creating and promoting sensory programs, play-based activities, and teaching approaches to assist students with these difficulties to participate during classroom time (Hildreth, 2013; Mere-Cook, 2016; Mills & Chapparo, 2017). However, in Cyprus there is still an important gap for both recognizing students’ difficulties and promoting new teaching approaches in elementary schools. This situation is leading to teachers’ inefficiency in understanding children’s behaviors and needs and acting to minimize students’ challenges in the classroom. This doctoral project was undertaken to develop an evidence-based and theoretically- grounded teachers’ training program to address both recognition of student problems and implementation of approaches to support students (Foran et al., 2017; Hildreth, 2013; Mere-Cook, 2016; Mills & Chapparo, 2017). It is an innovative program, designed from an occupational therapist’s perspective, to educate elementary teachers about sensory and attention difficulties and ways to minimize challenges of children in the classroom. This teacher training is comprised of three phases. During the first phase, teachers will be invited to a two-day training. The training will focus on the presentation of case studies of students with attention and sensory challenges, practice training and open discussion. Teachers will be provided with information for recognizing students’ attention and sensory challenges in the classroom and suggestions for activities and strategies to use in the classroom to address these challenges. Then through case studies of children with sensory and attention difficulties and open discussion, training participants will use and analyze the manual content. In the second phase, teachers will receive the manual and implement the program for their classroom. Consultation is the last phase of the training program where teachers will have the opportunity to reflect on their practice experiences after the implementation of the program, and also the concerns and thoughts on the activities and strategies implementation. The implementation of this innovative program will help teachers and students, and promote the profession of occupational therapy in Cyprus and the country’s school system.

The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) standards specifically require school counselors to be competent in the use of effective classroom management strategies, differentiated instruction, and in designing school counseling core curriculum. While the existing inquiries have contributed significantly to the school counseling knowledge base regarding classroom management, our field lacks adequate research specific to the classroom management self-efficacy of elementary school counselors. This quantitative study utilized the School Counselor Self Efficacy Scale, the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale, and a demographic questionnaire to collect data from a cross-section of elementary school counselors working in Virginia public schools. Differences in elementary school counselors' self-efficacy in classroom management were examined across the following variables: (a) working in schools with a recognized ASCA model program (RAMP) designation, (b) working in a setting that uses school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS), (c) prior teaching experience, and (d) years of counseling experience. Analysis showed that elementary school counselors working in schools that participated in SWPBIS had significantly higher classroom management self-efficacy than did school counselors working in schools that did not implement SWPBIS. Surprisingly, elementary school counselors in schools designated as RAMP had significantly lower classroom management self-efficacy than those working in schools without RAMP status. No significant differences in classroom management self-efficacy by years of counseling experience or prior K–12 teaching experience were evident. Implications of these findings are discussed. / Doctor of Philosophy / Well-managed classrooms make it easier for school counselors to effectively deliver school counseling core curriculum (SCCC) to address the social, personal, academic, and career-related needs of a large number of students at a time. Questions have been raised regarding factors that influence the performance of school counselor roles, and a number of researchers have reported counselor self-efficacy, a person's belief in their ability to execute behaviors necessary to produce specific performance, as critical for effectively carrying out school counseling tasks. While existing inquiries have contributed significantly to the school counseling knowledge base regarding classroom management, little is known about the classroom management self-efficacy of elementary school counselors. The purpose of this quantitative research study was to explore the classroom management self-efficacy of elementary school counselors delivering SCCC lessons in Virginia schools. Data were collected using the School Counselor Self-Efficacy scale, the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale, and a demographic questionnaire. Findings showed that classroom management self-efficacy scores differed among elementary school counselors working in schools that implement school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS) compared to those working in non-SWPBIS schools. Similarly, classroom management self-efficacy levels differed among counselors working in schools with recognized ASCA model program (RAMP) designation and counselors working in non-RAMP designated schools. Elementary school counselors who received training in classroom management had higher classroom management self-efficacy scores compared to those who did not receive training in classroom management. No significant differences were found in classroom management self-efficacy by years of counseling experience or prior K–12 teaching experience.

Two major questions guide this study: How are different on-line teaching styles related to classroom participation; does the on-line classroom generate a more gender-neutral environment? The data source for this study was a classroom instruction and performance program at a mid-size university in the Northwest. Included in this study were 59 students (38 males and 21 females) with 75 separate course records from six classes. Each academic discussion conference transcript was coded by message to record message traffic flow for each instructor and student. There were four actions that instructors used that influenced the participation performances of their class. The organization of the conferences influenced participation performance. The two discussion conference model out performed the single conference model in message traffic. Instructor guidance, which was issued by message, had a profound affect on student performance. Although each instructor assigned a percent of the final grade based on participation, this guidance appears to have been relegated low on the students' priority. Guidance given in a prepared syllabus which the students received both in paper and electronic form did not have the same impact as a personal instructor message. At the start of the study, it was assumed the instructors would provide most of the on-line encouragement to students to participate. During the coding process it became obvious that fellow students provided most of the positive social encouragement to participate. Not only did these students conduct student-centered discussions but they also self-motivated the group to participate more. Does the on-line classroom foster a more gender-neutral environment? The results of this study are mixed, but very encouraging. There was no flaming or questionable innuendoes detected in any of the messages. The t-tests did not show a significant difference between male and female participation performance except for length of message. Females were encouraged by their peers to participate and their messages were valued. Since one did not have to wait a turn to speak in these on-line classrooms, there was more air time for all. In these on-line courses the verbose did not silence the rest. / Ed. D.

Evidence-based interventions address a specific context, and because of this narrowed specificity, there may not be sufficient research to determine whether it will work in a specific context or with a specific population of students. This is a limitation of the empirically supported interventions in the field of special education. Compared to other fields (e.g., health care), research in the field of special education is still emerging. Some areas are researched far more than others. As an example, this issue is focused specifically on arts and education. Although many would argue this is an important topic that should be addressed in schools and a content area students with disabilities should have access to, there is limited research in this area. On the other hand, other academic interventions to support students with disabilities, such as reading strategies, are well researched [...]

Evidence-based interventions address a specific context, and because of this narrowed specificity, there may not be sufficient research to determine whether it will work in a specific context or with a specific population of students. This is a limitation of the empirically supported interventions in the field of special education. Compared to other fields (e.g., health care), research in the field of special education is still emerging. Some areas are researched far more than others. As an example, this issue is focused specifically on arts and education. Although many would argue this is an important topic that should be addressed in schools and a content area students with disabilities should have access to, there is limited research in this area. On the other hand, other academic interventions to support students with disabilities, such as reading strategies, are well researched [...]

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) introduced Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs) into United States law in 1990, and the reauthorization of IDEIA occurred in 2004. Even though BIPs have been codified into law, school personnel struggle to meet BIP mandates due to poor implementation fidelity. Barriers for BIP implementation are varied, but there is little research regarding whether practitioner competence and confidence through teaching experience is a factor. School psychologists (N = 122) from eight states completed a self-evaluation survey using the tailored design method. Results from the survey compared responses from school psychologists with and without teaching experience on BIP writing, implementation, and staff support. There were no differences in responses noted between the two groups for competence or confidence. However, school psychologists received substantially more training in writing BIPs than implementation or methods to support staff, and experience directly implementing BIPs provided the strongest correlation to confidence. This suggests that additional research surrounding the concept of training to practice for BIP implementation may be beneficial in identifying methods for improving BIP implementation fidelity as well as school psychologists' competence and confidence in BIP creation and implementation support.