<p>The purpose of this qualitative case study was to gain a better understanding of how induction programs might effectively support STEM K?8 teacher preparation. American schools are not producing competent STEM graduates prepared to meet employment demands. Over the next decade, STEM employment opportunities are expected to increase twice as fast as all other occupations combined. To meet the economic needs, the STEM pipeline must be expanded to educate and produce additional STEM graduates. The meeting of this objective begins with having the teachers working in American classrooms fully prepared and trained in STEM content, curriculum, and pedagogy. Research shows that the interest in STEM subjects starts in elementary school and, therefore, the preparation of elementary teachers to be proficient in teaching STEM to their students is vital. However, most induction programs do not focus on preparing their teachers in STEM. This study researched the Alternative Induction Pathway (AIP) program, which had STEM preparation as one of its core outcomes in the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD). It investigated the program?s effectiveness in preparing K?8 teachers with STEM content knowledge, curriculum, pedagogical instruction preparation, and the program elements that contributed the most to their experience in the program and overall STEM preparation as a result. This study was carried out over the course of approximately 6 months. Data included focused interviews with participants as well as analysis of existing documents in order to triangulate perspectives from multiple sources. The AIP program had varied levels of effectiveness in STEM content, curriculum, and pedagogy preparation. Relationships between the induction mentor, the administration, and the participating teacher, when strong and positive, were powerful contributions to the success of the acquisition and integration of the STEM content, curriculum, and pedagogy. The most effective components of the AIP program were the monthly support groups, the curricular resources, and the professional development nights facilitating the teaching and learning process for the participating teacher in STEM integration. The results of this training included examples of well-planned and executed STEM lessons with creative risk-taking, and enhanced confidence for teachers and administrators alike. At the same time, the AIP program had struggles in achieving the desired outcomes of STEM integration, due to lack of preliminary training for program administrators in STEM integration, varied needs between the MS and SS credential teachers, and state standard requirements that spoke to science and mathematics, but not engineering or technology. The main recommendation for policy from the results of this study is that STEM should be woven into preservice and continue through induction and professional development to become one of the main tenets of curriculum development and standards of effective teaching. This policy would affect colleges of education and district induction programs, requiring that STEM courses be added or embedded into the credential pathways. However, this approach would ensure that STEM integration is supported academically as an important and valued aspect of the teacher?s entrance to their career, and that pre-service teachers are ready to take advantage of induction offerings on STEM integration in the induction phase and throughout their careers in continuing professional development. The study also provides practice and research recommendations in regard to possible roles and supports for mentor teachers, including their relationships with resident teachers, as well as suggestions for and to maximize the benefits for effective teaching and learning during the induction process.

<p> Creativity is considered to be an essential life skill that should be fostered throughout the educational system. However, public elementary school classrooms in the USA generally do not appear to be creativity-fostering places. A better understanding of teachers' beliefs about creativity would provide valuable insights into their practices in the classroom and facilitate the planning and evaluation efforts to foster creativity in all classrooms. </p><p> Using a validated survey instrument, adapted from the Teachers' Conceptions of Creativity Questionnaire (TCCQ), the researcher collected beliefs from 120 public elementary school teachers from six schools within one mid-sized public unified school district in the Los Angeles area. The survey included 25 forced choice and seven open ended items. Participating teachers taught in kindergarten through fifth grade and possessed teaching experience from 3 to 40 years. </p><p> Major conclusions include that the teachers believe creativity is primarily expressed in the form of originality of product, behavior or thought. However, these teachers were not aware that creativity should also be appropriate for the situation, an aspect critical to scholars. The teachers believe creativity to be connected mainly with the arts and school subjects in the arts. These teachers support that creativity can be developed in all students but that only a small percentage of students are highly creative. When describing creative students, teachers reported only the positive traits of creative students. The teachers believe that creativity is essential in academic learning, however, teachers expressed an ambivalence regarding their training and capability to effectively promote student creativity within the classroom. The teachers feel impeded to promote student creativity in the classroom by the emphasis on testing, standards, and expectations of the school system. Some implications for practice are that pre-service teacher education and in-service staff development should provide courses, workshops, and activities that assist teachers with knowledge and skills to foster creativity in all students within the classroom. Policy makers and educational authorities must establish creative thinking as an essential learning goal in the educational system so that all children can develop their full personal and work creative potential.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of virtual manipulative on children&rsquo;s algebraic thinking in their early math education. The virtual manipulative is considered as a means of intervention, and its effects is proven to be an effective way through the action research working with the third-grade elementary students. In doing so, this study evaluated the effectiveness of e-based virtual manipulative to support children&rsquo;s algebraic thinking development in their early math education. Data collected for this study included pre-disposition and post-disposition surveys, pretest and posttest for algebraic thinking, and intervention assignments utilizing online math content materials regarding algebraic thinking. Data was analyzed using a statistical method using SPSS 24.0, including descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, effective size, and paired <i>t</i>-test. This study found that students&rsquo; test scores improved significantly in overall math scores, showing that there was a statistically significant difference between the pretest and the posttest through the intervention using e-based virtual manipulative. This study also found that student&rsquo;s test scores increased in three algebra thinking content areas such as unknown variables, properties of operations, and arithmetic pattern with a significant difference. This study also found that students&rsquo; disposition scores increased in all three areas of attitude, confidence, and belief. This study will benefit students in early-grade levels with positive impact on usage of e-based virtual manipulative intervention activities for better understanding algebraic thinking and effective pedagogy.</p>

<p> To effectively meet students&rsquo; needs, educational reform in science calls for adaptive instruction based on students&rsquo; thinking. To gain an understanding of what students know, a teacher needs to attend to, probe, and analyze student thinking to provide information to base curricular decisions, upon. These three components make up the skill of noticing. Learning to notice is not easy for any teacher, but is especially difficult for preservice teachers, who lack the experience these skills require. Additionally they lack the professional knowledge needed to inform responses. </p><p> The purpose of this study was to discover how a combination of scaffolds: video-based reflection on practice, a professional learning community, and a content specific moderator as a guide can be embedded into a methods course to support preservice teachers&rsquo; learning to professionally notice elementary students&rsquo; scientific thinking in order to provide a responsive curriculum. The study was designed on the premise that the skill of professional noticing is critical for preservice teachers to acquire the knowledge and ability to develop their personal PCK and topic specific professional knowledge. </p><p> It was situated in a methods course as this is the structure provided within teacher education programs to tie theory to practice. This qualitative case study, studied one section of an elementary science methods course during teaching of their science unit. In general participants&rsquo; skills progressed from noticing the class as a whole to attending to specific students&rsquo; thinking and from a focus on evaluation to interpretation. By the end they were connecting teaching strategies to student thinking. How participants&rsquo; responded to what they had noticed progressed as well, moving from frontloading information to creating additional constructivist based learning experiences when encountering student confusion demonstrating growth in their professional knowledge as well as their noticing skills. </p><p> They attributed certain aspects of their growth to different parts the intervention, for instance learning to probe thinking to video, learning to construct learning experiences to the content specific moderator, and learning to decide next steps to the professional learning community. </p><p> This study points to the efficacy of employing these scaffolds, found useful in other contexts, within science education.</p>

<p> The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore how the facilitation of clinical experiences for early childhood education candidates impacts the cooperating teacher. The tenets of school reform initiatives often require longer and more frequent clinical experiences for pre-service teachers. The success of student teaching relies on the effectiveness of cooperating teachers; however, research has not addressed the development and sentiment hosts experience while facilitating this process. </p><p> Qualitative interviews and observations produced four single case studies and one cross-case comparative. All of the participants taught in Northeast Georgia and hosted student teachers prepared by a single school of education. Research themes included control and autonomy, personal and professional impacts, and the benefits or costs associated with hosting pre-service candidates. </p><p> Findings indicated that cooperating teachers had complete autonomy in the facilitation of the student teaching process but expressed a strong preference for collaboration. Self-preservation and student achievement influenced decision-making and were associated with minimal shifts in control. Professionally, host teachers felt their roles were ambiguous and evidence indicated key concepts were undefined. Participants did not experience an increase in professional capital although they did request professional development in several areas. These hosts described their experiences as intense and stressful yet personally rewarding. Future implications for practice include strengthening selection and pairing processes as well as training members of the student teaching triad to utilize collaborative methods. The study also exposed a need to research implementation errors in outcome-based evaluations of teacher education programs.</p>

<p> Elementary mathematics teachers in Maryland are required to teach according to the Maryland College and Career-Ready Standards (MCCRS). Implementation of these standards requires teachers to understand and implement instructional shifts that are unlike the way most of them were taught mathematics in elementary school. Consequently, educator preparation programs in Maryland must ensure candidates are adequately prepared to teach elementary mathematics according to the Maryland standards and the necessary instructional shifts. </p><p> This study describes the preparedness of teacher candidates and first-year teachers from Maryland educator preparation programs to teach according to the elementary mathematics MCCRS. Preparedness is described from the perspective of mentor teachers who work with interns and mathematics instructional leaders (MILs) who work with first year teachers from Maryland preparation programs. The descriptions of the preparedness of these interns and first-year teachers provide multiple perspectives on both the strengths and needs of preservice teachers and recent graduates. </p><p> Mentors from five different school systems in Maryland and MILs from four school systems in Maryland completed a survey with both quantitative and qualitative questions. Nineteen mentors and 22 MILs participated in the survey. Ten of the participants volunteered for and participated in a follow-up interview. The participants reported on the interns or first-year teachers they worked with during the 2016&ndash;2017 school year. </p><p> Mentors and MILs described the teachers they work with as having strengths in implementing technology into instruction and described the teachers as willing to use manipulatives during instruction. Additionally, they perceived educator preparation programs as being well-aligned to their school system goals and priorities. Participants described needs of the teachers they work with, including the following: understanding the standards, understanding mathematics on a conceptual level, differentiating instruction, promoting mathematical discourse, and problem solving into instruction. These recommendations provide a basis for educator preparation programs when examining the preparedness of their candidates and graduates to teach according to the MCCRS for elementary mathematics.</p><p>

<p> Since the 1970s, a continuous decline in the number of males entering into the teaching profession has resulted in significant underrepresentation of male teachers in public schools, especially in elementary schools. The problem is applications to elementary school positions by females far outnumber applications by males. This qualitative phenomenological study was designed to identify potential male elementary school teachers&rsquo; perceptions of teaching in the primary grades and how the perceptions are influenced. Nine male veteran teachers and 11 male nonveteran teachers participated in the study. All data were collected with in-depth interviews using open-ended questions. Six relevant themes pertaining to attracting and retaining male teachers in elementary teaching emerged during data processing, including the decision to teach, stereotypical expectations about elementary teaching, the importance of money, reducing barriers for male teachers, the benefits of teaching, and technological teaching orientations. Exploration of the emergent themes on an individual basis provides information for school leaders that will help refine recruiting practices and allow leaders to target potential male elementary teachers more effectively.</p>

<p> This qualitative, phenomenological study explored the teacher perceived barriers of using mobile devices in the K-5 classroom. Research confirms teachers face various types of variables and become reluctant to use technology within their curriculum driven lessons. This study sought to understand what teachers perceive as barriers, and how the perceived barriers interfere with the daily instruction through mobile devices in all subject areas. The problem guiding the study was based on the fact that teachers are given mobile devices, but do not fully integrate them into the classroom instruction. The study used a purposive sample of 12 elementary teachers. The findings from the study were derived from interviews using open-ended questions and an observation. Both were used to gather data based on the lived experiences of the participants. The data was analyzed and the following themes were discovered: Time constraints, management issues, inadequate number of devices, professional development/training concerns, and lack of knowledge. These findings may provide school leaders with specific areas to address, possibly reduce, or eliminate the barriers that cause teachers to limit their use of mobile devices.</p>

<p> Current test data reveal that in every state, at every grade level tested, school-aged males are scoring lower on reading assessments than their female counterparts. Given the instrumental role of the elementary reading teacher and the data documenting growing male underachievement, this quantitative study investigated the relationship between preservice teachers' knowledge and beliefs and sense of efficacy for reading instruction for boys. </p><p> The quantitative study involved 97 participants enrolled in Texas A&amp;M University-Corpus Christi's student teacher program during the Fall semester of 2012 and the Spring semester of 2013. Participants were distributed among the three elementary level Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies degree programs: Bilingual, Early Childhood, and Reading. Descriptive data provided the information for this study as it related to what the student teachers knew about reading instruction for boys, what they believed about reading instruction for boys and whether, in effect, these aligned with their sense of self-efficacy as it related to boys and reading instruction. </p><p> Three instruments were administered: Knowledge About Boys and Reading Instruction Survey (KBRI), Beliefs About Boys and Reading Instruction Survey (BBRI), and the Teacher Sense of Efficacy for Boys and Reading Instruction Survey (TSEBRI). Data were analyzed using frequency distribution and multiple regression analysis. </p><p> Multiple regression analyses concluded that there was a statistical relationship between the preservice teachers' depth of knowledge and their teacher sense of efficacy for literacy instruction for boys. No statistical significance was found in looking at the relationship between the student teachers' beliefs about boys and reading and their teacher sense of efficacy. </p><p> Results indicate that the student teachers' perceptions concerning their sense of efficacy in regard to reading instruction for boys were more consistent and had higher associations with their knowledge about the subject than did the student teachers' beliefs about boys and reading and reading instruction. These findings suggest that student teachers' depth of knowledge and traditional beliefs about gender have important implications for teacher educators, teachers, administrators, and researchers, all of whom strive to ensure that all of today's students are equipped with the academic skills they will need to become productive citizens.</p>

<p>This study examines the perceptions expert teachers have about the ways the culture and the context of their schools influence their definition of expertise and their enactment of expert teaching. The teachers, nominated as expert by their respective school principals, teach in the same city, but in three schools with distinctly different contexts and cultures. The underlying assumption of this study is that expertise in teaching, in different school contexts and cultures, may present itself in distinct and particular ways. </p><p> The teachers are examined through case studies constructed with the use of interviews, observations, and school documents. Each teacher articulates qualities of expertise, which fall into three distinct categories. They describe personal attributes, perspectives on teaching and specific classroom practices. </p><p> The teachers were adept at acknowledging factors in their school culture and context that influenced their teaching and were aware of the organizational structures of their schools and the impact that brings to bear on their practice. They define qualities of expertise in their teaching practice that are more similar than different, yet their core educational beliefs and philosophies differ one from the other in substantial ways as does their teaching practice. Each believes that expert teaching practice requires distinctive teaching that best meets the needs of their very distinct populations of students. </p><p> One of the main implications of this study is that it may be easier to get teachers to generate characteristics of an expert teacher, but far more complex to explore a teacher&rsquo;s personal vision and qualify a teacher&rsquo;s commitment and motivation, which appear to be the true distinguishing characteristics of each of these teachers. These complex processes may need to be more thoroughly addressed in teacher education, school reform and educational research to gain a better picture of what comprises expert teacher practice. </p>