Professional development is critical to the skill development and personal growth of 2-year college employees, and further research is needed to measure and evaluate the opportunities for professional development at 2-year colleges. The present study could be conducted at any institution across the country; however, Mississippi was used because of its award-winning community college system. The study investigated opportunities for professional development being offered; responsibility for professional development; and the perceptions of those managing professional development related to the importance of, amount and sufficiency of, and administrative support. This research was a qualitative, cross-sectional case study involving five professional development coordinators in Mississippi’s community colleges. Data collection was done through one-on-one telephone interviews with each participant in the summer of 2017. In addition, several of the professional development coordinators sent course listings, samples of individual development plans, and the researcher found information regarding professional development efforts of institutions’ websites. It was important to explore these perceptions because these were the professional development coordinators who have influence to make changes and ensure the needs of the staff, faculty, and administrators were being met. The present study found that many types of professional development opportunities were being conducted both on campus and off campus. Perceptions of professional development coordinators were all relatively high when asked about the importance of professional development, as well as how the administration supported professional development. Perceptions were mixed when asked about the amount and sufficiency of professional development opportunities. The positive finding was that what was being done was great; however, there were tremendous opportunities for growth in professional development offerings at the 2-year college.

The objective of this study was to measure the effects of both a nutritional (water nipple) and social (partner calf) enrichment on calf body weight, grain intake, water intake, behavior and learning. The enrichments included 1) water provided from a nipple vs. a bucket (nutritional) and 2) visual and tactile access to a partner vs. isolated rearing with no visual or tactile access to a partner calf (social). A total of 72 Holstein and Jersey dairy calves were pseudo-randomly distributed into 4 treatments at birth [Individual/Bucket (IB), Paired/Bucket (PB), Individual/Nipple (IN), Paired/Nipple (PN)]. Socially and nutritionally enriched calves drank more water than non-enriched calves (Social: 5.02 ± 0.27 kg/d vs 3.723 ± 0.27 kg/d respectively; P = 0.0009; Nutritional: 4.93 ± 0.27 kg/d vs. 3.81 ± 0.26 kg/d respectively; P = 0.004). No difference in daily grain intake was found between individual or pair reared calves except during wk 8 (1.31 ± 0.07 kg/d vs 1.60 ± 0.07 respectively kg/d; P= 0.04). There were no differences in average body weight among treatments (P > 0.20). Pre-milk delivery, calves reared on a water bucket spent more time standing (P= 0.03) and when paired, less time non-nutritively suckling compared to water nipple reared calves (P = 0.05). Grooming time was highest during period 2 (wk 3, 4, 5; P = 0.01)) pre-milk delivery. Post-milk delivery, calves reared on a water bucket spent more time drinking milk (7.13 ± 0.40 vs 5.37 ± 0.39 min; P = 0.005)and grooming (P= 0.05), and less time drinking water (P < 0.001)and lying (6.17 ± 1.02 vs 9.19 ± 0.97 min, respectively; P= 0.04)than water nipple reared calves. Water nipple calves when paired exhbited longer drinking times (P = 0.04)..The most notable behavior was cross suckling post-milk delivery, as the weeks progressed water bucket reared calves increased time spent cross-suckling while water nipple calves maintained the amount of time spent cross-suckling. At wk 8 a subset of 24 calves (6 from each treatment) were trained over 14-d period to differentiate between an “X” and “O” cue to receive a milk reward (visual discrimination task). Learning (% correct choices) was compared using a Wilcoxon-signed rank test. Calves individually reared had greater overall correct choices than pair reared calves (0.63 ± 0.02 % correct/total choices vs 0.57 ± 0.02 % correct/total choices respectively: P = 0.05), while calves reared with a nutritional enrichment (water nipple) had greater overall correct choices compared to water bucket reared calves (0.64 ± 0.02 % vs 0.56 ± 0.02 %, P = 0.02). These results indicate that social and nutritional enrichments positively influence calf cognitive performance, water intake, and lying, cross-sucking, grooming behaviors.

Professional development is ubiquitous in education, with over 90% of teachers engaging in professional development activities, yet often with limited perceived impact on their practice. This dissertation situates itself at the critical juncture of professional development quality and teacher self-efficacy, investigating the transformative influence of the Academy of Blended Learning professional development program on educators’ self-efficacy and pedagogical practices. Despite widespread participation in professional development nationally, the prevalent sentiment among teachers points to a disconnect, with many sessions deemed ineffectual (Wei et al., 2009). Conversely, professional development perceived as high-quality correlates with improved teacher skills and classroom practices (Desimone et al., 2002; Garet et al., 2001a), underscoring the need for meaningful PD delivery. Blended learning represents a significant advancement in the evolving education landscape, blending traditional and digital instruction methods. This dissertation examines the impact of the Academy of Blended Learning experiential professional development program on teacher self-efficacy. Through qualitative analysis and evaluation, this study employs a framework by Smith and Robinson (2020) that intertwines Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory (1977), Bruner’s Constructivist Theory (1960), and Knowles’ Adult Learning Theory (andragogy) (1978), offering a comprehensive lens to examine the efficacy of professional development for educators. These theoretical underpinnings serve as the foundation for understanding how professional development influences teachers as adult learners, ultimately affecting their self-efficacy. Participants in the Academy of Blended Learning professional development program reported substantial gains in skills and a marked increase in self-efficacy, attributing these advancements to the comprehensive and experiential nature of the program. It goes beyond mere tool provision; it reshapes educators’ self-concepts, fueling their enthusiasm and intentionality in teaching. This transformative experience has empowered teachers and enhanced their ability to meet their students’ diverse needs, leading to a positive shift in their professional practice and trajectory. The study underscores the necessity of placing teacher self-efficacy at the forefront of professional development initiatives, particularly within blended learning. The findings advocate for educational leaders to recognize and support quality professional development that cultivates the attitudes and competencies necessary for teachers to thrive. The compelling evidence of professional growth and increased self-efficacy among participants signals the essential role of tailored professional development programs like the Academy of Blended Learning in shaping the future of education.

Syftet med denna studie är att kartlägga och synliggöra hur den planerade dansen används i förskolan, samt i vilken omfattning det sker, då hur och omfattning inte skrivs fram i förskolans läroplan utan lämnas för tolkning. För att svara på studiens syfte formulerades en frågeställning som består av följande frågor: Vilket förhållningssätt har förskollärarna till dans, vilken typ av dansanvänds på förskolan, vad används dansen till på förskolan och hur ofta används dans på förskolan. Förhoppningen är att kunna bidra med underlag för vidare diskussioner kring användandet av den planerade dansen i förskolan. Till denna undersökning valdes en kvantitativ metod i form av en enkät som riktar sig till verksamma förskollärare, för att inhämta information om hur dansen används på förskolorna idag. Enkäten distribuerades via e-post till 50 förskollärare i en kommun i Mellansverige. Resultatet visade att förskollärarna har ett intresse för dans och att de är bekväma med att genomföra dans på förskolan. Vidare visade resultatet att den planerade dansen används i olika utsträckning för att lära om andra ämnen, lära om dansen och för att illustrera samt gestalta olika upplevelser. Baserat på resultatet är slutsatsen för denna studie att förskollärarna är intresserade av dans och är bekväma med att utföra dansaktiviteter på förskolan. Den typ av dansaktivitet som de är bekväma med är när dansen sker i någon slags spontan form. Däremot är det svårare att ha dans som en planerad undervisning. / The purpose of this study is to map and make visible how the planned dance is used in preschool and to what extent it occurs, as how and scope is not written out in the preschool curriculum but left for interpretation. To answer the purpose of the study, a questionnaire was formulated consisting of the following questions: What attitude do the preschool teachers have to dance, what type of dance is used at preschool, what is dance used for at preschool and how often is dance used at preschool. The hope is to be able to contribute with a basis for further discussions about the use of the planned dance in preschool. For this study, a quantitative method was chosen in the form of a questionnaire aimed at active preschool teachers, to obtain information about how dance is used in preschools today. The questionnaire was distributed by e-mail to 50 preschoolteachers in a municipality in central Sweden. The results showed that the preschool teachers have an interest in dance and that they are comfortable performing dance at preschool. Furthermore, the results showed that the planned dance is used to different extents to learn about other subjects, learn about the dance and to illustrate and portray different experiences. Based on the results, the conclusion of this study is that the preschool teachers are interested in dance and are comfortable performing dance activities at preschool. The type of dance activity that they are comfortable with is when the dance takes place in some sort of spontaneous form. However, it is more difficult to have dance as a planned teaching.

This study aims to improve understanding of the developmental process of children's programming skills and their co-construction through interactions with the educational environment, particularly teachers. Extensive research has shown that programming can facilitate the development of various skills (Bati, 2021) and that programming learning is multimodal and contextually influenced (Kjällander et al., 2021). However, there is limited research on children's programming skill development (Jung &amp; Won, 2018). Using the Dynamic Systems approach (Koopmans, 2020), this study describes the proximal process of children's programming skills development, with a focus on teacher scaffolding. Dynamic skills theory (Mascolo, 2020) is used to analyze children's programming skills development and code teacher scaffolding. The video-based participant observation uses as the primary data collection method due to the intricate nature of child-teacher interactions (Lebedeva, 2020). Supplementary paper and pencil records are used to capture contextual information not captured on video. State Space Grids (SSGs; Hollenstein, 2013) are used to analyze the collected data. Throughout the study, ethical considerations, including voluntary participation, informed consent, confidentiality, and compliance with the EU Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679, ”GDPR”), are strictly upheld. The results indicate that children increasingly use more complex programming skills over time and demonstrate improved mastery of the same skills. Simultaneously, teacher scaffolding support diminishes. The development of programming skills exhibits a web-like pattern. Moreover, the study reveals differences in children's programming skill development and teachers' scaffolding when using the programming tools with different affordances. This study provides a dynamic perspective to enhance understanding of children's programming skill development and offers valuable insights for guiding programming practices among children, assisting teachers in selecting appropriate programming tools and planning activities, and supporting intervention studies on children's digital skills and teacher training. Additionally, this study demonstrates the prospective use of SSGs in early childhood education research. / Syftet med studien är att öka förståelsen för utvecklingsprocessen för barns programmeringsförmågor och för deras co-konstruktion genom interaktion med utbildningsmiljön, särskilt med lärare. Tidigare forskning har visat att programmering kan förbättra utvecklingen av olika kompetenser (Bati, 2021) och att programmeringsinlärning är multimodal och kontextuellt påverkad (Kjällander et al., 2021). Det finns dock begränsad forskning om barns utveckling av programmeringsförmågor (Jung &amp; Won, 2018). Genom att använda Dynamic Systems approach (Koopmans, 2020) beskrivs i den här studien den proximala processen för barns utveckling av programmeringsförmågor, med fokus på lärarens scaffolding. Dynamic skills theory (Mascolo, 2020) används för att analysera utvecklingen av barns programmeringsförmågor och kodar lärarens scaffolding. Den videobaserade deltagarobservationen fungerar som den primära datainsamlingsmetoden på grund av interaktionernas komplicerade natur mellan barn och lärare (Lebedeva, 2020). Kompletterande anteckningar med papper och penna användsför att fånga kontextuell information som inte samlas in på video. De insamlade data analyseras med hjälp av State Space Grids (SSGs, Hollenstein, 2013). Under hela studien följs strikt etiska överväganden, inklusive frivilligt deltagande, informerat samtycke, konfidentialitet och efterlevnad av EU:s dataskyddsförordning (Regulation (EU) 2016/679, "GDPR"). Resultaten visar att barnen med tiden använder sig av mer komplexa programmeringsförmågor och visar en förbättrad behärskning av samma förmågor. Samtidigt minskar lärarens scaffolding. Utvecklingen av programmeringsförmågor uppvisar ett webbliknande mönster. Dessutom visar studien på skillnader i barnens utveckling av programmeringsförmågor och lärarens scaffolding när de använder programmeringsverktyg med olika affordances. Denna studie bidrar med ett dynamiskt perspektiv för att öka förståelsen för barns utveckling av programmeringsförmågor och erbjuder värdefulla insikter för att vägleda barnens programmeringspraktiker, hjälpa lärare att välja lämpliga programmeringsverktyg och planera programmeringsaktiviteter samt stödja interventionsstudier om barns digitala kompetens och lärarutbildning. Dessutom visar den här studien att SSGs kan användas i framtiden inom forskning om förskoledidaktik.

This study showcases the perceived affordances of learning management systems (LMS)in the private sector and in the non-academic public sector. The qualitative study consisted of 9 interviews of industry professionals. The semi-structured interviews captured current practices of how LMS were utilized within their organization as well as the perceived benefits that their organization obtained by utilizing an LMS. The findings showcased that the affordance category with the highest overall frequency was Operations Management 3. The affordance type with the highest overall frequency was Operational Process OM3, and the code with the highest overall frequency was Professional Development OD1-OL.

Recent research suggests that visual-verbal paired associate learning (PAL) taps a crossmodal associative learning mechanism involved in reading acquisition. However, evidence from children with dyslexia indicates that deficits in visual-verbal PAL are strongly linked to the verbal demands of the task. The research presented in this thesis had two overarching aims: first, to dissociate crossmodal and verbal demands in driving the PAL-reading relationship, and second, to assess the hypothesis that visual-verbal PAL plays a causal role in reading development. To address the first aim, a series of experiments examined the relationship between reading ability and PAL tasks differing in modality (crossmodal, unimodal) and output demand (visual, verbal). The results supported a verbal account of the PAL-reading relationship. In typically developing children and children with dyslexia, only tasks with a verbal output demand (i.e., visual-verbal PAL, verbal-verbal PAL) demonstrated a relationship with reading ability. In children with dyslexia, poor performance was isolated to difficulties learning novel phonological forms, rather than difficulties specific to crossmodal associative learning. Furthermore, the ability to learn novel phonological forms was found to fully explain visual-verbal PAL performance across reading abilities. In a final experiment, the causal role of visual-verbal PAL in reading development was assessed. The results of a longitudinal study from the start to the end of kindergarten showed that visual-verbal PAL measured in pre-readers did not predict reading ability at the end of kindergarten. Instead, PAL performance was influenced by learning to read.

Submitted by admin tede (tede@pucgoias.edu.br) on 2016-11-03T18:10:33Z No. of bitstreams: 1 KÊNIA RIBEIRO DA SILVA HIDALGO.pdf: 2671528 bytes, checksum: d57477623b7c65ee491c5228ba3d36ff (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-11-03T18:10:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 KÊNIA RIBEIRO DA SILVA HIDALGO.pdf: 2671528 bytes, checksum: d57477623b7c65ee491c5228ba3d36ff (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-09-02 / The research had as object the conceptions and pedagogical practices of elementary school teachers about culture and its role in the teaching-learning process in the classroom. We attempted to clarify the following questions: what do elementary school teachers understand about culture? What conception of culture do they express in this understanding? Which relations teachers establish between culture and learning in the teaching process? In theoretical foundation were used Raymond Williams concepts about culture, Pérez Gómez related to culture and school, and authors of cultural-historical theory and Vygotsky, Davydov, Leontiev, Hedegaard and Chaiklin, about learning, cultural mediation and human development . We conducted a qualitative research through literature and field research. The field research took place in two Elementary Schools of the public schools in the city of Goiânia, with the participation of teachers and managers. Data collection was through interviews and observations of classes and the school context. The data were submitted to qualitative analysis and categorization. The results show that the teachers surveyed expressed an understanding of culture that disregards the concrete conditions of their production and do not understand this concept in its complexity. Most teachers consider the link between school scientific culture and the socio-cultural context of the students, however, their teaching practices are still fragmented, decontextualized and improvised, with regard to this relationship. / A pesquisa teve como objeto as concepções e as práticas pedagógicas de professores do ensino fundamental acerca da cultura e de seu papel no processo de ensino-aprendizagem em sala de aula. Buscou-se esclarecer as seguintes questões: o que os professores do ensino fundamental compreendem como cultura? Que concepção de cultura expressam nessa compreensão? Que relações esses professores estabelecem entre cultura e aprendizagem no processo de ensino? Na fundamentação teórica foram utilizados conceitos de Raymond Williams acerca da cultura, de Pérez Gómez referente à cultura e escola, e de autores da teoria histórico-cultural como Vigotsky, Davydov, Leontiev, Hedegaard e Chaiklin, acerca da aprendizagem, mediação cultural e desenvolvimento humano. Realizou-se uma investigação qualitativa por meio de pesquisa bibliográfica e pesquisa de campo. A pesquisa de campo ocorreu em duas escolas Ensino Fundamental II da rede pública municipal de ensino da cidade de Goiânia, tendo como participantes professores e gestores. A coleta dos dados foi por meio de entrevistas e observações das aulas e do contexto escolar. Os dados foram submetidos à análise qualitativa e categorização. Os resultados mostram que os professores pesquisados expressaram uma compreensão de cultura que desconsidera as condições concretas de sua produção e não compreendem esse conceito em sua complexidade. A maioria dos professores considera importante a articulação entre a cultura escolar e o contexto sociocultural dos alunos, entretanto, suas práticas pedagógicas ainda são fragmentadas, descontextualizadas e improvisadas, no que se refere a essa relação.

This thesis documents my exploration of professional development of four experienced English language teachers of diverse background taking the MA TESOL programme at the University of Manchester. Having considered professional development to be about change construed broadly to professional identity and teacher beliefs, I explored it through a series of individual in-depth interviews held throughout the programme. The majority of the interviews focused on the teachers' ongoing life and development and allowed the teachers space to make meaning of what they were going through and how they were developing as they engaged in the programme. On the basis of the interviews, stories about the teachers and their year were constructed. Within the stories, I synthesized what I had learned about the teachers' experience and highlighted the changes that I could see had happened to their professional identity and teacher beliefs. The stories provide a vivid example of professional development of experienced English language teachers through a master's degree. They also bring to the fore the significance of future-directed thoughts for how teachers develop professionally, which is rarely acknowledged in the existing literature. I further use the stories as a ground to conceptualize professional development of the four teachers to account for the important role their thoughts about the future played in it. Using the concepts of imagined identity and antenarrative, which I borrow from the literature, I describe it as an iterative pursuit of an ever-evolving imagined identity, or identities, and antenarrative, or antenarratives. Finally, I examine the cases using the conceptualization as a lens and offer some further insights about professional development in TESOL.

Informations- och kommunikationstekniken (IKT) är en viktig del av vår vardag, då tekniken på olika sätt förenklar och effektiviserar vårt dagliga agerande på arbetet och i hemmet. Genom att interagera med tekniken kan vi kommunicera med andra människor, på en mängd olika sätt genom en mängd olika medier. Förskolan ska på ett lustfyllt och varierande sätt spegla samhällets utbredning av de digitala verktygen och lärplattan har blivit allt mer vanligt förekommande i förskoleverksamheten. Lärplattan har många egenskaper och möjligheter, exempelvis kan det möjliggöra tillfällen av språklig interaktion med olika samtalspartner, medier och genrer, vilket kan utveckla barns kommunikativa kompetenser. Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka förutsättningarna för och användandet av lärplattan som ett digitalt verktyg i barnets litteracitetsutveckling på förskolan. Studien baseras på en mindre enkätundersökning riktad till förskolechefer samt intervjuer med tre pedagoger som aktivt arbetar med lärplattan på förskolan. Denna metod tror jag på bästa möjliga sätt ska kunna uppfylla uppsatsens syfte. Resultatet visar att förutsättningarna på förskolorna är relativt lika. Förskolechefernas erfarenhet av lärplattor och deras synsätt till användandet av lärplattor i verksamheten är mestadels positivt. Samtliga förskolor som informanterna representerar har tillgång till lärplattor, i olika utsträckning. Det som skiljer förskolorna åt är hur den praktiska implementeringen genomförts. Resultatet visar även att praktiken är relativt lika varandra. De intervjuade pedagogerna talar om ett medvetet användande, en närvarande pedagog och ett meningsfullt lärandesammanhang. De olika situationerna där barnen använder lärplattan, har litteracitet som en gemensam nämnare. Pedagogerna använder inte begreppet litteracitet, men de beskriver situationer för språkande och kommunikation, ur ett sociokulturellt perspektiv. / Information and communication technology (ICT) is an essential part of our everyday life, as the technology in different ways simplifies and streamlines our daily behavior at work and at home. By interacting with the technology we are able to communicate with other people, in a variety of ways through a variety of media. Preschools should in an enjoyable and varied way reflect the propagation of digital tools in society and the learning tablet has become increasingly common in early childhood education. This tool has many features and capabilities, for example, it may allow for occasions of linguistic interaction with various interlocutors, media and genres, which can develop children's communication skills. The purpose of this paper is to examine the conditions for and use of the learning tablet as a digital tool in the child's development of literacy, in preschool. The study is based on a smaller survey of preschool managers and interviews with three teachers who are actively working with the learning tablet in preschool. I believe that this method is the best way to fulfill the thesis purpose. The result shows that the conditions in the preschools are relatively similar. Preschool managers' experience of learning tablets and there approach to the use of learning tablets in preschool, is mostly positive. Every preschool which the informants are representing have access to learning tablets, in different extents. What distinguishes the preschools apart is how the practical implementation is carried out. The results also show that the effect is relatively similar. The interviewed teachers talk about a conscious use, a present educator and a meaningful learning context. The different situations, in which children use the learning tablet, have literacy as a common denominator. The teachers don’t use the concept of literacy, but they describe situations for language and communication, from a sociocultural perspective.