Science means “to know", a process for gaining knowledge and an understanding of the natural world. Students need to be involved in active learning. In other words, they must do science, not just hear about it. Good science encourages students to gain knowledge by doing science: observing, questioning, exploring, making and testing hypotheses, comparing predictions, evaluating data, and communicating conclusions. This unit plan is designed to incorporate the components of fresh water, ecology, water quality, and a class-wide science project. Each lesson addresses selected standards from the state core curriculum and has specific objectives that are tied to the learning objectives associated with the state core curriculum. The unit starts with five lessons that introduce fresh water and the role of fresh water in our lives. Students will learn the stages of the water cycle and participate in discussions and activities that will allow them to see the critical need to conserve, protect, and manage water properly. The next four lessons focus on the importance of biodiversity and human impact on biodiversity. The last part of the unit pulls the lessons on fresh water and ecology together into a class-wide science project. Students will study how abiotic factors affect water quality and then participate in a project relating those concepts in a study of Hobble Creek, near Springville, Utah. The unit finishes with group presentations about the science project and then a unit test. There is a good mix of regular classroom instruction and activities along with variation in learning styles. There is note taking, art expression, visual learning, verbal expression, group interaction, guided inquiry, different types of assessment, discussions involving higher level thinking, and hands on learning. The unit takes up nearly four weeks of school time. It will take considerable planning and preparation to teach the lessons, plan and carry out the activities and provide the needed accommodations.

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which participating in lesson study was perceived to have an impact on teacher effectiveness. Secondary STEM graduates who come into education need a model of collaborative reflective practice for continuous improvement. Lesson study is one possible model of professional learning that is both reflective and collaborative (Sims & Walsh, 2009, p. 731). The cyclical nature of lesson study makes it a natural fit for continuous improvement. Yet, little research into the effectiveness of lesson study as a tool for new teacher preparation or for middle and high school teachers exists. As part of the University of Central Florida's RTP3 program, resident teachers from three school districts participated in lesson study. Their reflections on participating in lesson study were analyzed and interviews with designees from each school district were conducted. The resident teachers' reflections and the interviews with partner school district designees were analyzed using the constant comparison method (Parry, 2004). The reflections were closely examined for trends and patterns, and as commonalities emerged, they led to the findings of this study. After review of the school district lesson study models, they were confirmed and explored during the interviews with school district designees. Analysis showed lesson study was perceived to be beneficial by the resident teachers and two of the three school district designees described positive effects gained from participating in lesson study through RTP3. The literature review and the results of this study demonstrate that lesson study is a valuable tool for professional learning in both novice and veteran teachers. Themes frequently observed in lesson study reflections included increased focus on students, the value found in collaboration, and a desire to participate on future lesson study teams. Teachers, teacher preparation programs, and school administrators should consider the benefits of participating in lesson study and attempt to develop a plan to include this method of professional learning in their school or teacher preparation program.

In the fall of 2007, I was cast in the University of Central Florida's production of The Piano Lesson. My thesis will examine my performance in the role of Grace, as well as understudying the role of Berniece under the direction of Professor Belinda Boyd. In addition to the performance components, my thesis materials will include historical and cultural character research and a reflective journal documenting my rehearsal and production process. My character research and journal will address questions about the characters "choices" and the relationship of their environment to views of personal responsibility and obligations in the play. I will examine the characters' relationships and situations in the play, investigating some of the decisions that these characters make in response to their cultural and social landscapes. The second part of my thesis will include research on three additional female characters from August Wilson's dramatic canon: Aunt Ester Tyler from Gem of the Ocean, Ma Rainey from Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, and Rose from Fences, which will inform my character explorations of Grace and Berniece, and the choices that I make during the rehearsal process in developing their journeys. By reading other plays by Wilson, I endeavor to deepen my understanding of the struggles of African-American women in the twentieth century, and explore how the social and economic status of black women was affected by America's changing political and social climate over several decades. In addition, I will document how my visceral experience of performing the roles of Grace and Berniece relates to my intellectual process of exploring the journeys of Aunt Ester Tyler, Ma Rainey, and Rose.

This study is in response to the question about how Japanese educators achieve such a high quality of instruction. Considering the area of lesson study has opened the door to new ideas and concepts that are not well defined and too broad to understand. Kyozaikenkyu is an aspect of lesson study that has been said to be a crucial aspect to successful lesson study. Kyozaikenkyu is done on a daily basis by Japanese educators; however, there is very little written about this process in relevant literature. This study examines what Japanese educators do during their daily kyozaikenkyu, and why they do it. Through interviews, observations, and participation in kyozaikenkyu, I have been able to describe a process many Japanese educators go through to prepare their lessons. There is a difference between what these educators do during kyozaikenkyu for a research lesson compared to the kyozaikenkyu of a daily lesson. I document two variations of daily kyozaikenkyu. One variation corresponds well to the kyozaikenkyu done for a research lesson, while the other variation is something new. This thesis expounds on those differences as well as explores the purposes and benefits of daily kyozaikenkyu for the Japanese educators that participated in them.

The intent of thesis is to explore pre-service teachers' perceptions of using a form of professional development to promote teacher autonomy. Current evidence shows that autonomy is a recurring element desired by American teachers in their profession. However, research advocates for teachers who are initiating and carrying out research in their schools (as a form of professional development) to have the potential to promote autonomy. For American teachers to gain a sense of autonomy in their profession there needs to be a change in the way professional development is directed. One form of professional development that promotes teachers as researchers is Lesson Study. Teachers who participate in lesson study are given the opportunity to research, collaborate, and learn. A sample population of five Pre-service teachers were interviewed to discover their perceptions of using Lesson Study as a means to promote teacher autonomy. The results of this thesis are that lesson study was regarded, by three out of five of the participants, as an effective way to strengthen teacher autonomy. The implications of the results are discussed, and the descriptions and implications of Lesson Study are provided.

Classrooms are ecosystems. Classrooms have well defined boundaries and host living and nonliving elements. These elements interact as classroom lessons and day to day ongoings occur. These interactions have potential to be synergized to increase learning outcomes. The purpose of this research is to develop a self-reflective instrument for teachers to consider the elements, interactions, and synergy of lessons. An instrument was developed based on models of other survey instruments (Cantu, 2015) (Appendix A). Content validity experts were recruited, and the instrument was refined as a self-reflective tool. As a self-reflective instrument teachers can use reflective practice to further intentional teaching within their lessons and classroom.

Demands of the workplace and society have made 21st-century knowledge and skills critical elements for success. As a result, the role of teachers in adequately preparing students to meet these demands continues to grow. National and state standards also call for increased attention to multimodal reading and writing. Today’s teachers must have the skills to effectively integrate technology into teaching and learning, supporting student development of digital reading and writing skills. Unfortunately, many teachers do not feel adequately prepared to do this (Hutchison & Reinking, 2011). Teacher education preparation programs must intentionally design programs to prepare teacher candidates for this challenging task (Starkey & Yates, 2020). The purpose of this study was to determine teacher candidates’ perceptions of technology integration and to understand their preparedness to integrate technology into a disciplinary literacy lesson. The conceptual framework for this study consisted of 4 interwoven theoretical perspectives. Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1986) was used as the overarching foundational framework, with the New Literacy Perspective (Leu et al., 2004), the SAMR Model (Puentedura, 2006), and the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework (Mishra & Koehler, 2006) as additional lenses for interpretation of the findings. This qualitative case study examined 11 Elementary Education teacher candidates as they planned for and created a disciplinary literacy lesson plan. A variety of data sources were collected, including pre- and post-technology surveys, documents, verbal protocols, and semi-structured interviews. First and second-cycle coding was applied to the data to determine themes. The data revealed that participants’ technology integration was generally inconsistent across the SAMR levels. Often, participants’ thinking processes revealed a deeper level of technology integration than their actual integration in lesson plans did. Additionally, 4 participant profiles emerged as a result of the levels of technology integration in participants’ disciplinary literacy lesson plans: (a) Minimal Integrators, (b) Inconsistent Integrators, (c) Consistent Integrators, and (d) Insightful Integrators.

Lesson preparation is an important part of teachers' profession, yet there has been little research focused on this topic recently. This work studied the preparation of geography lessons in Czechia with an emphasis on the use of internet sources. Based on the findings, criteria for an ideal geographic website for teachers were suggested. The data were collected in two ways: (1) on-line survey of ran- domly selected secondary school teachers (n=72), and (2) semi-structured interviews (n=6). The work indicated that lesson preparation greatly varies from teacher to teacher. In general, teachers do not change their lesson plans significantly, and thus the beginning of teachers' career is crucial for future teaching. Participating teachers spend on average about a quarter of their working time on lesson preparation and there is no apparent correlation between the time spend on lesson preparation and the teachers' age or the length of teachers' career. Furthermore, it was found that all participating teachers use internet resources during lesson preparation, particularly for search of updated infor- mation. The most visited websites are those offering maps and encyclopaedias (predominantly Wik- ipedia). The ideal geographical website should primarily offer ideas for teaching activities, as fully- prepared lessons...

Syftet med studien är att genom intervjuer undersöka motivationens betydelse i skrivundervisning för en grupp elever i årskurs sex. Studiens teoretiska utgångspunkt grundas på självbestämmandeteori. Eleverna motiveras i olika grad av attityder utifrån erfarenheter, mål, yttre faktorer och intresse. Studiens forskningsbakgrund poängterar bland annat att elever behöver motivation för att lyckas i skolan. Resultatet av föreliggande studie visar att undervisningen bör utformas mer utifrån elevernas egna intressen och yttre faktorer som kan påverka eleverna för att de ska bli så motiverade som möjligt. Lärare behöver känna sina elever på individnivå för att veta vad som motiverar dem. Denna studie ger lärare en vägledning av vad elever motiveras av.

AbstractEngelska översättning.  The aim of the study is to contribute with knowledge about how a designed teaching can give children a greater understanding of technical systems, sewage system. The study is inspired by the Lesson Study method. Lesson study is a teaching arrangement done in cycles. In this study, two teachings are conducted, about the sewage system, with two different groups of children and with a certain variation in the arrangements. The results show that the children have gained an understanding of the connections between the parts and components that the technical system, sewage system, is constructed of. The data collection was carried out through observation and filming at both teaching sessions. The material was then transcribed and analyzed through a thematic analysis method. The flexibility of the analysis method provided opportunities to respond to the study's purpose and questions. The analysis resulted in three themes: relationships between components of the system, the role of humans in the system, the components of the system. The study's conclusion shows that preschool teachers offer several activities with relevant construction materials that can clarify abstract learning objects in order to reach children’s learning. At the same time, more research is needed on how children learn and create an understanding of technical systems, how they can perceive the connections between the components that exist and constitute a technical system. / Syftet med studien är att bidra med kunskap om hur en designad undervisningkan erbjuda barn ökad förståelse för tekniska system, avloppssystem. Studienär inspirerad av metoden lesson study. Lesson study är ettundervisningsupplägg som görs i cykler. I denna studie genomförs tvåundervisningar, om avloppssystemet, med två olika barngrupper och med enviss variation i uppläggen. Resultatet visar att barnen fått förståelse försambanden mellan de delar och komponenter som det tekniska systemet,avloppssystem, är konstruerade av. Datainsamlingen genomfördes genomobservation och filmning vid båda undervisningstillfällena. Däreftertranskriberades och analyserades materialet genom en tematisk analysmetod.Analysmetodens flexibilitet gav möjligheter att svara gentemot studiens syfteoch frågeställningar. Analysen resulterade i tre teman: Samband mellankomponenter i systemet, Människans roll i systemet, Systemets komponenter.Studiens slutsats påvisar att förskollärare som erbjuder flera aktiviteter medrelevant konstruktionsmaterial som kan tydliggöra abstrakta lärandeobjekt föratt nå barns lärande. Det krävs mer forskning om hur barn lär och skaparförståelse för tekniska system, hur de kan uppfatta sambanden mellan dekomponenter som finns och utgör ett tekniskt system.