Contrary to the norm in developed countries where teachers pursue undergraduate degrees and professional certification before they are employed, many teachers in Belize are employed as high school or junior college graduates and they often teach for several years before entering formal teacher preparation programs. Although there are no formal structures that provide professional support to these teachers in those early years, they undoubtedly develop a repertoire of knowledge, skills and beliefs about teaching and learning from on-the-job-experience and from resources available in their schools. While some of the knowledge they hold may be grounded in educational theories and practices, these teachers are not always aware of that fact. On the other hand, lack of professional training and support may lead to the development and use of inappropriate teaching and classroom management strategies and preconceptions and misconceptions about teaching and learning. This study examines the role that these teachers' early teaching experiences play in the development of a knowledge-base for teaching and their identities as teachers. The study also investigates whether instructors value and use students' prior knowledge in the development and delivery of their courses. I use constructivism as a learning theory (Fosnot, 2005), Beach's (1999) notion of consequential transitions, and Wenger's (1998) theory of identity development as a framework for conducting the investigation. Data were gathered over three months between November 2006 and March 2007 from two one-hour interviews with 14 pre- and in-service student-teachers and four instructors, and from three to four classroom observations in nine courses. Findings are presented following four major themes: early teaching experience and its influences on modality of learning; context as a frame of reference for learning; early learning and its influence on confidence, competence and identity; and instructors' use of students' early experience in the program. / A Dissertation Submitted to the the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2008. / May 21, 2008. / Identity Formation, Prior Beliefs, Prior Learning, Teacher Preparation, Early Experience / Includes bibliographical references. / Patrice Iatarola, Professor Directing Dissertation; Betsy J. Becker, Outside Committee Member; King Beach, Committee Member; Gary Crow, Committee Member; Douglas Harris, Committee Member.

This action-research study was designed to determine the impact of the interactive electronic whiteboard in middle school mathematics. The researcher taught two seventh grade mathematics classes during a unit on transformations. The control class had access to the use of the interactive electronic whiteboard while the experimental class was taught without the use of the board. The sole independent variable was the use of the interactive electronic whiteboard (and lack of its use) in each class. Pre and post tests were given to measure the students' change in visualization skills and content knowledge over the course of the instruction. Interviews with students were conducted to investigate the nature of the interactive whiteboard and its impact on student attitudes towards technology and student attitudes towards the teaching and learning of mathematics. The research showed no statistically significant difference in content learning or visualization gains, while student motivation and interest in their mathematics class increased. / A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Middle and Secondary Education in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science. / Summer Semester, 2004. / June 21, 2004. / Interactive Electronic Whiteboard, Smartboard / Includes bibliographical references. / Elizabeth Jakubowski, Professor Directing Thesis; Leslie Aspinwall, Committee Member; Matthew Clark, Committee Member.

After the publication of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS) results, where Singapore has consistently placed number one, educators began asking why American students were not performing as well as their counterparts. This qualitative case study consisted of four secondary students, two American and two Singaporean, living in Singapore. The usage of qualitative study allowed an in depth investigation as to what the students are actually doing while completing mathematical tasks. The research investigated the strategies and thought processes of students while performing mathematics problem solving tasks, as one way to measure the differences in the student's performance. During the task-based interviews students completed twelve problem solving tasks while thinking aloud. After completion of the problem solving tasks the students completed a metacognition survey and participated in a short interview conducted by the researcher. The study was completed in order to answer the following research questions: What strategies do 12th grade American and Singaporean students use when working on mathematics problem solving tasks? and What mediates success on mathematics problem solving tasks? Using the frameworks of Polya (1957) and Schoenfeld (1985) the researcher was able to conclude that strategies alone will not mediate success when completing problem solving tasks, there are other mediating factors. The American and Singaporean students both demonstrated two similar factors when completing the problems solving tasks. The American students had three separate factors which also contributed to them not gaining completely correct results. This study demonstrated that students are most successful when they use Polya's (1957) four stages of problem solving and Schoenfeld's (1985) six characteristics of being a good problem solver. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Middle and Secondary Education in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2006. / June 13, 2006. / Problem Solving, Singapore Mathematics, Secondary Mathematics, Metacognition / Includes bibliographical references. / Leslie Aspinwall, Professor Directing Dissertation; Alec Kercheval, Outside Committee Member; Maria Fernandez, Committee Member; Stacey Rutledge, Committee Member.

The purpose of this study was to provide a better understanding of the effect of cultural dislocation on adult learning and to throw new light on the ways in which self-directed learning behaviors vary cross-culturally. The topic was investigated through a mixed-method research design that entailed, in a first and principally quantitative phase of study, developing and administering a survey of learning behaviors with a sample of wives of international students at Florida State University–and, in a second qualitative phase, conducting in-depth focus group discussions with a subset of the same subjects on topics arising from the results of the questionnaire. Member checks with focus-group discussion members enabled the researcher to further validate and deepen the insights derived from the qualitative phase of the study. Analysis of the two types of data made it possible to triangulate on a first set of answers to the research questions of the study. The wives surveyed came from twelve different countries ranging from East Asia to the Middle East and the former Soviet Union. Analysis of the quantitative data revealed that intensity of learning behaviors and type of learning activity undertaken varied considerably within the sample of international student wives, though–as the existing literature on adult learning would suggest–they were most pronounced among the younger and better educated women and among those with greatest English proficiency. Religious and cultural differences also accounted for a good deal of the variability. Results of the focus group discussions and follow-up interviews confirmed that many of those not officially pursuing formal schooling were nonetheless concerned with their own education and had found ingenious ways to continue learning. Meeting in friends' houses in connection with religious and cultural events provided one prominent venue for learning. Women in general and those from non-Western cultures in particular seem to place strong emphasis on learning through relationships with others both within and without their cultural communities. The study concludes with some recommendations for further study and for more effective support of the learning ambitions of international students' wives. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2005. / November 23, 2004. / Adult Learning, International Students, Self-Directed Learning, Adult Education, Wives Of Foreign Students, Wives Of International Students, Tallahassee, Foreign Students, Florida State University, International, Wife / Includes bibliographical references. / Peter B. Easton, Professor Directing Dissertation; Barbara C. Palmer, Outside Committee Member; Emanuel Israel Shargel, 1936-, Committee Member; John A. Sample, Committee Member.

William G. Brown was one of few black state education superintendents nationwide during Reconstruction, and the first in Louisiana. The study examines the significance of William G. Brown and his administration in relation to the educational development of Louisiana and relevant social and political issues of the day. The manuscript initially addresses the pre-Civil War educational development of Louisiana and early, available information on Brown. The profound social, political, and economic changes precipitated by the Civil War and Reconstruction also had educational corollaries. Mixed (integrated) schooling, one of the most controversial measures in post-Civil War Louisiana transcended education to become one of the defining issues of Reconstruction. During his tenure, Superintendent Brown's integrity, leadership, and skill in navigating such matters earned him the respect of many. In an effort to gain greater insight into Brown's personality, this study follows the course of Brown's career immediately before and after the superintendency. Important factors such as Brown's philosophy of education and administrative style are also considered in assessing the overall effectiveness of Brown's educational leadership. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2006. / October 20, 2006. / Reconstruction--Educational Development in LA., African-American Educational History, History and Politics of Education--Louisiana / Includes bibliographical references. / Joe M. Richardson, Professor Directing Dissertation; Patrick L. Mason, Outside Committee Member; Maxine D. Jones, Committee Member; Neil B. Betten, Committee Member; Peter P. Garretson, Committee Member.

Scholarship on multimodality repeatedly emphasizes the need not just for a multimodal focus in individual composition classrooms but also an integration of multimodality into the composition curriculum. Collectively, this scholarship sounds a call for a new kind of composition curriculum and, accordingly, new outcomes. This poses a key question for us as well: how might we develop, implement, and sustain multimodal curricula within composition programs so that curriculum reflects more accurately the current communicative landscape? To answer this overarching question, this project utilizes a mixed methods approach combining survey and case study methodologies. The findings for this dissertation include the following: 1) composition programs at the national level still focus overwhelmingly on print, proving that multimodal curricular transformation has not yet taken place; 2) there is little consensus on what a multimodal composition curriculum looks like or includes; 3) programs that have achieved multimodal curricular transformation do so at the intersection of outcomes statements and assignments; 4) outcomes statements at programs that have achieved multimodal curricular transformation define composition as a rhetorically-based, inquiry-driven process of making texts; and 5) assignments at programs that have achieved multimodal curricular transformation ask students to combine multiple modes, attend to design, exhibit material-rhetorical flexibility, and circulate the texts they create, thereby exhibiting transformed practice. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2016. / June 21, 2016. / administration, curricular revision, curricular transformation, multimodality, outcomes, outcomes statements / Includes bibliographical references. / Kristie Fleckenstein, Professor Directing Dissertation; Melissa Gross, University Representative; Michael Neal, Committee Member; Kathleen Blake Yancey, Committee Member.

SUBMITIED IN FULFILMENT OF TIIE REQUIREMENTS FOR THEE DEGREE OF MASTER OF EDUCATION IN THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY at the UNIVERSITY OF ZULULAND, 1998. / The aim of this study was: * to describe the life-world of the student leadership group in "black" schools; and * to determine, in the light of findings obtained, certain guidelines for student leaders which will help equip them with leadership skills. As an introduction, the background of student leaders in traditionally black schools was given. The demands they made for the institution of a democratically elected student representative council (SRC) were discussed. From the literature study it became clear that the black student leaders and their followers, the students, succeeded to impose their leadership on schools despite resistance from education authorities. They rejected the concept of prefects. They regarded prefects as a non-elected body of student leaders that was collaborative with the principal and staff. Once in power, black student leaders rejected the authority of their educators and took control of the school situation. Conflict and disruption of schools ensued from this state of affairs. In discussing the life-world of the student leadership, the background in which the black student leaders and their followers are brought up was exposed. It was stated that they come from a society which is rife with overcrowding, poverty. unemployment, political violence and political and social repression. They are brought up in a society that is experiencing low ethical values and that has nurtured the sentiments of powerlessness and frustration. It is in this politico-economic society where their education is enshrined. What emerges is that their behaviour and attitude are shaped by negative factors which are entrenched in this environment The education they have been offered has been iniquitous and has rendered them inadequate to face the demands of daily life. Most students cannot cope with poverty, overcrowding, unemployment and lack of recreational facilities. This type of education has rendered student leaders and their followers helpless and it has further generated inadequacy within them in dealing with their aspirations in a racially complex society. They regard schools as a place of failure, as an outlet for their revenge and as centres of their struggles. From this research it became clear that student leaders in traditionally black schools lack positive leadership skills which they require to equip them to face the challenges of a democratic dispensation. Chapter 4 is an attempt to address all the aspects of leadership and the leadership skills required to equip student leaders in their endeavour to realise sound educational goals and objectives. It is imperative that educators, members of the community, the governing body and other role players plan and execute leadership programmes which will help student leaders develop self-respect, respect for their fellow-students and respect for significant others. Student leaders are expected to be role models for other students, and their attitude and behaviour should be acceptable. Educators are expected to help student leaders channel their energy towards positive reshaping of the school situation, and hence the realisation of educational goals. In the light of the findings of this research, the following were recommended: * A proactive empowerment programme whereby parents, community members, teachers and educational authorities restore the dignity and value system of the educational environment in order address the problems of the student leaders and their followers. * A support and counselling system whereby educators, educational authorities and the state help student leaders and their followers to deal with their social and psychological past. * Leadership training programmes to equip student leaders with leadership skills such as negotiation, problem-solving, decision-making, communication and conflict resolution skills. Leadership symposia, seminars and other related projects to develop student leaders' capacity to lead in schools. It is trusted that this study on student leadership in black schools will eventually lead to a better quality of student leadership, generating adult leaders, who will be able to serve in a positive and exemplary fashion in a new South Africa.

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