ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes most of the ASU Theses and Dissertations from 2011 to present. ASU Theses and Dissertations are available in downloadable PDF format; however, a small percentage of items are under embargo. Information about the dissertations/theses includes degree information, committee members, an abstract, supporting data or media.
In addition to the electronic theses found in the ASU Digital Repository, ASU Theses and Dissertations can be found in the ASU Library Catalog.
Dissertations and Theses granted by Arizona State University are archived and made available through a joint effort of the ASU Graduate College and the ASU Libraries. For more information or questions about this collection contact or visit the Digital Repository ETD Library Guide or contact the ASU Graduate College at gradformat@asu.edu.
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Teacher Education
- Creators: Buss, Ray R.
state of Arizona the teaching and learning of second languages has been restricted since the passing of Proposition 203. In the past few years, schools offering Dual Language Immersion programs have emerged, but their teachers do not have much experience, training or resources to teach language through content. Language immersion self- efficacy has been shown to be crucial for the teachers to be more effective in their instruction and for them to embrace the challenges they face.
The purpose of this action research study was to increase Spanish immersion teachers' self-efficacy through a community of practice, in which teachers performed peer observations and offered feedback, collaboratively drew from a pool of resources that were available online for all to use, and supported each other in the areas they felt could be improved.
Quantitative data included pre- and post- intervention self-efficacy surveys, as well as a retrospective survey. Qualitative data included audio recordings and field notes from the community of practice sessions, teacher observations, peer observations, and feedback meetings, as well as interviews.
Results from the analysis of data showed an increase of teachers’ self-efficacy because of the close collaboration and resource sharing that took place during the implementation of the community of practice. Teachers also reported positive changes in practice due to peer observations and collegial conversations during meetings, where teachers could acknowledge their own successes and use ideas from others to improve their practice. Finally, despite all the positive outcomes from this action research study, it was evident there were some systemic issues the community of practice could not change, such as the lack of resources and appropriate curriculum for Spanish immersion teachers.
Many parents and educators have agreed our students should have the opportunity of becoming bilingual to face global competition more effectively. Because of that, Spanish immersion schools have been growing in popularity in Arizona. Moreover, it has become clear that as we have more schools and teachers willing to adopt these programs, more resources must be made available to support immersion teachers and their instruction.
This action research project drew upon Vygotsky’s (1978) sociocultural theory and Bandura’s (1977) social cognitive theory. Specifically, the study was built on Vygotsky’s socially shared activities and Bandura’s concepts of modeling and providing opportunities to individuals to practice and attain mastery experiences. Knight et al.’s (2015) impact cycle of coaching served as the framework for the intervention in this study. This perspective was grounded in socially shared activities that included a clear model of the new learning and opportunities for instructors to practice implementing the new learning.
University instructors and teacher candidates participated in the study. A mixed method approach was used to gather data from instructors and teacher candidates. Quantitative data came from a survey that assessed three constructs: (a) knowledge, (b) use, and (c) self-efficacy of Stanford’s (2013) six principles for ELL instruction. Qualitative data were gathered in several ways. Instructor interviews focused on the coaching experiences, whereas teacher candidate interviews focused on knowledge and use of ELL principles. Additional qualitative data included reflective conversations with instructors and course assignments from teacher candidates.
Results suggested instructors gained in their knowledge, use, and self-efficacy of the six principles for ELL instruction, which they taught to their teacher candidate charges. As a result, teacher candidates increased their knowledge, use, and self-efficacy of the ELL principles. The interview data for teacher candidates was consistent with the survey data.
Results from this study highlighted the potential of coaching in higher education as a powerful approach to deliver professional development. Further, results suggested that infusing ELL instructional practices into content methods courses appeared to be a viable method to better prepare teacher candidates to work with ELL students.