Search Content

Displaying 1 - 2 of 2

Filtering by

All Subjects: Teacher Education
Creators: Weinberg, Andrea

RESET-ting Professional Development: Fostering Mid-career K-8 Teachers' Identities and Actions as Culturally Responsive Science and Engineering Educators

Description

This qualitative, design-based research study explored the design, implementation, and outcomes of a professional development for mid-career K-8 science and engineering teachers. The Responsive and Empowering Science and Engineering Teacher (RESET) professional development was designed to support teachers in developing role identities as culturally responsive teachers, change agents disrupting inequitable educational practices, and advocates of students’ equitable access to and participation in science and engineering disciplines. Four mid-career K-8 teachers participated in RESET, which was embedded in a five-week summer program focused on solar energy engineering. The teachers engaged in activities designed to increase their knowledge of and pedagogical strategies for culturally responsive teaching. After each key event, teachers reflected on their experiences in terms of their role identities, including their purposes and goals, self-perceptions, beliefs, and perceived action possibilities for that role. Teachers also engaged in critical discussions examining how the strategies and practices might contribute to more equitable science and engineering practices. An embedded case study design was used, with RESET as the focal case and the four teachers as embedded cases, to examine teachers’ experiences during RESET and actions during the school year. I analyzed teacher surveys, semi-structured interviews, written reflections, audio recordings of the critical discussions, and researcher memos from during RESET and school year observations to determine the influence of RESET on teachers’ role identity development and actions. I also analyzed a series of conjecture maps created to detail the design and adaptations of RESET to explore the extent to which RESET’s targeted enactment processes and outcomes had been achieved and design and process conjectures had been supported. Findings varied across participants, with all four participants at least somewhat achieving the targeted outcomes, indicating that all of the teachers’ role identities were influenced by RESET. Three of four teachers translated their learning into actions as culturally responsive science and engineering teachers during the school year. In terms of RESET’s design, several of the conjectures were supported or partially supported. Implications for the second iteration of RESET and for the general scholarship on professional development for mid-career K-8 science and engineering teachers are discussed.

ContributorsWakefield, Wendy (Author) / Jordan, Michelle (Thesis advisor) / Weinberg, Andrea (Thesis advisor) / Boveda, Mildred (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)

Created2021

Faculty Collaboration to Support Implementation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Description

Given the increasing number of students with dis/abilities entering higher education institutions (HEI), it is imperative higher education faculty have the knowledge, skills, and disposition to effectively support students with dis/abilities. Therefore, this study engaged higher education faculty at Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College (MLFTC) at Arizona State University (ASU). ASU is an institution that prides itself on being inclusive. Accordingly, MLFTC enrolls many students with a dis/ability. In spring of 2022, more than 350 MLFTC students had disclosed their dis/ability and registered for accommodations. However, there were likely many more students attending MLFTC who had chosen not to disclose their dis/ability status. Consequently, faculty members need a proactive approach to meeting the needs of students with a wide range of knowledge, skills, and experiences including students with dis/abilities.Universal Design for Learning (UDL) offers an effective framework to proactively support students with dis/abilities, even if they choose not to disclose their dis/ability status. Faculty need professional development and collaboration opportunities to develop to integrate inclusive instructional strategies aligned to UDL. This study was designed to provide higher education faculty members opportunities to develop their skills to integrate UDL in their classrooms. The participants completed three asynchronous online modules about the principles of UDL and three Innovation Configuration (IC) map design sessions. During the IC map design sessions, they co-developed an IC map articulating how they would like to see UDL operationalized in their courses. Data was collected throughout the project through a pre/post inventory, transcripts of the IC map design sessions, interviews, a classroom observation, and the co-developed IC map. The results show that faculty collaboration likely has a positive impact on faculty integrating instructional strategies aligned to UDL. However, collaboration may have a limited impact on the underlying belief system faculty have about the use of inclusive practices, especially for students who do not have a dis/ability or have chosen not to disclose their dis/ability through official university channels.

ContributorsPinkerton, Tanya (Author) / Mathur, Sarup (Thesis advisor) / Puckett, Kathleen (Committee member) / Weinberg, Andrea (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)

Created2023

ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Filtering by

RESET-ting Professional Development: Fostering Mid-career K-8 Teachers' Identities and Actions as Culturally Responsive Science and Engineering Educators

Faculty Collaboration to Support Implementation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL)