Matching Items (2)
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Teacher Preparation
- Creators: Buss, Ray R.
Description
As evidenced in the growing achievement gap between English language learners (ELLs) and their non-ELL counterparts, it is clear future teachers need to be better prepared to work with ELLs. This study examined the influence of infusing ELL strategies into methods courses through instructional coaching. This study was inspired by the larger iTeachELLs project at Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University.
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.
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.
ContributorsThibault, Malissa (Author) / Buss, Ray R. (Thesis advisor) / Jimenez-Silva, Margarita (Committee member) / Hansen, Taryl (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
Faculty members in Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University have been reimagining the undergraduate and graduate teacher preparation programs to serve better PreK-12 students and improve the teaching profession. An important feature of the reimagined teacher preparation model included placing teacher candidates (TCs) on teams of educators with distributed expertise, which was intended to provide PreK-12 students more opportunities for deeper and personalized learning. Lead teachers who also served as mentors for TCs facilitated these teams. Within this reimagined approach to organizing the educator workforce and preparing future teachers, there was still a need to supervise appropriately TCs during their student teaching experience. Faculty supervisors conducted a minimum of six observations of each TC during each student teaching semester. These observations required a substantial amount of time being spent meeting with TCs at school sites, as well as a substantial amount of travel between placement locations. To address this problem of practice, an online, virtual supervision (VS) approach to providing coaching and feedback was implemented during the fall 2020 semester. The VS approach included an initial training for faculty supervisors, adoption of a video coaching platform, and a flexible protocol for completing four virtual walkthroughs and two virtual performance assessments for each TC during the student teaching semester. The purpose of this mixed methods action research study was to examine the effects of using VS to provide coaching and feedback to teacher candidates (TCs). Participants included three faculty supervisors who organized and facilitated coaching conversations with their assigned TCs who also participated in the study. Data for this mixed methods study included pre- and post-intervention faculty supervisor interviews, post-intervention TC interviews, and retrospective, pre-intervention and post-intervention surveys of TCs. Findings suggested faculty supervisors and TCs preferred the flexibility in scheduling coaching conversations and the ‘any-time-any-where’ availability of the faculty supervisor for support offered through the VS model. TCs also indicated they received quality feedback and coaching. The discussion focused on complementarity of the quantitative and qualitative data, connecting the findings to the research literature, limitations, implications for practice and research, personal lessons learned, and conclusions.
ContributorsMorse, Robert (Author) / Buss, Ray R. (Thesis advisor) / Toth, Meredith (Committee member) / Hargrove, Betsy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021