Matching Items (11)
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- All Subjects: Teacher Education
- Creators: Jimenez-Silva, Margarita
- Creators: Puckett, Kathleen
Description
Effectively educating students with autism is a necessary element in providing all students with a free and appropriate public education, and as the number of students diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder continues to increase in both public and private educational settings, providing successful and satisfactory professional development opportunities in the area of autism is becoming increasingly essential. This study explored the experiences of twenty-three educators in a suburban southwest K-12 public school district, as they participated in a fifteen-hour professional development course in an online or face-to-face format, and collaboratively problem-solved their challenges in educating students with autism. Qualitative data was collected from participants' weekly written reflections and comments from a pre- and post-survey on attitudes, to determine quality of and satisfaction with collaboration in relation to course format. Results indicated that the online format produced higher-quality collaboration when it came to presenting one's own situation(s) to the group, finding group discussions helpful, having enough time to collaborate, providing feedback/suggestions to group members, and perceiving suggestions for one's own situation as helpful (as evidenced by the number of suggestions that participants said they would likely implement). The face-to-face format produced higher-quality collaboration when it came to in-depth problem-solving regarding a situation, implementing suggestions for one's own situation, and relating course content to collaborative activities. Participants' attitudes about using technology as a means of collaboration showed little change overall from pre- to post-survey. Though slight increases in positive attitudes concerning technology were found in various areas, many participants still thought highly of a face-to-face format for collaborative purposes, even after participating in the online professional development course. Findings may be of use to educational institutions developing online or face-to-face professional development opportunities in the area of autism.
ContributorsWozniak, Renee M (Author) / McCoy, Kathleen M. (Thesis advisor) / Puckett, Kathleen (Committee member) / Gehrke, Rebecca (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Effective professional development has been shown to improve instruction and increase student academic achievement. The Train the Trainer professional development model is often chosen by the state Department of Education for its efficiency and cost effectiveness of delivering training to schools and districts widely distributed throughout the state. This is a study of the Train the Trainer component of an innovative K12 professional development model designed to meet the needs of the state's lowest performing schools that served some of the state's most marginalized students. Pursuing a Vygotzkian social constructivist framework, the model was developed and informed by its stakeholders, providing training that was collaborative, job-embedded, ongoing, and continuously adapted to meet the needs of the School Improvement Grant participants. Schools in the multi-case study were awarded the federal ARRA School Improvement Grant in 2010. Focus questions include: What influence does the Train the Trainer component have on classroom instruction specifically as it relates to formative assessment? and To what extent does the trainer support the implementation of the Train the Trainer professional development at the classroom level? The action research study took place from August 2011 to February 2012 and used a mixed-methods research design.
ContributorsPollnow, Shelly (Author) / Jimenez-Castellanos, Oscar (Thesis advisor) / Jimenez-Silva, Margarita (Committee member) / Williams, Susan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
One of the major issues confronting education in Arizona and across the United States has been the consistent low performance of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students in comparison to their peers as evidenced by the disparity of the achievement gap at every level in the educational pipeline. A contributing factor has been the lack of teacher preparation focused on teaching CLD students. Preparation focused on a culturally responsive curriculum about dispositions and pedagogical knowledge and skills as well as field experience placement with CLD students have been previously identified areas to consider when training preservice teachers (PSTs). Therefore, this study examined how a Culturally Responsive and Linguistic Teaching (CRLT) Framework would raise preservice teacher’s critical consciousness about teaching CLD students. The CRLT Framework focused on two specific areas; (a) a culturally responsive curriculum and (b) a team-based service-learning experience. The CRP curriculum included lessons designed to increase PSTs understanding about how their sociolinguist views influenced their pedagogical knowledge about teaching CLD students. In addition, the team-based service-learning approach, as a community of practice, provided experiences for PSTs to apply theory to practice. A mixed method analysis was employed to collect and analyze the quantitative data (surveys) and qualitative data (interviews and photovoice). Results from this study suggested increases in PSTs’ knowledge, self-efficacy, and perceptions of usefulness of CRP in their future practices. The team-based, service-learning component, which was based on a community of practice framework, enhanced the learning experience by allowing students to move from theory to practice and served as an important contributing factor to the overall results. Given the findings of this research study, it appeared that an introductory course focused on a culturally responsive and linguistic teaching influenced PSTs’ dispositions, knowledge, and skills. Thus, providing an introductory course, earlier rather than later, has the potential to change the trajectory of preparing PSTs so they were more prepared to teach CLD students as they continued through their program of study. Results showed effective work with CLD students was about so much more than ‘just good teaching.’
ContributorsAlsen, Beth Ann (Author) / Buss, Ray R (Thesis advisor) / Jimenez-Silva, Margarita (Committee member) / Spink Strickland, Jennifer (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
This multilevel, institutional case study used ethnographic methods to explore the intersections of local language policies and emergent bilingual students’ identities in dual language and structured English immersion (SEI) classrooms at one urban elementary school. Using a sociocultural policy approach as means to explore the ways that educational language policies are appropriated and practiced in schools and classrooms and an intersectional literacy identity framework, I engaged in a multilevel qualitative analysis of one school, two fifth-grade classrooms, and four focal emergent bilingual students. At the school and classroom levels, I sought to understand the ways educators practiced and enacted language policies as well as how they conceptualized (bi)literacy for emergent bilingual students. At the student level, I engaged in identity-text writing sessions designed around student interests yet aligned with the opinion/argumentation writing style the students were working on in class at the time of data collection. Additionally, I conducted one-on-one interviews with the participants at each level of analysis (i.e. school-level, classroom-level, and student-level). The primary data analysis sources included participant interviews, classroom observations, and student identity-text artifacts.
Findings highlight the dynamic in-school and classroom-level realities of emergent bilingual students in an Arizona educational-language policy context. Specifically, at the school level, there was an ongoing tension between compliance and resistance to state-mandated policies for emergent bilingual students. At the school and classroom levels, there were distinct differences in the ways students across the two classrooms were positioned within the larger school environment as well as variation surrounding how language and culture were positioned as a resource in each classroom context. The role of teachers as language policymakers is also explored through the findings. Analysis of student texts revealed the centrality of intersectional student identities throughout the writing processes. The discussion and conclusions more broadly address implications for educational practice, policy, and future research directions.
Findings highlight the dynamic in-school and classroom-level realities of emergent bilingual students in an Arizona educational-language policy context. Specifically, at the school level, there was an ongoing tension between compliance and resistance to state-mandated policies for emergent bilingual students. At the school and classroom levels, there were distinct differences in the ways students across the two classrooms were positioned within the larger school environment as well as variation surrounding how language and culture were positioned as a resource in each classroom context. The role of teachers as language policymakers is also explored through the findings. Analysis of student texts revealed the centrality of intersectional student identities throughout the writing processes. The discussion and conclusions more broadly address implications for educational practice, policy, and future research directions.
ContributorsBaca, Evelyn Concepción (Author) / Jimenez-Silva, Margarita (Thesis advisor) / Artiles, Alfredo (Committee member) / Beardsley, Audrey (Committee member) / Casanova, Saskias (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
This thesis examines heritage language learning and loss, and revitalization. It stems from my initial interests in Indigenous language revitalization and sustainment, bilingual education, and specifically dual language education in the United States. In this thesis, I describe my inquiry journey through narratives of the significant experiences and people I met and the scholarship I engaged in, particularly through visiting Keres Children’s Learning Center at Cochiti Pueblo, New Mexico, and attending the La Cosecha Dual Language Education conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In these narratives, I also reflect on what I have learned, how I was personally impacted by what I was learning and my thoughts and ideas about particular issues. These narratives helped me gain a deeper understanding of and expand my knowledge of heritage learning, bilingual education, dual language education and critical issues of language development and promotion (or non-promotion) in our country’s schools and families. Equally important is the knowledge I gained about dual language pedagogy and its critical importance to language revitalization programs serving Indigenous children, and their families and communities. I begin my thesis with a review of literature followed by a description of my methods and then move on to my narratives of significant learning moments, chronologically, and then summarize my key findings. I end with, ironically yet crucially with the most important lesson I learned through my inquiry journey—an understanding of my linguistic self.
This thesis examines the questions of
1. To become a Dual Language Education expert, researcher, or scholar, what does it take?
2. In what ways can a non-Native help Indigenous communities engaged in indigenous language revitalization and sustainment (ILRS)? What would they need to learn or know?
Some significant findings of my thesis work include
1. The strength, versatility, and challenges of the dual language education model in a national context
2. Culturally-sustaining pedagogy and strategies for adapting lessons to local culture
3. The centrality of tribal sovereignty and tribal control over the Indigenous language in order to grow and maintain an IRLS effort
4. Ways in which a non-Native can help an ILRS initiative
5. Respect for native communities’ right to say no to research
This thesis examines the questions of
1. To become a Dual Language Education expert, researcher, or scholar, what does it take?
2. In what ways can a non-Native help Indigenous communities engaged in indigenous language revitalization and sustainment (ILRS)? What would they need to learn or know?
Some significant findings of my thesis work include
1. The strength, versatility, and challenges of the dual language education model in a national context
2. Culturally-sustaining pedagogy and strategies for adapting lessons to local culture
3. The centrality of tribal sovereignty and tribal control over the Indigenous language in order to grow and maintain an IRLS effort
4. Ways in which a non-Native can help an ILRS initiative
5. Respect for native communities’ right to say no to research
ContributorsWelsh, Jacqueline Rose (Author) / Romero-Little, Eunice (Thesis director) / Tidwell, Jacqueline Hettel (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
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
Desert Elementary is a suburban Phoenix K-5 school. The school has undergone a significant change in its approach to reading instruction due to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) instructional shift of building knowledge through content rich nonfiction. Teachers implemented this shift in their classrooms through a 16-month professional development program called Students Talking for a Change (STFAC). This qualitative action research study explored how teacher perception of reading instruction was affected by this change in instructional practice. Data collection comprised of classroom observations, teacher interviews, planning artifacts, professional development session artifacts and student work in order to determine teacher understandings about reading comprehension and perception of classroom practice. Prior to the professional development, teachers understood reading comprehension to be answering questions correctly and acquiring skills dictated by a basal reader. The texts teachers once used to teach reading lacked topical coherence. As teachers learned how to integrate content into language arts through long-term planning and sustained exposure to a topic of study, teachers changed their understanding about reading instruction. The perception was that content, discussion and multiple interpretations were central components to comprehension. Further, planning documents evolved from student packets to unit plans based on social studies, science and literature.
ContributorsEllis, Raquel (Author) / Puckett, Kathleen (Thesis advisor) / Jimenez-Silva, Margarita (Committee member) / Harrison, Erin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
Facing a teacher shortage in math, science, and language arts secondary courses, a suburban, unified, K-12 district partnered with a university in the southwest to create a program for alternatively certified teachers. This specialized program permitted candidates to teach with an intern certificate while completing university coursework leading to certification. During this timeframe, the researcher-practitioner of this study created an alternative teacher induction program focused on cycles of action research. The model was created to capitalize on the content knowledge and work experience of alternatively certified teachers in order to inspire innovation by offering a district-based induction centering on cycles of action research. In the teachers' third year, each teacher conducted action research projects within the framework of Leader Scholar Communities which were facilitated by mentor teachers from the district with content expertise. This study examines the effects of such a model on teachers' identities and propensity toward transformative behaviors. A mixed methods approach was used to investigate the research questions and to help the researcher gain a broader perspective on the topic. Data were collected through a teacher efficacy survey, questionnaire, focus groups, semi-structured interviews, observations, and electronic data. The results from the study indicated that the participants in the study exhibited signs of professional teaching identity, especially in the constructs of on-going process, relationship between person and context, and teacher agency. Additionally, the participants referenced numerous perspective transformations as a result of participating in cycles of action research within the framework of a Community of Practice framework. Implications from this study include valuing alternatively certified teachers, creating outcome-based teacher induction programs, and replicating the T3IP model to include professional development opportunities beyond this unique context.
ContributorsTseunis, Paula (Author) / Puckett, Kathleen (Thesis advisor) / Foulger, Teresa (Committee member) / Harris, Connie (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
This study explored the effects of a science, technology, engineering, math, and social studies (STEMSS) professional development (PD) on teachers of language learners’ (TLLs) knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy in teaching content and language in tandem in their classrooms. With the growing population of English learners (ELs) in today’s classrooms, it is essential TLLs have the skills to support language development while teaching content. This study investigated a face-to-face PD that developed skills in supporting ELs’ academic vocabulary development using strategies in content lessons.
This research drew upon Shulman’s (2013) Knowledge Growth in Teaching Framework by looking at content, pedagogical, and curricular knowledge with the PD building knowledge and skills in addressing these areas of knowledge through the strategies. In addition, this research drew upon Lucas and Villegas’ (2013) Linguistically Responsive Teacher Education Model that addressed how teachers gain knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy to change pedagogical practices.
Title I Kindergarten through high school TLLs voluntarily participated in the PD. A mixed methods approach was used. Quantitative data was collected using a pre, post, and maintenance survey and qualitative data was collected through a lesson analysis, fall and spring observations, snapshot surveys, and focus groups.
Results suggested that the STEMSS PD increased knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy in teaching ELs content and language using strategies that support academic vocabulary. The qualitative data supported the survey results in the increase of knowledge and skills immediately following the PD and increased self-efficacy a year following the PD. The results also suggested that the strategies supported through PD, lesson development, and time to implement may better address the needs of TLLs in the classroom.
This research drew upon Shulman’s (2013) Knowledge Growth in Teaching Framework by looking at content, pedagogical, and curricular knowledge with the PD building knowledge and skills in addressing these areas of knowledge through the strategies. In addition, this research drew upon Lucas and Villegas’ (2013) Linguistically Responsive Teacher Education Model that addressed how teachers gain knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy to change pedagogical practices.
Title I Kindergarten through high school TLLs voluntarily participated in the PD. A mixed methods approach was used. Quantitative data was collected using a pre, post, and maintenance survey and qualitative data was collected through a lesson analysis, fall and spring observations, snapshot surveys, and focus groups.
Results suggested that the STEMSS PD increased knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy in teaching ELs content and language using strategies that support academic vocabulary. The qualitative data supported the survey results in the increase of knowledge and skills immediately following the PD and increased self-efficacy a year following the PD. The results also suggested that the strategies supported through PD, lesson development, and time to implement may better address the needs of TLLs in the classroom.
ContributorsGuerrero, Karen Ann Linsley (Author) / Rotheram-Fuller, Erin (Thesis advisor) / Jimenez-Silva, Margarita (Committee member) / Lambson, Dawn (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
This action research is about empowering teachers to communicate positively in discourses with parents at Individual Education Plan (IEP) meetings. It builds on the premise that giving teachers communications tools will increase their motivation to communicate more effectively and to be aware of their dialogue behavior. Taking a case study approach, I investigated how to encourage five special education teachers to communicate and involve parents. Parent reluctance to advocate for their student provided impetus to implement a teacher training program aimed at improving teacher ability to communicate with parents and engage their collaboration in IEP meeting processes. The methodology involved teacher interviews, IEP simulation group reflection training sessions, and IEP meeting observations. The study gave teachers an opportunity to self and group-reflect around issues of collaboration and effective communication with parents. The three-session virtual professional development (PD) covering sequential portions of an IEP meeting gave the teachers a sense of the communication flow of a meeting. Application of critical reflection to the joint community actions of role playing and discussions during the PD helped the teachers raise their communication awareness skills and carry over to their post-innovation IEP meetings.
ContributorsShapiro, Helene (Author) / Henriksen, Danah (Thesis advisor) / Rotheram-Fuller, Erin (Committee member) / Puckett, Kathleen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021