Matching Items (8)
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- All Subjects: Teacher Education
- Creators: Bertrand, Melanie
- Creators: Jordan, Michelle
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
- Resource Type: Text
- Status: Published
Description
The purpose of this action research study was to examine the impact of cogenerative dialogues on instructor and student perceptions of rigor in a master's and certification program for alternatively certified teachers. Additionally, the study was designed to determine if these open dialogues would impact instructional decisions of college instructors in the program. The investigator used a mixed methods research model that included surveys, interviews, and video of the dialogues to measure the impact. The results of the study indicated that both sets of participants remained consistent in their identification and definition of the term rigor. The cogenerative dialogues did have an impact on instructor understanding of student definitions of rigor. Instructors began to change some instructional decisions as a result of the dialogues in small groups.
ContributorsDeSimone, Melissa (Author) / Carlson, David L. (Thesis advisor) / Jordan, Michelle (Committee member) / Cruz, Heather (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
This mixed methods action research study describes the benefits of a Team Leadership Community of Practice group for six early career special education teachers who supervised paraeducators. Problem-posing conversations with peers were a catalyst for professional learning and leadership transformation. The theoretical framework included Experiential Learning Theory, Transformational Leadership, and Communities of Practice—combined as a tri-theory lens. Data collection instruments included individual interviews, a focus group, content logs from audio recordings, a researcher journal, and two researcher-created instruments—the Intentional Leadership Actions and Paraeducator Outcomes Survey and the Teacher Group Reflection Survey. Findings indicated that team leaders favored collaborative partnerships with paraeducators rather than supervisory roles. Given perceived communication barriers as team leaders, participants spent time preparing for conversations with paraeducators. Together, they co-constructed understandings and stretched one another as a learning Community of Practice (CoP), as defined by Wenger (1998). The CoP was a framework for Experiential Learning when team leaders gathered together to share their concrete leadership experiences, reflect, conceptualize abstract meaning, and discuss possible strategies for future experimentation. Additionally, team leaders experienced individual reflection following CoP gatherings as they considered peer suggestions, fine-tuned ideas, and planned leadership actions. As team leaders implemented new leadership ideas and experienced positive outcomes, they reported increased efficacy and desire for additional leadership opportunities in their classrooms and beyond. A trilogy of poems complements the discussion of findings.
ContributorsLedbetter, Jessanne P (Author) / Bertrand, Melanie (Thesis advisor) / Foulger, Teresa (Committee member) / Hansen, Taryl (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Learning a second language has been shown to have many benefits, but in the
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.
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.
ContributorsSalas, Raquel (Author) / Bertrand, Melanie (Thesis advisor) / Buss, Ray R. (Committee member) / Hightower, Guadalupe (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
The United States is facing an unprecedented teacher shortage. With many studies estimating that 17-33% of teachers leave the profession within their first five years of starting a career, something needs to change to keep new teachers in the classroom. This study evaluates the effectiveness of peer observation as a learning tool to supplement the training of preservice teachers on an elementary campus. Observational learning theory and adult learning theory created the lens through which peer observations were implemented and evaluated in this study. Specifically, this study aimed to answer the following research questions: (a) How do conversations about teaching practices evolve over time between the preservice teacher participant and the researcher within the context of discussions following peer observations? and (b) How do peer observations influence the teaching practices of preservice teachers?
This study found that the preservice teachers who participated in the peer observation intervention improved in their teaching practices over the course of the semester, valued the experience of peer observation visits, and increased their ability to talk about teaching and learning in more sophisticated and complex terms.
This study found that the preservice teachers who participated in the peer observation intervention improved in their teaching practices over the course of the semester, valued the experience of peer observation visits, and increased their ability to talk about teaching and learning in more sophisticated and complex terms.
ContributorsSchenk, Matthew D (Author) / Bertrand, Melanie (Thesis advisor) / Buss, Ray R (Committee member) / Hacker, Stacie C (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
The purpose of this action research study was to implement and analyze an intervention designed to improve perceptions of working with others as well as practice and improve emotional tools related to such interactions through the systematic development of ability emotional intelligence (EI) related skills. The present study sought to: (1) explore high school students’ perceptions of their role as part of a team during teamwork; (1a) investigate how perceptions differed by EI level; (2) examine how students’ perceptions of their role in teamwork were influenced by being paired with more advanced (ability EI) peers or less advanced peers, based on ability emotional intelligence test scores; (3) determine if ability emotional intelligence related skills could be developed over the course of a 7-week intervention.
The intervention took place in a 12th grade US Government & Economics classroom with 34 participants for examination of general trends, and 11 focal participants for focused and in-depth analysis. Students were taught about emotion theory and engaged in two weeks of ability emotional intelligence skills training, followed by a five-week project cycle in which students were required to work together to achieve a common goal. The research design was mixed methods convergent parallel. Quantitative data were collected from post- and retrospective pre-intervention surveys regarding student perceptions about working with others and their ability EI related skills. Qualitative data were collected through on-going student reflective journal entries, observational field notes, and interviews with the focal group of participants.
Results suggested the intervention had a significant effect on students’ perceptions of working with others and perceived ability emotional intelligence related skills. Significant positive change was found through quantitative data analysis, revealing students’ perceptions about working with others in teams had improved as a result of the intervention as had their perceptions about their ability EI related skills. Qualitative analysis revealed rich, thick descriptions exploring this shift in perception among the 11 focal students, providing the evidence necessary to support the effectiveness of the intervention. Results suggested the possibilities for improved teamwork in the classroom.
The intervention took place in a 12th grade US Government & Economics classroom with 34 participants for examination of general trends, and 11 focal participants for focused and in-depth analysis. Students were taught about emotion theory and engaged in two weeks of ability emotional intelligence skills training, followed by a five-week project cycle in which students were required to work together to achieve a common goal. The research design was mixed methods convergent parallel. Quantitative data were collected from post- and retrospective pre-intervention surveys regarding student perceptions about working with others and their ability EI related skills. Qualitative data were collected through on-going student reflective journal entries, observational field notes, and interviews with the focal group of participants.
Results suggested the intervention had a significant effect on students’ perceptions of working with others and perceived ability emotional intelligence related skills. Significant positive change was found through quantitative data analysis, revealing students’ perceptions about working with others in teams had improved as a result of the intervention as had their perceptions about their ability EI related skills. Qualitative analysis revealed rich, thick descriptions exploring this shift in perception among the 11 focal students, providing the evidence necessary to support the effectiveness of the intervention. Results suggested the possibilities for improved teamwork in the classroom.
ContributorsZuniga, Alison Kara (Author) / Bertrand, Melanie (Thesis advisor) / Buss, Ray (Committee member) / Caruso, David (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
In this three-article dissertation, I explore what it means for teachers to be designers in three different ways. Each article can stand on its own, but taken together, they paint a rich and nuanced picture of the relationship between teachers and design. The first article is an analysis of a decade of literature on teachers and design seeking to answer the question, “What does it mean for a teacher to be described as a designer, or for the act of teaching to be considered an act of design?” The analysis combined an interpretive content analysis of central terms and constructs with a network analysis of co-authorship and citation practices. The results highlighted 10 strands of literature around teachers and design, each describing a different perspective on what, how, when, and why teachers design.
The second article focuses on a design-based professional development (PD) program I conducted with four teachers in a rural junior high school. The program was designed to support teachers in approaching problems of practice in designerly ways, including exploring problems using various epistemic perspectives. Using an embedded case analysis approach, I found that although each teacher interpreted the program differently, all described outcomes related to coming to know in new ways, developing a deeper understanding of students, and being impacted at a personal level. These outcomes could be interpreted as a type of sensemaking, where teachers came to re-interpret the past and present in ways that allowed them to shape the future. Sensemaking was supported through epistemic diversity and the acts of framing common in design practice.
The third article is a scholarly essay arguing that the PD program and its implementation suggest design is not only about creating things but is also about seeing and addressing the indeterminacy inherent in complex situations of practice. Designers interact with this indeterminacy through imposing a frame on the situation and interpreting the results. When teachers are designers, they are empowered to integrate their personal and professional selves with the design situation, all while maintaining a form of skeptical optimism within complex and shifting contexts.
ContributorsWarr, Melissa (Author) / Mishra, Punyashloke (Thesis advisor) / Anderson, Katherine (Committee member) / Jordan, Michelle (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
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
Description
Expansive framing is a promising approach to understanding transfer but little is known about how it might work in teacher professional development, an area that research suggests would be improved by the use of situative strategies. The Content, Person, Context framework (CPC) that has been developed in online learning contexts draws on the concept of expansive framing and further develops it through a focus on positioning content, person and context for value creation. However, little is known about how it promotes transfer. I studied how these two situative approaches, individually and together, illuminated near-transfer in the context of an online teacher professional development (PD) course. In this mixed methods study I adapted and created rubrics to analyze educators’ stories about how they intended to implement what they had learned in the course. I concluded that CPC and expansive framing support different understandings of authorship, with the former prioritizing immediate action planned for specific contexts and the latter emphasizing learner creation and ownership over time. These different views have consequences for how transfer is understood but can be used to create a model of how transfer can be fostered that is more robust than either framework taken on its own. Because this study is part of an evaluation phase of an ongoing design-based research project, I make recommendations for how expansive framing and CPC can be further used as tools for designing the next iteration of the PD module.
ContributorsJongewaard, Rebekah (Author) / Zuiker, Steven (Thesis advisor) / Barab, Sasha (Committee member) / Jordan, Michelle (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021