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- All Subjects: Teacher Education
- Genre: Doctoral Dissertation
- Creators: Barnard, Wendy
- Member of: ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Description
ABSTRACT Counselors at a public community college who teach a first-year college success course to developmental education students do not have effective opportunities or a systematic method to develop their teaching practice. Moreover, like a majority of community college and university instructors, many counselors do not have formal training in instruction. Since the retention and persistence rates of developmental education students are low when compared to non-developmental education students, and the purpose of the college success course is to increase developmental education student success, it is imperative that instructors of the college success course are well-trained to provide high quality learning experiences. The researcher implemented the Lesson Study (LS) professional learning experience in order to increase the collaboration amongst counselors in their efforts to improve their teaching practice as well as improve the quality of the learning experience for developmental education students, consequently potentially improving their retention and persistence. The researcher facilitated a mixed-method study to explore how instructors made meaning of their teaching practice as well as what changes they made to their instructional practice while engaging in LS. The researcher utilized qualitative means to analyze the following data: (1) instructors' weekly reflective journals, (2) semi-structured interviews with instructors after each cycle of LS, (3) video recordings of LS debrief meetings, and (4) video recordings of LS planning meetings. The researcher utilized quantitative means to analyze the following data: (1) pre/post instructor surveys on self-efficacy, and (2) 1,235 student questionnaires regarding LS lessons and non-LS lessons. Analysis of the qualitative data demonstrated that how counselors made meaning of their LS experience seemed to correlate with positive features attributed to the practice of LS in the research literature such as increased collaboration and in-depth reflection as well as positive changes in instructional practices and an increased focus on learning from practice. In addition, analysis of the qualitative and quantitative data showed that lessons created through LS produced a higher quality learning experience for students than lessons that were not created through LS. Moreover, the analysis of the data showed an increase in instructors' efficacy for teaching.
ContributorsLucas, Miguel (Author) / Carlson, David L. (Thesis advisor) / Barnard, Wendy (Committee member) / Haas, Eric (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Undergraduate teacher preparation programs face scrutiny regarding pre-service teachers' preparation upon graduation. Specifically, scholars contend that teacher preparation programs do not adequately prepare pre-service teachers to plan for effective instruction. Situated in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University, this action research study used the Theory of Pedagogical Content Knowledge to examine (a) how pre-service teachers developed unit planning practices using the Backward Design framework and (b) the pedagogical teaching practices used as they implemented the unit plan in the classroom. During the student teaching course, pre-service teachers received instruction on how to use the Backward Design framework to plan a unit of instruction to implement in their placement classroom. Results from the mixed-methods study provided evidence that Backward Design was an effective way for pre-service teachers to plan instruction. Results from the study indicated that implementing and reflecting on lessons taught from the unit plan contributed to the pedagogical teaching practices used in the classroom. Furthermore, results demonstrated that designing, implementing, and reflecting on the unit plan contributed to a shift in how participants viewed themselves. Through the study, they began to view themselves more as a teacher, than a pre-service student teacher. Keywords: teacher preparation programs, unit planning, instructional practices
ContributorsBoozer, April (Author) / Carlson, David (Thesis advisor) / Barnard, Wendy (Committee member) / Holmes, Shaun (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Mentor teachers have a significant impact on pre-service teachers. Unfortunately, mentors are often underprepared for their role, and thus, the potential learning from a student teaching experience is not maximized. Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University provides training to mentors who host pre-service teachers during their student teaching experience. Training is delivered in two formats: online prior to the start of the semester and face-to-face each month throughout the semester. This action research study looked at how training contributes to mentor understanding and actions in supporting teacher candidates and how mentor support impacts teacher candidate performance. The study included two mentor/teacher candidate dyads and one university site coordinator. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from a variety of sources including observations of mentor trainings, teacher candidate lessons, and coaching conversations. Additional data sources included semi-structured interviews with mentors, teacher candidates, and the site coordinator. Analysis of data found that training may contribute to mentor understanding, but other factors matter too. The data also indicated that current training is insufficient at producing all desired mentor behaviors. With respect to the ways that mentors support teacher candidates, this study found that mentors play a multifaceted role, provide ongoing feedback, and employ various strategies during coaching conversations. This study found mentors help teacher candidates see their performance through the eyes of an experienced educator. Modeling and coaching helped teacher candidates improve. This study also suggests a positive, professional relationship between mentor/mentee and certain teacher candidate characteristics such as openness to feedback facilitate learning from a mentor.
ContributorsBorden, Ryen (Author) / Carlson, David (Thesis advisor) / Barnard, Wendy (Committee member) / Rojas, Michelle (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014