Matching Items (5)
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- All Subjects: Mentoring in education
- Genre: Academic theses
- Creators: Jimenez-Silva, Margarita
- Creators: Wilkinson, Christine Kajikawa
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
Description
The purpose of this study was to help increase success for first-generation Latina students at Arizona State University by providing a group mentoring support experience during the spring semester of their sophomore year. Thirteen first-generation Latinas in their sophomore year were recruited from the Obama Scholars Program at Arizona State University. These students participated in one or two 90-minute group mentoring intervention sessions during the spring semester of their sophomore year and responded to reflection questions at the end of each session. Additional data were collected through e-journaling and field notes to document the mentoring process and the short-term effects of the group mentoring intervention. Study participants named three themes as critical to their college success: college capital, confidence, and connections. Participants also reported that the intervention of group mentoring sessions helped them increase their knowledge of available resources, feel more confident about their remaining years in college, make connections with other first-generation Latinas, and convinced them to recommit themselves to working hard for immediate academic success to achieve their goal of becoming the first in their families to become a college graduate.
ContributorsGolden, Amy Edith (Author) / Clark, Christopher M. (Thesis advisor) / Wilkinson, Christine Kajikawa (Committee member) / Duplissis, Mark (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
Employee turnover is a pervasive issue across industries and at all levels of an organization. Lost productivity, hiring, interviewing, training and increased workloads are costs associated with turnover. As an undergraduate admissions professional charged with the enrollment of new freshmen students, I am constantly assessing the health of my team and working to minimize turnover in admission counselor positions. I implemented a six-week mentoring program in my office to increase second-year employee satisfaction, motivation, development and retention at the Arizona State University Undergraduate Admissions Office. Post intervention data were collected through the use of focus groups and self reflection questionnaires. Results show that mentoring is a mutually beneficial experience for mentees and mentors. Mentees reported benefits from the personalized dissemination of information and institutional knowledge by their mentors. Mentors reported that being in a mentoring relationship made them feel their opinions and experiences were valued. Mentoring can be an inexpensive professional development program designed to assist entry-level employees. While attrition cannot be totally eliminated from a workplace setting the study participants reported that the mentoring program made them feel valued even while acknowledging that there are limited opportunities for advancement within the office.
ContributorsPizzo, Melissa (Author) / Clark, Christopher (Thesis advisor) / Calleroz White, Mistalene (Committee member) / Wilkinson, Christine Kajikawa (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
The purpose of this study was to explore and report on the impact of coaching as an embedded part of professional development has on teacher learning and practice in the context of educating English Language Learners (ELLs). A close examination was made of what teachers, coaches and principals believe to be effective professional development and how the relationship between a coach and teacher affects understanding of and classroom practice with a specific population of students. The research questions were (a) How can coaching support implementation of professional development goals over traditional development activities as reported by the teacher, coach and administrator? (b) What is the relationship between the coach and teacher? (c) How does the coaching process relate to self- reported coach and teacher knowledge of instruction and practice in the ELL context? I used a qualitative approach to gather data through classroom observations and in-depth interviews. The 17 participants came from Title 1 elementary schools with high ELL populations located in the central and west valley of Phoenix, Arizona. I analyzed the data deductively then coded and categorized participant responses in relation to the literature on professional development and coaching. The findings indicated that those involved perceived embedded coaching as an effective component of professional development. What I have now termed based on my study as Professional Development Praxis (PPD). They agreed that with a structured system of coaching in place, both teachers and coaches increased their knowledge of how to best instruct ELLs as well as enhanced their ability to put research-based strategies into classroom practice. The recommendation of this study is that districts, schools and professional developers provide training and support for educators in a meaningful, effective and student centered way. Professional development were educators are provided knowledge about ELLs, opportunities for practice of what they are learning in and out of training sessions and on-going collaboration and support as they work with their students. It is the job of everyone involved in the system to better prepare educators to meet the critical needs of students who come to school with specific linguistic and academic needs.
ContributorsCastillo, Melissa J (Author) / Garcia, Eugene (Thesis advisor) / Arias, Beatriz (Committee member) / Jimenez-Silva, Margarita (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
This action research study focused on training for teacher mentors and teacher mentor self-efficacy. Specifically, this project explored the impact participation in a teacher mentor training program and teacher mentor peer shadowing had on teacher mentor self-efficacy. While there is a plethora of literature on teacher self-efficacy, minimal literature exists on the self-efficacy of teacher mentors. Bandura’s self-efficacy theory and cognitive and collaborative apprenticeship provided the foundational body of knowledge in order to understand teacher mentors’ experiences.
This study followed thirty-seven teacher mentors through the first half of the Arizona K12 Center’s Professional Learning Series – Mentor Academy Year 1. Teacher mentors were given a pre-survey upon their first day in the training series, a mid-point survey halfway through the semester and a post-survey at the beginning of the following semester. Teacher mentor self-efficacy data was collected from the surveys and analyzed to determine the impact their participation in the training program had on their self-efficacy. Five random teacher mentors were also selected for interviews. This qualitative data were collected to compliment the quantitative survey data. The second part of the study consisted of interviewing six teacher mentors in a local secondary education school district to gauge the impact the peer mentor shadowing program had on their self-efficacy. Quantitative and qualitative data collected provided insights on the impact these supports had on teacher mentor self-efficacy.
The results of this study indicate the challenge and complexities of being a teacher mentor. The data showed that teacher mentors who lacked training prior to or upon initial entry into their new position of teacher mentor struggled to be effective which negatively affected their self-efficacy. The data also indicated that teacher mentors who participated in the Arizona K12 Center’s mentor training program had greater self-efficacy for their roles. Finally, teacher mentors participating in peer mentor shadowing opportunities found it to be of the greatest impact leading to stronger self-efficacy.
This study followed thirty-seven teacher mentors through the first half of the Arizona K12 Center’s Professional Learning Series – Mentor Academy Year 1. Teacher mentors were given a pre-survey upon their first day in the training series, a mid-point survey halfway through the semester and a post-survey at the beginning of the following semester. Teacher mentor self-efficacy data was collected from the surveys and analyzed to determine the impact their participation in the training program had on their self-efficacy. Five random teacher mentors were also selected for interviews. This qualitative data were collected to compliment the quantitative survey data. The second part of the study consisted of interviewing six teacher mentors in a local secondary education school district to gauge the impact the peer mentor shadowing program had on their self-efficacy. Quantitative and qualitative data collected provided insights on the impact these supports had on teacher mentor self-efficacy.
The results of this study indicate the challenge and complexities of being a teacher mentor. The data showed that teacher mentors who lacked training prior to or upon initial entry into their new position of teacher mentor struggled to be effective which negatively affected their self-efficacy. The data also indicated that teacher mentors who participated in the Arizona K12 Center’s mentor training program had greater self-efficacy for their roles. Finally, teacher mentors participating in peer mentor shadowing opportunities found it to be of the greatest impact leading to stronger self-efficacy.
ContributorsThomsen, Teri (Author) / Kulinna, Pamela (Thesis advisor) / Olson-Stewart, Kelly (Committee member) / Mosco, Michele (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018