Teaching, Learning, Policy & Leadership Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2759
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Item Noticing Teachers' Noticing: Understanding and Supporting Video Club Facilitation(2023) Walton, Margaret; Walkoe, Janet; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Facilitators of teacher professional development (PD) play an integral role in teacher learning. Facilitators often both plan and implement PD and it is important that they can make these experiences meaningful learning opportunities for teachers. Researchers have only recently delved more deeply into understanding the knowledge and skills facilitators need for their work, and how to support facilitators to learn such knowledge and skills. This qualitative three-article dissertation is a design-based research project that explores what facilitators do and how they learn to support teachers in developing a particular instructional skill- noticing student mathematical thinking. Noticing student thinking is how teachers center and build on student ideas in the classroom. I designed a facilitator PD (F-PD) that aimed to help six novice facilitators learn to lead video clubs, a type of teacher PD that has been shown to support teachers in learning to notice. I examined how the novice facilitators learned to lead video clubs and how characteristics of F-PD supported or constrained that learning. In the first study, “A Facilitator Noticing Framework: How Facilitators Notice Teacher Thinking,” I develop a framework for facilitators’ cognitive process as they support teachers to learn to notice in PD, like video clubs. I argue that, like teachers, facilitators also notice. However, facilitators primarily notice teacher, rather than student thinking. I explain the different aspects of teacher thinking that a facilitator might notice. I then use the framework as a lens to understand how three experienced facilitators’ interactions with teachers in video clubs support the teachers to notice student thinking. Study Two, “Novice Facilitators Learning to Lead Video Clubs: A Framing Perspective” is a close examination of how the participants in my F-PD learned to lead video clubs. The analysis included qualitative coding of the participants’ focus related to leading video clubs during discussions with each other and me as the F-PD leader. The findings indicate that participants’ understanding likely shifted. Early in the F-PD, participants appeared to think of leading video clubs as sustaining any general conversation between teachers. Later in the F-PD, the participants likely understood video club facilitation as paying attention and responding to aspects of teachers’ thinking related to noticing student thinking. The interactions between the participants and me, along with the F-PD design, appeared to contribute to this shift, which is also explained. In Study Three, “Designing to Support Facilitators to Learn to Notice Teacher Thinking,” I zoom out and look at the F-PD as an overall activity. I identify some of the problems that arose during the F-PD that constrained participants' learning. I explore how I changed the F-PD design in response or, how differences in the F-PD design from early to later session mitigated issues. I offer several design suggestions for future F-PDs, based on my findings.Item High Quality Induction to Ensure High Quality Teaching(2022) Hall, Nate' Lynne; Imig, David; McLaughlin, Margaret; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In his letter introducing the 2011 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, former President Barack Obama stated “we know that from the moment students enter a school, the most important factor in their success is not the color of their skin or the income of their parents – it is the teacher standing at the front of the classroom.” (U.S. Department of Education, 2011, p. 1). The findings of several research studies point to teachers’ classroom practice as one of the most impactful factors, if not the most impactful factor, on the success of students (Akirba, LeTendre, & Scribner, 2007; Putman, 2012; Kini & Podolysky, 2016). However, with high teacher attrition rates nationwide and decreased enrollment in and completion of teacher preparation programs, researchers are projecting a difference of 200,000 candidates by the 2024-25 school year between the supply of teachers and the demand for new teachers by the 13,500 school districts across the United States (Sutcher, Darling-Hammond, and Carver-Thomas, 2016). Given the ways that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this problem, we are at a critical time to consider ways to recruit, prepare and retain teachers for our nation’s schools. In 2021, Rosenberg and Anderson, writers at Education Resource Strategies (ERS), described the challenge of attracting and retaining teachers as a trifecta of “low salaries, difficult working conditions, and a lack of career pathway opportunities.” Then came the COVID-19 pandemic and, according to the ERS analysts, “being a teacher became even more challenging than before” (Rosenberg & Anderson, 2021, pg. 3). The COVID-19 pandemic elevated the need to consider effective ways to inculcate novice teachers into the profession, give them essential skills, and prepare them for the rigorous, demanding, and rewarding profession that they have chosen. One way to do this is to provide and quickly engage new and beginning teachers in a high-quality induction program that equips them with the necessary skills to be successful and builds their professional capital. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the gaps within the district’s current comprehensive teacher induction program in comparison to the induction program components within the state’s regulations and Wong’s Induction Framework. Due to the fact that the largest percentage of the new/beginning teacher population leave the district after their second year, it is important that the teacher induction program provides them with the skills that are necessary to be, and feel, successful. The research questions that guided this study were: What components of high-quality induction programs are new and beginning teachers experiencing in the district’s current comprehensive teacher induction program? What are the ways in which new and beginning teachers’ induction experiences reflect the state’s regulations and Wong’s high-quality Induction Framework? Where do gaps exist between the current induction practices for new and beginning teachers in the district and the state’s regulations and Wong’s components of high-quality induction programs? The study was executed in three phases, (a) administering a new/beginning teacher survey, (b) conducting individual teacher interviews and school and curricular office leader focus groups, and (c) undertaking a document analysis of district documents. Analyses of new/beginning teacher and school and curricular office leader surveys, interviews, and focus groups assisted in identifying induction program components experienced by new/beginning teachers and offered by system leaders. Findings from all aspects of this study helped identify missing components of the district’s current induction program. These findings indicate the need to build administrator capacity around teacher induction and the establishment of systemic school-based induction programs. Establishing communication structures between system-level and school-based leaders is needed to ensure that new and beginning teachers are being provided a variety of supports that meet their needs.Item TEACHER PERCEPTIONS OF ONLINE SIOP® PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT(2018) McCall, Aundrea; Fagan, Drew; McLaughlin, Margaret; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Educators are concerned with the academic attainment of English learners (ELs) in U.S schools, as this student population’s numbers continue to grow. In 2014-15, 4.6 million, or about 9%, of all public school students in the United States were ELs. The number of ELs in public schools is projected to represent 25% of all public school students by 2025 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2017; National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition, 2013). The purpose of this study was to examine non-ESOL elementary content area teachers’ perceptions of the online SIOP® professional development course regarding implementing the six features of lesson preparation and applying the eight components of SIOP® within their lesson preparation. The study was guided by three research questions and an online survey to obtain teacher perceptions regarding their implementation of the key SIOP® components in lesson preparation, application of the eight SIOP® components, and potential ways that SIOP® had positive effects on instructing ELs. Qualtrics (a web-based tool) was used to create the descriptive survey and generate reports from the participants’ responses. From the research findings, recommendations were made to contribute to the literature and for future study in general, for the school district, and the researcher. SIOP® as an online professional development tool has the potential to reach a growing audience of content teachers who require best practices and sound approaches to teaching ELs in their classrooms.Item EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF PEER ASSISTANCE AND REVIEW (PAR) ON TEACHERS' PRACTICE(2018) Curry, David G.; Timmons-Brown, Stephanie; McLaughlin, Margaret J.; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Researchers, practitioners, and policy makers widely recognize teacher quality as the school-related factor that has the largest influence on a child’s academic performance. While research has documented the central role that teacher quality plays in promoting student achievement, studies have not yet yielded a consensus on the factors that enhance teacher quality. Understanding which professional development practices prove most effective in addressing district needs can potentially impact how district leaders look to improve both teacher performance and teacher retention. Districts must assess the degree to which existing teacher development activities are helping teachers attain key skills. The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine the impact of Peer Assistance and Review (PAR) on the teaching practices of non-tenured teachers as assessed by the teacher observation tool, Framework for Teaching (FfT). This study sought to identify whether there was a statistically significant difference in ratings from a teacher’s first to last formal observation after participating in PAR. In this mixed methods study, quantitative methods were used to examine formal observation data in order determine whether participation in PAR impacted the performance ratings of teachers. Furthermore, qualitative methods, in the form of interviews, were used to gain insight on a teacher’s perception about their participation in PAR and how it has impacted their instructional practices. Results from this study confirm that there was a statistically significant difference in first to last formal observation ratings recorded for all of the eight instructional components tested. Furthermore, data showed that participating teachers believe that their participation in PAR positively influenced the improvement of their instructional practices. This study enriches the literature on Peer Assistance and Review and the impact the program can have on teachers.Item ARTS INTEGRATION FOR UNDERSTANDING: DEEPENING TEACHER PRACTICE IN AND THROUGH THE ARTS(2017) Krakaur, Linda; Valli, Linda; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Arts integration is promoted as a powerful instructional method to address the needs of 21st century students. Teaching in and through the arts can support learners in envisioning, constructing, and communicating deep understandings of themselves, their communities, and the world. A co-equal, cognitive style of integration requires teachers to balance learning in the arts and non-arts content areas and orient instruction toward investigations of shared concepts. While the co-equal, cognitive style dominates the literature, in practice, this style is rarely achieved. This study centers on a professional development program designed to guide teachers in striving for a co-equal style. This research investigates the instructional practices of four teachers who completed a one-year course of studies at a large, public university. Course content focused on creative processes, arts integration theory, art forms and authentic assessment. The methods for this case study research included observations, pre and post lesson interviews, focus group interviews, and analysis of arts integrated lesson plans. The findings indicate that all of the teachers were able to achieve a co-equal style, but not sustain it over the course of the lesson. The case study teachers enacted a variety of roles to orient instruction toward understanding rather than isolated skills and knowledge. They demonstrated artistic habits of mind, made creative pedagogical choices, and facilitated arts-based discourses during instruction. Yet, the teachers demonstrated challenges when facilitating student reflection in the arts and designing authentic integrated assessments. This study suggests that a co-equal style is possible and benefits both teachers and students, but greater training in how to facilitate creative processes may be needed, so teachers can account for the unique ways of knowing that occur in the third-space.Item Formats and Features of Professional Development as Predictors of Self-Reported Changes in Music Teachers' Knowledge and Skills(2014) Schneckenburger, Brian K; Hewitt, Michael P; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to describe the self-reported professional development activities of music teachers in the United States and to determine whether selected formats and features of professional development experiences commonly available to music teachers were significant predictors of music teachers' self-reported enhancements in knowledge and skills. The Music Teacher Professional Development Survey was distributed to a simple random sample of 2,257 music teachers in all 50 States and the District of Columbia. It contained items that pertained to participants' professional development activities during the 2012-2013 school year, asking them to describe one of those experiences in-depth and to rate how that experience affected their knowledge and skills. A total of 493 teachers responded to the survey, and 326 completed it. Notable findings indicated that (a) music teachers attended professional development outside of their schools or districts to find professional development relevant to their roles as music teachers, (b) they undertook individual learning to supplement their formal professional development, and commonly spent more than 20 hours during the 2012-2013 school year doing so; and (c) their ideal professional development experiences would be a workshop that involved other music teachers, was relatively short in length, would take place in their own schools or districts, and related to their areas of teaching specialization. Three professional development formats (in-district professional development workshop, workshop sponsored by a college or university, and graduate coursework) were entered into a fixed coefficients multiple regression model with out-of-district music/ music education conference as the referent group and state membership as fixed variables. Results revealed statistically significant effects for (a) graduate coursework and (b) in-district professional development in comparison to the referent group on participants' ratings of enhanced knowledge and skills. Effects for in-district professional development workshops were negative, suggesting that participants rated their enhancements in knowledge and skills significantly lower than the referent group. For features of professional development, fixed coefficient multiple regression analysis results indicated that (a) time span, (b) opportunities of active learning, (c) activity type, and (d) content focus were significant predictors of music teachers' ratings of enhanced knowledge and skill.Item The Instructional Literacy Coach's Role in the Data-Driven Decision Making Process in an Urban School(2014) Arthurs, Natalie Marie; MacDonald, Victoria-María; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The current high-stakes testing environment has resulted in intense pressure on schools to build professional learning communities focused on data-driven decision-making (DDDM). As a result, schools and school districts are implementing systems where teachers, teacher leaders, and school leaders collaboratively analyze assessment data and use the results to inform instructional practice. One promising approach to providing teachers better guidance on using data to inform practice is the use of instructional coaches - master teachers who offer on-site and ongoing instructional support for teachers. Even though there are current studies on the various roles of instructional coaches, one prominent role that has rarely been examined is the instructional coaches' role in data-driven decision making. This qualitative case study examines the convergence of two popular school improvement policies: instructional coaching and data-driven decision making (DDDM). Building upon current large-scale research studies on DDDM as well as instructional coaching, this study examined how an instructional literacy coach in an urban, high-poverty, public charter middle school supports DDDM and how this support relates to teacher practices. Interviews, observations, and document/artifact analysis were utilized to inform this study. Findings show that while the instructional coach improves teachers' data use knowledge and skills, they also indicate that the coach's support had minimal impact on actual teaching practices. Findings also indicate that the coach possessed key attributes that deemed him `effective' in his support to teachers with DDDM: strong pedagogical and content expertise, which allowed him to gain the respect of teachers; strong interpersonal skills, which assisted him with building trusting relationships; and, a strong belief in the capacity of others to grow and develop, which helped him to develop teachers' self-efficacy. Furthermore, an analysis of the attributes of an effective instructional literacy coach may contribute to the way schools and school districts evaluate the effectiveness of their instructional coaches. Results of the study also have potential implications for federal and local policy on professional development for teachers, teacher leaders, and instructional coaches.Item THE PERCEIVED RELATIONSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ON TEACHER SELF-REPORTED USE OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS(2014) Tresler, Tiffany D.; Kivlighan, Dennis; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Beginning in 2012 teachers from 44 states have been challenged to make significant changes in curriculum and classroom instruction to meet the rigor of the Common Core State Standards. However, available research does not provide definitive methods to impact wide-scale reform, such as Common Core Standards adoption. This preliminary, quantitative study seeks to examine professional development and one component of the Common Core. The purpose is to determine if specific teacher perceived features of professional development are related to self-reported classroom use of the six English language arts (ELA) Common Core instructional shifts. The specific professional development features studied and the statistical analysis are based on the work of Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman, and Yoon (2001), examining what makes professional development effective. The features are type (reform vs. traditional), duration, collective participation, content focus, coherence, and active learning. The ELA instructional shifts are balancing informational and literary text, teaching reading and writing through disciplines, use of complex text, text-based answers, writing from sources, and use of academic vocabulary. The study population consists of 89 elementary school teachers in one school system in Maryland who completed a survey asking them to describe their most recent professional development experience and their classroom use of the six ELA Common Core instructional shifts. The survey is modified from the Teacher Activity Survey (Garet et al., 1999) used in a large-scale national study (Garet et al., 2001) and a follow-up three-year longitudinal study (Desimone, Porter, Garet, Yoon, & Birman, 2002). The results of the correlation and ordinary least-squares regression analysis indicate that alignment, a component of coherence, and content focus are the only two perceived professional development features that are strongly correlated with teacher self-reported use of the Common Core instructional shifts. Specifically, the feature of content focus is likely to be a predictor of reported use of students reading and writing through disciplines and writing from sources. Alignment is likely to be a predictor of the reported use of teaching students using complex text. Content focus and alignment are predictors of the reported use of the shifts in total.Item An Examination of Science Teachers' Learning in a Laboratory-Based Professional Development Program(2008-04-22) Kiehl, Melissa Lynn; McGinnis, James R; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Professional development generally refers to the collection of activities that systematically increase teachers' knowledge of academic subjects and advance teachers' understanding of instructional strategies. Given the complexity of the reform initiatives for science education in the United States of America as set forth by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996), professional development might provide a bridge for aligning teacher practice with national standards (Loucks-Horsley, 1995). However, the current model of professional growth, focused largely on expanding a repertoire of skills, is not adequate (Little, 1993). Understanding teacher learning theory and utilizing research on pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) could be the differentiating factor for science teacher professional development; if utilized in design and evaluation, they may promote both knowing science in context and knowing how to tailor science learning to the needs of students (Shulman, 1987). The purpose of this study was to investigate how the Laboratory Science Teacher Professional Development Program (LSTPD), a three year professional development model that immerses teachers in learning science content through inquiry, impacts teachers' learning and classroom practice. It first aimed to analyze teacher learning and PCK; second, it examined their views on professional development; and third, whether they anticipate adapting their practice to include facets of their laboratory experience. Participants were teachers in their second or third year of participation in LSTPD. The study followed a qualitative case study design and made use of in-depth interviews and observations to examine teachers' knowledge, beliefs, and practice. The study drew on a constructivist framework. Findings demonstrated that teachers' understanding of content, inquiry, and science as a living enterprise were greatly increased, and that teachers generated goals for practice that echoed their new understandings. Further, teachers articulated how they connected LSTPD to their classrooms, fueling further discussion of the role of PCK in their experience. This study has greater implications for the design of sustained research-based professional development experiences in promoting learning in teachers, and inquiry techniques in classrooms.Item Supporting Professional Development in an Era of Accountability: The Elementary School Principal Perspective(2004-11-18) Arbogast, Allan D; Mawhinney, Hanne B.; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Supporting Professional Learning in an Era of Accountability: The Elementary School Principal Perspective Abstract The current wave of school reform demands high levels of accountability from districts and from individual schools. The accountability is measured in terms of student achievement. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 demands that each state report student proficiency levels and hold schools accountable for student progress. How students increase achievement is left to the districts and to the schools. There is a large body of evidence that links student achievement to teacher professional development, although the linkage may be indirect. There is also a large body of evidence that links the quality of teacher professional development to the structure and culture of the school. The research in organizational learning links professional development to the creation of learning communities that support shared decision-making, a supportive environment for experimentation, collaboration among peers and supportive leadership. The school principal is a key component in the creation of learning communities. However, there is very little work done that examines the practices that principals use to create environments that support professional learning in an era of high stakes accountability. This study seeks to uncover the practices that elementary school principals utilize that balance the demands of accountability with the creation of support learning environments. To uncover these practices, this study will utilize a multi-case study of schools identified as having supportive environments for professional learning. The case study is situated in a large suburban school district in a mid-Atlantic state under a state mandated accountability program. To determine which schools to study, supervisors will be surveyed to generate a list of schools that support professional learning from a pool of 78 schools. Four schools will then be selected that vary in achievement scores and socio-economic demographics. A case study approach utilizing interviews will gather evidence of the practices that principals use the support professional learning. The data will be categorized using a guiding conceptual framework developed from a review of the literature on organizational learning, principal leadership and teacher professional development. These conditions include the district effects, beliefs of the school, the school culture, school decision-making structures and planning strategies. In addition, this study will identify and categorize the actions that principals utilized to support professional learning in an era of high-stakes accountability. The identification of the practices principals use to support professional learning is significant because accountability and student achievement impact virtually every school in the country. The study will add to our knowledge about the effects of accountability, leadership and the development of environments that support learning.