Theses and Dissertations from UMD

Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2

New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM

More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.

Browse

Filters

2013 - 20162

Settings

Author: search.filters.author.Jorisch, Renee

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Cultivating Collaborative Relationships: A Case Study of Teacher Collaboration and Professional Development
    (2016) Jorisch, Renee; Rosenfield, Sylvia; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Students often receive instruction from specialists, professionals other than their general educators, such as special educators, reading specialists, and ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages) teachers. The purpose of this study was to examine how general educators and specialists develop collaborative relationships over time within the context of receiving professional development. While collaboration is considered essential to increasing student achievement, improving teachers’ practice, and creating comprehensive school reform, collaborative partnerships take time to develop and require multiple sources of support. Additionally, both practitioners and researchers often conflate collaboration with structural reforms such as co-teaching. This study used a retrospective single case study with a grounded theory approach to analysis. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with thirteen teachers and an administrator after three workshops were conducted throughout the school year. The theory, Cultivating Interprofessional Collaboration, describes how interprofessional relationships grow as teachers engage in a cycle of learning, constructing partnership, and reflecting. As relationships deepen some partners experience a seamless dimension to their work. A variety of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and external factors work in concert to promote this growth, which is strengthened through professional development. In this theory, professional development provides a common ground for strengthening relationships, knowledge about the collaborative process, and a reflective space to create new collaborative practices. Effective collaborative practice can lead to aligned instruction and teachers’ own professional growth. This study has implications for school interventions, professional development, and future research on collaboration in schools.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A Qualitative Investigation of Collaboration Between General Education and Instructional Support Teachers
    (2013) Jorisch, Renee; Rosenfield, Sylvia; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    General education students often receive instruction from multiple school staff, such as reading specialists and English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teachers. This study's purpose was to explore how instructional support teachers and general education teachers collaborate in order to align instruction, and employed grounded theory methodology to code and analyze teacher interviews in a public school system. Research questions included perceptions of how these two types of school professionals work together, along with perceptions about school level collaboration and administrative support. Results show that factors from the district to the intrapersonal level, along with different modes of communication, cumulatively affect the interactions between these two types of school professionals. Subsequently, the nature of these interactions has an effect on both teachers and students. This study has implications for school interventions, professional development, and future research on collaboration in schools.