Theses and Dissertations from UMD
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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.
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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 AN EVALUATION OF YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID TRAINING FOR AMERICORPS CLASSROOM EDUCATORS(2020) Ross, Ana-Sophia; Wang, Cixin; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The prevalence and severity of adolescent mental health concerns is clear. Half of youth experience a trauma/adverse event, thus significantly increasing their risk of developing mental illness. Further, suicide recently became the second leading cause of death among young people. Unfortunately, most youth do not get the mental health services they need. Schools, however, are the most likely place to provide formal or informal mental health care. Classroom educators, in particular, are most likely to be the one to refer/recommend students to formal school mental health services and they also provide informal mental health help. Despite their key role, they often feel underprepared to recognize concerning symptoms in youth and to support school mental health efforts. This mixed-methods study explored the impact of training 106 City Year AmeriCorps members in Dade County (Miami, Florida) using the Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) program. Quantitative data were collected at three points (pre, post, and two months after training) to examine whether YMHFA training equipped corps members with tools to support students’ mental health. Overall, training was associated with short-term improvements in mental health literacy, confidence and intentions to engage in providing mental health first aid behaviors, and knowledge of school based mental health providers. Notably, participants self-reported greater engagement in mental health helping behaviors in the two months after training than in the two months before training. No improvement in mental health stigma was observed, and some short-term improvements (i.e., mental health literacy, intentions to help) were not sustained at follow-up. Qualitative data generally supported quantitative findings and suggested that the YMHFA program is well-suited for classroom educators. However, the program has room to grow in ensuring it helps educators support culturally and linguistically diverse students’ mental health.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 EXPLORING WEB CONTENT STRATEGY CURRICULA AND BUSINESS PRACTICES IN INFORMATION SCIENCES(2016) Gates, Laura Allison; Lawley, Katy N; Library & Information Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This exploratory study seeks to understand the knowledges, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) within web content strategy. In 2009, the IA Summit officially recognized the discipline of web content strategy; however, discussions on web content strategy date back to as early as 1996 in the early days of the internet. Academia and industry have been working within web content strategy but focus on different subject areas. Industry, for example, has over six working definitions for web content strategy that complement and conflict with one another. Academia instead focused on how to separate software code from content. To determine what KSAOs aligned between academia and industry, course syllabi and job advertisements were collected and coded against formal definitions of KSAOs and a KSAO node framework. Additionally, instructors and professionals were surveyed to provide additional insight on web content strategy KSAOs. The study found that while there were several KSAO nodes in agreement between industry and academia, survey results alluded to where there is room for KSAOs to improve.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.Item Teaching For Inclusion: The Effects Of A Professional Development Course For Secondary General And Special Education Mathematics Teachers For Increasing Teacher Knowledge And Self-Efficacy In Geometry(2015) Wright, Kenneth; Leone, Peter; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The current study examined the effects of a co-teacher professional development course for increasing the knowledge and self-efficacy of special education and general education geometry teachers in an inclusion setting. The professional development course included instruction on Universal Design for Learning instructional strategies as well as similarity and congruence in geometry. The course was presented in a blended learning format and included in-person and online activities. The online activities used animated scripts of teacher instruction for collaborative discussion and decision-making. A multiple probe design across three sets of two teachers for a total of 6 participants was used in this study to demonstrate a functional relationship between the independent and dependent variables. The participants were six special education and general education geometry teachers from public charter schools in Washington, DC. Results of the study demonstrated that participants were able to improve their content and pedagogical content knowledge in geometry as well as their self-efficacy for teaching in an inclusion setting. Specifically, special education teachers demonstrated a greater increase in content knowledge while general education teachers demonstrated a greater increase in self-efficacy for teaching students with disabilities. The study suggests that providing professional development for co-teachers can enhance collaboration as well as increase content knowledge and teacher self-efficacy.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.