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 TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF EDTPA ON THEIR PRACTICE(2018) Seelke, John Louis; Brantlinger, Andrew; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)For centuries, education policymakers have sought to identify the most effective way to assess a potential teacher’s readiness to enter the classroom. These assessments evolved from multiple choice examinations to performance-based assessments focused on teacher actions. The latest iteration of these performance-baed assessments is edTPA. edTPA’s structure mirrors that of the assessment for National Board Certification (NBC) designed for veteran teachers. The NBC assessment has shown to be educative for teachers who complete it, leading to positive changes in their post-assessment practice (Athanases, 1994; Hattie & Clinton, 2010; Sato, Darling-Hammond and Wei, 2008; Steeley, 2003). This study examines whether edTPA has similar educative impacts on early career teachers. Since edTPA is relatively new, little research has been completed on its impact on teacher practice. Most of the current literature on edTPA focuses on its implementation or on pre-service candidate perceptions of completing the assessment. This interview study also examines candidate perceptions but focuses on whether they felt completing edTPA was educative and impacted their current practice. This study includes twenty teachers who participated in two hour-long interviews given roughly six months apart. All of the participants were recent secondary mathematics education graduates from one university. This study is among the first studies of edTPA to include teachers who both completed edTPA and have been teaching for at least two years. Another unique strength of this study is that, prior to the second interview, candidates reviewed their actual edTPA portfolio to help recall components of the assessment and to potentially make clearer connections between edTPA and their current practices. The study results support the notion that edTPA can be educative and influence a teacher’s current practices around planning, instruction, and assessment. The level of influence that completing edTPA has on a teacher’s practices may be impacted by school or district policies that either hinder or support high-scoring edTPA practices. The results demonstrate how edTPA can not only be seen as a summative tool at the end of pre-service teaching, but also a formative tool that impacts the teaching practices of early career teachers.Item Planning During the Internship: A Study of the Planning Practices of Preservice English Teachers(2014) Hessong Grove, Rebecca M.; Koziol, Stephen; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This collective case study investigated the planning practices of six English education interns during the full time internship, including planning for edTPA. Research and professional standards emphasize the importance of planning, as it undergirds every aspect of what happens in a classroom. By understanding how interns learn to plan, teacher educators can better facilitate interns' development of planning skills. Using activity theory as a theoretical framework, this study describes how interns' planning practices changed over the course of the internship and identifies factors that influenced changes. Data sources included lesson plans, interviews with interns and mentors, and edTPA lesson plans. Findings showed most interns did not write detailed daily plans, but those who did experienced fewer planning and teaching struggles. Communication and feedback from the mentor were major factors in creating successful plans and planning routines. Three of the interns began writing more detailed plans to improve their teaching, motivated by a desire to be more organized and effective. All interns wrote detailed, formal plans for edTPA, and these plans included elements that were not part of typical written plans, such as differentiation and formative assessment. Other areas of change included increased planning for scaffolding and addressing students' confusion. Graduate interns expressed increased confidence in planning student-centered lessons. Factors that influenced such changes included experience, mentor guidance, and support from a methods course. Interns also drew on their increasing knowledge of students and district curriculum to plan relevant lessons. Interns consistently planned at the whole-class level, with little evidence of planning for individual learning. This study has implications for teacher educators aiming to strengthen candidates' planning practices. Programs must facilitate proactive mentoring and structured co-planning. Pre-service coursework should help candidates integrate student-centered pedagogy, formative assessment, and differentiation into lesson plans. The impact of internship length and undergraduate vs. graduate program structures must be investigated further. Finally, this study indicates that planning for edTPA was educative for interns. This, along with other findings, suggests that more formal planning can improve intern learning and program coherence.