Elementary Teachers’ Ideologies On The Experience Of A Mixed-Race Student

With bi/multi-racial students existing within a nebulous racial categorization that has been historically defined to support an economic agenda, creating a positive self-identity for students in this group can be challenging. This article examined those challenges by exploring the reflections of elementary level teachers’ classroom practices and perceptions of the collective elementary educational experience of one bi-racial student in a southeastern U.S. public school

Arts for All School Arts Survey: Measuring Quality, Access and Equity in Arts Education

As part of its goal to make quality, sequential arts education a reality in all public K-12 classrooms in Los Angeles County, Arts for All connects school districts with effective tools and resources to improve arts learning. The Arts for All School Arts Survey: Measuring Quality, Access and Equity in Arts Education is the most recent of these tools to be introduced. It was developed to measure access to and quality of arts instruction at the school site level as well as to develop a system for collecting and reporting the data. The results are useful to schools and school districts to find out what is working, what's not working, and to point the way toward improvement. But the results can also provide a picture of what's happening across a region. The following summary describes how the survey was built and its first test in five school districts encompassing 100 schools. As a result of this test, some refinements will be made in the survey, but the survey's strength and utility have been proven. Los Angeles County now has a means of objectively measuring quality and access to arts education and making the results easily accessible

Implementing Observation Protocols: Lessons for K-12 Education From the Field of Early Childhood

Examines issues for implementing standardized observation protocols for teacher evaluations. Makes recommendations based on lessons from preschool, such as the need to show empirical links between teacher performance and student learning and development

Making the Invisible, Visible: RtI and Reading Comprehension

For the better part of a century the educational community has had increased focus on the importance of reading. The publication of Why Johnny Can\u27t Read and What You Can Do About It (Flesch, 1955) began the surge of effort to better understand the cognitive process of reading to further examine how educators can help children become better readers. Since this 1950\u27s publication, reading research grew and philosophies developed and subsequently changed. However, one thing remained the same: understanding what we read is critically important to becoming a critical thinker. Thus, reading comprehension research continued to boom and the educational community continues to seek ways in which reading comprehension instruction can be improved. (excerpt

Gender differences in adolescents' academic motivation and classroom behaviour

© 2013 Taylor & Francis. The present study investigated gender differences in adolescents’ academic motivation and classroom behaviour and gender differences in the extent to which motivation was associated with, and predicted, classroom behaviour. Seven hundred and fifty students (384 boys and 366 girls) aged 11–16 (M age = 14.0, 1.59 SD) completed a questionnaire examining academic motivation and teachers completed assessments of their classroom behaviour. Girls generally reported higher levels of academic motivation, whilst teacher reports of behaviour were poorer for boys. Interestingly, boys’ reported levels of academic motivation were significantly more closely associated with teacher reports of their classroom behaviour. Furthermore, cognitive aspects of boys’ motivation were better predictors of their classroom behaviour than behavioural aspects. On the other hand, behavioural aspects of girls’ motivation were better predictors of their behaviour. Implications for understanding the relationship between motivation and behaviour among adolescent boys and girls are discussed, in addition to interventions aimed at improving adolescents’ classroom behaviour

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationIn an extension of research demonstrating the need for systematic behavioral change through intervention in public schools, the present study explored effects of positive behavior interventions and supports for improved student performance and reduced reactionary management for school staff. Districts participating in a statewide training initiative in Utah provided 10 target schools for study. These target schools collected data and participated in a series of training activities prior to implementation. Implementation included the establishment of a multidisciplinary team. Outcome data included office disciplinary referrals, fidelity of implementation scales, reported satisfaction, positive reinforcement, administrative time and cost, and proficiency in high-stakes testing. The participant schools demonstrated statistically significant positive outcomes with reduced rates of reported negative student behavior, including tardies. No statistically significant differences between baseline and treatment were observed in high-stakes academic assessment measures. Recommendations for future research include the selection of more sensitive measures and disaggregated analysis

Breaking the Cycle: An International Comparison of U.S. Mathematics Teacher Preparation

Compares courses taken, experience, and knowledge of mathematics and pedagogy among future elementary and middle school mathematics teachers in sixteen countries. Explores links to student performance and calls for reforms in certification and curricula

SELECTIVE SUPPORTS: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF URBAN EDUCATORS' PREFERRED BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS

Responding to inappropriate student behavior is a significant challenge for many educators. Behavioral interventions and strategies are tools that teachers can use to reduce the occurrence of difficult behaviors while promoting positive alternatives. Factors that influence teacher selection of behavioral interventions are well-documented by the literature. However, which interventions teachers actually use has received much less attention. This paper provides an exploratory review of the preferred behavioral interventions and strategies of a large sample of urban school teachers.Participants responded to an anonymous online survey which asks how often teachers use different interventions and strategies. Results were reviewed to uncover which strategies teachers use the most/least often, whether teachers match intervention intrusiveness to the severity of problem behavior, and to determine if teachers use evidence-based practices more often than those that are not evidence-based. Results demonstrate that teachers are familiar with most of the interventions in the survey and use them to varying degrees of frequency. In addition, teachers report that they use evidence-based practices more frequently than interventions that are not evidence-based. However, teachers may not always match intervention intrusiveness to the severity of problem behaviors. Implications for school administrators and teacher trainers, as well as recommendations for improving professional development are discussed