Mentoring Pre- and in-Service School Leaders Through a Combined Principal Mentoring Model: A Case Study of the University of Illinois at Chicago

Scholars have demonstrated that school leadership is second only to instruction in terms of school-level impact on student learning. Additionally, researchers and policy makers have argued that in order to ensure aspiring and novice principals develop the leadership and instructional competencies necessary to improve schools, they need to be provided with authentic learning experiences and supported by knowledgeable mentors. This case study explored a unique combined principal mentoring model, developed by the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) that spans from the pre-service phase into the early in-service phase. In order to provide a rich description of the model, the study applied a mentoring model framework that included 16 key elements drawn from literature on mentoring and four characteristic of knowledge transmission theory. The study was grounded by two Illinois statutes that mandated principal mentoring for candidates completing preparation programs and for all those serving for the first time as school principals. The study relies heavily on the state statutes and regulations, UIC program documents, and semi-structured interviews with program designers and mentors. In the final phase of the study, a survey was conducted with UIC students to further data triangulation. The analysis builds upon previous mentoring research and increases understanding of how a combined principal mentoring model can be constructed to provide a continuum of support for school leaders. The analysis conducted by this study highlights the key elements and characteristics of the UIC mentoring model and describes the extent of similarities and differences found in the design and delivery of the pre-service and the in-service phase of development. The data lead us to consider how partnerships between universities and districts could be structured to provide ongoing support for school leaders throughout their careers. The research offers insight into how one program chose to bridge an artificial divide found in research and policy, between pre- and in-service phases, to create a cohesive approach that eases transition for educators advancing from the classroom to the principal’s office

Elementary Teacher Adaptations to Engineering Curricula to Leverage Student and Community Resources

This paper addresses an important consideration for promoting equitable engineering instruction: understanding how teachers contextualize curricular materials to draw upon student and community resources. We present a descriptive case study of two 5th grade teachers who co-designed a Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)-aligned curricular unit that integrated science, engineering, and computational modeling. The five-week project challenged students to redesign their school grounds to reduce water runoff and increase accessibility for students with disabilities. The teachers implemented the project with one Grade 5 class with a large proportion of students having individualized learning plans and cultural backgrounds minoritized in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. Data sources include classroom videos, teacher interviews, and student artifacts. Findings demonstrate how teachers made helpful, important adaptations to contextualize the curriculum unit and draw upon students’ community-based resources. This case highlights the role of the teacher in enacting engineering materials that privilege student and community resources in elementary classrooms. Findings also underscore the importance of teacher customizations to promote equitable, NGSS-based engineering instruction in elementary classrooms

Social Capital Made Visible: a Case Study of Professional Learning Communities in Early Care and Education

Early care and education (ECE) services are necessary for a society because of a variety of ethical, economic, and developmental reasons. A well-developed field of practice is needed to ensure young children have access to high quality care and education settings. To promote a thriving profession, many are calling for the field of early care and education to increase the human capital, or the knowledge and skills gained through higher education and professional development, of those that work directly with young children and families. However, there exists a somewhat narrow theoretical basis for current professional development practices, particularly forms of ongoing professional development offered to those already working with young children. As professional development systems and specific programs are developed aimed at increasing the human capital of caregivers and teachers, I am proposing the importance of broadening professional development activities to include goals and delivery mechanisms based upon a theoretical understanding of the complex social systems and structures in which individuals develop. I call upon the theory of situated cognition which requires a shift from the isolated cognitive process of individuals to a highly contextualized process of learning; building a profession of competent caregivers and teachers is both about promoting the individual cognitive gains and the collective health of a social learning system of practitioners. Thus, the current study applied the sociological concept of social capital as a framework to explore a social system of ongoing professional development in ECE to illustrate how webs of social connections influence the learning and professional development process. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to study how social capital was experienced by those involved in the bounded social system of an ongoing professional development program offered to early childhood providers participating in a publically subsidized universal preschool program. Particular focus was given to the professional learning communities being introduced as a new opportunity within the overall professional development program. From a research stance as both a constructivist and critical adult, I sought to bring visibility to a largely invisible construct using the research question: How are the components of social capital experienced in the process of developing early childhood professionals? An in-depth statement of problem and rationale for the current study will be presented in chapter one. The second chapter presents a discussion about the three primary components of social capital; social networks, trust, and social resources and returns. Additionally, the second chapter will set the stage for the current study by describing how the concepts of social capital have been applied to the practice of education. Through the data and field experiences I gathered during the implementation of four different PLC groups, the reader is provided in the fourth chapter with a thick description and comprehensive analysis of how early childhood professionals experience the components of social capital. I explored three within-cases answering how the program design supported social interaction in a professional development setting, how the implementation of the PLCs fostered social learning experiences, and how teachers and directors ultimately experienced the components of social capital as a developing early childhood professional. As a result of the findings, four theoretical perspectives (developmental, asset-based, equity, and situating social learning) are presented and validated through the data as significant angles from which to see how the components of social capital currently do and potentially could operate in early childhood professional development settings. In the final chapter, I provide the reader a summary of the full study and a reflection upon my researcher stance as I engaged in the field of inquiry. I leave the reader with several primary interpretations from this case. First, social capital weaves through a variety of important constructs making visible unique aspects and considerations relevant to professional development settings for adult learners. Secondly, current professional development practices for early care and education professionals may over-emphasize what people need to learn versus how people need to learn. The study findings are further interpreted by integrating relevant literature for those designing professional learning communities, delivering professional learning communities, or those interested in the general activity of promoting the early childhood profession through ongoing professional development. In the end, the case study presented represents a relevant inquiry regarding how social networks, social trust, and social resources were conceived and experienced by people participating in the design, implementation, and activity of professional development for (and as) early childhood professionals

A Continuum of Data Literacy for Teaching

Accountability for education in the United States has existed since the first formalized system of education. Although this accountability is an important part of society, these systems must be expanded beyond high stakes assessments to include other types of data including P-12 student voices. The purpose of the current manuscript is to present a continuum for data literacy for teachers that spans preservice to inservice teacher education. We conceptualize data literacy for teachers as a metaconstruct that includes the construct of assessment literacy. The research on enabling and marginalizing factors and exposure to data are reviewed at the preservice and inservice level before a continuum of data literacy for teachers from novice through expert is presented. Implications for practice and research are explored

Design revolutions: IASDR 2019 Conference Proceedings. Volume 4: Learning, Technology, Thinking

In September 2019 Manchester School of Art at Manchester Metropolitan University was honoured to host the bi-annual conference of the International Association of Societies of Design Research (IASDR) under the unifying theme of DESIGN REVOLUTIONS. This was the first time the conference had been held in the UK. Through key research themes across nine conference tracks – Change, Learning, Living, Making, People, Technology, Thinking, Value and Voices – the conference opened up compelling, meaningful and radical dialogue of the role of design in addressing societal and organisational challenges. This Volume 4 includes papers from Learning, Technology and Thinking tracks of the conference

Engaging Multiple Teams to Design a Blended Learning Course

In the following design case, a blended learning program was designed and developed for parents interested in improving their parenting skills with their children. Numerous design teams developed the program, consisting of both synchronous live events and asynchronous web-based instruction. Teams were comprised of novice students, professors, and expert designers. This design case explores the design space and design decisions made in light of varied and unique stakeholder involvement. It also illustrates the products developed

Teachers as coaches: A teachers' perceptions and actions in a game-based virtual learning environment

Identification of how a teacher can facilitate learning within virtual environments is critical if use is to become a valued student learning experience. Through an ethnographic case study, a teacher’s perception of her role and her actions in classrooms and the virtual world along with attributes used to facilitate inquiry were described. Comparisons were also made to determine if transfer of pedagogical techniques from traditional to virtual environments were possible. Understanding how game-based complex virtual worlds work and where knowledge that the student is to acquire exists, as well teacher’s value of virtual environments, were key for facilitation and teacher buy-in