Experiences with Problem-Based Learning: Virginia Initiative for Science Teaching and Achievement

The Virginia Initiative for Science Teaching and Achievement (VISTA) provides high-quality professional development for teachers and administrators to enhance the quality of their science instructional programs. One emphasis of this program is helping teachers learn to implement Problem-Based Learning in the elementary science classroom. Problem-Based Learning (PBL) has the potential to produce significant positive outcomes for students, such as increased student engagement, and opportunities for in-depth critical thinking [1]. Teachers find PBL challenging because it does take additional time for planning and material acquisition, but experience has shown that the benefits outweigh these challenges. Setting clear goals, identifying specific learning objectives, and developing big questions that tie these together help increase the success of the unit. Additionally, administrators can help teachers succeed in implementing a Problem-Based Learning unit by understanding the dynamic nature of the PBL environment, providing flexibility with unit pacing, and setting aside time for refining, reflection, and revision of the unit

The Impact of a Clinical Faculty Institute on Participants\u27 Skills for Mentoring Novice Teachers, Grades K-8

A seven-day Clinical Faculty Institute was implemented to increase the skills of mentor teachers and to develop a cadre of Clinical Faculty for the four participating colleges and universities. The 128 participants entered with some confidence in their ability to mentor novice teachers in areas typically taught in methods courses; whereas, they displayed minimal confidence in skills typically taught in supervisory courses. By the end of the Institute, participants showed significant changes in their self-perceptions of skills in twenty areas, with post-scores clustering between 3.5 and 3.9 on a four-point scale. Future institutes should focus on supervisory skills and then emphasize more reflection upon the congruence of teaching, with the best practices articulated in national standards

Building University-School Partnerships: An Exercise in Communication and Understanding

This article provides an overview of the Collaboration to Advance Teaching Technology and Science (CATTS) program and the conditions necessary to establish and maintain partnerships that promote inquiry and research in schools. These programs are effective because they benefit all stakeholders. CATTS creates opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students (the CATTS Fellows) to learn effective teaching practices and to be active participants in K-12 education. School districts and University of Arizona outreach programs benefit when CATTS Fellows work on projects that address identified educational needs in K-12 schools. K-12 teachers and students benefit from the additional classroom assistance and resources provided through the CATTS program. Educational levels: Graduate or professional

Teachers enacting a technology-rich curriculum for emergent literacy

PictoPal is the name of a technology-rich curriculum with a focus on emergent literacy of Dutch kindergarteners. A case study design was used to examine teacher technology integration within PictoPal along with their perceptions about teaching/learning, technology and technology-based innovations. Observations were undertaken on pupils’ engagement and teachers’ technology integration within PictoPal. Interviews were used to examine teachers’ perceptions. Pupils’ emergent literacy learning was examined in a nonequivalent control quasi experimental design. Four kindergarten teachers and four classes (N = 95 pupils) participated in the use of PictoPal. The findings suggest that a high extent of technology integration is related to: a developmental approach to teaching/learning; positive attitudes and expectations towards technology-based innovations; and positive perceptions of support in stressful work conditions. Significant learning gains were found for the experimental group using PictoPal. High pupil learning gains were not related to a high extent of technology integration. Senior kindergarteners engaged to a higher extent with PictoPal than junior kindergartener

Making Disciples: The Effects of Technology Integration Coaching

This paper describes a pilot study of collegial coaching for technology integration at two private Christian schools. Two students nearing completion of a Master’s in Education in Curriculum and Instruction with a Specialization in Instructional Technology each coached three fellow teachers, self-described as digital immigrants, to integrate technology into their teaching. The coaches spent an average of 15 hours per teacher brainstorming, teaching, and facilitating technology integration. Information obtained from a variety of data sources (interviews, a post-coaching questionnaire, a focus group, and analyses of journals kept by both coaches and coached teachers) revealed the positive effects of their collegial coaching and suggested ideas for optimizing coaching for technology integration

Investing In Results: How Business Roundtable Is Supporting Proven Education Reforms

The CEO effort to expand on what's working started in 2013 when Business Roundtable launched its Education Philanthropy Initiative. Two years later, this report examines how the five programs selected for their outstanding work in K-12 education reform have reached more students and improved educational outcomes as a result of the more than $15 million contributed to the Initiative by Roundtable CEOs

Self-efficacy beliefs in pre-service chilean english teachers

Tesis (Profesor de Inglés para la Enseñanza Básica y Media y al grado académico de Licenciado en Educación)This research study investigated Chilean pre-service teachers of English. A mixed-method research design was employed to obtain relevant data in this study. The quantitative instrument selected was an adapted version of the questionnaire developed by Tschannen-Moran & Hoy called “Teachers’ Sense of Self-Efficacy Scale” (1998). This version of the questionnaire was applied to 39 participants who were the total number of students going through their last semester at the English Teaching Training Programme at Universidad Nacional Andrés Bello. The qualitative instrument employed was an interview developed by the researchers. After having conducted the questionnaire, 10 participants were randomly chosen to implement a one-on-one interview, in order to explore more in depth in the questionnaire results. Therefore, the results were divided into two sections: quantitative and qualitative. An analysis of the questionnaire was made in the quantitative results section likewise, for the interview in the qualitative results section. Finally, in the conclusion, a thorough analysis was provided so that self-efficacy beliefs of pre-service teachers were described. The findings in this research exhibited that in general the levels of self-efficacy of pre-service teachers are high.Este estudio investigó las nociones de autoeficacia de los profesores chilenos en formación. El método mixto fue empleado para obtener información relevante en este estudio. El instrumento cuantitativo seleccionado fue una versión adaptada de la cuestionario desarrollado por Tschannen-Moran & Hoy llamada “Teachers’ Sense of Self-efficacy Scale” (1998). Esta versión del cuestionario fue aplicada a 39 participantes quienes constituyen la totalidad de alumnos cursando el último semestre del Programa de Formación de Profesores de Inglés de la Universidad Nacional Andrés Bello. El instrumento cualitativo seleccionado fue una entrevista creada por los investigadores. Después de haber realizado la encuesta, 10 participantes fueron aleatoriamente seleccionados para llevar a cabo entrevistas personales con la finalidad de explorar más a fondo los resultados de la encuesta. Por consiguiente, los resultados están divididos en dos secciones: cuantitativos y cualitativos. Un análisis de la encuesta fue realizado en la sección de resultados cuantitativos y de igual manera, de la entrevista en la sección de resultados cualitativos. Finalmente, en la conclusión un exhaustivo análisis fue proporcionado de modo que las percepciones de autoeficacia de los profesores en formación fueron retratadas. Los hallazgos en esta investigación mostraron que en general los niveles de autoeficacia de los profesores en formación son altos

Transforming educational experience for children, parents and teachers practitioner research from the CDI/NUIM Masters Programme 2013

The purpose of this action research thesis was to implement an evidence based initiative that could help better engage students in school. This research investigated factors that affected students' choice of Leaving Certificate Science subjects and devised actions that would enable and inform this choice. The factors affecting student choice were investigated using qualitative and quantitative methods of enquiry. The research was set against a drop in the numbers of students choosing science subjects for Leaving Certificate (Smyth and Hannan, 2006). The research took place in a community school in the south west area of Dublin.

A Qualitative Study of Student-Centered Learning Practices in New England High Schools

In early 2015, the Nellie Mae Education Foundation (NMEF) contracted with the UMass Donahue Institute (UMDI) to conduct a qualitative study examining the implementation of student-centered learning (SCL) practices in select public high schools in New England. This study extends lines of inquiry explored through a prior (2014) project that UMDI conducted for NMEF. The 2014 study employed survey methodology to examine the prevalence of student-centered practices in public high schools across New England. The present study builds upon the investigation, using a variety of qualitative methods to further probe the richness and complexity of SCL approaches in use across the region. Specifically, this study was designed to address what student-centered practices "look like" in an array of contexts. The study also addresses the perceived impacts that SCL approaches have on students, staff, and schools. Additionally, it highlights the broad array of factors within and beyond school walls that reportedly foster and challenge the implementation of SCL practices. This study seeks to help NMEF understand the intricacies of SCL and provides strategic considerations for how Nellie Mae can promote the adoption and development of student-centered practices in the region.Nellie Mae organizes student-centered learning by four tenets: (1) learning is personalized; (2) learning is competency-based; (3) learning takes place anytime, anywhere; and (4) students take ownership.Specifically, the study addresses five research questions:What are the characteristics of student-centered practices in relation to the four SCL tenets? How are SCL approaches implemented?What are the salient contextual factors (e.g., systems, structures, policies, procedures) associated with the implementation of SCL practices? How do they support, impede, and otherwise shape the adoption, development, and implementation of SCL approaches?How are schools with moderate and high levels of SCL implementation organized to foster SCL practices? What mechanisms are in place to promote student-centered learning?What is the role of SCL approaches in schools and classrooms? In what ways, if at all, are they embedded in the goals and practices of schools and classrooms?What is the quality of SCL instructional practices in study schools? What relationships, if any, do administrators and educators perceive between these approaches and student learning