The Effect of Common Core Standards on Elementary Students\u27 Learning

After implementing the Common Core Standards in 2012, local school districts faced additional costs in their annual budgets to train staff how to teach using these standards. One of the problems that faced the school district under study was whether to retain the Common Core Standards and to continue to fund the expense of training teachers . The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of the Common Core Standards on student achievement in a local Pennsylvania school district using scores from the Pennsylvania System of School Assessments (PSSA) for Grades 3 through 8. The research question addressed whether there were differences in the students\u27 learning as measured by the PSSAs for the years before and after implementation of the Common Core Standards. The theoretical framework of the study was based on Piaget\u27s constructivist theory of knowing, which explains how students know what they have learned in the active process of learning. A causal-comparative design was used for this study with extant test data drawn from 2 years before and 2 years after implementation. The total sample size was 27,605. A MANOVA was used for all grades\u27 scale and raw scores to discern if a main effect could detect student achievement measured after the implementation of the Common Core Standards was lower than that reported before implementation and the standards had a mixed influence on student learning. This study has an implication for positive change. If educators have a better understanding of the effect of the Common Core Standards on student learning than they would be able to justify additional training

Sustainable international experience: A collaborative teaching project

Within engineering education, there is an increasing need for providing our students with international experiences. This is most often done by exchange studies abroad. However, a majority of the students on engineering programs do not engage in any international exchange. This paper presents insights from a collaborative cross-disciplinary international project to give students international experience without having to travel. From both a sustainability perspective and a situation where e.g. a global virus outbreak stop students from travelling, solutions that give engineering students experience of working in an international setting are becoming increasingly important. Initial challenges, for the teachers involved in the project, that were addressed before the project started, included the assessment of students, the use of online collaborative tools, assessment of students and the dependence between the two courses. The learnings from the first and second iteration of the collaborative project were mainly focused around transparency, introduction of students to each other, communication, real-time issues and deadlines. By gradually remove these peripheral challenges for the students, resulting in making the students focus on the actual challenges surrounding the actual collaborative project. Even though this project is ongoing, the initial results clearly show that by integrating courses between different countries and disciplines, it is possible to create an environment that strengthens the students’ ability in teamwork, communication and addresses the cultural and professional aspects of working as an engineer in an international context

Designing hybridization: alternative education strategies for fostering innovation in communication design for the territory

Within the broad context of design studies, Communication Design for the Territory stands as a hybrid discipline constantly interfacing with other fields of knowledge. It assumes the territorial theme as its specific dimension, aiming to generate communication systems capable of reading the stratifications of places. From an educational perspective, teaching activities are closely linked to research and can take on different levels of complexity: from the various forms of cartographic translation to the design of sophisticated transmedia digital systems. In the wake of COVID-19, this discipline has come to terms with a profoundly changed scenario in terms of limited access to the physical space and the emergence of new technologies for remote access. In this unique context, we propose a pedagogical strategy that focuses on the hybridization of communication artifacts with the aim of fostering design experimentation. As a creative tool, hybridization leads to the design of innovative systems by strategically combining the characteristics of different artifacts to achieve specific communication goals. By experimenting with these creative strategies, students are led to critically reflect on existing communication artifacts’ features and explore original designs that deliberately combine different media, contents, and communication languages in innovative ways. Through hybridization, the methods for territorial knowledge production appear more effective, effectively combining the skills and knowledge embodied in multiple subject areas. The paper presents the experience developed in the teaching laboratories of the DCxT (Communication Design for the Territory) research group of the Design Department of Politecnico di Milano. The teaching experience highlights how hybridization strategies can increase the effectiveness in learning about territorial specificities, in acquiring critical knowledge about communication systems, and in developing innovation strategies that allow to influence the evolution of traditional communication models

PCK development of beginning secondary mathematics teachers

In this study I examined the development of pedagogical content knowledge of three beginning secondary mathematics teachers. My analysis included the development of the teachers' knowledge of curriculum and their knowledge of student understanding during their first two years of teaching. The participants began the study with little or no experience or education regarding the teaching of mathematics. During the first year of the study, all three participants were enrolled in graduate level mathematics methods courses and were under the guidance of a mentor teacher. Using existing research, I analyzed pre and post interviews as well as 12 interviews conducted during 4 observation cycles. Beyond participant interviews, I analyzed interviews with the mentor teachers and researcher notes regarding their observation of the participants' PCK. Analysis revealed that participants demonstrated little knowledge of curriculum at the beginning of the study. Throughout the study, their knowledge of the curriculum developed differently as they approached teaching in different ways (seen through their goals for instruction) and engaged with their curriculum materials differently. Two of the participants developed detailed knowledge of their students' understanding, which they gained through use of their standards-based curriculum materials and their use of assessment, while the third participant was only able to speak to student understanding at the whole-class level.Includes bibliographical reference

Expectations and Experiences of Fathers Who Have Parented Children With and Without Intellectual Disabilities

The parenting experience is as diverse as the children parented. Each child has diverse personality traits requiring flexibility and specificity in parenting strategy. This need for flexibility and specificity is more complex when one or more children within a family has an intellectual disability. Although research in this area is abundant, investigators have historically focused on mothers\u27 attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to represent the entire family (Essex, Seltzer, & Krauss, 2001; Greenberg, 2002) rather than focusing on fathers and their caregiving relationships with their children in need of malleable but consistent parenting. Using a qualitative descriptive design, this qualitative study explored expectations and subsequent experiences of men who have fathered children with and without intellectual disabilities. The investigator collected data through face-to-face semistructured interviews with 8 fathers in Tennessee. During these interviews fathers discussed each of their children, specifically their expectations of and experiences with their children prior to birth, reactions to the differences among their children, getting through the day, and their responsibilities in teaching each child. NVivo 9.0 data management software was used. Four main themes were inductively derived from the data: Learning to Dance in the Rain, Just Do What Needs Doing, The Power of Patience, and Nurturing Uniqueness. These themes contribute to nursing knowledge by delineating the perspectives of men as they father children of differing intelligences. The results from this study suggest strategies for educators and practicing healthcare professionals working with fathers in similar situations to increase mindfulness of this all-important relationship between fathers and their children with differing intellectual capacities; the investigator also proposes areas of continued research in this field

A Mixed-Methods Inquiry into Science Teachers’ Perceptions of the Effects of Professional Development Experiences on Implementation of Research-Based Instructional Practices

Abstract This was a modified integrated mixed methods study of teachers’ perceptions of factors that influence transfer of research-based teaching strategies into classroom practice. Participants were made up of 66 respondents to a researcher made survey, “Survey of Teacher Attitudes toward Change and Classroom Implementation of Research–Based Strategies”. Respondents were divided into two groups based on participation in Louisiana Systemic Initiatives Programs (LaSIP): LaSIP, N= 39 and Non-LaSIP, N= 27. Answers to five research questions were based on analysis of quantitative data from a survey, recorded on a five-point Likert scale and qualitative data from analyses of transcripts of three personal interviews, two focus group discussions and five short-answer questions on the survey. SPSS software version 9 and Atlas.ti version 7 were used in quantitative and qualitative analyses, respectively. Concurrent quantitative and qualitative strands of data were integrated throughout the study. Findings from quantitative data included the following: (1) Teacher perceptions of features of the LaSIP were predictive of reported frequency of use of research-based teaching strategies (RBTS); (2) Reported frequency of use of RBTS was not significantly different in LaSIP versus non-LaSIP teachers, except in reported use of alternative assessments. (3) Both LaSIP and non-LaSIP teachers indicated that implementation of RBTS increased student achievement (4) LaSIP teachers identified factors such as opportunity to collaborate with colleagues, time to acquire content knowledge, practice with material and supplies as features of the LaSIP that influenced implementation of RBTS. (5) Perceived barriers to implementation of RBTS included lack of equipment and lack of teacher input into planning of professional development. and modeling of RBTS as factors that positively influence classroom implementation. Analyses of qualitative data supported many of the findings due to quantitative analyses. Additionally, qualitative data provided more in-depth information concerning teacher perceptions of barriers to implementation such as lack of teacher input into planning and implementation of professional development, and lack of time for in-depth learning during professional development activities. Key Words: Teacher Professional Development, Research-based Teaching Strategies, Classroom Implementation, Science Pedagogy, Mixed Methods, Student Achievemen

A Mixed-Methods Inquiry into Science Teachers’ Perceptions of the Effects of Professional Development Experiences on Implementation of Research-Based Instructional Practices

Abstract This was a modified integrated mixed methods study of teachers’ perceptions of factors that influence transfer of research-based teaching strategies into classroom practice. Participants were made up of 66 respondents to a researcher made survey, “Survey of Teacher Attitudes toward Change and Classroom Implementation of Research–Based Strategies”. Respondents were divided into two groups based on participation in Louisiana Systemic Initiatives Programs (LaSIP): LaSIP, N= 39 and Non-LaSIP, N= 27. Answers to five research questions were based on analysis of quantitative data from a survey, recorded on a five-point Likert scale and qualitative data from analyses of transcripts of three personal interviews, two focus group discussions and five short-answer questions on the survey. SPSS software version 9 and Atlas.ti version 7 were used in quantitative and qualitative analyses, respectively. Concurrent quantitative and qualitative strands of data were integrated throughout the study. Findings from quantitative data included the following: (1) Teacher perceptions of features of the LaSIP were predictive of reported frequency of use of research-based teaching strategies (RBTS); (2) Reported frequency of use of RBTS was not significantly different in LaSIP versus non-LaSIP teachers, except in reported use of alternative assessments. (3) Both LaSIP and non-LaSIP teachers indicated that implementation of RBTS increased student achievement (4) LaSIP teachers identified factors such as opportunity to collaborate with colleagues, time to acquire content knowledge, practice with material and supplies as features of the LaSIP that influenced implementation of RBTS. (5) Perceived barriers to implementation of RBTS included lack of equipment and lack of teacher input into planning of professional development. and modeling of RBTS as factors that positively influence classroom implementation. Analyses of qualitative data supported many of the findings due to quantitative analyses. Additionally, qualitative data provided more in-depth information concerning teacher perceptions of barriers to implementation such as lack of teacher input into planning and implementation of professional development, and lack of time for in-depth learning during professional development activities. Key Words: Teacher Professional Development, Research-based Teaching Strategies, Classroom Implementation, Science Pedagogy, Mixed Methods, Student Achievemen