Integrating Award Winning Literature into a Constructivist Based Middle School Mathematics Curriculum

The purpose of this project was to design three independent units that integrate award winning literature and mathematics to be used in middle school mathematics classrooms. Numerous educators have been linking mathematics and literature in their classrooms. Children\u27s literature gives students context in mathematics that can lead to an increase in students understanding of concepts. This project includes three independent units that are aligned with the national standards set forth by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Suggestions for further study on the connection between literature and mathematics are discussed

Scaffolded Discourse Within a Comprehensive Literacy Model

Research has shown that successful models of school change have several common features: a balance of teacher autonomy and accountability, high-quality professional development, quality leadership, and the support of an outside partner. One model that has these features is the comprehensive literacy model within the Partnership of Comprehensive Literacy model. This mixed methods study examined the language of scaffolding that occurred in three settings within the model: grade level meetings, coaching and mentoring, and small group instruction. Participants in this study included the literacy coaches, interventionists and first-grade teachers at two schools within the PCL network. Three levels of scaffolding were identified in the three activity settings at both schools: Telling and Teaching, Directing and Demonstrating, and Prompting and Guiding. Quantitative data analysis found that participants in all three activity settings used Directing and Demonstrating prompts significantly more than the other two types of scaffolds, with the exception of the literacy coach at one school who used Directing and Demonstrating significantly less that the other two types of scaffolds. Three themes emerged from the qualitative data: Time, Identification of Student Strengths and Weaknesses, and Situated Identities. The findings suggest that coaches and interventionists use scaffolded language with teachers just as teachers use scaffolded language with students. Analysis of this scaffold use could be beneficial for building collective expertise among school staff

An investigation into computer and network curricula

This thesis consists of a series of internationally published, peer reviewed, journal and conference research papers that analyse the educational and training needs of undergraduate Information Technology (IT) students within the area of Computer and Network Technology (CNT) Education. Research by Maj et al has found that accredited computing science curricula can fail to meet the expectations of employers in the field of CNT: “It was found that none of these students could perform first line maintenance on a Personal Computer (PC) to a professional standard with due regard to safety, both to themselves and the equipment. Neither could they install communication cards, cables and network operating system or manage a population of networked PCs to an acceptable commercial standard without further extensive training. It is noteworthy that none of the students interviewed had ever opened a PC. It is significant that all those interviewed for this study had successfully completed all the units on computer architecture and communication engineering (Maj, Robbins, Shaw, & Duley, 1998). The students\u27 curricula at that time lacked units in which they gained hands-on experience in modern PC hardware or networking skills. This was despite the fact that their computing science course was level one accredited, the highest accreditation level offered by the Australian Computer Society (ACS). The results of the initial survey in Western Australia led to the introduction of two new units within the Computing Science Degree at Edith Cowan University (ECU), Computer Installation & Maintenance (CIM) and Network Installation & Maintenance (NIM) (Maj, Fetherston, Charlesworth, & Robbins, 1998). Uniquely within an Australian university context these new syllabi require students to work on real equipment. Such experience excludes digital circuit investigation, which is still a recommended approach by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) for computer architecture units (ACM, 2001, p.97). Instead, the CIM unit employs a top-down approach based initially upon students\u27 everyday experiences, which is more in accordance with constructivist educational theory and practice. These papers propose an alternate model of IT education that helps to accommodate the educational and vocational needs of IT students in the context of continual rapid changes and developments in technology. The ACM have recognised the need for variation noting that: There are many effective ways to organize a curriculum even for a particular set of goals and objectives (Tucker et al., 1991, p.70). A possible major contribution to new knowledge of these papers relates to how high level abstract bandwidth (B-Node) models may contribute to the understanding of why and how computer and networking technology systems have developed over time. Because these models are de-coupled from the underlying technology, which is subject to rapid change, these models may help to future-proof student knowledge and understanding of the ongoing and future development of computer and networking systems. The de-coupling is achieved through abstraction based upon bandwidth or throughput rather than the specific implementation of the underlying technologies. One of the underlying problems is that computing systems tend to change faster than the ability of most educational institutions to respond. Abstraction and the use of B-Node models could help educational models to more quickly respond to changes in the field, and can also help to introduce an element of future-proofing in the education of IT students. The importance of abstraction has been noted by the ACM who state that: Levels of Abstraction: the nature and use of abstraction in computing; the use of abstraction in managing complexity, structuring systems, hiding details, and capturing recurring patterns; the ability to represent an entity or system by abstractions having different levels of detail and specificity (ACM, 1991b). Bloom et al note the importance of abstraction, listing under a heading of: “Knowledge of the universals and abstractions in a field” the objective: Knowledge of the major schemes and patterns by which phenomena and ideas arc organized. These are large structures, theories, and generalizations which dominate a subject or field or problems. These are the highest levels of abstraction and complexity\u27\u27 (Bloom, Engelhart, Furst, Hill, & Krathwohl, 1956, p. 203). Abstractions can be applied to computer and networking technology to help provide students with common fundamental concepts regardless of the particular underlying technological implementation to help avoid the rapid redundancy of a detailed knowledge of modem computer and networking technology implementation and hands-on skills acquisition. Again the ACM note that: “Enduring computing concepts include ideas that transcend any specific vendor, package or skill set... While skills are fleeting, fundamental concepts are enduring and provide long lasting benefits to students, critically important in a rapidly changing discipline (ACM, 2001, p.70) These abstractions can also be reinforced by experiential learning to commercial practices. In this context, the other possibly major contribution of new knowledge provided by this thesis is an efficient, scalable and flexible model for assessing hands-on skills and understanding of IT students. This is a form of Competency-Based Assessment (CBA), which has been successfully tested as part of this research and subsequently implemented at ECU. This is the first time within this field that this specific type of research has been undertaken within the university sector within Australia. Hands-on experience and understanding can become outdated hence the need for future proofing provided via B-Nodes models. The three major research questions of this study are: •Is it possible to develop a new, high level abstraction model for use in CNT education? •Is it possible to have CNT curricula that are more directly relevant to both student and employer expectations without suffering from rapid obsolescence? •Can WI effective, efficient and meaningful assessment be undertaken to test students\u27 hands-on skills and understandings? The ACM Special Interest Group on Data Communication (SJGCOMM) workshop report on Computer Networking, Curriculum Designs and Educational Challenges, note a list of teaching approaches: ... the more \u27hands-on\u27 laboratory approach versus the more traditional in-class lecture-based approach; the bottom-up approach towards subject matter verus the top-down approach (Kurose, Leibeherr, Ostermann, & Ott-Boisseau, 2002, para 1). Bandwidth considerations are approached from the PC hardware level and at each of the seven layers of the International Standards Organisation (ISO) Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model. It is believed that this research is of significance to computing education. However, further research is needed

Perspectives of Teacher Leaders in an Educational Reform Environment: Finding Meaning in Their Involvement

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to describe the experiences of secondary teachers who were actively involved in positions of teacher leadership in their schools and to discover the meaning that leadership activities had for them in their work. The informal teacher leaders performed their leadership functions in an environment of educational reform and change, voluntarily, and on their own time. The study was framed and described by data gathered primarily through a series of in-depth interviewing, based on a structure for phenomenological interviewing by Seidman. The individual interviews were audio taped and transcribed in full text. Other forms of data collection included a survey and e-mail reflections from the participants, and researcher reflections. Data was coded by topics, organized into themes based on an inductive analysis of the transcribed data, re-visited to discover new meanings, and re-organized into themes. Results of this study indicated that teacher leaders found great satisfaction, both affectively and cognitively, in their involvement. They found meaning in their work because of a positive school environment, through collaboration with colleagues, participation in curriculum writing and committee work, and involvement with innovative activities. They indicated the biggest rewards came from their work with students. In addition, the teacher leaders frequently made reference to something inside themselves, their personality, and their drives. They found they needed the stimulation and the challenges that teacher leadership activities presented. The findings of this study contribute to the knowledge base on teacher leadership. They have implications for teacher educators who prepare future teachers for leadership roles, particularly at the secondary level and in an educational reform environment. Knowing the experiences that teacher leaders find most meaningful in their work, particularly curriculum work and collaboration with colleagues, will inform teacher educators as they prepare pre-service teachers to be knowledgeable and confident in these activities. In addition, administrators who want to encourage teacher leadership activities in their school may benefit from understanding what motivates teachers to become leaders and will be more knowledgeable about the needs of their staff when planning staff development opportunities. The study concluded with recommendations for further research on teacher leadership

Fixing the Hole in the Pipe : Moving Beyond Prereferral Toward Changing the System

Problem Too many students in school districts across the nation fail and are inappropriately referred for special education classification and services, when, in reality, they are not disabled, but are casualties of systems that do not have appropriate instructional intervention and support systems in place. This study explores the outcomes of an Instructional Support system called the 7 SHARE Initiative. Essential system components are: (a) Instructional Support Teachers (ISTs) in each school, (b) Curriculum-Based Assessment as developed by Edward E. Gickling, (c) direct instruction of strategies to students, and (d) modeling strategies for teachers to implement in class-wide applications. Method A fourth generation (Guba & Lincoln, 1989), utilization-focused (Patton, 1997) educational program evaluation that employs an insider/outsider research team (Bartunek & Louis, 1996) was used. Qualitative and quantitative data were cross-analyzed to determine the impact of various interventions on outcomes achieved by 143 students from eight elementary schools, served by six Instructional Support Teachers (ISTs). Results The majority (76%) of students served improved academically and were prevented from being referred for special education services. The three interventions most connected with student improvement, in order of degree of impact were (a) strategies taught to the student by the 1ST, (b) 10 or more sessions of direct instruction in one-on-one sessions by the 1ST, and (c) modeling and in-classroom support for the transfer of the strategies by classroom teachers to class-wide applications. Special education referral and classification efficiency data revealed a 45% reduction in referrals in the first year, and a 42% reduction in the second year. The work of the 1ST is indicated as the system intervention responsible for this reduction. Classification efficiency rates improved from 66.08% to 82.08% efficiency over the first 2 years of implementation. Conclusions Instructional Support in the 7 SHARE Initiative has created the conditions for students to improve academically and to avoid being inappropriately referred to special education. The primary factor related to these results was the intervention into the system of an 1ST. Recommendations are made for schools seeking to initiate a system of academic intervention to prevent student failure

Exploring the Experiences of Teachers in a Bilingual Immersion Environment

The following qualitative study provides a theoretical analysis of teachers’ experiences and interactions at a progressive Mandarin immersion school. Missing from the current literature based on immersion education are the narratives of teachers, specifically international teachers from diverse teaching backgrounds in foreign language settings. An integration of Mandarin and a progressive framework is unique and therefore illuminating their voices is vital to the field of education specifically as they contribute to the growth of prospective mandarin immersion schools in the US. This study included fifteen participants who identified the ways in which their own personal reflections as pedagogues changed over time. This research is an examination of teachers within an immersion context, specifically the dynamics between international teachers from China and the American English teaching specialists at a Chinese Immersion school (CIM). The study itself was composed of two focus groups, semi-structured interviews, analysis of weekly newsletters, and teacher files to identify and discern each individual story. I analyzed the data, which highlighted any shift in teaching philosophies, teaching practices, pedagogy, community strengths, and challenges, along with personal growth throughout this process. The results of this study demonstrated that the participants were able to provide examples and strategies to navigate a complex progressive and dual language environment. The teachers described approaches to dimensions of mentorship including peripheral mentorship (environmental proximity), relevant experimental apprenticeship to design thinking, and flexibility in multicultural spaces, including a bicultural growth mindset. This study presents a group of teachers who evolved through the challenges of limited resources and created strong community ties to initiate change in an immersion language setting

Strategic consultation on the FE workforce and Initial Teacher Education workforce for the Education & Training Foundation

A research project undertaken on behalf of the Education and Training Foundation exploring barriers to attracting candidates with higher qualifications and skills to the FE sector and to explores if ITE predominantly attracts people from a humanities background. The report suggests that people move into FE teaching through opportunity. The issue if dual professionalism is an important element of identity. Those becoming teacher educators tend to drift into the role. Discussions were focused less on the background of people but on the space they have to deliver a curriculum which includes pedagogy theory and the extent to which ITE need to have subject specialisms to prepare teachers for effective classroom practice.Education and Training Foundatio