Academic literature on the topic 'Teacher effectiveness Victoria Case studies'

ABSTRACT: Teacher performance has been the focus of educational policy reforms in recent decades for the professional development of teachers. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of teaching experience and peer teaching skills on basic training on ECE teacher performance. This research uses ex-post facto quantitative method of comparative analysis and design by level. The population is all ECE teachers who attend basic-level education and training in Tangerang Regency, totaling 3358 people consisting of 116 male teachers and 3,242 female teachers. Data collection techniques using a questionnaire with data analysis include descriptive analysis. Requirements test analysis and inferential analysis. The results show that there are differences in the performance of ECE teachers between teachers with more than five years of teaching experience and less than five years, in the group of ECE teachers with high peer teaching skills and low peer teaching skills. The implication of this research is that it is hoped that various parties will become more active in aligning ECE teacher training so that it can improve the performance of ECE teachers. Keywords: teaching experience, peer teaching ability, tiered basic training, ECE teacher performance References: Adeyemi, T. (2008). Influence of Teachers’ Teaching Experience on Students’ Learning Outcomes in Secondary Schools in Ondo State, Nigeria. African Journal of Educational Studies in Mathematics and Sciences, 5(1), 9–19. https://doi.org/10.4314/ajesms.v5i1.38609 Ahmad, N. J., Ishak, N. A., Samsudin, M. A., Meylani, V., & Said, H. M. (2019). Pre-service science teachers in international teaching practicum: Reflection of the experience. Jurnal Pendidikan IPA Indonesia, 8(3), 308–316. https://doi.org/10.15294/jpii.v8i3.18907 Andrin, G. R., Etcuban, J. O., Watin, A. K. O., Maluya, R., Rocha, E. D. V, & Maulit, A. A. (2017). Professional Preparation and Performance of Preschool Teachers in the Public and Private Schools of Cebu City, Philippines. ACADEME, 10. Andrin, Glenn R, Etcuban, J. O., Watin, A. K. O., Maluya, R., Rocha, E. D. V, & Maulit, A. A. (2017). Professional Preparation and Performance of Preschool Teachers in the Public and Private Schools of Cebu City, Philippines. ACADEME, 10. Armytage, P. (2018). Review of the Victorian Institute of Teaching. Bichi, A. A. (2019). Evaluation of Teacher Performance in Schools: Implication for Sustainable Evaluation of Teacher Performance in Schools: Implication for Sustainable Development Goals. December 2017. Campolo, M., Maritz, C. A., Thielman, G., & Packel, L. (2013). An Evaluation of Peer Teaching Across the Curriculum: Student Perspectives. International Journal of Therapies and Rehabilitation Research, 2(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.5455/ijtrr.00000016 Clearinghouse, W. W. (2018). National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification. Colthart, I., Bagnall, G., Evans, A., Allbutt, H., Haig, A., Illing, J., & McKinstry, B. (2008). The effectiveness of self-assessment on the identification of learner needs, learner activity, and impact on clinical practice: BEME Guide no. 10. Medical Teacher, 30(2), 124–145. Darling-Hammond, L. (2011). Teacher quality and student achievement. Teacher Quality and Student Achievement, 8(1), 1–215. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v8n1.2000 Donaldson, M. L. (2009). So long, Lake Wobegon? Using teacher evaluation to raise teacher quality. Center for American Progress, 1–32. Fogaça, N., Rego, M. C. B., Melo, M. C. C., Armond, L. P., & Coelho, F. A. (2018). Job Performance Analysis: Scientific Studies in the Main Journals of Management and Psychology from 2006 to 2015. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 30(4), 231–247. https://doi.org/10.1002/piq.21248 Frye, E. M., Trathen, W., & Koppenhaver, D. A. (2010). Internet workshop and blog publishing: Meeting student (and teacher) learning needs to achieve best practice in the twenty-first-century social studies classroom. The Social Studies, 101(2), 46–53. Hanushek, E. A. (2011). The economic value of higher teacher quality. Economics of Education Review, 30(3), 466–479. Heryati, Y., & Rusdiana, A. (2015). Pendidikan Profesi Keguruan. Bandung: CV Pustaka Setia. John P. Papay Eric S. Taylor John H. Tyler Mary Laski. (2016). Learning Job Skills From Colleagues At Work: Evidence From A Field Experiment Using Teacher Performance Data (p. 49). Katz, L. G., & Raths, J. D. (1985). Dispositions as goals for teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 1(4), 301–307. Kavanoz, S., & Yüksel, G. (2015). An Investigation of Peer-Teaching Technique in Student Teacher Development An Investigation of Peer-Teaching Technique in Student Teacher Development. June 2010. Kurniawan, A. R., Chan, F., Sargandi, M., Yolanda, S., Karomah, R., Setianingtyas, W., & Irani, S. (2019). Kebijakan Sekolah Dalam Penggunaan Gadget di Sekolah Dasar. Jurnal Tunas Pendidikan, 2(1), 72–81. Lim, L. L. (2014). A case study on peer-teaching. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 2(08), 35. Manchishi, P. C., & Mwanza, D. S. (2016). Teacher Preparation at the University of Zambia: Is Peer Teaching Still a Useful Strategy? International Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education, 3(11), 88–100. https://doi.org/10.20431/2349-0381.0311012 Mansur, M. (2007). KTSP: Pembelajaran Berbasis Kompetensi dan Kontekstual, Jakarta: PT. Bumi. Marais, P., & Meier, C. (2004). Hear our voices: Student teachers’ experiences during practical teaching. Africa Education Review, 1(2), 220–233. https://doi.org/10.1080/18146620408566281 McFarland, J., Hussar, B., Wang, X., Zhang, J., Wang, K., Rathbun, A., Barmer, A., Cataldi, E. F., & Mann, F. B. (2018). The Condition of Education 2018. NCES 2018-144. National Center for Education Statistics. Meilanie, R. S. M., & Syamsiatin, E. (2020). Multi Perspectives on Play Based Curriculum Quality Standards in the Center Learning Model. Jurnal Pendidikan Usia Dini, 14(1), 15–31. Michael Luna, S. (2016). (Re)defining “good teaching”: Teacher performance assessments and critical race theory in early childhood teacher education. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 17(4), 442–446. https://doi.org/10.1177/1463949116677932 Morgan, G. B., Hodge, K. J., Trepinski, T. M., & Anderson, L. W. (2014). The Stability of Teacher Performance and Effectiveness: Implications for Policies Concerning Teacher Evaluation Grant. Mulyasa, E. (2013). Uji kompetensi dan Penilaian Kinerja guru. Bandung: PT Remaja Rosdakarya. Nasrun, Dr., & Ambarita, D. F. P. (2017). The Effect of Organizational Culture and Work Motivation on Teachers Performance of Public Senior High School in Tebing Tinggi. Atlantis Press, 118, 320–326. https://doi.org/10.2991/icset-17.2017.53 Nguyen, M. (2013). Peer tutoring as a strategy to promote academic success. Research Brief. Noelke, C., & Horn, D. (2010). OECD Review on Evaluation and Assessment Frameworks for Improving School Outcomes-Hungary Country Background Report. OECD: PARIS. OECD. (2005). Teacher’s matter. Attracting, developing, and retaining effective teachers. Paris. OECD-Education Committee. Pablo Fraser, Gabor Fülöp, M. L. and M. S. D. (2018). I.  What teachers and school leaders say about their jobs. TALIS, 2, 1–7. Parihar, K. S., Campus, D., Principal, J., & Campus, D. (2017). Study Of Effect Of Pre Teaching Training Experience On. 5, 59–62. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1039595 Parsons, S. A., Vaughn, M., Scales, R. Q., Gallagher, M. A., Parsons, A. W., Davis, S. G., Pierczynski, M., & Allen, M. (2018). Teachers’ instructional adaptations: A research synthesis. Review of Educational Research, 88(2), 205–242. Pillay, R., & Laeequddin, M. (2019). Peer teaching: A pedagogic method for higher education. International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering, 9(1), 2907–2913. https://doi.org/10.35940/ijitee.A9106.119119 Popova, A., Evans, D. K., & Arancibia, V. (2018). Training Teachers on the Job What Works and How to Measure It. Policy Research Working Paper, September 2016. Ramadoni, W., Kusmintardjo, K., & Arifin, I. (2016). Kepemimpinan Kepala Sekolah dalam Upaya Peningkatan Kinerja Guru (Studi Multi Kasus di Paud Islam Sabilillah dan Sdn Tanjungsari 1 Kabupaten Sidoarjo). Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, Dan Pengembangan, 1(8), 1500–1504. Rees, E. L., Quinn, P. J., Davies, B., & Fotheringham, V. (2016). How does peer teaching compare to faculty teaching? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Medical Teacher, 38(8), 829–837. Sawchuk, S. (2015). Teacher evaluation: An issue overview. Education Week, 35(3), 1–6. Skourdoumbis, A. (2018). Theorising teacher performance dispositions in an age of audit. 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3492 Springer, M. G., Swain, W. A., & Rodriguez, L. A. (2016). Effective teacher retention bonuses: Evidence from Tennessee. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 38(2), 199–221. Staiger, D. O., & Rockoff, J. E. (2010). Searching for effective teachers with imperfect information. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 24(3), 97–118. Suyatno, H., & Pd, M. (2008). Panduan sertifikasi guru. Jakarta: PT Macanan Jaya Cemerlang. ten Cate, O. (2017). Practice Report / Bericht aus der Praxis: Peer teaching: From method to philosophy. Zeitschrift Fur Evidenz, Fortbildung Und Qualitat Im Gesundheitswesen, 127–128, 85–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.zefq.2017.10.005 Thurlings, M., & den Brok, P. (2018). Student teachers’ and in-service teachers’ peer learning: A realist synthesis. Educational Research and Evaluation, 24(1–2), 13–50. https://doi.org/10.1080/13803611.2018.1509719 Toch, T., & Rothman, R. (2008). Rush to Judgment: Teacher Evaluation in Public Education. Education Sector Reports. Education Sector. Ünal, Z., & Unal, A. (2012). The Impact of Years of Teaching Experience on the Classroom Management Approaches of Elementary School Teachers. International Journal of Instruction, 5(2), 41–60. Vasay, E. T. (2010). The effects of peer teaching in the performance of students in mathematics. E-International Scientific Research Journal, 2(2), 161–171. Weisberg, D., Sexton, S., Mulhern, J., Keeling, D., Schunck, J., Palcisco, A., & Morgan, K. (2009). The widget effect: Our national failure to acknowledge and act on differences in teacher effectiveness. New Teacher Project. Winters, M. A., & Cowen, J. M. (2013). Would a value‐added system of retention improve the distribution of teacher quality? A Simulation of Alternative Policies. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 32(3), 634–654.

It is argued that appraisal of advanced skills in teaching should be based on the pedagogical content knowledge which good teachers, in biology for instance, could be expected to possess and which a well-trained biologist would not. Public acceptance of this claim is the key element in any argued case for a career restructuring which rewards the development of teaching expertise in schools and universities. Several initial schemes employed in Victoria for appraisal of Advanced Skills Teacher 1 are critically examined. An alternative to the competency-based approaches is presented, founded on research into the development of practical reasoning of teachers.

The purpose of this study was to describe the teaching behaviors of four teachers who had varying degrees of expertise in working with second grade students and to improve the teachers’ effectiveness. Four experienced teachers were asked to teach a six-lesson unit in jumping and landing skills to an intact class of their choice. Students were pre- and posttested on their ability to produce and reduce force using a force platform and a jump for distance without the platform. OSCD-PE (Rink, 1979) was used to describe the more general aspects of the teachers’ content development and managerial skills. Task presentation, nature of feedback, and appropriateness of student responses were obtained using the QMTPS (Rink & Werner, 1989). Additional information was obtained by counting practice trials and analyzing teacher written plans and approaches to content. Following the first teaching experience, the researchers gave feedback to the teachers and asked them to reteach the unit to a different class. Product and process measures were obtained in the same manner on the second teaching experience. Data were presented in a case study format. The results describe the importance of content knowledge, the ability to present information clearly, and holding students accountable for selected performance aspects.

Teacher effectiveness has a powerful impact on student performance and a teacher evaluation process that supports professional growth can be a key lever for improving teaching quality. The purpose of this study was to examine teacher perspectives on the use of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, when used as part of their evaluation process, and, to determine what other factors may need to be considered in the design and implementation of such a process. A single case study of a school in Victoria, Australia was conducted, using a pre and post interview approach with six teachers. Responses were analysed using a thematic network methodology. Findings reveal that the inclusion of The Standards as part of any evaluation mechanism is secondary to a range of other factors, including the relationship the teacher has with their evaluator; the skills of the evaluator; and the addition of a developmental plan post evaluation.

Purpose – The integration of Lesson and Learning Study within initial teacher education programmes is still evolving and subject to many constraints (Parks, 2008). The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue which intends to stimulate and facilitate continued growth and interest in fostering models of Lesson and Learning Study within initial teacher education programmes. Design/methodology/approach – The guest editors present each of the papers and introduce key themes and concepts. Findings – The collection of papers shows the richness and value of embracing Lesson and Learning Study within initial teacher education programmes; whilst being mindful of the challenges and constraints inherent in the nature of national policy towards the training of teachers. Originality/value – The collection of papers contribute to existing literature exploring the effectiveness and impact of Lesson and Learning Study within initial teacher education.

Corrective feedback has been studied for decades in classrooms both for children and adults. Among different subjects, language learning, especially second language (L2) learning is one of the significant targets of corrective feedback studies. Compared to English and other European languages, however, Chinese as L2 classroom has get little attention. This paper investigates what types of corrective feedback (CF) a teacher of Chinese working at a secondary school in Melbourne provided to what kinds of errors made by students, and the effectiveness of each CF type. The data was obtained from 2 random lessons and the parts involving CF were transcribed to further analyze. The results suggest that Chinese beginners made more mistakes in pronunciation and vocabulary than in grammar, however, the teacher provided feedback to all of the lexical and grammatical errors, ignoring nearly half of the phonological mistakes. In addition, the overall effectiveness of CF was not satisfactory, especially for elicitations and recasts, which were used the most commonly by the teacher. Some pedagogical implications for Chinese teaching and Chinese teacher training are also provided.

Teacher unionisation is among the under-researched themes in South Africa. The few teacher union studies focus on the notoriety of teacher unions’ activities, especially the impact of teacher strikes. Studies frequently demonstrate how teacher unions disturb education with a tendency to make schools ungovernable. In fact, in many studies, results have shown that strong union activity undermines school effectiveness. Additionally, these studies people revealed how various role-players such as parents, communities and district officials have maintained that effective teacher unions are the missing link to successful leadership as well as meaningful teaching and learning. This case study examined the potentially positive role of unions in two historically black schools in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. In both schools the principals were active members of two of the most powerful teacher unions in South Africa. At the time of the study, one principal was an office bearer in the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) whilst the other was aligned with the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa (NAPTOSA). The paradox in both schools was that, despite the strong unionism, the union and school management collaboration appeared to bolster learner success, teaching and school principals’ effectiveness. The conclusions demonstrate that strong teacher unions are pivotal in building self-fulfilled teachers, the management of diversity and high levels of learner achievement. Finally, the school leaders proved that, with meaningful cooperation among role-players including teacher unions, underperforming schools have the potential to thrive.

Mathematics is an important subject to study. But the presence of mathematical and gender stereotypes affects the self-perception of mathematical abilities for boys and girls. In the future it may be associated with the choice of educational and career trajectories. In turn, the teacher acts as a guide in the formation of these ideas and motivation for the subject. Among the factors of the impact of the teacher on these formations, one can distinguish: the teacher's pleasure from teaching mathematics, their beliefs and ideas about mathematics, including teachers’ self-confidence in order to teach mathematics, etc. At the same time, the role of the teacher may vary depending on the structure of the educational process. This article discusses how important is the teacher in the educational environment when choosing an educational trajectory, as it develops interest to the subject and motivation for further learning on the example of three countries: Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. The research methodology is a case-study research strategy: research I - the study of the attitude and motivation of schoolchildren to study mathematics, the role of the teacher in its study; research II - evaluation of the effectiveness of separate education based on the opinion of teachers. Our research showed that the main motivational factors are the content of education, which forms a set of knowledge about different types of careers, and the individual characteristics of teachers who introduce students to different subject areas. And segregated education can become an alternative strategy for achieving gender equality.

The ultimate goal of schooling is to provide quality education. In order to enhance the quality of the teaching profession, the Education Bureau mandated all aided schools to establish the school-based teacher appraisal system. To date, the policy has been implemented for a few years. This study attempts to investigate how teachers participate in the school-based appraisal system and analyze its relation to the effectiveness of the system. Moreover, the researcher tries to examine the factors affecting teacher participation in the appraisal and investigate the reasons behind their actions. The research method involves case studies of school-based teacher appraisal in two aided primary schools in Hong Kong. Teacher participation is high in one case while it is low in another case. The methods adopted include documentary analysis, interviews and observations. The evaluation model of Stake (1967), which compares the intention and reality of the policy, is also employed to analyze the actual operation. Findings reveal that teacher participation is a crucial factor to the effectiveness of the school-based appraisal systems. Teacher participation in the policy formulation and implementation stages directly affects the effectiveness of the policy. Extensive teacher participation in establishing the appraisal policy is found to have the following benefits, i.e. increasing the intelligence for decision-making, leading to better and effective implementation of the policy, increasing the acceptance of and ownership of the policy. In the policy implementation stage, the participation level of the appraisers and appraisees is found to be correlated and interdependent. The participation of both sides will affect whether the policy is implemented as scheduled and ultimately to what extent the policy will achieve the intended outcomes. Factors affecting teacher participation in the appraisal can be categorized into four levels, namely, the individual level, the policy level, the organizational level and the societal level. These factors are interrelated and have an effect on one another. The variation in the influence of these factors affecting participation may depend on different people and different situations. Apart from the fact that individual attitude would affect one’s degree of participation in the appraisal, the elements or components of the policy, the school culture and the Chinese culture would also affect the way in which teachers participate in the appraisal activities. Findings of the two case schools demonstrate that the developmental purpose and the administrative purpose seem to be incompatible within one appraisal system in the Hong Kong context, so the two purposes should be kept separate. The study also confirms that the school culture characterized by trust, collaboration, and valuing teacher growth can encourage the stakeholders to participate in appraisal more actively. On the other hand, the Chinese cultural values, i.e. face (mainzi), relation (guanxi) and favor (renqing), seem to be incompatible with the principles of the school-based appraisal systems as requested by the government, i.e. open, fair and transparent, and thus obstruct teacher participation in appraisal.
published_or_final_version
Education
Doctoral
Doctor of Education

The purpose of the study was to determine the relationship between scores of the new teachers' classroom effectiveness with numerical indexes of mentor support, mentor infrastructure, and workplace ecology. In addition, this study sought to determine the effect of various demographics (i.e., gender, age, race, degree, teaching level, and certification route) on the Classroom Effectiveness Index (CEI) scores of first-year teachers, and to determine the differences, if any, between the Classroom Effectiveness Index scores of first-year teachers who remained on campus, switched campuses, or left the district. This study is primarily correlational in nature - looking for relationships between quantifiable variables. The subjects are 68 first-year teachers. The mandatory mentoring program the subjects were involved in consisted of a paid, veteran teacher who worked on the same campus as the first-year teacher and assisted in instructional or behavioral needs. This study measured the impact of the first-year teachers' mentoring experiences to the Classroom Effectiveness Index scores and teacher retention. The findings suggest that the Classroom Effectiveness Index scores might not be an appropriate tool for uncovering which aspects of mentoring contribute to student achievement and retention. Adding the value-added measurement tool to the categories of mentor support (MS), mentor infrastructure (MI), and workplace ecology (WE), rendered no statistically significant results. Therefore, further research is necessary to continue to define the effective characteristics of mentoring and its impact on classroom effectiveness and retention.

I examined the effectiveness of child-centered play therapy (CCPT) and person-centered teacher consultation (PCTC) for elementary school children identified with clinical or borderline levels of ADHD behaviors on the Teacher Report Form and the Conners' Teacher Rating Scale Revised - Short Form. Additionally, I examined the impact of CCPT and PCTC on the levels of parenting and teaching stress. Due to the current trend to determine interventions that are evidence-based through between-group or single case designs, for this study, I utilized a single case design experiment for which the behaviors of five children were examined. Trained observers utilized the Direct Observation Form in observations of all five students three times per week. Additionally, parents and teachers completed behavioral rating scales and stress inventories at pre-, mid-, and post-intervention. To prevent biased observational ratings, observers were blind to the assignment of the five children. Three students participated in 24 sessions of twice-weekly 30-minute sessions of CCPT, and these students' teachers participated in six sessions of once-weekly 10-minute PCTC. Two students participated in twice-weekly 30-minute sessions of reading mentoring, after which they participated in 14 sessions of CCPT. Visual analysis of the data indicated mixed results. Three students demonstrated substantial improvement in the observed ADHD behaviors within the classroom. Results of the parent and teacher assessment data were inconsistent, but did indicate behavior change for some children and a reduction in teaching stress for one teacher. Parenting stress appeared unaffected. Implications for future research regarding the use of single case design, the measurement of student behavior change, and issues of comorbidity are indicated.

Effective ELL teaching and learning is profoundly influenced by the teachers' personal experiences and personalities (Farrell, 2016), their experience as language learners as well as language teachers (Farrell, 2007), and their beliefs about learning and teaching a second language (Farrell, 2015; Farrell & Ives, 2015). This study honored and examined in-depth the often-discounted stories/reflective narratives of our teachers. This paper reports a qualitative cases study that explores three veteran teachers' reflection on their personal and professional experiences with ELLs for self-discovery over years (Cirocki & Farrell, 2017) so that they can further reflect for their future actions with ELLs (Burns & Bulman, 2000; Farrell, 2007; Farrell & Vos, 2018). Data analysis revealed the teachers' different strengths and needs in working with ELLs. Four major dimensions (language, culture, culturally and linguistically sensitive pedagogy, and collaborative community) were identified as critical to effective teaching of ELLs and preparation of second language teachers.

This study was done in order to determine whether teachers are taking on leadership roles in their schools. The following questions were posed: What factors exist in schools that help or hinder teacher leadership? What structures need to be in place for teachers to be leaders? How does the culture of the school support or creates barriers to teacher leadership? And, finally , what personal factors enhance or inhibit teacher leadership? This dissertation takes the form of case studies of three urban primary schools in the Pietermaritzburg region. The study is qualitative in nature and examines the leadership roles that teachers are undertaking, with the intention of identifying and exploring the factors that help or hinder teacher leadership. To ascertain the responses of teachers, a questionnaire, as well as semi-structured interviews were used. The principals who participated in the study were also interviewed to ascertain their views on teacher leadership. South Africa is a relatively new democracy with a host of new policies. The one that is of relevance to this study is the Norms and Standards for Educators (2000). This policy prescribes that teachers are required to undertake seven roles . Of these seven roles , the one that is of particular relevance to this study, is the role of leader, administrator and manager. This role, as prescribed by policy, implies that teachers are expected to undertake leadership roles , both in and out of the classroom. What is of interest, however, is whether and to what extent, this policy prescription is implemented in the school. The findings revealed that schools in the study were characterized by structures that were 'top-down' , and that leadership roles in these schools were delegated, rather than distributed. Findings also pointed to a number of barriers to teachers taking on leadership roles . These included time constraints, rigid attitudes of principals and school management team members as well as the impact of taking on additional roles and responsibilities, on the personal lives of teachers. Some recommendations in order for leadership to succeed in South Africa would be, firstly , that steps should to be taken to implement and encourage teacher leadership. This would entail a change in mindset on the part of principals in particular, many of whom would have to radically revise their views of what constitutes leadership and who should lead. Secondly, there should be a movement away from delegated leadership towards a more distributed form of leadership. Thirdly, it is also the recommendation of this study that the creation of a collaborative culture in schools will create an enabling environment for teacher leadership to flourish.
Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

A cross-case approach was employed to examine early childhood teachers’ perspectives on quality of early childhood programs and how they embed those perspectives in their daily classroom practices. Questions explored teachers’ education levels, years of experience, and the ways in which their individual perspectives are manifested in the classroom. Three early childhood teachers were interviewed and observed, each with a different level of education: Child Development Associate (CDA)certification, associate’s degree in early childhood education, and bachelor’s degree in early childhood education. Each teacher worked in a licensed, nationally accredited program that is rated at the highest level of the Indiana quality rating system, Paths to QUALITY (Level 4). Qualitative methods were used, including analysis of teacher surveys and interview transcriptions, as well as CLASS observations. Results indicated that the three teachers held similar perspectives on the importance of professional development, but they differed on the preferable way to obtain professional development: college education versus in-service training. There was a clear divergence among the teachers regarding the importance of a college degree in relation to manifestations of quality in the classroom. While the three teacher agreed that there is a lack of respect associated with their profession, they did not agree on the reasons behind this lack of respect. Likewise, all three voiced a need for increased support in their roles, but they had varying ideas of what that support should entail. The three teachers also varied in their understanding of the global concept of quality, specifically in regard to the National Association for the Education of Young Children accreditation and the quality rating system. While the teachers holding associate’s and bachelor’s degrees displayed similar quality implementations, the teacher with a CDA was not observed to apply the same level of quality practices. This study has implications for practice and for future research. In order to meet professional development needs that can ensure quality practices, teacher education programs and non-formal training agencies need to provide early childhood teachers with professional development opportunities that help them advance their knowledge and link theories to application in the classroom. Opportunities should focus on personal factors and meet the individuality of the early childhood teacher. Policy makers and state administrators need to value the role of the early childhood teacher by providing a classification system that links qualifications to salaries and positions. Compensation initiatives for early childhood teachers should be brought into discussion and linked to the quality rating system’s children and dollars received per program. There is a necessity for future research into the perspectives of early childhood teachers in a cross-case study with teachers who hold an early childhood education/child development bachelor’s degree. Such future investigation may indicate additional similarities or differences in beliefs on quality in early childhood education and could illuminate potential methods for ensuring that teachers are able to provide the level of quality that is called for.
Department of Elementary Education

One of the challenges facing education systems worldwide is the motivation of qualified teachers to teach at rural schools. Teaching at rural schools is a challenge as rural areas are characterised by adverse living and working conditions, making qualified teachers prefer living and working at urban schools where conditions are more comfortable. Namibia implemented the financial incentive to motivate qualified teachers to teach at rural schools and improve learner performance. The implementation of the financial incentive in Namibia has received little research attention in establishing its effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the financial incentive on the performance of learners at rural schools, as this performance relates to teacher motivation. To achieve this, a literature study and an empirical investigation were conducted. An interpretivist research paradigm informed the methodology for the study. A mixed-methods research approach, which relied more on a qualitative research design, included a research sample of 28 teachers, five school principals and two education officials. Data were collected through interviews and document analysis. Individual interviews were conducted with education officials and school principals. Focus group interviews were conducted with teachers. Document analysis entailed accessing applicable documents of each research site in the office of the school principal. Textual data were analysed and presented thematically and numeric data were analysed and presented as frequencies and percentages. Key findings established that financial incentive has contributed little to the performance of learners in rural schools. The fact that rural schools are not properly categorised according to environmental challenges results in teachers not receiving realistic financial incentive. Teachers were therefore not motivated by financial incentive, but by other factors relating to being tuned to nature in rural areas, being exposed to lower living costs and enjoying accommodating school leadership and community care. A revisiting of the implementation of the financial incentive is recommended in order to negate shortcomings and enhance the potential of financial incentive to contribute to improved learner performance as steered by motivated teachers.
Educational Studies
Ph. D. (Education)

In this chapter, the qualitative study will investigate and evaluate the effectiveness of the Leveled Literacy Intervention (LLI) framework with English Language Learners (ELL) newcomers and their literacy achievement using the case study method and cross case analysis. Student case studies will consist of LLI pre and post assessment data, guided reading data, and information gathered from student interviews. The triangulation of student interviews, teacher surveys, and extant literature provide the foundation for answering questions regarding the effectiveness of LLI with the ELL newcomers. Findings are presented through student case studies, resulting from cross case analysis that identified themes, patterns, and commonalities in student reading achievement data and teacher survey results. Results show that ELL newcomers needed to develop social, academic, and content-related language. Findings from the study show that the students made progress while participating during the intervention but have not maintained or increased their reading levels after the intervention that provides opportunities for future research. Recommendation for future studies and conclusion are discussed.

This chapter consists of three case studies that illustrate how the evaluation approaches, methods, techniques, and tools presented in Chapters 1 to 5 can be translated into practice. The first case study describes an evaluation of the Dyslexia Pilot Project, a statewide multi-tier system of supports (MTSS) initiative targeting early literacy. In this evaluation, special attention was paid to the evaluating the cost-effectiveness of serving students in kindergarten to grade 2 proactively. The second case study features the use of single-case designs and corresponding summary statistics to evaluate the collective impact of more than 500 academic and behavioral interventions provided within an MTSS framework as part of the annual statewide evaluation of the Ohio Internship Program in School Psychology. The third case study focuses on efforts to evaluate the fidelity of implementation for teacher teams’ use of a five-step process for data-based decision making and instructional planning.

The contextual factors influencing teachers' use of technology as well as teachers' Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) levels were investigated through multiple embedded case studies of five science teachers who were regular users of technology in their teaching. The case studies reported in this chapter revealed that teachers used technology to support inquiry learning through a wide range of ways in lower levels of high school but mostly to clarify concepts and theories for senior level students. This chapter identified that teachers demonstrated different TPACK levels of expertise and engagement in the use of technology when transferring different types of knowledge from one teaching and learning context to another and for addressing differences amongst learners. The context of assessment driven teaching influences science teachers' TPACK for integrating technology in instruction. The chapter noted that having teachers actively evaluate the effectiveness of the technology on students' learning may help increase teachers' TPACK levels.

The Australian Catholic University (ACU National at www.acu.edu.au) is a public university funded by the Australian Government. There are six campuses across the country, located in Brisbane, Queensland; North Sydney, New South Wales; Strathfield, New South Wales; Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT); Ballarat, Victoria; and Melbourne, Victoria. The university serves a total of approximately 27,000 students, including both full- and part-time students, and those enrolled in undergraduate and postgraduate studies. Through fostering and advancing knowledge in education, health, commerce, the humanities, science and technology, and the creative arts, ACU National seeks to make specific and targeted contributions to its local, national, and international communities. The university explicitly engages the social, ethical, and religious dimensions of the questions it faces in teaching, research, and service. In its endeavors, it is guided by a fundamental concern for social justice, equity, and inclusivity. The university is open to all, irrespective of religious belief or background. ACU National opened its doors in 1991 following the amalgamation of four Catholic tertiary institutions in eastern Australia. The institutions that merged to form the university had their origins in the mid-17th century when religious orders and institutes became involved in the preparation of teachers for Catholic schools and, later, nurses for Catholic hospitals. As a result of a series of amalgamations, relocations, transfers of responsibilities, and diocesan initiatives, more than twenty historical entities have contributed to the creation of ACU National. Today, ACU National operates within a rapidly changing educational and industrial context. Student numbers are increasing, areas of teaching and learning have changed and expanded, e-learning plays an important role, and there is greater emphasis on research. In its 2005–2009 Strategic Plan, the university commits to the adoption of quality teaching, an internationalized curriculum, as well as the cultivation of generic skills in students, to meet the challenges of the dynamic university and information environment (ACU National, 2008). The Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary) Program at ACU Canberra Situated in Australia’s capital city, the Canberra campus is one of the smallest campuses of ACU National, where there are approximately 800 undergraduate and 200 postgraduate students studying to be primary or secondary school teachers through the School of Education (ACT). Other programs offered at this campus include nursing, theology, social work, arts, and religious education. A new model of pre-service secondary teacher education commenced with the introduction of the Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary) program at this campus in 2005. It marked an innovative collaboration between the university and a cohort of experienced secondary school teachers in the ACT and its surrounding region. This partnership was forged to allow student teachers undertaking the program to be inducted into the teaching profession with the cooperation of leading practitioners from schools in and around the ACT. In the preparation of novices for the teaching profession, an enduring challenge is to create learning experiences capable of transforming practice, and to instill in the novices an array of professional skills, attributes, and competencies (Putnam & Borko, 2000). Another dimension of the beginning teacher experience is the need to bridge theory and practice, and to apply pedagogical content knowledge in real-life classroom practice. During the one-year Graduate Diploma program, the student teachers undertake two four-week block practicum placements, during which they have the opportunity to observe exemplary lessons, as well as to commence teaching. The goals of the practicum include improving participants’ access to innovative pedagogy and educational theory, helping them situate their own prior knowledge regarding pedagogy, and assisting them in reflecting on and evaluating their own practice. Each student teacher is paired with a more experienced teacher based at the school where he/she is placed, who serves as a supervisor and mentor. In 2007, a new dimension to the teaching practicum was added to facilitate online peer mentoring among the pre-service teachers at the Canberra campus of ACU National, and provide them with opportunities to reflect on teaching prior to entering full-time employment at a school. The creation of an online community to facilitate this mentorship and professional development process forms the context for the present case study. While on their practicum, students used social software in the form of collaborative web logging (blogging) and threaded voice discussion tools that were integrated into the university’s course management system (CMS), to share and reflect on their experiences, identify critical incidents, and invite comment on their responses and reactions from peers.

Program visualization is one of the various methods developed over the years to aid novices with their difficulties in learning to program. It consists of different graphical - often animated - and textual objects, visualizing the execution of programs. The aim of program visualization is to enhance students’ understanding of different areas of program execution. Typical program visualization techniques include code highlighting, visualization of the call stack, and presenting information on variables. Despite the large number of studies performed on program visualization, little is known about the effects of such systems on learning. We have developed a program visualization tool called ViLLE, with the main objective of offering an environment for students to study the execution of example programs - whether written by students themselves or prepared by the teacher - and explore the changes in the program state data structures. A key feature of ViLLE is language independency, including parallel execution of a program in two different languages and the ability to define new languages. ViLLE also provides role information of program variables and supports the design and use of interactive pop-up questions.

The quality of teacher training research postgraduate (RPg) students receive is highly likely to determine the quality of teaching and learning they will provide when they are given teaching duties. Designing and developing such a teaching development course is considerably challenging, particularly if it is fully online. Owing to its focus on student learning, we integrated group learning, case-based learning and technology-enhanced learning approaches of active learning into an online Professional Development (PD) course at a university in Hong Kong. The course intended to enhance RPg students’ student-focused teaching approaches which, in turn, would help their students demonstrate high academic performance and achieve learning objectives. We relied on the concept of teaching approaches to build the theoretical foundation of this study and used Approaches to Teaching Inventory (ATI) to test the effectiveness of the PD course in improving the RPg students’ teaching quality. The quantitative analysis of the survey conducted showed that there was a significant increase in both Conceptual Change/Student Focused (CCSF) and Information Transmission/Teacher Focused approaches to teaching among the RPg students. The results provided opportunities to make informed decisions for further enhancement of the course design and start a new potential dialogue in studies of teaching approaches.

Students can learn more effectively when actively involved in the learning process. Traditional approach is mainly “teacher-centered” and lacks in nurturing the students’ skills in today’s changing world. Various non-traditional approaches, that are based on experiential learning, such as project-based, problem-based or case studies-based learning have been developed and found to improve student’s learning concepts in engineering. Course modules that engage students can (i) stimulate active learning, (ii) prepare students to solve open-ended real-world problems in industries, and (iii) serve as a natural link to subsequent courses in the STEM disciplines. In this paper, we discuss Create your Scenario Interactively (CSI), which is being developed using Experiential Learning as a model to provide an engaging learning experience of engineering concepts by allowing students to visualize and interact with 2D/3D objects. A casting CSI module is being developed for a sophomore level manufacturing engineering course. We will discuss some initial research results on the CSI module development, implementation and evaluation plan for teaching manufacturing engineering course at University of Oklahoma and Tuskegee University. The pedagogical effectiveness of the CSI system will be evaluated by covering two different areas — (i) students’ learning and (ii) usability of the CSI system.

Korábbi hazai felmérések rámutattak arra, hogy a pedagógusképzésben résztvevő hallgatók képzéssel kapcsolatos elvárásai nem minden esetben teljesülnek. A jelöltek úgy érzik, az egyetemi képzés nem szentel kellő figyelmet a tanulási-tanítási folyamat hatékony irányításához szükséges szakmai kompetenciák fejlesztésére. Ezek az adatok egybecsengenek a kezdő pedagógusok kihívásaival foglalkozó hazai és nemzetközi kutatásokkal is. Kutatásunk a gyakorlóiskolák tanárképzésben betöltött szerepét és hatékonyságát vizsgálta ún. felderítő típusú esettanulmányon keresztül. A mintát az Eszterházy Károly Egyetem gyakorlóiskolai képzésében résztvevő hallgatók (N=22), az egyetemen tanító szakmódszertanos oktatók (N=16) és a gyakorlóiskolában tanító pedagógusok (N=102) alkották. Mérőeszközeink nyílt és zárt (likert-skálás, egyválasztós, többválasztós) kérdéseket tartalmazó online kérdőívek voltak. Az általuk nyert adatok segítségével leíró és matematikai statisztikai vizsgálatokat végeztünk. A nyílt kérdésekre adott válaszok elemzése tartalomelemzéssel, nyílt kódolással történt, a kategóriák megbízhatóságát intra-kódolás biztosította. Eredményeink szerint a tanárképzés hallgatók által visszajelzett hiányosságainak hátterében számos okok között az intézményen belüli és intézmények közötti szakmai együttműködés hiánya áll. A kölcsönösségen alapuló egyenrangú szakmai együttműködés gondolata sem a gyakorlóiskola pedagógusai sem pedig az egyetemi oktatók nézetrendszerében nem élvez prioritást. A csoportos gyakorlat fő célja a hallgatók egyéni tanítási képességeinek fejlesztése, ugyanakkor azok a képességek, amelyek a szakmai együttműködést tennék lehetővé, nem kapnak kellő figyelmet. Emellett a pedagógusok tanítási-tanulási folyamatra vonatkozó nézeteiben sem jelenik meg domináns fogalomként a szakmai együttműködés. Eredményeink alapján olyan javaslatokat fogalmaztunk meg, amelyek támogatják a hazai pedagógusképzés megújítását. ----- Fields which should be developed in Teacher Education in the mirror of professional cooperation ----- arlier Hungarian researches pointed out that student teachers’ expectations related to Teacher Education have not always been fulfilled. The candidates think that during their university training certain professional competences are not adequately developed. These professional competences are classroom management, supporting students with special needs and cooperation with parents. These data coincide with the results of Hungarian and international studies dealing with challenges which novice teachers have to cope with. Our research examined the role and effectiveness of practice schools in Teacher Education with a descriptive case-study. The sample consisted of student teachers doing their MA courses at Eszterházy Károly University (N=22), university instructors of subject methodology (N=16) and teachers working at the university’s practice school (N=102). Our research tools were online questionnaires containing Likert-scales and open-ended questions. The data were analysed with descriptive and mathematical statistics. The open-ended questions were content analysed with an open coding process of the answers. The reliability of our categories was provided with intra-coding. Our results showed that the one of some weaknesses of the present system is the lack of cooperation between the university and the practice school. The main goal of the school group practice is to improve candidates’ individual skills but those of enhancing collaboration are not developed adequately. Moreover, the lack of cooperation is a relevant issue among school teachers concerning their beliefs related to the teaching-learning process. On the basis of our results we formed some proposals in connection with renewing Hungarian Teacher Education. We hope that our suggestions will help change the student teachers’ group practice and form new foundations of the partnership between the university and the practice school.