Browsing by Subject "Classroom observation"
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Item Becoming an activist Chicana teacher: a story of identity making of a Mexican American bilingual educator in Texas(2009-08) Jackson, Linda Dolores Guardia; Urrieta, Luis; Valenzuela, AngelaThis person-centered ethnography focused on the ways one exemplary veteran Mexican American bilingual educator’s (MABE’s) cultural resources and professional experiences influenced her teaching practices. The study examined her life history and classroom practices to explore the trajectory of her identity making. The framework utilized in this research included a sociohistorical/sociocultural lens and Chicana/Latina feminist theories. Specifically, my research investigated the multiple spaces where a MABE navigated between an additive bilingual education model and a subtractive one. The study relied primarily on data collected from oral life history interviews augmented by participant observations at a school in a large, central Texas district. The participant, a first grade teacher with 28 years of classroom experience in the same district, was interviewed over a four-year span. Further, classroom observations occurred during a full school year. Additional interviews with educators who worked with the participant at critical moments in her professional life provided not only triangulation of information, but also a multiplicity of perspectives and foci on the educational landscapes wherein she operated. Narrative analysis of the data involved the decoding and deconstruction of a MABE’s active participation in the processes of performing and (re)presenting her identity production including being silenced and speaking up. The findings revealed a dialectic and dialogic process between personal experiences, early schooling, impositions of policies, and daily-lived classroom experience while constantly navigating and negotiating the challenges of educating culturally and linguistically diverse students. A primary finding revealed the construct of autobiographical consciousness as a MABE’s critical awareness of the historical legacy, lived experiences, and the contexts in which she teaches. The study documented silencing through marginalization, as well as establishing voice through agency to understand construction and reconstruction of identities.Item Classroom Observations of Instructional Practices and Technology Use by Elementary School Teachers and Students in an Ethnically-and Economically-Diverse School District(2012-10-19) Rollins, Kayla BrazielThe purpose of this study was to observe pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade public school classrooms to examine differences among instructional practices and technology use by teachers, students and the overall classroom. The current study differed from and built upon previous classroom observational research in a number of major ways. First, the observational data examined both student and teacher technology use and the availability of technology in the classroom. Second, authentic classroom behaviors were examined in relation to technology use; specifically, behaviors related to the impact of technology use on student engagement as well as differences among technology use in classrooms and differences by student socio-economic status. Finally, unlike previous studies, this study focused specifically on pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade classrooms from the same large public school district that was diverse by both socio-economic status (SES) and by student ethnicity. Overall, the results of this study suggest that technology has not been adequately implemented into the observed classrooms. Technology was available but was not used to a great extent. When technology was implemented, teachers were primarily observed using it to present material and students were observed using it almost exclusively for basic skills activities. This low-level of technology integration occurred in elementary schools of a high performing school district which had a technology plan in place, a low student to computer ratio, and 100 percent of the classrooms had Internet access. Furthermore, only 15 percent of teachers were observed integrating technology to a great extent; however, students in these classrooms were observed on task significantly more frequently than students in classrooms where technology was observed less or not at all. On the other hand, students were observed off task significantly more in classrooms where either no technology integration was observed or where it was only observed a moderate amount. These findings support and build upon previous observational studies. There is still a need, however, for strong, empirical research to be conducted to further examine the use of technology in elementary classrooms.Item Instruction for discovery learning : levels of implementation exhibited by a sample of algebra I teachers(2013-05) Hoffman, Shannah Kathryn; Petrosino, Anthony J. (Anthony Joseph), 1961-; Daniels, Mark L.One type of instruction that is of particular interest in STEM education is instruction that actively engages students in inquiry and discovery. The author develops an operational definition of instruction for discovery learning (IDL) that adopts some of the fundamental commonalities among many reform-oriented instructional frameworks such as inquiry-based and project-based instruction. Four teachers—who received their bachelor’s degree in mathematics and teacher certification from the same undergraduate teacher-preparation program—and their Algebra I classes were observed with the focus on how particular features of IDL were being implemented in their classrooms. To gain further perspective on classroom practices and interactions, student surveys were administered to a total of 142 students and each teacher was interviewed. The student surveys focused on student orientations toward IDL, attitudes toward mathematics, and their perspective of IDL implementation in their class. Student survey data was analyzed through ANOVA, post hoc tests were used to identify significant pair-wise differences between teachers for which the ANOVA identified significance, and a factor analysis was used to evaluate the component loadings for the survey questions. The surveys revealed significant differences between perceived activities in the classes (p<0.05), but did not show very significant differences between student orientations toward IDL. All four teachers expressed familiarity with and commitment to reform-oriented frameworks such as inquiry-based and project-based instruction, and certainly experienced inquiry-based learning as students themselves in their undergraduate program. However, only one teacher—the one teaching in a New Tech high school that was structured on the framework of project-based instruction (PBI)—showed consistent differences in both student perspectives of IDL and observed implementation of IDL. The author discusses the levels at which these teachers implemented IDL, the differences among student perceptions across the classes, teacher orientations toward mathematics and learning, and the importance of a supportive school culture and administration in order to fully implement IDL and influence both student and teacher orientations toward reform-oriented pedagogy.