Browsing by Subject "Mentoring in education"
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Item A web-based software system to support academic engineering advising(Texas Tech University, 2004-05) Neek, CyrusThe basic relationship for individual development and group experience (BRIDGE) is an advisory system designed and overseen by the Texas Tech University College of Engineering. It is intended to help incoming freshmen students learn basic engineering principles, problem solving, teamwork, and time organization. The BRIDGE software tool, which is the subject of this thesis, is a web-based software system to support this academic engineering advising function. The software is implemented to help administrators coordinate mentors and students in synchronizing events and schedules and managing resources.Item Exploring an alignment focused coaching model of mathematics professional development: content of coach/teacher talk during planning and analyzing lessons(2007) Bradley, Janice Allyne Tomasulo, 1954-; Empson, Susan B.This exploratory case study examines an alignment-focused coaching model of mathematics professional development during a school district's second-year implementation of the coaching model. Specifically, the study describes the content of coach-teacher talk as five coach-teacher pairs, grades K-8, engage in planning and analyzing mathematics lessons. Using an alignment framework designed around the components of curriculum, instruction, and assessment to analyze talk, four patterns unfold. Issues of curriculum, instruction, and assessment were more often discussed in isolation than interconnected, mathematics was most often the content focus when teacher and/or coach were using the state standards document to plan, student thinking and learning were most often a focus when students were struggling, and teachers often talked about instruction as actions isolated from student thinking and learning. In addition, teachers reported changes to instruction as an outcome of participating in coaching. Self-reported benefits to teachers' practice included planning lessons that focused on student learning, that is, considering the mathematics in the standards and ways students would learn the content. Teachers also reported asking "better questions" more often and in different ways, using models such as manipulatives and representations for connecting mathematics ideas, thinking more about student learning, and analyzing and scrutinizing textbooks to align with the state standards.Item Functional feedback : a cognitive approach to mentoring(2001-12) Garza, Rubén; Black, Mary S.Item Impact of a mentoring program on beginning Hispanic teachers(2004) Salinas, Ignacio; Scribner, Jay D.This study examined the impact of a mentoring program on beginning Hispanic teachers in a low socioeconomic, predominately limited-English-proficient (LEP) district in South Texas. The purpose of the study was to determine what components of a mentoring program, if any, impacted first or second year teachers during the first year with the district, and how the mentoring experience impacted the beginning Hispanic teachers decision to return for a second year to the profession and/or the district. The framework of the study was established through a literature review that included an investigation of several statewide programs in the nation and Texas Beginning Educator Support System, known as TxBESS in Texas. The study used a survey to gather both quantitative and qualitative data. The survey was sent to identified participants in one school district in South Texas. The school district distributed and collected survey forms for the researcher. The survey asked respondents to prioritize components of the mentoring program as to relevance to their first-year teaching experience. There were also questions concerning their decision to return or not to return for the second year in the profession. Demographic information was collected from the respondents to create two groups from the respondents. One group was made up of beginning Hispanic teachers with TxBESStrained mentors and the other group was made up of beginning Hispanic teachers who were assigned mentors without TxBESS training. The researcher used a Likert Scale instrumentation to determine rating scores, and also included open ended questions at the close of each section of the survey. This information was analyzed and summarized. Then, generalizations and recommendations were made to the district about the mentoring program in place, as well as, adding to the body of work in the field of mentoring. Four major components of an effective program emerged from the data analysis. These components included (1) sharing of information support and assistance between mentors and beginning Hispanic teachers, (2) importance of time in a mentoring program, (3) the need for frequent contact between mentors and beginning Hispanic teachers, and (4) the emotional support and assistance received by the beginning Hispanic teacher by the mentor. These components were matched to findings from other studies and the research available on mentoring programs. Information from this study should provide the reader with an opportunity to investigate mentoring program components and the feasibility of implementation of a mentoring program at the district level.Item A phenomenological case study of mentoring outcomes : benefiting the mentor in student development, self-esteem, and identity formation(2007-12) Conrady, Lara Lee, 1977-; Somers, Patricia (Patricia A.)This qualitative study sought to provide a list of outcomes that mentors have as a result of being involved in a service-learning course over the course of one academic semester. The service learning course, Leadership in the Community, requires the enrollees to serve as a mentor to a local middle school student. Specifically, this study examined the mentoring outcomes of student development, self-esteem, and personal reflection. Data included semistructured interviews, researcher observations, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE), mentor journals, and personal reflection papers. Twenty-one participants were included in this study. An analysis of the data sources illustrated how each participant experiences mentoring and its outcomes and was informed using literature on mentoring, self-esteem, student development, and service-learning including: Maslow (1976), Chickering and Reisser (1993), Boyer (1990), Kram (1985), and Rosenberg (1965). In summary, this study's purpose was to identify mentoring outcomes and how participation in a service- learning course can contribute to changes in student development, self-esteem levels, and personal reflection. This study found that participants enrolled in the course for specific reasons, which included (a) forming relationships, (b) providing hope and promoting personal development, and (c) modeling goal setting. In regards to self-esteem development, the Leadership in the Community course provided the participants with a positive support system, a forum for sharing personal accomplishments, and an outlet to serve the local community by serving as a mentor. The participants displayed the ability to personally reflect about themselves and their mentoring experience in classroom interactions, mentor journals, interviews, and personal reflection papers. Themes and patterns noted in the participants' personal reflection were reflections about (a) personal growth, (b) identity formation, (c) past experiences, and (d) experiences with their classmates. This study suggests that service-learning courses that require mentoring as an enrollment requirement provides participants with an opportunity to develop as a student and as a person by contributing to the local community, increasing self-esteem, and reflecting upon one's past experiences. This study also makes a contribution to the literature by examining the mentoring relationship from the mentor's perspective. This departure from the existing literature on the mentoring relationship provides a new perspective for future research.Item Qualitative study of women and mentoring in an academic context(Texas Tech University, 2000-05) Johnson, Krystin TischGiven the potential mentoring holds, this study examines how mentoring occurs and the ways communication functions in a mentoring relationship. In other words, a functional mentoring relationship is based on two or more individuals who communicate in a manner that is beneficial to both parties. This study identifies the aspects of communication that provide a beneficial foimdation for communication in a mentoring relationship. Specifically, this research qualitatively examines the perspectives of the administrators, mentors, and the proteges involved in a mentoring program. Information gained from this study could be used to enhance mentoring relationships, thereby frirthering the interests of women in academia.Item The influence of mentors on Hispanic college women(Texas Tech University, 1999-08) Cruz, LydiaThe extant literature on mentoring has linked successful mentoring relationships with academic success (Cardoza, 1991; Stake & Noonan, 1985). Academic success is of crucial importance especially as it pertains to minorities and minority women because of their significant underrepresentation in colleges and universities across the nation. The current study examined the influence of natural mentors on the decision of Hispanic women to attend college. This study explored which characteristics (e.g., age, gender, and ethnicity) render nonparental adults as significant adults in adolescents' lives. Self-described achievement motivation, ambitiousness, and perceived problem-solving abilities were examined, and the presence or absence of these personal characteristics were related to the presence of a mentor to see if such characteristics can develop outside the presence of a mentoring relationship. The results of the study confirmed that natural mentors are an integral part of adolescents' lives, specifically as they pertain to their decision to attend college. Seventy percent of the respondents reported having a natural mentor whom was influential in their decision of academic pursuit. The reported mentors' gender, age, ethnicity, profession, and education level were also examined. It was concluded that self-described achievement motivation, ambitiousness and perceived problem-solving abilities were not related to having or not having a natural mentor.