Browsing by Subject "Beliefs"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    Content Area Vocabulary Instruction: Teachers’ Beliefs, Knowledge, And Practices
    (2019-05) Bergeland, John
    In an effort to improve an understanding of content area vocabulary instruction and how to support teacher-educators, in this study I sought to determine which vocabulary instructional practices were selected from the corpus and applied in instruction. I examined the knowledge and beliefs held by the participants about vocabulary instruction in their respective disciplines. In addition, I worked to determine the sources from which teachers acquire information to professionally proceed with the vocabulary instruction that does occur. Using a mixed methods design, I studied grades 6-12 science, social studies, and technical studies teachers’ beliefs about, and conceptions of, vocabulary instruction. While there has been increased attention to teaching vocabulary (Baumann, 2009; Blachowicz & Fisher, 2010; Fisher & Frey, 2014; Graves, 2006; Manyak et al., 2014; McKeown et al., 2018; Nagy & Townsend, 2012), little is known about how content area teachers conceptualize teaching their respective discipline-specific terminology. Therefore, the goal is to add to the existing knowledge base in academic disciplines via an examination of how teachers’ beliefs and conceptualization and enactment of the specific instructional practices in vocabulary.
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    Cultural Beliefs Regarding People with Disabilities in Namibia: Implications for the Inclusion of People with Disabilities
    (International Journal of Special Education, 2010) Haihambo, Cynthy; Lightfoot, Elizabeth
    Namibia is a southern African country with national level policies promoting community inclusion and inclusive education. Despite these policies, people with disabilities are often excluded from schools and community life. This study explores the nuanced cultural beliefs about the causes of disability in Namibia, and the impacts of such beliefs on the implementation of disability policy. Eight themes emerged from this study regarding specific myths about the causes of disability and appropriate community responses to people with disabilities. This study finds that many Namibians believe in supernatural causes of disability, such as witchcraft, and/or in the role of improper relationships of family members as causes of disability; and that community responses to Namibians with disabilities are often negative. However, many people, particularly parents with disabilities, often have strong positive views of disability as well, reflecting the complex and changing nature of cultural beliefs. This study suggests that the implementation of disability inclusion policies is more likely to be successful if it builds upon positive aspects of cultural beliefs about disability.
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    Exploring the impact of a standards-based Mathematics and pedagogy class on preservice teachers' beliefs and subject matter knowledge.
    (2012-05) Stohlmann, Micah Stephen
    This case study explored the impact of a standards-based mathematics and pedagogy class on preservice elementary teachers' beliefs and conceptual subject matter knowledge of linear functions. The framework for the standards-based mathematics and pedagogy class in this study involved the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Standards, the Lesh Translation Model, building algebra through the elementary grades, social constructivism, and research on childrens' mathematical thinking from the Rational Number Project. The rich description of the mathematics and pedagogy class in this study provides relevant information for properly structuring mathematics content classes to prepare elementary teachers to be able to help all students learn mathematics. Overall, the preservice teachers demonstrated the most developed understanding in the realistic, language, symbolic, and concrete representations; while the pictorial representation was often not as fully developed. They also showed the ability to provide reasoning and justification for their mathematical ideas. The preservice teachers' beliefs about the teaching and learning of mathematics became more inline with standards-based learning environments. The preservice teachers were especially impacted by the Rational Number Project research on fraction division and fraction multiplication to see the benefit of having conceptual understanding of concepts in different representations. However, there were a few areas where the preservice teachers showed little evidence of beliefs: that the teacher should let children do most of the thinking in a mathematics class and that mathematics is a web of interrelated concepts and procedures.
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    On the way of educational reform: Thai High School physics teachers’ conceptions of the student-centered approach and their perceptions of their classroom practices
    (2013-02) Chaumklang, Kawin
    During the past two decades, the student-centered approach has been widely promoted and accepted by the educational community as one of the most effective instructional approaches. It has been continually developed and revised to match our current understanding of how humans learn (American Psychological Association, 1997). It is based upon the belief that students should take responsibility for their own learning. Thus, curriculum, instruction, and assessment should be carefully designed to stimulate, facilitate, and accelerate students' learning as much as possible. In order to do so, the teacher needs to take the following factors into consideration: students’ cognitive structures, metacognitive and regulative skills, motivation and affective states, developmental and individual differences, and social supports. However, the term student-centered has been defined and described by researchers and scholars in many different ways. Little is known about how practicing teachers conceptualize this term and how they perceive their classroom practices in relation to these conceptions. The purpose of this study was to utilize a qualitative multiple-case study approach to investigate teachers’ conceptions of the student-centered approach and their perceptions of their classroom practices. Four Thai high school physics teachers, who were considered products of the current student-centered educational reform movement in Thailand, participated in this study. Data were collected for one learning unit (three to eight weeks) through classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis. The data analysis revealed that teachers’ conceptions of student-centered curriculum, instruction, and assessment had three common characteristics: (a) students’ active participation; (b) special emphasis on students’ background knowledge, understanding, motivation, affective states, and learning capability; and (c) benefits to students. The results also indicated that there were some similarities and differences between teachers’ conceptions of the student-centered approach and the underlying principles of the student-centered approach. Moreover, this study showed that teachers’ conceptions of the student-centered approach were not always consistent with their classroom practices. In addition, these teachers used various instructional activities perceived by them as being non-student-centered, such as developing curriculum based on the national high school physics textbooks and teacher’s experiences, delivering knowledge through lecture, and assessing students’ understanding by using teacherconstructed test questions. Furthermore, findings from this study provide implications for researchers, teacher educators, and policy makers with regards to successfully implement the reform-based, student-centered approach in the actual science classroom.
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    The relationship between beliefs and practices of mathematics teachers who use a standards-based curriculum.
    (2011-06) Monson, Debra Sue
    The NCTM Standards encourage classroom teachers to teach rigorous mathematical content to all students using problem solving, reasoning, and communication. One particular high school curriculum, Core-Plus, embodies both the process and content standards included in the NCTM Standards. As teachers work with any curriculum, their beliefs play a role in the implementation of the curriculum and their daily practices. This study looks at the relationship between beliefs and practices of five high school teachers at Suburban High School who are using Core-Plus. The setting of this study is noteworthy because the entire district containing Suburban High School has used Standards-based curricula for over 10 years at all grade levels. There appears to be a compatible relationship between beliefs of the teachers and their practices with Core-Plus. Results indicate that several other factors, such as teacher collaboration, state standards, and students, are highly influential on these teachers‟ practices and these results provide a framework for looking at implementation of new curricula.
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    The transition to teaching reading: knowledge, beliefs, and identities of novice teachers of reading.
    (2010-09) Kelly, Catherine M.
    The purpose of the study was to examine the knowledge, beliefs, and identities of reading teachers within the transition to teaching by exploring the connections between coursework, field placements, teaching contexts, and participants' conceptions of teaching reading. While there has been an increased focus on the transition to teaching, little is still known about the experiences of reading teachers as they move from the university classrooms to their own K-12 classrooms (Anders, Hoffman, & Duffy, 2000; Risko et al., 2008, Dillon et al., 2010). The following questions guided this research: How do novice reading teachers conceptualize their knowledge and beliefs about the teaching of reading? (2) How do knowledge, beliefs, and identities of novice reading teachers change and continue to develop over time (e.g., within the first 4 years of teaching)? (3) How are novice reading teachers' knowledge and beliefs about teaching reading visible in their teaching practice? (4) How does teaching context influence the development of novice reading teachers' knowledge and beliefs about teaching reading, and their identities as teachers of reading? The study was conducted as a qualitative case study, and data sources included formal interviews, classroom observations, and a survey. Participants included 2 preservice teachers, 3 first-year teachers, and 2 third-/fourth-year teachers prepared at the same large, Midwestern Research University. Analysis indicated that novice reading teachers benefit from clear links between theoretical grounding and instructional practice in actual classrooms. As well, the knowledge, beliefs, and identities of novice reading teachers continue to develop after completing teacher education programs, and strong leadership and mentors are necessary for supporting the continued professional development of new reading teachers. Therefore, a recommendation of this study is that teacher education programs work in concert with schools to provide carefully designed programs and field experiences. As well, schools have a responsibility to recognize and maintain a focus on the development of effective literacy practices for novice reading teachers in the powerful site of continued learning - the novice teacher's own classroom.
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    Who can do it? New science teachers with reform-based teaching strategies.
    (2008-09) Hick, Sarah Rachel
    Despite consistent calls for pedagogical changes in the teaching of science since the 1989 publication of Science for All Americans (Rutherford & Ahlgren), most science teachers still teach in traditional ways. This is most surprisingly true even for new science teachers whose teacher education programs have emphasized reform-based instruction. In order to understand how reform-based teaching can be done by new teachers, I examined the experiences and beliefs of three reform-based new secondary science teachers. Research in teacher socialization has shown that three separate phases--"life history," teacher education, and in-service-shape--a teacher's beliefs and practices. Findings from this collective case study suggest that the ability to teach in reform-based ways in the "rough and tumble of practice" (Crawford, 2007) may be linked to a teacher having a "belief in" reform rather than a "knowledge of" reform. Findings from this study also provides evidence of teachers relying on their own learning style as a guide for teaching; drawing on authentic inquiry experiences in their instruction and their conceptions of the nature of science; and benefiting from having digital forms of lessons available, regardless of level of reform, to use as a springboard to crafting reform-based lessons. A possible link is explored between a disposition towards stewardship of the environment and disposition towards stewardship of children as learners. Recommendations are made for research, teacher education, and teacher in-service with regards to selection, preparation, and in-service support of new science teachers who can teach in reform-based ways.