Association of Teacher Educators

• Sudha Swaminathan, Tanya Moorehead, & Leah Barbuto. (2021). Study of The Impact of Educator Preparation Programs Through Research with Teacher Candidates
  Accreditation calls on educator preparation programs to determine their program impact by evaluating the teaching effectiveness of program completers and to measure these completers’ impact on their P-12 students’ learning and development. In an innovative twist and taking a more democratic and scholarly approach, we conducted our self-study by engaging our graduate teacher candidates in a qualitative research study of our completers. Four completers, representing each of our programs, participated in the study. Their teaching competencies and impact on their student learning were measured against the four domains of our program’s candidate learning outcomes: Intentional teaching, data literacy, cultural competence,
• Xiaofang Zeng (2021). Contributing Factors to Beginning Teacher Instruction Self-Efficacy
  This study examined how preparation in subject content, preparation in subject pedagogy, student behaviors and teacher collaboration contributed to teacher self-efficacy in instruction. Full-time teachers with no more than 5 years of teaching experience who participated in the 2013 teaching and learning international survey (TALIS) were included in the data analyses. The results show that there was a significant correlation between preparation in the subject pedagogy and preparation in the subject content and a significant correlation between preparation in the subject pedagogy and student behaviors. Preparation in the subject content, preparation in the subject pedagogy, student behaviors and teacher collaboration
• Nicole Hersey and Cornelis de Groot (2020). Reported Impact of Specialized Courses on Pedagogical Content Knowledge Development of Mathematics Education Program Candidates’ transition to First-Year Teachers
  This paper discusses findings of a formal investigation into the impact of specialized courses on the development of pedagogical content knowledge of teacher candidates pursuing certification to teach mathematics in secondary schools. This study is two-phased, with phase I beginning in the final year of participants’ teacher preparation program and phase II during the first year of teaching with a subset of phase I participants. The study investigates the development of beginning secondary mathematics teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) about teaching and learning mathematics over this two-year period. Data were compiled from multiple sources: a researcher created PCK inventory, interviews,
• Mary Ann Smorra (2020). Pre and Post Reflection: Teacher Candidates’ Responses to Their 90 Hours Field Experience
  The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine the emergence of resilience in the context of reflective practice facilitated during a 90 Hours field experience. The surveys administered to teacher candidates (n=90) preceding and following the field experience comprise the data. Among the five questions in the surveys, the focus question looked at teacher candidates’ expectations of themselves and their cooperating teachers. The resilience factors, including the personal resources of courage and motivation, along with the contextual resource, mentor relationships, emerged from an analysis of the data. However, continued analysis of the data revealed a confluence of the personal
• Scott Robinson (2020). Listening in Teacher Education: A Constructivist Grounded Theory
  The purpose of this qualitative research is to examine listening since it essential for effective communication yet is not well understood (Murphy, 2019; Worthington & Fitch- Hauser, 2018). The aim is to address the listening gap in the field of teacher education (Haroutunian-Gordan & Waks, 2010; Kourmousi et al., 2018; Schultz et al., 2008) by interviewing two elementary teacher candidates about listening. The emerging constructivist grounded theory (Charmaz, 2014) results in an analogy of listening based on a communication atom with listening represented as protons and neutrons located in the nucleus of the atom and electrons representing speaking found in
• Elizabeth Barrow & Gregory Chamblee (2020). Impact of a Self-Reflection, Expert Discussion, Self-Reflection Model on Pre-service Secondary Mathematics and Science Teachers’ Ability to Assess Their Classrooms
  Self-reflection using candidate teaching videos in early field experiences is a strategy that may help candidates enhance their teaching constructs and abilities. This study reports on how a self-reflection, expert discussion, self-reflection video feedback cycle changed three pre-service secondary (Grades 6 – 12 certification) teacher candidates’ (two mathematics and one biology) ability to document specific targeted aspects of their teaching. Candidates submitted three separate videos of instruction and responded to a series of prompts modeled after edTPA task two and three prompts. Additionally, candidates were asked to place timestamps on their videos where they believed they answered each of the
• Gary G. Andersen and Linda E. Feldstein (2020). Context Matters: Concepts of School Engagement in the Context of Geographic Isolation
  This case study research represents an attempt to understand conceptions of school engagement in a rural, isolated, agricultural mid-western community. Local school administrators, in collaboration with a regional university, chose to make student engagement the focus of deep inquiry in order to better address student concerns, improve teaching, and student outcomes (Association of Teacher Educators, 2007). Researchers conducted 27 interviews with a representative sample of students, teachers, and parents in a local high school, using an interview protocol specifically designed for each constituency. Interview data was coded considering 4 aspects of student engagement (behavioral, social-emotional, cognitive and agentic). The study
• Regina M. Mistretta (2020). Designing Learning Experiences for Mathematics Teacher Preparation
  The literature underscores the importance of authentic learning environments for developing preservice teachers’ dispositions and skills for teaching mathematics. Hence, teacher preparation programs often include methods courses embedded within K-12 schools. Utilized to a lesser extent, however, are campus-based interactions with school-aged children. In this action research study, I investigated how such communications embedded within a mathematics methods course influenced preservice teachers’ learning. Grounded theory underpinned my inquiry, and findings portrayed the interactions as promoting 1) a stance for teaching mathematics visually, and 2) recognition of existing connections concerning a) disciplinary topics, b) course readings, and c) participants. In this
• Stacey Williams (2020). Persistence Among Minority STEM Majors: A Phenomenological Study
  The United States needs to increase the number of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) graduates to remain competitive in the global market and maintain national security. Minority students, specifically African-American and Hispanic, are underrepresented in STEM fields. As the minority population continues to grow it is essential that higher education institutions improve minority students’ persistence in STEM education. This study examined the problem of minority students’ lack of persistence in STEM programs, focusing and building on the theoretical framework for student retention. The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences that minority students