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Eric.ed.gov – Instructional Interactions of Kindergarten Mathematics Classrooms: Validating a Direct Observation Instrument

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In this paper, the authors report research focused directly on the validation of the Coding of Academic Teacher-Student interactions (CATS) direct observation instrument. They use classroom information gathered by the CATS instrument to better understand the potential mediating variables hypothesized to influence student achievement. Their study’s purpose is to gather the kinds of validity evidences that match the proposed interpretations and uses of the CATS instrument (Kane, 2008; Messick, 1995). Therefore, they first explore the content aspect of construct validity by collecting information about the content relevance and representativeness of the observation instrument (Messick, 1995). Second, concerned about the consistency of the observation data collected across a number of independent observers, they measure inter-observer agreement. Finally, they focus on the criterion-predictive aspect of construct validity and investigate… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Innovations for High Quality, Aligned Early Childhood Educator Preparation. IERC 2016-3

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Much attention during the past decade has been given to the need to develop a well-trained early childhood education workforce. In order to address this need, the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) awarded Early Childhood Educator Preparation Program Innovation (EPPI) grants to institutions of higher learning. The IBHE funded partnerships, comprised of two- and four-year institutions, to further develop models for early childhood educator preparation and build capacity in key areas of need. Recipients used grant funds to develop a wide range of seamless pathways for degree and credential attainment through innovative articulation and alignment of curriculum initiatives, strategies for advising and supporting transfer students, and aligning assessments to demonstrate candidate progress toward or attainment of key competencies. Promising practices to improve quality field experience placements,… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Innovations for High Quality, Aligned Early Childhood Educator Preparation. IERC 2016-3. Research Highlights

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) provided Early Childhood Educator Preparation Program Innovation (EPPI) grants to 20 partnerships comprised of two- and four-year institutions to further develop models for early childhood educator preparation and build capacity in key areas of need. Recipients used grant funds to design and implement a wide range of seamless pathways for degree and credential attainment through innovative articulation initiatives, systems for aligning assessments to demonstrate candidate attainment of key competencies, and strategies for advising and supporting transfer students. Promising practices to improve early math learning, bilingual/English language learning, infant/toddler development, and quality field experience placements were also developed. This qualitative implementation study provides a systematic review of the innovations and strategies EPPI grant recipients utilized in addressing common barriers and practice-oriented… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Innovations for High Quality, Aligned Early Childhood Educator Preparation. IERC 2016-3. Executive Summary

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) provided Early Childhood Educator Preparation Program Innovation (EPPI) grants to 20 partnerships comprised of two- and four-year institutions to further develop models for early childhood educator preparation and build capacity in key areas of need. Recipients used grant funds to design and implement a wide range of seamless pathways for degree and credential attainment through innovative articulation initiatives, systems for aligning assessments to demonstrate candidate attainment of key competencies, and strategies for advising and supporting transfer students. Promising practices to improve early math learning, bilingual/English language learning, infant/toddler development, and quality field experience placements were also developed. This qualitative implementation study provides a systematic review of the innovations and strategies EPPI grant recipients utilized in addressing common barriers and practice-oriented… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The Effects of School Reform under NCLB Waivers: Evidence from Focus Schools in Kentucky. CEPA Working Paper No. 17-05

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Under waivers to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, the federal government required states to identify schools where targeted subgroups of students have the lowest achievement and to implement reforms in these “Focus Schools.” In this study, we examine the Focus School reforms in the state of Kentucky. The reforms in this state are uniquely interesting for several reasons. One is that the state developed unusually explicit guidance for Focus Schools centered on a comprehensive school-planning process. Second, the state identified Focus Schools using a “super subgroup” measure that combined traditionally low-performing subgroups into an umbrella group. This design feature may have catalyzed broader whole-school reforms and attenuated the incentives to target reform efforts narrowly. Using regression discontinuity designs, we find that these reforms led to… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – An Exploration of Preservice Teachers’ Reasoning about Teaching Mathematics to English Language Learners

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Research indicates that many English learners (ELs) have not been effectively supported in meeting their academic learning goals. This explains, in part, the growing interest and corresponding research on the essential teacher knowledge-base for teaching ELs. Despite the attention paid to this issue, research on preservice teachers’ reasoning and instructional decision-making, especially regarding teaching mathematics to ELs remains underexplored. For this reason, we examined–through the use of authentic teaching scenarios–how ten preservice mathematics teachers, at the end of their teacher training, chose to present mathematical concepts to their EL learners. We also studied, in depth, the rationale behind their choices. Qualitative analyses of these data revealed that pre-service mathematics teachers’ instructional decision making was grounded in their perceptions of ELs as either a homogenous or a markedly… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The Green Bean Has to Be Longer than Your Thumb: An Observational Study of Preschoolers’ Math and Science Experiences in a Garden

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: School gardening has become increasingly popular as a context for learning in which children construct new knowledge, learn cultural and societal values related to ecological awareness, and develop and practice authentic or real-world skills (Blair, 2009; Bowker & Tearle, 2007). The present research was a longitudinal case study of children’s gardening experiences at a Reggio-inspired preschool in the United States. Eleven children and their teacher were observed over nine days in various activities such as preparing the garden beds, planting, and harvesting. Through sustained participation in a variety of gardening activities, preschoolers engaged in science-rich dialogue utilizing complex and abstract science process skills such as observing, predicting, evaluating, and comparing. Discussion of number-related concepts, spatial orientation, and size estimation and comparison was also recurrent during gardening activities.… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Secondary Computer Science Teachers’ Pedagogical Needs

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The purpose of this study is to identify secondary computer science (CS) teachers’ pedagogical needs in the United States. Participants were selected from secondary teachers who were teaching CS courses or content in a school setting (public, private, or charter) or an after-school program during the time of data collection. This is a qualitative study using CS teachers’ discussions in the Computer Science Teachers Association’s (CSTA) email listserv, responses to open-ended questions in a questionnaire, and discussions in follow-up interviews. Content analysis, thematic analysis and constant comparative method of qualitative data analysis were used to analyze the data. The most common pedagogical need expressed was learning student-centered strategies for teaching CS and guiding students’ understanding with the use of scaffolding and team-management strategies in CS classes. Furthermore,… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Perceptions of Preservice Teachers about Adaptive Learning Programs in K-8 Mathematics Education

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Adaptive learning programs are frequently used in the K-8 mathematics classroom. These programs provide instruction to students at the appropriate level of difficulty by presenting content, providing feedback, and allowing students to master skills before progressing. The purpose of the study was to seek to interpret how preservice teachers’ experiences influence their perceptions and plans to integrate adaptive learning programs in their future K-8 mathematics classroom. This was a qualitative study with 17 participants who were enrolled in an undergraduate teacher education program. Data was collected and analyzed from archived journals the participants completed as a part of their K-8 Math Methods course, a survey, and semi-structured interviews. The findings from this study indicate that the participating preservice teachers perceive adaptive learning programs to be beneficial for… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – What Goes on inside Latin American Math and Science Classrooms: A Video Study of Teaching Practices

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Beyond common associated factors, such as teacher characteristics and socioeconomic background of students, little is known about how student achievement relates to differences in the pedagogical approaches used in Latin American classrooms. This paper highlights the main findings from a qualitative study on cross-country differences in teaching practices in three Latin American countries. Of the three countries selected for the study, Paraguay and the Dominican Republic perform at the bottom of the regional comparative test, “Second Regional Comparative and Explanatory Study” (SERCE), and the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon is one of the top performers. Our findings, based on a large sample of video recordings from sixth-grade classrooms in the three countries, indicate that certain classroom practices appear to be associated with higher levels of learning. Teachers… Continue Reading