Learning from and About Elite Online Teacherpreneurs: A Qualitative Examination of Key Characteristics, School Environments, Practices, and Impacts

2020 ◽  
Vol 122 (7) ◽  
pp. 1-44
Author(s):  
Catharyn C. Shelton ◽  
Leanna M. Archambault

Background Today's teachers are turning to online educational marketplaces, such as TeachersPayTeachers.com (TpT), where they purchase teacher-created classroom materials for a small fee. Meanwhile, teachers who sell resources in these spaces, online teacherpreneurs, stand to benefit financially and may experience other affordances as well as challenges associated with the practice. Purpose of Study This study is one of the first empirical investigations of online teacherpre-neurship. We interviewed highly experienced and successful online teacherpreneurs to understand who they are, what they do, and the impacts they encounter. Research Design Ten one-hour semistructured interviews were conducted with online teacherpreneurs who were ranked in the top 1% of sellers on TpT and had sold materials on TpT for at least four years. Interviews addressed the areas of online teacherpreneur experiences, personal characteristics, work environments, and opinions regarding online teacherpreneur controversies. Responses were analyzed to identify salient and/or repeated themes across the interviews, using the constant comparative method. Findings Online teacherpreneurs described themselves as helpful, hardworking, organized, creative, and risk-taking. Whereas some worked in supportive school environments, others worked in ambivalent schools, where they kept their teacherpreneur work separate and/or secret. They indicated that the practice of online teacherpreneurship involved creating resources, collaborating with teachers and online teacherpreneurs, and engaging in entrepreneurship. Online teacherpreneurs experienced positive impacts relating to teaching practice, teacher leadership, and their careers. They also experienced some professional stressors. Conclusions Online teacherpreneurs are emerging as virtual teacher leaders and educational influencers. They carry the responsibility to share high-quality resources, and they need the support of their schools and connections with colleagues to thrive.

2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 250-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne M. Williams ◽  
Caroline E. Bulsara ◽  
David J. L. Joske ◽  
Anna S. Petterson ◽  
Anna K. Nowak ◽  
...  

Aims: The aim of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of persons attending a cancer support center, providing emotional support to cancer patients through self-selected complementary therapies offered free of charge through qualified volunteer therapists. A grounded theory methodology was used. Sources of data were 16 semistructured interviews with persons attending the center. Interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. Analysis was conducted using the constant comparative method. Findings: The overarching theme that emerged in this study was the benefits attributed to attendance at the cancer support center. The center was described as an “oasis” in the hospital, and three aspects relating to this were identified: (a) facilitating comfort, (b) increasing personal control, and (c) helping make sense of the cancer experience. Conclusion: A drop-in center offering complementary therapies appeared to enable coping with the diagnosis and treatment of cancer by facilitating comfort and increasing perceptions of personal control. The center also helped some participants to make sense of their experience with cancer. This research has provided a unique insight into the ongoing emotional needs of cancer patients, and directions for further development and research into the provision of holistic care for patients within a hospital setting.


2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Chang

The purpose of this study was to identify knowledge construction patterns in a local learning community. Observation, documents, and semistructured interviews were employed to collect data. Twenty learners were interviewed. Data were analyzed inductively using the constant comparative method. Five major patterns—radiation, circulation, simulation, socialization, and contextualization—were generalized from an analysis of the data, and their applications in practice were discussed. These patterns concretize the ideas of social construction and emphasize the different aspects of learning in the process of constructing knowledge. The five patterns indicate how knowledge is socially constructed when learners interact with others and their surroundings. This article reveals the main factors that play significant roles in knowledge construction, such as social interactions, social relationships and social connections, knowledge relevance, and knowledge and its social entities.


2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 710-716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura R. Kair ◽  
Valerie J. Flaherman

Background: Many breastfed infants receive supplemental feeds during the birth hospitalization, either by maternal request or due to medical indications. Donor milk from a certified milk bank has become increasingly available and is now used in some settings for term and late preterm infants. No studies have explored maternal opinions about donor milk and formula as options for supplementary feedings. Research aim: This study aimed to explore maternal perceptions about donor milk and formula supplementation and implications for continued breastfeeding. Methods: The authors conducted semistructured interviews with 30 postpartum mothers of healthy newborns who breastfed and gave supplementary feedings with pasteurized donor milk and/or formula during the birth hospitalization. They analyzed transcripts using the constant comparative method and identified four major themes. Results: Identified themes included the following: (a) Donor milk is seen as temporary whereas formula is seen as an ongoing plan, (b) formula is viewed as familiar whereas donor milk is viewed as unfamiliar, (c) donor milk is costly and challenging logistically, and (d) donor milk is “healthier.” Conclusion: For mothers who view donor milk as temporary and formula as permanent, the provision of donor milk rather than formula when supplementation is medically indicated may have the potential to promote the return to exclusive maternal breastfeeding. Barriers to the use of donor milk include cost and lack of familiarity and access.


2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
T Dowling ◽  
Somikazi Deyi ◽  
Anele Gobodwana

While there have been a number of studies on the decontextualisation and secularisation of traditional ritual music in America, Taiwan and other parts of the globe, very little has been written on the processes and transformations that South Africa’s indigenous ceremonial songs go through over time. This study was prompted by the authors’ interest in, and engagement with the Xhosa initiation song Somagwaza, which has been re-imagined as a popular song, but has also purportedly found its way into other religious spaces. In this article, we attempted to investigate the extent to which the song Somagwaza is still associated with the Xhosa initiation ritual and to analyse evidence of it being decontextualised and secularised in contemporary South Africa. Our methodology included an examination of the various academic treatments of the song, an analysis of the lyrics of a popular song, bearing the same name, holding small focus group discussions, and distributing questionnaires to speakers of isiXhosa on the topic of the song. The data gathered were analysed using the constant comparative method of analysing qualitative research.


2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Bejo Danang Saputra

Perencanaan pengembangan uji kompetensi perawat Indonesia akan dikembangkan  dengan metode OSCE.. Pelaksanaan uji OSCE membutuhkan persiapan yang matang, terutama kesiapan sumber daya manusia (SDM) dalam hal ini adalah dosen untuk melaksanakan uji OSCE. Mengetahui kesiapan SDM dalam pengembangan uji OSCE di Prodi D3 Keperawatan Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Kesehatan (STIKES) Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiyyah Cilacap. Desain penelitian yang digunakan adalah kualitatif dengan rancangan studi kasus. Informan penelitian adalah 6 orang dosen dan Kepala Program Studi D3 keperawatan. Data diperoleh melalui, focus group discussion, wawancara mendalam dan studi dokumentasi. Data kemudian dianalisis dengan menggunakan constant comparative method. Penelitian menunjukan bahwa pengetahuan dosen tentang OSCE dan kompetensi berdasarkan pendidikan memenuhi persyaratan untuk pengembangan uji OSCE, namun masih membutuhkan pelatihan mengenai OSCE. Uji OSCE dapat diselenggarakan dengan melibatkan dosen dari prodi lain karena jumlah dosen di Prodi D3 Keperawatan  STIKES Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiyyah Cilacap belum memenuhi kebutuhan pelaksanaan uji OSCE. Hambatan penyelenggaraan OSCE adalah SDM belum terkoordinasi, belum terlatih dan keterbatasan sarana pendukun. Pengetahuan dan kompetensi dosen berdasarkan tingkat pendidikan memenuhi syarat dalam pengembangan OSCE dan OSCE dapat diselenggarakan dengan melibatkan dosen prodi lain.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Julian C. Hughes ◽  
Jordan Baseman ◽  
Catherine Hearne ◽  
Mabel Leng Sim Lie ◽  
Dominic Smith ◽  
...  

Abstract This paper reports on a study which examined the notions of authenticity and citizenship for people living with cognitive impairment or dementia in a care home in the North-East of England. We demonstrated that both notions were present and were encouraged by engagement with an artist, where this involved audio and visual recordings and the creation of a film. The artist's interactions were observed by a non-participant observer using ethnographic techniques, including interviews with the residents, their families and the staff of the care home. The data were analysed using grounded theory and the constant comparative method of qualitative analysis. Our findings suggest that participatory art might help to maintain and encourage authenticity and citizenship in people living with dementia in a care home. Certainly, authenticity and citizenship are notions worth pursuing in the context of dementia generally, but especially in care homes.


2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 433-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen D. Rudolph ◽  
Wendy Troop-Gordon

AbstractThis research examined personal-accentuation and contextual-amplification models of pubertal timing, wherein personal and contextual risks magnify the effects of earlier pubertal maturation on youth depression. A sample of 167 youths (M age = 12.41 years, SD = 1.19) and their maternal caregivers completed semistructured interviews and questionnaires at two waves. Consistent with a personal-accentuation model, earlier pubertal maturation more strongly predicted subsequent depression in youths with prior depression, certain personality traits, and maladaptive stress responses than in youths without these personal risks. Several of these effects were specific to earlier-maturing girls. Consistent with a contextual-amplification model, earlier pubertal maturation more strongly predicted subsequent depression in youths exposed to recent maternal depression and family stress than in youths without these contextual risks. These findings identify key characteristics of youths and their family context that help to explain individual variation in depressive reactions to earlier pubertal maturation. More broadly, this research contributes to integrative models of depression that consider the interplay among personal vulnerability, contextual risk, and developmental transitions.


2021 ◽  
pp. 0192513X2199319
Author(s):  
Laura K. Soulsby ◽  
Edward H. Thompson ◽  
Kate M. Bennett

Marital status is central to one’s identity. Using interview data from US husband caregivers and British widowers, we explore how men’s relational identity as husband is maintained despite challenges as, and after, marriage ends. These data, analyzed using the constant comparative method associated with constructionist grounded theory, corroborate that the work of being married is key to identity maintenance for husbands and that the married relationship and its associated responsibilities affirm a sense of self as a man. Marriage shelters men, providing a secure place for that self-perception as a man. But a wife’s institutionalization in long-term care or widowerhood threatens the ontological security offered through marriage and prompts identity work. We extend the literature in finding that (former) husbands attempt to retain their long-term relational identity and thus remain sheltered by marriage. They reconstruct masculinity-affirming identities through activities that help them harbor their self-presentation as a (former) husband.


2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 140-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon McCready ◽  
Denise Reid

Student musicians frequently need to take breaks from playing their instruments because of physical playing-related injuries, yet little is known about their experiences with these occupational disruptions. We conducted a qualitative study that explored student musicians' lived experiences with unplanned disruptions stemming from engagement in their major occupation of playing an instrument. In-depth interviews with seven student musicians who attended either a special arts high school or a university were conducted. Consistent with a grounded theory approach to qualitative research, the constant comparative method of qualitative data analysis was implemented. A major finding related to the theme of “being and becoming,” where student musicians expressed a strong sense of belonging to a group of other like musicians who they learned from, relied on for support, and created music with. Another theme was motivation to excel, where students expressed a strong desire and motivation to improve and master their instrument. Occupational tensions and pressures emerged as another theme. Students were aware of the need to practice and the need to care for their bodies. A constant negotiation was required in which students struggled to find a good balance between the need to practice and to respect their bodies while maintaining an identity of a musician. These findings are discussed in relation to how health care providers and educators need to understand the demands and stresses associated with playing an instrument so that they can better support these young musicians.


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