Integrating iPads in Middle School Science Instruction

2017 ◽  
pp. 42-58
Author(s):  
Lana M. Minshew ◽  
Janice L. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Instructional Practices ◽  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Instructional Coaching ◽  
Middle Grades ◽  
School Science ◽  
Coaching Model ◽  
Teacher Coaching ◽  
Drill And Practice

With the appropriate support and experience, iPads and other mobile devices can be used for collaborative scientific inquiry moving beyond individual skill practice and assessment appropriations. The mobility and access the iPad provides opens up the classroom for innovative instructional practices, allowing students to physically explore their world, though the devices themselves are not enough to guarantee student engagement and learning. The Gradual Increase of Responsibility (GIR) model for teacher coaching (Collet, 2008) is used as the instructional coaching model of professional development. Through GIR, coaches model, make recommendations, ask probing questions, and affirm teachers' decisions over the course of several months to increase the teacher's independence in using technology to transform instruction for students. This study aims to examine how middle grades teachers' integration of one-to-one technology moves beyond drill and practice and using apps as extension activities.

Integrating iPads in Middle School Science Instruction

TPACK ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 307-323
Author(s):  
Lana M. Minshew ◽  
Janice L. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Instructional Practices ◽  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Instructional Coaching ◽  
Middle Grades ◽  
School Science ◽  
Coaching Model ◽  
Teacher Coaching ◽  
Drill And Practice

With the appropriate support and experience, iPads and other mobile devices can be used for collaborative scientific inquiry moving beyond individual skill practice and assessment appropriations. The mobility and access the iPad provides opens up the classroom for innovative instructional practices, allowing students to physically explore their world, though the devices themselves are not enough to guarantee student engagement and learning. The Gradual Increase of Responsibility (GIR) model for teacher coaching (Collet, 2008) is used as the instructional coaching model of professional development. Through GIR, coaches model, make recommendations, ask probing questions, and affirm teachers' decisions over the course of several months to increase the teacher's independence in using technology to transform instruction for students. This study aims to examine how middle grades teachers' integration of one-to-one technology moves beyond drill and practice and using apps as extension activities.

scholarly journals Students as storytellers: mobile-filmmaking to improve student engagement in school science

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (05) ◽  
pp. A04 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaitlyn Martin ◽  
Lloyd Davis ◽  
Susan Sandretto
Keyword(s):  
Student Engagement ◽  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Communication Strategies ◽  
School Science ◽  
School Experience ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Successful Science ◽  
Literate Society

Student engagement is an important predictor of choosing science-related careers and establishing a scientifically literate society: and, worryingly, it is on the decline internationally. Conceptions of science are strongly affected by school experience, so one strategy is to bring successful science communication strategies to the classroom. Through a project creating short science films on mobile devices, students' engagement greatly increased through collaborative learning and the storytelling process. Teachers were also able to achieve cross-curricular goals between science, technology, and literacy. We argue that empowering adolescents as storytellers, rather than storylisteners, is an effective method to increase engagement with science.

scholarly journals How Professional Development in Co-teaching Impacts Self-Efficacy Among Rural High School Teachers

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-31
Author(s):  
Tori Colson ◽  
Yajuan Xiang ◽  
Moriah Smothers
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
High School ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Classroom Management ◽  
Instructional Practices ◽  
High School Teachers ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Rural High School ◽  
Significant Difference

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of professional development in co-teaching on teacher self-efficacy among general and special education rural high school teachers. A causal-comparative research design was used to survey 256 rural high school teachers from the South and Midwest regions of the U.S. to measure their self-efficacy in student engagement, instructional practices, and classroom management. One-way analysis and independent samples t-test was used to analyze these data using SPSS statistical software. The results indicated a significant difference between teachers with and without experience in a co-teaching classroom regarding their efficacy in using instructional practices. Furthermore, ANOVA results indicated a significant difference in the number of hours of professional development a teacher received in co-teaching as it relates to their efficacy in student engagement, instructional practices, and classroom management. Further discussion and recommendations are also included.

scholarly journals Teachers’ Perceptions and Implementation of Professional Development in Writing Instruction

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beth C. Brabham ◽  
Janet A. Nichols ◽  
William H. Rupley ◽  
William Dee Nichols ◽  
Timothy V. Rasinski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Instructional Practices ◽  
Writing Instruction ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Instructional Coaching ◽  
Public High School ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Verbal Language ◽  
Coaching Process

<p>This mixed-methods study investigated teachers’ perceptions and implementation of professional development in writing instruction at a United States public high school campus. A layered approach to professional development was utilized: (1) one group received weekly professional development during a Professional Learning Community (PLC) and participated on a district writing team, (2) one group received weekly professional development during a PLC and received instructional coaching, and (3) one group received only weekly professional development during a PLC. Data were gathered on teachers’ responses to their perceptions of professional development received, teachers’ body and verbal language during PLCs and professional development, reflection notes documented by teachers receiving instructional coaching, and interviews of the teachers who received instructional coaching. Analyses of the data demonstrated application of the newly learned instructional practices in the classroom indicating the value teachers placed on learning during PLCs. While no significant differences were noted from the analysis of the pre-to post-observations for teachers in any group it was evidenced that the teachers who received instructional coaching became more aware of their instructional practices and had a greater sense of collaboration and collegiality as a result of the coaching process.</p>

Cost-Effectiveness of Instructional Coaching: Implementing a Design-Based, Continuous Improvement Model to Advance Teacher Professional Development

2020 ◽  
pp. 105268462097204
Author(s):  
David S. Knight ◽  
Thomas M. Skrtic
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Instructional Coaching ◽  
Student Outcome ◽  
Coaching Model ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
The Cost

Schools devote substantial resources to teacher professional development each year. Yet studies show much of this investment is directed toward ineffective short-term workshops that have little impact on instructional change or student outcomes. At the same time, more intensive job-embedded forms of professional learning, such as instructional coaching, require substantially more resources than traditional professional development. We report the results of a two-year study assessing the cost-effectiveness of instructional coaching through a design-based, continuous improvement research model. We study iterative, inquiry cycles in which educators collect data and make changes to the coaching model based on multiple rounds of implementation. We determined the effectiveness of coaching during each iteration by tracking the number of times teachers and coaches reached student-outcome based goals set during the coaching cycle. We assess the cost of implementing the coaching model for each of the three iterations by monitoring staff time allocations and other resource use. Results show that across five schools, the cost of the coaching intervention decreased substantially from the first iteration to the second iteration but increased moderately during the third iteration. Our findings suggest that coaching programs can become more cost-effective over time, as coaches and teachers refine their work together. While specific design features of the study limit generalizability of our findings, the study demonstrates how improvement science or design-based research can be combined with cost-effectiveness research to improve practice in local settings.

Individualized Coaching to Improve Teacher Practice Across Grades and Subjects: New Experimental Evidence

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 1033-1068 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew A. Kraft ◽  
David Blazar
Keyword(s):  
Classroom Management ◽  
Instructional Practices ◽  
Management Skills ◽  
Coaching Model ◽  
Implementation Challenges ◽  
Grade Levels ◽  
Principal Evaluations ◽  
Initial Cohort ◽  
Subject Areas ◽  
Teacher Coaching

This article analyzes a coaching model focused on classroom management skills and instructional practices across grade levels and subject areas. We describe the design and implementation of MATCH Teacher Coaching among an initial cohort of 59 teachers working in New Orleans charter schools. We evaluate the effect of the program on teachers’ instructional practices using a block randomized trial and find that coached teachers scored 0.59 standard deviations higher on an index of effective teaching practices comprised of observation scores, principal evaluations, and student surveys. We discuss implementation challenges and make recommendations for researcher–practitioner partnerships to address key remaining questions.

What Makes Mathematics Teacher Coaching Effective? A Call for a Justice-Oriented Perspective

2021 ◽  
pp. 002248712110190
Author(s):  
Samantha A. Marshall ◽  
Patricia M. Buenrostro
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Mathematics Teacher ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Educational Justice ◽  
Support Design ◽  
Assessment Scores ◽  
Teacher Coaching ◽  
Future Work

Mathematics teacher coaching is a promising but largely overlooked form of professional development (PD) for supporting mathematics teachers’ learning of justice-oriented teaching. In this article, we critically review the literature to illuminate what we currently know about mathematics teacher coaching and to highlight studies’ contributions and limitations to inform future work. Broadly, we find that four programs of research have developed, investigating: (a) coaches’ activities and relationships, (b) the effects of coaching on student assessment scores, (c) the effects of coaching on teachers’ practices or behaviors, and (d) the effects of coaching on teachers’ knowledge or beliefs. From this analysis, we argue that justice-oriented perspectives of teaching, in tandem with sociocultural theories of teachers’ learning, could allow for more nuanced investigations of coaching and could support design of learning experiences for teachers that bring us closer to educational justice.

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