Academic literature on the topic 'High school teaching – Evaluation – Zambia'

In order to test the ability of the Internet to supplement classroom instruction, an instructor-authored WWW site crashwhite.com was developed for two Berkeley High courses: Advanced Placement (AP) physics, and college-prep physics class. The website was intended to supplement classroom instruction by making classroom materials available to students and parents outside the classroom, and to facilitate increased teacher-parent, teacher-student, and student-student communication.

Teachers may benefit more from a professional learning community (PLC) than from professional development initiatives presented in single day workshops. The purpose of this program evaluation study was to identify characteristics of an effective PLC and to determine how the members of the PLC have benefitted from the program. Fullan's educational change theory provided the framework for the study, which refers to learning experiences of teachers when collaborating with peers. The sample consisted of 9 biology teachers during the 2012-2013 school year. Data were collected through online surveys and face-to-face interviews regarding effective PLCs. The online survey questions were asked to identify the characteristics of PLCs. Interviews were conducted to examine how biology teachers benefited from PLCs. Survey data were analyzed for descriptive statistics. Interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis for emergent themes. According to study findings, PLCs are used for shared teaching vision and practices. Sustained use of PLCs in schools could help create supportive professional learning environments for teachers to improve their teaching practices through purposeful collaboration.

One rural Midwestern high school discovered a discrepancy among school, state, and national science skill attainment, verified by ACT scores. If students do not acquire vital science skills, they may not perform proficiently on science tests, thus impacting future college options. Inquiry based instruction and constructivism provided the basis for the theoretical framework. This study questioned associations between ACT scores, inquiry science technique usage, and ACT standard usage (Phase 1), and teachers' views on science instruction (Phase 2). This sequential explanatory mixed methods program evaluation included 469 ACT scores, surveys sent to 9 science teachers, and 8 interviews. Phase 1 used the inquiry science implementation scale survey and an ACT college readiness standards workbook to determine proportional associations between datasets. Descriptive statistics, one-sample t tests, and binomial tests were used to analyze Phase 1 data. Phase 2 interviews augmented Phase 1 data and were disassembled, reassembled, and interpreted for parallel viewpoints. Phase 1 data indicated that teachers use a slightly above average amount of inquiry and science ACT standards in the classroom; however, most science students did not test above the curriculum and there were inconsistencies in standards covered. Phase 2 data revealed teachers need time to collaborate and become skilled in inquiry methods to rectify the inconsistencies. The project was an evaluation report. This study will foster positive social change by giving the district a plan: adapt the science curriculum by integrating more ACT and inquiry standards and participate in more professional development that applies inquiry as a tool to increase science skill proficiency, thus generating locally competitive students for college and the workforce.

In an urban high school in California, students are generally unskilled in critical writing. The problem has been associated with instructional barriers encountered by teachers. In this qualitative case study, English Language teachers provided their perceptions of such barriers and shared perspectives for solutions based in professional development. Grounded in the theories of Halpern, Saiz and Rivas, Weigle, and Harris and Graham, the conceptual framework emphasized instructional models that develop metacognition in writing, which can increase students' critical thinking. Selection criteria required participants who were English Language Arts teachers of writing critical thinking. Data from 4 participant interviews were coded, labeled, and collapsed into themes on the teachers' perceived barriers towards teaching critical thinking. Interview data were triangulated using field notes that revealed that limited teacher pedagogy, lack of student application, and an overall scarcity of school support prevented educators from teaching critical thinking in writing. The findings indicated a lack of an understanding from students, teachers, and administration of the instructional elements needed to develop successful critical thinking in writing. This study promotes positive social change by illuminating the instructional barriers by these 4 high school English Language Arts teachers. In addition, a professional development program, informed by the findings of this inquiry, will present teachers and administrators with strategies to increase critical thinking and writing. These coaching and mentoring strategies comprise a sustainable systemic program that will improve student critical thinking and writing.

Demands associated with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 contribute to the risk of teacher burnout; however, the relationship between teacher burnout and specific teaching assignments is unclear. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to investigate if burnout is greater for high-stakes subject area public high school teachers than for low-stakes subject area public high school teachers and to ascertain teachers' perceptions about difficulties associated with teaching a high-stakes subject area. The job demands-resources model and the multidimensional model of burnout provided the theoretical framework. The concurrent mixed methods design included quantitative tests of differences in burnout scores of 87 Maryland public high school teachers across high-stakes and low-stakes subject areas, and the qualitative research question documented perceptions. The Maslach Burnout Inventory---Educators Survey measured burnout, and although high-stakes teachers reported greater burnout, chi-square and independent sample t-test did not confirm statistically significant differences across subject area. Qualitative data underwent coding into emergent burnout-related themes that were reanalyzed and revised to explain teacher perceptions. Analysis of teacher responses yielded 5 domains that affected burnout: workload/time incompatibility, pressure on teachers for students to pass high-stakes tests, need for all stakeholders to take responsibility, diminished teacher autonomy, and lack of resources. Recommendations include addressing teacher workload and sharing educational responsibilities among all stakeholders. Because burnout is an organizational issue, positive social change is achievable if administrators promote positive coping strategies and include teachers in the change process necessary to achieve the goals of No Child Left Behind.

Many school systems across the USA have implemented sheltered instruction observation protocol (SIOP) strategies to help their English language learners (ELLs) master core content while they learn English. Most studies have reported positive results from using SIOP strategies with ELLs. Elementary and middle school studies were available, but studies of SIOP implementation in a comprehensive high school were lacking. This action research project was initiated by teacher leaders (department chairs) and the school principal. It included a year of combined SIOP training and implementation. After the first academic year of utilizing SIOP school-wide, an anonymous electronic survey was used to collect information on teacher implementation, the teachers' perceptions of students' success, and teacher plans for future use of the SIOP model. This study was implemented in a comprehensive high school in the Rocky Mountain region. The research questions were: To what degree, do teachers having received in-service training in SIOP, report implementing the various components of the program in their daily instruction? After one school year of implementing the SIOP model, what are teachers' perceptions regarding the effectiveness of using the SIOP model with students? How does SIOP need (number of ELLs per class), class size, years of teaching experience, teaching subject, or prior English as a second language (ESL) training relate to a teacher's perception of SIOP effectiveness scale? Is the level of implementation related to the teacher's perceptions of effectiveness? Do teachers plan to use the SIOP model in the future? Teachers reported a high degree of implementing SIOP strategies. They perceived the strategies improved student learning in most cases. There was no statistically significant relationship found between the degree of SIOP implementation and perceptions of the effectiveness of SIOP. Correlational analyses indicated that SIOP need (number or ELLS per class), class size, years of teaching experience, teaching subject, and prior ESL training did not affect the degree of implementation or perceptions of the effectiveness of the SIOP model in this comprehensive high school.

CITE/Language Art<br>Ed.D.<br>The two main purposes of this study were to create a systematic observation instrument in order to obtain clearer and more specific feedback from junior high school teachers about student teachers' teaching performances during their practicum, and to provide a way for junior college, university teachers, student teachers, and practicum supervisors to observe student teachers' teaching and then to communicate their observations more effectively with one another. The participants were 57 student teachers, 19 college teachers, and 28 junior high school teachers. Four instruments were used: a written consent form, a questionnaire about 15 teaching skills (The Teaching Skill Questionnaire), a 60-minute videotape with a checklist (The Japanese COLT), and a 42-item questionnaire (The Student Teachers' Videotaped Instruction). The study produced four major findings. First, by using the Japanese COLT (Communicative Orientation of Language Teaching Observation scheme), the three groups of raters (student teachers, college teachers, practicum supervisor) identified four specific problems with individual student teacher's teaching. They (a) explained new sentence patterns without interacting with the students, (b) asked fewer questions than expected, (c) had the students practice reading for a shorter time than expected, and (d) provided few opportunities for the students to speak in Japanese or English, and spoke Japanese more than necessary. The second finding was that the student teachers differed from the older teacher groups in their views of specific teaching skills because of their limited teaching experience and lower English proficiency. The third finding was that the three groups of raters perceived the student teachers' teaching on the videotape similarly. The fourth finding indicated that there was no statistically significant difference in the three groups' views of the teaching techniques used by the student teachers; however, a statistically significant difference was found for the three groups' evaluations of the student teachers' teaching. The Japanese COLT was a useful instrument for assessing the student teachers' classroom performances, as it provided more specific feedback to the student teachers, and allowed the three groups to share their viewpoints more effectively.<br>Temple University--Theses