EDRS 825 - Advanced Research Methods in Self-Study of Professional Practice​

The purpose of this study was to examine the culture of a writing class in an alternative high school with a multicultural student population in the state of Virginia. The study's participants were three English teachers teaching 10th and 11th grades, principal, instructional coach, and eight students at an alternative school. The data consisted of interview transcriptions, observation field notes, students' self-portraits, students' writing journals, memos, and teachers' wiki postings.

Designed in response to an expressed need for assessment measures of teacher preparation programs, this exploratory study presents one method to assess and improve teacher-educator practices (Crowe, 2010; Gardiner, 2007). Teacher-educators have discovered that conducting a personal assessment or a self-study of one‘s practice is a way to improve learning on a personal, professional, and program level (Kosnik, C., Freese, A., Samaras, A., &. Beck, C., 2006). Bandura (1971, 1974, & 1977) defined the concept of teacher self-efficacy and its influence in a teacher‘s practices

This dissertation examined elementary teachers’ beliefs and perceptions of effective science instruction and documents how these teachers interpret and implement a model for Inquiry-Based (I-B) science in their classrooms. The study chronicles a group of teachers working in a large public school division and documents how these teachers interpret and implement reform-based science methods after participating in a professional development course on I-B science methods administered by the researcher.