| In a 90 minute Roundtable session, the first
rotation uses the first 45 minutes and the second rotation uses the last 45 minutes.
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| Roundtable Rotation I:
Understanding the Effectiveness of Higher Education Coursework in Preparing Teachers for the Profession |
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Roundtable Presentation 274 to be held in Suwannee 20 on Thursday, Nov 12, 10:55 AM to 12:25 PM
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Sponsored by the Assessment in Higher Education TIG
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| Presenter(s):
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| Leigh D'Amico, Independent Consultant, kale_leigh@yahoo.com
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| Tammy Pawloski, Francis Marion University, tpawloski@fmarion.edu
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| Janis McWayne, Francis Marion University, jmcwayne@fmarion.edu
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| Abstract:
Higher education institutions often struggle with evaluating the impact of coursework on career preparation and success. The Francis Marion University Center of Excellence to Prepare Teachers of Children of Poverty (COE) is committed to preparing pre-service teachers to effectively implement curriculum and instruction to maximize the experiences and achievement of children of poverty. The COE developed five modules that are embedded into numerous education courses. Through surveys, focus groups, and interviews with pre-service teachers, faculty members, current teachers, and school administrators, the COE examines the impact of these modules on teacher preparedness. Results demonstrate that pre-service teachers who complete module-based coursework feel confident in their ability to teach children of poverty. In addition, school administrators have confirmed the importance of the module-based coursework in teacher preparation. Assessments to determine knowledge gained through module-based coursework and a data system to track teacher stability and student outcomes are forthcoming.
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| Roundtable Rotation II:
Context and Validity in Evaluating Measures of Teacher Beliefs |
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Roundtable Presentation 274 to be held in Suwannee 20 on Thursday, Nov 12, 10:55 AM to 12:25 PM
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Sponsored by the Assessment in Higher Education TIG
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| Presenter(s):
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| Heeju Jang, University of California Berkeley, heejujang@berkeley.edu
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| Abstract:
Understanding teacher beliefs is an important component in teacher education and professional development because beliefs, knowledge and practice operate with one another in the process of learning to teach. Currently, teacher beliefs are assessed in several different ways. Journal reflection or interview to assess teacher beliefs is interpretive in nature since it takes context into account. Yet, such approach tends to lack validity, reliability, and generalizability. Survey, typically with Likert-scale items, is easier to administer and collect data at a large scale, but Likert-scale items tend to be written broadly and placed out of context. Thus, the respondents need to interpret survey items the way that make sense to them, which is a major threat to validity. In this paper, I illustrate the challenges of assessing teacher beliefs using TIMSS 2003 teacher questionnaire in order to bring our attention to the role of context in the discussion of validity of measures of teacher beliefs. I also present an alternative approach to assessing teacher beliefs that take context into consideration.
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