Analyzing the South Carolina Teacher Advancement Program's Effectiveness and Its Impact on Teachers' Professional Growth

Analyzing the South Carolina Teacher Advancement Program's Effectiveness and Its Impact on Teachers' Professional Growth PDF Author: Allen Fain
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Career development
Languages : en
Pages : 352

Get Book Here

Book Description
The purpose of this dissertation was to effectively analyze the South Carolina Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) and its effectiveness on a teacher's professional growth. More specifically the research of the TAP program took place in the researcher's county and analyzed the TAP elementary schools. -- TAP is an all-encompassing program oftentimes referred to as a method of school reform. TAP schools use a rubric that is research-based to evaluate teachers four to six times a year. Specific feedback is given in the forms of pre and postconferencing and a self-reflection conducted by the teacher after each evaluation. The goal of the feedback is to promote professional growth among the teachers. TAP also includes embedded professional development that meets weekly in a required cluster or professional learning community. The professional development offered centers around student needs and goals based on the school's data. -- Performance pay is also an attribute of TAP. Teachers and administrators are able to earn a performance bonus based on teacher observation scores, student value added growth, and school goals. TAP schools have a leadership team that includes a master and mentor teacher. Mentor teachers earn a stipend in addition to the classes they teach. Master teachers also earn a stipend, but do not teach an actual homeroom class. The principal and assistant principal are also part of the leadership team. The leadership team plays an integral part in providing the professional development, conducting classroom observations, and providing feedback to teachers in order to develop and enhance their professional growth. -- This dissertation focuses exclusively on the implementation of the TAP program in the district where the research took place. Specific areas of focus include teacher efficacy and effectiveness, teacher collaboration and professional development, and performance pay.

Analyzing the South Carolina Teacher Advancement Program's Effectiveness and Its Impact on Teachers' Professional Growth

Analyzing the South Carolina Teacher Advancement Program's Effectiveness and Its Impact on Teachers' Professional Growth PDF Author: Allen Fain
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Career development
Languages : en
Pages : 352

Get Book Here

Book Description
The purpose of this dissertation was to effectively analyze the South Carolina Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) and its effectiveness on a teacher's professional growth. More specifically the research of the TAP program took place in the researcher's county and analyzed the TAP elementary schools. -- TAP is an all-encompassing program oftentimes referred to as a method of school reform. TAP schools use a rubric that is research-based to evaluate teachers four to six times a year. Specific feedback is given in the forms of pre and postconferencing and a self-reflection conducted by the teacher after each evaluation. The goal of the feedback is to promote professional growth among the teachers. TAP also includes embedded professional development that meets weekly in a required cluster or professional learning community. The professional development offered centers around student needs and goals based on the school's data. -- Performance pay is also an attribute of TAP. Teachers and administrators are able to earn a performance bonus based on teacher observation scores, student value added growth, and school goals. TAP schools have a leadership team that includes a master and mentor teacher. Mentor teachers earn a stipend in addition to the classes they teach. Master teachers also earn a stipend, but do not teach an actual homeroom class. The principal and assistant principal are also part of the leadership team. The leadership team plays an integral part in providing the professional development, conducting classroom observations, and providing feedback to teachers in order to develop and enhance their professional growth. -- This dissertation focuses exclusively on the implementation of the TAP program in the district where the research took place. Specific areas of focus include teacher efficacy and effectiveness, teacher collaboration and professional development, and performance pay.

The Evaluation of Impact the South Carolina System for Teacher and Student Advancement Professional Development Model Has on Teacher Dispositions

The Evaluation of Impact the South Carolina System for Teacher and Student Advancement Professional Development Model Has on Teacher Dispositions PDF Author: Andrew Hooker
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Middle school teachers
Languages : en
Pages : 202

Get Book Here

Book Description
Education is continually looking for ways to increase student achievement. This is appropriate because the goal of education is to increase student achievement. Student achievement has continued to be unpredictable throughout the country due to the many factors which present themselves throughout the educational process. -- The purpose of this dissertation was to look at a specific professional development model, South Carolina Teacher and Student Advancement Program (SCTAP), to measure the impact this model had on teacher dispositions, by means of an exploratory case study of one middle school in South Carolina. The following research question guided this study: To what extent does the SCTAP professional development model impact teacher disposition within the following: Empathy, Positive View of Others, Positive View of Self, Authenticity, and Meaningful Purpose? -- The researcher used a survey, a focus group, and interviews with the faculty to answer the research question. Participants for this study included school administrators and teachers. These data were analyzed individually for trends. These data methods were also triangulated for trends. The data were shared in frequency tables which included both cumulative and percentages of each disposition. Each of the dispositions described by Usher, Usher, and Usher (2003) was addressed, and evidence from the study was provided as to what impact each of these dispositions had on the teachers in the study. An explanation of how these beliefs could impact teacher dispositions was given along with the impact of how teacher dispositions could influence student achievement. Additionally, the impact of future research on teacher dispositions was provided. -- An analysis of the data showed the area of the SCTAP professional development model which most impacted these attributes of a teacher's disposition was cluster. Meaningful purpose was the attribute of a teacher's disposition which was most impacted by each of the three areas of the SCTAP professional development model.

Systemic, Stakeholder Driven, Sustained

Systemic, Stakeholder Driven, Sustained PDF Author: Anna Theresa Perry
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Teacher effectiveness
Languages : en
Pages : 169

Get Book Here

Book Description
The value of professional development continues to be emphasized on educational and governmental levels. Even as this study was being conducted, the U.S. Department of Education launched a $4.35 billion dollar grant that includes improving teacher effectiveness as a core component of the grant's purpose. While the importance of the professional development of educators is clear, what is less clear is the type of professional development that transforms teaching practices and positively impacts student outcomes. Evaluations of professional development programs are critical in identifying ways to impact teacher practice and ultimately student outcomes. Guskey (2000) provides a model for evaluating professional development that includes five stages of information collection. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a professional development initiative in one large school system in North Carolina by applying Guskey's model to examining specific elements of the initiative, surveying teacher and administrator perceptions of the initiative, and analyzing trends in student outcomes that occurred during the six year period the initiative was implemented. A mixed methodology approach combining quantitative and qualitative methods was used. Electronic survey responses from 2,309 teachers and administrators were analyzed quantitatively using frequency distribution statistics, as well as the Fisher's exact test to analyze the relationship of responses between teachers and administrators. Additionally, trends in proficiency student outcome data as well as trends in AYP status were examined during the period the professional development initiative was implemented in the school district. For the qualitative data, open-ended survey responses from 77 principals were analyzed using frequency distribution statistics. This study corroborated the finding from other research studies in the professional literature that indicate the difficulty of linking professional development to student outcomes. The results of this study also support the literature suggesting that specific elements must be present in order for the professional development to be translated into teaching practice. This study has many implications for school leaders as they plan professional development initiatives. Recommendations for planning, implementing, and evaluating, professional development initiatives are included.

How Did We Get Here?

How Did We Get Here? PDF Author: Henry Tran
Publisher: IAP
ISBN: 1648029655
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 363

Get Book Here

Book Description
Teacher attrition is endemic in education, creating teacher quantity and quality gaps across schools that are often stratified by region and racialized nuance (Cowan et al., 2016; Scafidi et al., 2017). This reality is starkly reflected in South Carolina. Not too long ago, on May 1, 2019, a sea of approximately 10,000 people, dressed in red, convened at the state capital in downtown Columbia, SC (Bowers, 2019b). This statewide teacher walkout was assembled to call for the improvement of teachers' working conditions and the learning conditions of their students. The gathering was the largest display of teacher activism in the history of South Carolina and reflected a trend in a larger wave of teacher walkouts that have rippled across the nation over the last five years. The crowd comprised teachers from across South Carolina, who walked out of their classrooms for the gathering, as well as numerous students, parents, university faculty, and other community members that rallied with teachers in solidarity. Undergirding this walkout and others that took hold across the country is a perennial and pervasive pattern of unfavorable teacher working conditions that have contributed to what some are calling a teacher shortage “crisis” (Chuck, 2019). We have focused our work specifically on the illustrative case of South Carolina, given the extreme teacher staffing challenges the state is facing. Across numerous metrics, the South Carolina teacher shortage has reached critical levels, influenced by teacher recruitment and retention challenges. For instance, the number of teacher education program completers has declined annually, dropping from 2,060 in 2014-15 to 1,642 in the 2018-19 school year. Meanwhile, the number of teachers leaving the teaching field has increased from 4,108.1 to 5,341.3 across that same period (CERRA, 2019). These trends are likely to continue as COVID-19 has put additional pressure on the already fragile teacher labor market. Some of the hardest-to-staff districts are often located in communities with the highest diversity and poverty. To prosper and progress, reformers and public stakeholders must have a vested interest in maintaining full classrooms and strengthening the teaching workforce. An important element of progress towards tackling these longstanding challenges is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the problem. While teacher shortages are occurring nationwide (Garcia & Weiss, 2019), how they manifest regionally is directly influenced by its localized historical context and the evolution of the teaching profession's reputation within a state. Thus, the impetus of this book is to use South Carolina as an illustrative example to discuss the context and evolution that has shaped the status of the teaching profession that has led to a boiling point of mass teacher shortages and the rise of historic teacher walkouts.

University of South Carolina's Elementary Professional Development School Partnerships

University of South Carolina's Elementary Professional Development School Partnerships PDF Author: Doris Lackey Hawkins
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Career development
Languages : en
Pages : 716

Get Book Here

Book Description
In education, the need to improve student achievement has been a focus of concern for several decades. Research has identified the teacher as being a powerful influence in the classroom and directly instrumental in how well students learn. The establishment of a link between teacher learning and student achievement indicates the importance of investigating the professional development of teachers. Helping teachers learn can help improve student achievement. The purpose of this study is to explore the professional development of teachers within a University partnership. More specifically the research questions are: (1) What conditions exist in a University public school partnership to engage in-service teachers in professional development? (2) In what ways is the professional development of teachers supported through a University elementary public school partnership? This qualitative study investigates schools with different partnerships with the University. Grand tours, focus groups (with administrators, teachers and interns), observations and summary interviews are conducted at the schools. Data collection and analysis uncovers six conditions and several factors that influence teacher learning to include school and district mandates, administrators, interns and the literacy program. Supports within the partnership that engage teachers in professional development include giving teachers the freedom to make choices and try new methods, the help of the liaisons from the University and the literacy coaches. Consequently, the conditions that promote professional development begin with a foundation of democracy where risk taking is encouraged, learning is shared and freedom is promoted. In the midst of this atmosphere is a collaboration of people who have shared goals, beliefs and commitments. These people are supportive, engaging and nurturing.

Professional Capital

Professional Capital PDF Author: Andy Hargreaves
Publisher: Teachers College Press
ISBN: 0807771708
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 241

Get Book Here

Book Description
The future of learning depends absolutely on the future of teaching. In this latest and most important collaboration, Andy Hargreaves and Michael Fullan show how the quality of teaching is captured in a compelling new idea: the professional capital of every teacher working together in every school. Speaking out against policies that result in a teaching force that is inexperienced, inexpensive, and exhausted in short order, these two world authorities--who know teaching and leadership inside out--set out a groundbreaking new agenda to transform the future of teaching and public education. Ideas-driven, evidence-based, and strategically powerful, Professional Capital combats the tired arguments and stereotypes of teachers and teaching and shows us how to change them by demanding more of the teaching profession and more from the systems that support it. This is a book that no one connected with schools can afford to ignore. This book features: (1) a powerful and practical solution to what ails American schools; (2) Action guidelines for all groups--individual teachers, administrators, schools and districts, state and federal leaders; (3) a next-generation update of core themes from the authors' bestselling book, "What's Worth Fighting for in Your School?" [This book was co-published with the Ontario Principals' Council.].

Professional Development

Professional Development PDF Author: Ethel Nellie Grant Jones
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 290

Get Book Here

Book Description
The more education FCS teachers have the more likely they are to have participated in professional self-evaluation. Full time teachers are less likely to have participated in experiences related to teacher school improvement, professional self-evaluation, and subject-matter content evaluation. Teacher leaders are more likely to have participated in professional development experiences related to teacher school improvement and research-based. In conclusion, White, non-Hispanic FCS teachers responded differently than African American FCS teachers in relation to teacher self-improvement, school culture, and community outreach. Implications for practice suggests FCS teachers should take charge of their learning and seek ways of justifying the importance of specific professional development related to their field of study. A modified Master of Education Degree Program with emphasis in FCS at South Carolina State University is one possible avenue for professional development.

Evidence-Based School Development in Changing Demographic Contexts

Evidence-Based School Development in Changing Demographic Contexts PDF Author: Rose M. Ylimaki
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030768376
Category : Comparative education
Languages : en
Pages : 185

Get Book Here

Book Description
This Open Access book features a school development model (Arizona Initiative for Leadership Development and Research AZiLDR) that offers a roadmap for schools to navigate the complexities of continuous school development. Filled with processes that balance evidence-based values with democratic, culturally responsive values, this book offers strategies to mediate the tensions and to address school culture, context and values, leadership capacity, using data as a source of reflection, curricular and pedagogical activity, and strengths-based approaches to meeting the needs of culturally diverse students. You will find: - Active, reflective activities - Case studies illustrating each concept - The research base supporting each concept - Descriptions of processes from other contexts (South Carolina, Germany, Australia, Sweden) - Thoughts about next steps for contextually sensitive and multi-level school development - Suggestions for cross-national dialogue and research within the Zone of Uncertainty Use this ideal source to guide school leadership teams in creating productive schools that continually grow!

Research in Education

Research in Education PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 1280

Get Book Here

Book Description


Resources in Education

Resources in Education PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 764

Get Book Here

Book Description