Type of Document Dissertation Author Washburn, Jr., Mickey Newman Author's Email Address mickeyw2080@yahoo.com URN etd-07012008-114941 Title EFFECTS OF AN ADVANCED MATHEMATICS EDUCATION GRADUATE PROGRAM ON TEACHER PRACTICE Degree Ph.D. Department Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Advisory Committee
Advisor Name Title Christine D. Thomas Committee Chair Douglas A. Wagner Committee Member Karen A. Schultz Committee Member Pier Junor Clarke Committee Member Steve W. Harmon Committee Member Keywords
- National Board Certification
- Secondary Teachers
- Mathematics Education
- social constructivism
- metacognition
- self-efficacy
- teacher professional development
- advanced graduate degree
Date of Defense 2008-05-05 Availability unrestricted Abstract Public concern over the mathematical incompetence of students and adults is longstanding and justified. The No Child Left Behind act has affected the nation’s teachers, their school systems, and their communities. The act required all classrooms have a “highly-qualified teacher” by June, 2006 (United States Department of Education, 2002). Thus, the purpose of this evaluative case study was to understand if the unique National Board Certification (NBC) focused Educational Specialist (EdS) program was effective in creating change in teacher practice of six high school mathematics teachers in a suburban Georgia county. The learning outcomes of the program and perceptions of self-efficacy were evaluated and used as guidelines for the effectiveness of the program.
The study was grounded in theories of metacognition, social constructivism, and self-efficacy. Metacognition provided the basis for “thinking about thinking” (McApline, Weston, et al, 1999) but reflection expanded the thought process to thinking about thinking or actions. Reflections were an integral for each of the constructs of the EdS program and this dissertation.
Data for the study included written teacher reflections, action research projects, and mentoring manuals; in addition to interviews three years after the program. Data were coded and analyzed through a process of constant comparison using the NVivo 7 software. The findings at each stage of analysis, which were halfway through the program, end of the program, and three years after the program, indicate the five constructs metacognition, social constructivism, self-efficacy, community of learners, and action research were common across data sets. Four of the five constructs became more prevalent at each stage of analysis with only action research peaking prior to the third stage. The patterns developed during the study indicated long-term change in teacher practice and these constructs solidified as part of their teaching philosophy.
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