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- Title
- School Psychologist Perceptions Regarding Implementation of Response to Intervention with English Language Learners.
- Creator
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Puyana, Olivia, Sivo, Stephen, Edwards, Oliver, Hewitt, Randall, Thomson, Arlene, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This research was an investigation of three domains identified through a thorough review of the literature as fundamental to the equitable implementation of Response to Intervention (RtI) with English language learners (ELLs): (1) degree of intercultural sensitivity of educators involved in the RtI process, (2) training of educators in implementation of RtI with ELLs, and (3) educator familiarity with empirically-based interventions for use with ELLs. The validity of using RtI with ELLs has...
Show moreThis research was an investigation of three domains identified through a thorough review of the literature as fundamental to the equitable implementation of Response to Intervention (RtI) with English language learners (ELLs): (1) degree of intercultural sensitivity of educators involved in the RtI process, (2) training of educators in implementation of RtI with ELLs, and (3) educator familiarity with empirically-based interventions for use with ELLs. The validity of using RtI with ELLs has been questioned by both supporters and detractors of the model (Linan-Thompson (&) Ortiz, 2009). The most fundamental tenets of RtI are predicated upon the use of empirically validated interventions and the application of culturally responsive educational practices that provide equitable learning opportunities for all students. Due to the critical role of school psychologists in the development and implementation of RtI models, a questionnaire was designed for use with this population to explore the three domains delineated above. The Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS; Chen (&) Starosta, 2000) was used to document participants' degree of intercultural sensitivity. Additional questions addressing domains two and three strategically juxtaposed participants' experiences with and perceptions regarding RtI with native English speakers versus RtI with ELLs. Through a series of eight research questions and the associated analyses, the following conclusions were reached: (1) Statistically significantly higher mean scores on the ISS were present among those respondents who identified themselves as Hispanic/Latino/Spanish and/or fluent in more than one language; (2) Statistically significant differences were documented in participants' responses to items focused on perceptions of training for implementing RtI with native English speakers versus training for implementing RtI with ELLs; and (3) Statistically significant differences were found in participants' responses to items inquiring about perceptions of familiarity with empirically-based interventions for use within an RtI framework with native English speakers in comparison to ELLs. Taken together, and in conjunction with a qualitative analysis of two open-ended questions, these results suggest the presence of considerable delays in school psychologists' training and perceptions of preparedness to implement RtI with a linguistically diverse population as compared to native English speakers. This outcome is disconcerting, given the emphasis throughout the literature on the importance of unique considerations required to implement RtI equitably with ELLs. Recommendations for practice and future research are provided that emphasize the need for additional research and training in implementing RtI with a linguistically diverse population.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFE0004225, ucf:49017
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004225
- Title
- Tier I RtI for English Language Learners with Language Deficits.
- Creator
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Soong, Maria Jose, Sivo, Stephen, Edwards, Oliver, Hewitt, Randall, Thomson, Arlene, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Educators are attempting to eliminate the disproportionate representation of culturally and linguistically diverse students in special education through initiatives such as Response to Intervention (RtI). Prior to the implementation of such initiatives, existing research relevant to this population must be critically reviewed and expanded. A synthesis of the available literature can provide significant insight into the type of data necessary to make informed decisions involving English...
Show moreEducators are attempting to eliminate the disproportionate representation of culturally and linguistically diverse students in special education through initiatives such as Response to Intervention (RtI). Prior to the implementation of such initiatives, existing research relevant to this population must be critically reviewed and expanded. A synthesis of the available literature can provide significant insight into the type of data necessary to make informed decisions involving English language learners (ELL) at Tier I of an RtI model. In forming the theoretical foundation for this research, cognitive deficits associated with language-based disabilities and principles of cognitive load theory were examined. The study is an investigation of the following research question: Is the effectiveness of the bilingual English as a Second Language (ESL) model significantly altered under certain conditions? The research question was addressed through testing moderator effects using hierarchical linear regression. Initial English proficiency and initial Spanish proficiency were examined as moderating variables of the relationship between ESL model type and Kindergarten academic achievement. Academic achievement was defined as student learning growth on the Florida Assessment for Reading Instruction (FAIR) and student outcome scores on the Comprehensive English Language Learning Assessment (CELLA) Listening/Speaking and Reading constructs. Results supported: a) the relationship between initial English proficiency and FAIR growth, CELLA Listening/Speaking, and CELLA Reading, b) the relationship between initial Spanish proficiency and FAIR growth and CELLA Listening/Speaking, c) the relationship between type of ESL model and FAIR growth, CELLA Listening/Speaking, and CELLA Reading, d) the additional effect of the interaction of initial Spanish language proficiency with ESL model type to alter FAIR learning growth over time, and e) the additional effect of the interaction of initial English language proficiency with ESL model type to alter CELLA Listening/Speaking scores. Overall, this research supports the hypothesis that initial language proficiency can significantly alter the effectiveness of a bilingual ESL model. Recommendations for future research in this area include longitudinal studies using a similar hierarchical regression design with moderators in order to contextualize positive student outcomes.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFE0004187, ucf:48988
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004187
- Title
- Volusia System For Empowering Teachers (VSET): Influence On Teacher Practice And Student Achievement.
- Creator
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Sileo-Robinson, Lesley, Hewitt, Randall, Hopp, Carolyn, Vitale, Thomas, Taylor, Rosemarye, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This study provides an empirical analysis of the primary assumptions of a newly implemented teacher evaluation system, namely that the specific teaching practices evaluated are related to student achievement, and that teacher-directed professional growth plans effectively shape teacher practices in a particular domain. Results of the study are intended to inform the interpretation and the refinement of the Volusia System for Empowering Teachers (VSET), which aims to build capacity in the...
Show moreThis study provides an empirical analysis of the primary assumptions of a newly implemented teacher evaluation system, namely that the specific teaching practices evaluated are related to student achievement, and that teacher-directed professional growth plans effectively shape teacher practices in a particular domain. Results of the study are intended to inform the interpretation and the refinement of the Volusia System for Empowering Teachers (VSET), which aims to build capacity in the Volusia teacher work force and ultimately to improve student performance (School Board of Volusia County Team Volusia, Race to the Top application, 2011). This study focused on 14 pilot schools within one school district that implemented VSET as a new teacher evaluation system. The data used in this study were drawn from a multi-metric teacher assessment used in VSET and measures of student achievement. The VSET evaluation model consists of three metrics that are assigned according to the specific categories of a teacher. Two of the metrics, the professional growth plan rating and the educator observation rating are based on Charlotte Danielson's (")Framework for Teaching(") (Danielson, 2007). The third metric, the valued added score is a measure of the teacher's impact on student learning. The current study focused on determining if there was a correlation between teaching practice and student achievement and to what extent teaching practice was impacted by teacher self-selection of components for professional growth in the teacher evaluation model. The findings suggest that there is not a statistically significant and reliable relationship between the value added score and teacher practices across components, as assessed by VSET evaluators. Follow up analyses did, however, show that higher evaluator observation scores are associated with improved school grades, suggesting a relationship between teacher impact on student performance. The results support the assumption that the successful completion of the VSET professional development growth plan is associated with teacher's instructional practices in the identified component.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0004938, ucf:49614
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004938
- Title
- Teaching the Civil Rights Movement: A Phenomenological Study Of Central Florida Teachers.
- Creator
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Houser, Barbara, Russell, William, Whiteman, JoAnn, Hewitt, Randall, Cassanello, Robert, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Teaching the civil rights movement can be challenging. Many history textbooks contain the national story of Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, the march to Selma, Alabama, and not much more. Classrooms across the United States follow this path of nationalizing the civil rights movement. This interpretation is only a small part of the civil rights crusade that existed throughout the United States, including in the state of Florida. Teaching only the national story, especially when the local...
Show moreTeaching the civil rights movement can be challenging. Many history textbooks contain the national story of Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, the march to Selma, Alabama, and not much more. Classrooms across the United States follow this path of nationalizing the civil rights movement. This interpretation is only a small part of the civil rights crusade that existed throughout the United States, including in the state of Florida. Teaching only the national story, especially when the local exists, can ignore the human, ordinary element of this movement.The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the lived experience of central Florida teachers when teaching the civil rights movement. It is based on the theoretical assumptions that the national story is the only narrative being taught regarding the civil rights movement, and it sought to determine whether this is the case in the state of Florida, which incorporates the use of local history in its state standards. Data was collected through the use of surveys along with follow up, qualitative interviews. The sample size was 319 teachers of whom 65 responded to the survey, and eight personal interviews were conducted. Findings show that more than just Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks are being taught, but it is still mostly the national story and not local, community history.Nine themes were identified, ranging from the impact of teachers, which builds upon previous research, to the negative opinion that teachers have for the texts being used, to the different content and timelines being used in social studies classrooms when teaching the civil rights movement. This data is important to educators, historians, administrators, and teachers because this is one of the first empirical studies on the subject of teaching the civil rights movement.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0005183, ucf:50665
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005183
- Title
- A Phenomenological Study on the Implementation of Louise Rosenblatt's Transactional Theory and its Impact on Teacher-Efficacy for Literacy Instruction in an Online Environment.
- Creator
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Vu, Marcus, Olan, Elsie, Vitale, Thomas, Hewitt, Randall, Owens, J. Thomas, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The present study sought to examine the teacher-efficacy for literacy instruction (TELI) of instructors who teach in an online environment. The phenomenological methodology sought to answer the following research questions: (1) What pedagogical practices do instructors use to provide literacy instruction in an online environment? (2) How do instructors perceive their TELI in an online environment? and (3) What impact, if any, will a Professional Learning Community (PLC) focused on Rosenblatt...
Show moreThe present study sought to examine the teacher-efficacy for literacy instruction (TELI) of instructors who teach in an online environment. The phenomenological methodology sought to answer the following research questions: (1) What pedagogical practices do instructors use to provide literacy instruction in an online environment? (2) How do instructors perceive their TELI in an online environment? and (3) What impact, if any, will a Professional Learning Community (PLC) focused on Rosenblatt's Transactional Theory have on TELI in an online environment?The study consisted of a group of seven online instructors. The researcher the acting as facilitator administered the initial interviews and exit interviews and adapted an Action Research PLC with activities modeled after those that influence self-efficacy. In initial interviews, the participants described their literacy practices as mostly dialogic conversations with students in which they provide examples and non-examples for students. They used some aesthetic strategies, but their practices were mainly efferent and low taxonomically. The initial interviews also revealed that instructors felt that they did not know their students well and that their literacy instructional practices were mostly silenced by the dominant role of the standardized curriculum. It was observed that teachers sourced their confidence in TELI in an online environment not from the practices they used in an online environment, but in the practices they once used in the traditional classroom which are now silenced in an online environment. During the Action Research PLC, the researcher and participants collaborated in creating questions and instructional resources that helped students take a more aesthetic stance while still meeting the standards of the curriculum through the use of aesthetic questions and discussions, semantic association, and narrative-centered learning. The PLC structure also incorporated the four influential experiences on self-efficacy. The results of the exit interviews revealed that the teachers either remained confident or increased in confidence in their TELI in an online environment. In addition, viewing TELI through Rosenblatt's Transactional Theory aided in closing the gap in transactional distance observed by the participants because they were able to engage in more positive dialogues with their students. The PLC provided a creative space for teachers to work and deliver their personalized instruction enabling them to voice their once silenced literacy instructional practices. It can be determined that the transactions that teachers have with students mediated in an online environment have a far greater impact on TELI. Viewing literacy instruction through Rosenblatt's Transactional Theory provides a reflective experience where teachers revisit whether or not an instructional practice can improve their teaching through more aesthetic dialogue thus improving their TELI.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2017
- Identifier
- CFE0006818, ucf:51790
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006818
- Title
- International Students' Expectations of and Satisfaction with Academic Advising at a Community College.
- Creator
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Chemishanova, Marieta, Owens, J. Thomas, Cintron Delgado, Rosa, Hewitt, Randall, Penfold Navarro, Catherine, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This study sought to identify what expectations international students' had with regards to academic advising and how satisfied they were with their advising experience at a large community college in a southeastern state in the United States. Previous research on academic advising services (e.g. Belcheir, 1999; Hale, Graham, (&) Johnson, 2009; Mottarella, Fritzsche, (&) Cerabino, 2004; Propp (&) Rhodes, 2006; Lynch, 2004; Smith (&) Allen, 2006) had not distinguished between domestic and...
Show moreThis study sought to identify what expectations international students' had with regards to academic advising and how satisfied they were with their advising experience at a large community college in a southeastern state in the United States. Previous research on academic advising services (e.g. Belcheir, 1999; Hale, Graham, (&) Johnson, 2009; Mottarella, Fritzsche, (&) Cerabino, 2004; Propp (&) Rhodes, 2006; Lynch, 2004; Smith (&) Allen, 2006) had not distinguished between domestic and international students' expectations of and satisfaction with advising especially at the 2-year and community college levels and in organizational structures where the foreign student advisors serve as both the students' academic and immigration advisors. Such research is timely in the face of the highly competitive international education market and the increasing demands for U.S. institutional of higher education to meet students' consumer expectations with regards to educational services. Grounded in Expectation Disconfirmation Theory and employing a quantitative research design, this study investigated how factors such as age, gender, country of citizenship, class standing, and degree program impacted international students' expectations of and satisfaction with academic advising. Descriptive statistics, analyses of variances, and a partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) were used to answer the research questions. While the advising literature strongly advocates developmental advising, students in this study expressed a strong desire for elements of prescriptive advising.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2018
- Identifier
- CFE0006986, ucf:51641
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006986
- Title
- The Relationship between Service-learning and Civic Engagement in the 2-Year College.
- Creator
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Koopmann, Shari, Hewitt, Randall, Allen, Kay, Kaplan, Jeffrey, Morrison, Elizabeth, Miller, Margaret, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This study examined the relationship between service-learning and civic engagement in the 2-year college and also investigated specific differences between service experiences to determine whether those differences moderated the relationship between service participation and civic engagement outcomes. The study yielded 110 matching pre- and post-Student Civic Engagement surveys from service-learners in five different course subject areas at a large southeastern community college. The findings...
Show moreThis study examined the relationship between service-learning and civic engagement in the 2-year college and also investigated specific differences between service experiences to determine whether those differences moderated the relationship between service participation and civic engagement outcomes. The study yielded 110 matching pre- and post-Student Civic Engagement surveys from service-learners in five different course subject areas at a large southeastern community college. The findings of the paired-samples t tests suggest that students experienced significant gains in four of the seven dimensions of civic engagement after participating in service. Students in comparable courses in subject matter but without service-components were also surveyed, yielding 117 matching pre- and post-surveys. A comparison of the mean differences between pre- and post-responses of the non-service-learners and service-learners suggests that the service-learners had a higher tendency than the non-service-learners to participate in the majority of assessed civic engagement activities. The data were sorted by subject area to allow for an analysis of the service-learners and the non-service-learners in comparable courses. Those results, however, were inconclusive, and no clear trends emerged. ANOVAs and independent-samples t tests were used to determine the relationship between gains in civic outcomes and select variables. The findings suggest that the type of service-learning activity, the duration of the service experience, the participant-perceived quality of the service experience, the amount of required student reflection, and the teacher's frequency of use of active and passive instructional strategies significantly moderate the relationship between service participation and a number of measures of civic engagement.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0004706, ucf:49807
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004706
- Title
- The Inclusion of Women's History in the Secondary Social Studies Classroom.
- Creator
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Scheiner-Fisher, Cicely, Russell, William, Hewitt, Randall, Hartshorne, Charles, Fine, Terri, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The author examined the motivation for why, and methods of how, some secondary social studies teachers incorporate women's voices into the traditional history framework. A multi-layered qualitative methodology was employed for this study using survey, case study, and phenomenological approaches, including interviews and classroom observations of participants. The researcher discovered the percentage of teachers who claim to incorporate women's history/perspectives into their lessons; how...
Show moreThe author examined the motivation for why, and methods of how, some secondary social studies teachers incorporate women's voices into the traditional history framework. A multi-layered qualitative methodology was employed for this study using survey, case study, and phenomenological approaches, including interviews and classroom observations of participants. The researcher discovered the percentage of teachers who claim to incorporate women's history/perspectives into their lessons; how teachers incorporate women's history/perspectives into their lessons; and, the factors that contribute to teachers including women's history/perspectives into their classes.?
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0004933, ucf:49623
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004933
