This study examined the ways in which the interactions between university supervisors and pre-service teachers during student teaching support the development of emotional resilience. My research design applied qualitative methods with a sample of five supervisors and nine student teachers from two universities in a major metropolitan area. Observations and interviews were used to determine how supervisors engaged in four core supportive practices associated with resilience: (1) asset-based and solutions-oriented, (2) centered on problem solving, (3) encourages reflective practice, (4) support emotional well-being. The findings show that supervisors employed multiple tactics, at varying degrees, to help build the skills and mindsets associated with resilience, such as eliciting optimism and framing problems as solvable. Furthermore, the use of a teaching rubric to describe and praise productive teaching moves was related to strategic use of asset-based feedback. However, there were few instances of students engaging in deep reflection or problem-solving on their own. The findings suggest that the common structure used for debriefing may be hindering the capacity for student teachers to thoroughly deconstruct and interrogate their own practice, which is critical for the development of resilience. Teacher preparation programs are encouraged to evaluate and revise their supervisory processes to provide more opportunities for student teacher-led reflective practice and substantive problem-solving throughout the student teaching experience.

This study examined the perspectives of school administrators regarding how the use of a focused math observation tool influenced their practice and their teachers’ practice. The sample comprised six elementary school administrators across four elementary schools in a large, urban public school district. The research design applied qualitative methods in order to understand what the administrators valued about the tool and what they said they needed from a tool to support their practice of observation and feedback in mathematics. Patterns and themes regarding what the administrators valued about the tool and what they needed in a tool to support math observations and feedback were identified. The findings from the interviews with administrators affirmed that a focused math observation tool can support focused feedback for math instruction. The two main ways administrators reported that the tool supported focused feedback for math instruction included (a) the tool served to support shared expectations and (b) the tool’s focus on only two or three elements made it comprehensible. In addition, administrators indicated that the support they needed to use the tool was collaboration across the process with other observers, specifically side-by-side support with the district math coordinator and opportunities to collaborate with school leaders around observation and feedback. The findings suggest a focused math observation tool with support could be helpful to school administrators.

In 2019, forty-five percent of fourth grade students scored proficient on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress. Previous research indicates that fractions and algebra are two domains that cause confusion for students (NMAP, 2008). This study examined the pedagogical decisions regarding fraction instruction for third and fourth grade students. Twenty third and fourth grade teachers within Los Angeles County participated in semi-structured interviews. I used a qualitative research design in order to determine how and why teachers make particular instructional choices and their challenges related to fraction instruction. Once data were collected, I analyzed patterns of reasoning to illuminate similarities and differences within the sample. My findings showed teachers are seeking and open to more effective fraction instruction and consider their school and student dynamics to guide pedagogical decisions. This suggests an opening for professional development in the area of elementary fraction instruction.

Procedural learning has dominated the study of K-12 mathematics in the United States. A lack of emphasis on the development of mathematical thinking among educators has undermined American students’ achievement in mathematics, thereby impacting students’ readiness for college and careers in the 21st century. Elementary teachers, in particular, are often under-equipped to tackle teaching practices that promote mathematical thinking and the development of conceptual mathematical knowledge, both emphasized in the Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practice. They are frequently restricted by their own content knowledge and confidence in understanding mathematics, and are themselves products of rote learning and an overemphasis on procedures.

This study was designed to support development of mathematical teaching practices among a group of upper elementary (third through fifth grade) teachers. The study utilized a qualitative action research design in order to investigate teachers’ perceptions of the development of their practice over time. Ten upper elementary teachers participated in a bi-monthly mathematics study group over a period of 6 months. The study group initially focused on using warm-up tasks to promote mathematical discourse. Data was collected in the forms of transcriptions of the study group sessions, written and verbal reflections, and pre and post-questionnaires. Throughout the study, teachers regularly experimented with practices they had rarely or never tried before. Teachers reported that the warm-ups they learned in the professional development were the driving force for changes in their mathematics teaching practices. Additionally, teachers reported that there were substantial differences in the student discourse that occurred during math time between the previous school year and this year and that facilitation of student discourse during math time became a regular part of their practice.

There has been a call for teachers of Color to meet the growing diversity of the student population in the United States. Research on teachers of Color, their identities, experiences, and the ways they leverage their identities in the work they do to support students of Color has largely omitted the perspectives of Asian American teachers. Through a sociocultural lens of identity and Asian Critical Race perspective, this study investigates the ways a group of Asian American teachers articulate their identities and the ways their identities shape and emerge in their practice with diverse students. Findings reveal Asian American teachers articulate their identity in oppositional ways to their ideas of “the other.” With respect to teaching, identities emerge in their practice in the ways they actively engage in conversations with students to dispel stereotypes, share their Asian American culture, and navigate a racial in-between space in having broader discussion around race. Implications from this study suggest a need for dedicated spaces for Asian American teachers to unpack and reflect on the range of identities and experiences they bring to teaching, as well as the ways identity and practice mutually shape each other.

There have been many calls for greater research into the connection between what is taught to pre-service teachers and how those teachings emerge in teacher practice (Cochran-Smith & Zeichner, 2005; Grossman, 2008). Understanding this connection and strengthening it is vital to the increased effectiveness of not just teacher education programs but of teachers and the increased learning of students. In order to strengthen this connection, researchers have been pushing for pre-service teacher learning to become more practice-based (Ball et. al, 2009, Windschitl et al., 2009).

The teacher education program in this study used a practice-based framework to design a math methods course which articulated critical aspects for teaching and learning mathematics (i.e., ensuring mathematical rigor, creating mathematical student discourse, and using equitable practices), and taught high-leverage strategies to meet these critical aspects.

This study investigated how these practice-based, high-leverage strategies emerged in pre-service teacher practice in their student teaching classrooms. Focusing on secondary math in a large urban school district, this study sought to answer the questions 1) How do the practice-based strategies taught in a math methods class emerge in pre-service teachers' student teaching practice? 2) What supports the emergence of these strategies in a pre-service teacher's student teaching practice and what impedes it? The study followed six pre-service teachers through a yearlong methods course and into their student teaching classrooms, and used classroom observations, interviews, artifact collection and logs of teacher practice to answer the questions. The findings suggest that pre-service teachers can use high-leverage practices in a way that is rigorous, creates student mathematical discourse, and equitable participation. The study proposes the following additions to the design of future math methods courses: 1) pre-service teachers enacting the practices in environments with increasingly more independence and less support before trying it in their own classrooms and, 2) sharing with their math methods course peers their findings after the enactment of the strategies in their student teaching classroom. These findings have implications for how we may more effectively teach methods to bring about change in classroom practices.

This qualitative study developed a preparation series to prepare principals in the approach of Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) to support teachers in implementation. The series included six virtual sessions that prepared principals in understanding the “Why” behind CGI, the connection to the state standards, number sense routines, the unpacking/solving/share-out of story problems, and the analysis of student work. The series also included two site walkthroughs where the principals observed number sense routines and the unpacking/solving of story problems. During the walkthroughs, the principals were able to debrief together and identify strong feedback to provide teachers. Data collection methods included reflection exit tickets after each session, observations, document analysis after the walkthroughs, and one-on-one interviews with each participant at the conclusion of the study. Results from the study suggest that the preparation series was successful in preparing principals to support teachers implementing CGI. The findings revealed all participants had a perceived change in understanding around students’ thinking and were able to identify key principled ideas of CGI. The study concluded principals need to work with their colleagues to be strong instructional leaders who learn with their teachers, place a focus on math, and understand how to support their staff with implementing the approach of CGI. Future research should focus on preparing principals and teachers together in the approach of CGI and creating a cohort-based model for support in implementation and sustainability.

The purpose of this study was to analyze P-20 partnerships in order to learn the best practices they employ to increase college access and persistence for under-represented students. This study adds to the literature by reaching beyond the collaborators and decision-makers who serve on partnership committees and include the individuals at the local level who carry out the work. A qualitative study was designed to learn how all of the stakeholders involved address the challenges inherent in inter-segmental collaboration. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a cross-section of 29 participants from four partnerships in Southern California. The participants included teachers, professors, administrators, and counselors from the public PK-12 and higher education sectors. Additional data were collected from partnership meetings and site visits for each of the four partnerships. Findings from this study conclude that the three major challenges these P-20 partnerships face are: (1) a lack of trust within and across sectors, (2) a lack of time for partnership work, and (3) sustaining dynamic partnerships. Conversely, the three best practices uncovered were: (1) structure initiative-based committees with transparent reporting systems, (2) find champions for the work, and (3) focus on student needs.

This study employed a mixed-methods design to examine the implementation process and impact of a six-week number talk intervention during the advisory period with sixth-grade middle school students in a large urban school district. The sample consisted of 22 students in one sixth-grade advisory class. The quantitative portion of the study utilized a one-group pretest and posttest design to measure the effects of the intervention on the development of students’ number sense. The qualitative portion of the study, which included classroom videos, student work, and a teacher journal, examined process data on the implementation of number talks to determine in what ways number talks can be implemented with middle school students to support the development of number sense. There were three teacher practices identified as being important in implementing number talks in a way that supported student learning: 1) examining students’ written work during and after the number talks as a means of formative assessment, 2) using visual representations to support students’ understanding of mathematical concepts and relationships, and 3) focusing on one mathematical idea for a set of number talks. Results of the quantitative analysis showed that there were statistically significant increases in the overall mean score on the number sense assessment and the mean score on the equivalent expressions subtest of the assessment which was closely aligned to the content of the intervention.

Urban high schools seldom achieve turnaround status. Many variables have been studied in relation to effective school turnaround; however, distributed leadership is a theory of leadership that has seldom been linked in the literature to school turnaround and sustainability. This study investigated the phenomenon of distributed leadership at a southern California urban high school, where indicators revealed that the site achieved turnaround status by moving out of Program Improvement over a ten-year period and by increasing college admission rates, even with multiple principal successions. This study contributes to the field of educational leadership and school improvement by informing how distributed leadership functioned across settings and practices. This unique case study targeted the settings and practices used by multiple stakeholders during the turnaround period. Leadership was characterized by influence and activities, not by roles of site members. Data were collected via in-depth interviews, which were coded by themes of distributed leadership: collegiality, trust, efficacy, autonomy, ownership, collaboration, data-driven design, interaction, teacher talk, emotional support, teacher learning, and a culture of caring. The findings showed that members of a school site took on leadership activities in various settings, influencing one another's' practice. Interview data revealed that teachers, administrators and staff worked in formal and informal settings to influence one another's beliefs and practices. Participants highlighted the importance of conditions that exist when leadership was distributed: ownership, autonomy, trust, and efficacy. These findings suggest that teachers and administrators at urban turnaround schools need to be aware of the differences between formal and informal settings and their effects on distribute leadership practices; by utilizing the unique opportunities each setting offers, learning outcomes for students can be improved and sustained over time.