Date of Award

5-2022

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Honors Thesis

Department

Middle/Secondary Education (5-12)

First Advisor

Dr. Shelly Furuness

Abstract

Teacher research engages educators in inquiry to enhance their practice, initiate evidence-based change in their classroom and become more reflective practitioners in order to best support the learning of their students’ individual strengths and needs. The edTPA is a national teaching performance assessment that determines teachers’ effective practices as they are on the cusp of entering the educational profession. Aspiring teachers must demonstrate that they are prepared to enter the educational profession with the skills and knowledge needed to help each of their individual students learn. The edTPA was completed and submitted during the high school student teaching clinical experience, then scored by national Pearson edTPA Mathematics Content scorers based on fifteen subject-specific rubrics. The submission score was reviewed and analyzed through the perspective of the next generation of aspiring teachers who will complete the edTPA and by cross-referencing curriculum in the Butler University teaching preparation program. What was found was that students in the middle/secondary education program are prepared to engage in the cycle of planning, instructing and assessing student work in order to use data to make teaching decisions for student-centered instruction over the course of their four years. The active participation in teacher research such as the edTPA develops and strengthens aspiring or novice teachers’ work towards becoming a reflective practitioner. New teachers continue to become purposeful educators by supporting their students’ strengths and needs in lessons, engaging students in meaningful learning experiences, analyzing student progress or growth, and modifying future instruction to provide more effective instruction.

Download

Share

COinS