Date of Award

January 2012

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Teaching & Learning

First Advisor

Barbara Combs

Abstract

This study examined two forms of Professional Development, workshop training and instructional coaching together and workshop training alone. All participating teachers attended the same workshop training on vocabulary instruction and were trained in using procedural cards for teaching science vocabulary. Two teachers were randomly selected to be in the experimental group (workshop training and instructional coaching together) and two teachers were randomly selected to be in the control group (workshop training alone). The experimental group received six weeks of instructional coaching including pre-conferencing, post-conferencing, and classroom observations with feedback. Using posttest t-test, the researcher determined the effects of both the experimental and control groups. The students in the experimental group classrooms outperformed the control group classrooms in science vocabulary growth. Qualitative data provided insight into the successes and difficulties the experiemental group teachers had in implementing their newly acquired knowledge from the workshop training, along with noting the characteristics of coaching that the teachers found beneficial.

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