Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item Doctoral students' different types of help-seeking behavior within the academic mentoring experience(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2022) do Amaral, Barbara Maria; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Bryce HughesDoctoral student attrition is a concerning issue for institutions of higher education and equally impactful on students who want to succeed but are not able to persist. Researchers and educators alike have worked to identify factors that impact student attrition and persistence. This study's framework included the principles of self-determination theory and self-regulation to highlight students' help-seeking behaviors and students' perceptions of the support they received from their chair or mentor. Self-regulation and its many attributes, such as help-seeking, are part of the academic experience that may influence the outcome (help-seeking). The purpose of this correlational study was to explore relationships between academic mentoring, age, and help-seeking behavior among doctoral students who were enrolled in a doctoral program. Participants were 103 doctoral students (53.5% females, 46.5% males) enrolled in PhD, EdD, and DNP programs in a Northwestern, medium-sized, land-grant university. The age of the students varied from 24 to 63 years old. Data were examined by means of correlations and hierarchical regression analyses. The correlational design for this study was inspired by two primary questions: 'Does academic mentoring influence help-seeking behavior in doctoral students?' and 'Does student's age influence help-seeking behavior?' These two questions helped guide the researcher on which statistical techniques to use; in this case bivariate correlations and hierarchical regressions. The results of this correlational study show consistency with previous literature that indicates that chair/mentor relations can produce effects on students' behaviors. The findings suggest that mentors who students perceive to provide technical help and skills needed for research completion, i.e., support in the form of structure, and satisfy the student's need for competence was positively associated with adaptive help-seeking.Item Learning from one's own teaching : new teachers analyzing their practice through video recorded classroom observation cycles in an e-mentoring program(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2012) Ceven, Jennifer Ann; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Elisabeth SwansonInduction, or the first three years of a new teacher's career, is a particularly formative period yet there exists only a limited literature base to support teacher educators who work with this population. Induction phase teachers benefit from professional development experiences that support them to learn about teaching while they are teaching. This can occur when they receive feedback about their instructional practices and ideas on how to further improve their work. One means for providing this feedback is to engage new teachers with experienced mentors who observe a classroom episode and structure discussions before and after that observation. This classroom observation cycle can support new teachers to inquire into an aspect of their practice with the help of an experienced educator. This study examined the implementation of video-recorded classroom observation cycles in an established online mentoring program, e-Mentoring for Student Success (eMSS). New teachers and their mentors were observed as they conducted an initial observation cycle. Based on the observed behavior of the participants, the researcher designed a professional development session that framed observation cycles in the context of disciplined inquiry and encouraged mentors to focus on concrete evidence, discuss science content, explore the relationship between teacher actions and student learning, support the new teacher to critically evaluate the instructional episode, and induce the mentee to commit to alternative strategies. Following this session, participants conducted a second observation cycle. At the conclusion of the study, all participants were interviewed to capture the experience of video recorded classroom observation cycles from each individual's perspective. Qualitatively studying the interactions between mentors and new teachers helped to identify the conditions that supported disciplined inquiry and the impacts it had on new teachers' professional growth. New teachers expressed that they reflected on and implemented changes to their instructional practice following the observation cycles. In addition, they appreciated the opportunities to receive feedback in a low-risk environment and felt a stronger connection to their mentors. Classroom observation cycles have the potential to equip new teachers with the skills and dispositions to learn about teaching from the act of teaching each day of their careers.Item Construction of knowledge about teaching practice and educating students from diverse cultures in an online induction program(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2005) Bice, Lawrence Raymond; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Elisabeth SwansonBeginning teachers in both urban areas and geographically isolated rural areas often do not have access to a mentor teacher of the same content area or grade level in their school or district. This project is a study of learning in the online e-Mentoring for Student Success (eMSS) program, which provides induction for science and mathematics teachers in Montana and California. The study centered on a particular segment of eMSS called the Diversity Module. Two examinations were conducted: 1) Analysis of discourse by all participants in the Diversity Module, and 2) case study of five beginning teachers with diverse student populations. Analysis of learning by cases was conducted by examining discourse in the Diversity Module, private online discussions with their assigned mentors during a two-year period, and pre and post Diversity Module interviews and interviews of their mentors. Three frameworks were developed to aid understanding of findings: 1) discourse analysis, 2) competencies of multicultural teachers, and, 3) competencies of pedagogical and pedagogical content knowledge. Cases developed their knowledge of teaching along a continuum of needs over two years of participation in the eMSS program. Initial needs expressed by mentees were in areas such as classroom management and general methods of instruction. Cases increased their knowledge in virtually all aspects of pedagogical knowledge, changing their expressed needs to pedagogical content knowledge concerns such as adapting and differentiating instruction for particular content and individual students, and building their repertoire of instructional representations. Through online discussion, teachers developed or advanced awareness of student culture and learning characteristics, and adapted their practice to foster a climate of student respect. Findings provided little evidence of adapting instruction for diverse student learning. Teachers who had a strong awareness of their own and their student's cultures advanced their understanding of multicultural teaching competencies further than those who did not. Interview results indicated that learning sometimes takes place in a non-visible manner. Growth in multicultural teaching knowledge, as well as several aspects of pedagogical and pedagogical content knowledge, was clearly evident for participants who posted few messages, but read and actively reflected on thoughts of others.Item Professional growth through mentoring : a study of experienced mathematics teachers participating in a content-based online mentoring and induction program(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2008) McAleer, Salme DeAnna; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Elisabeth SwansonIt is well established that early career teacher practice can benefit from participating in effective mentoring and induction programs and experienced teacher practice can be enhanced by participation in successful professional development. But can experienced teachers improve their practice through their role as a mentor in a mentoring program? Although anecdotal evidence suggests that mentor teachers grow professionally through mentoring, there is limited research supporting this claim. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the professional growth of mentor mathematics teachers participating in an online content-based mentoring and induction program, e-Mentoring for Student Success (eMSS). In specific, this mixed-methods study sought to determine what aspects of eMSS contributed to mentor professional growth and over what domains this growth occurred. Because the mentoring program was online, teaching and learning were dialogue driven and text-based. Therefore, this study also sought evidence of the mentor teachers' professional growth in the online dialogue and commentary they provided for analysis. Finally, active engagement in professional development is hypothesized to be a precursor to professional growth and development. Using mentors' activity level as a measure of engagement, this study also sought to determine if activity level was related to mentors' perceived professional growth. The results of this study indicate that mentor mathematics teachers did grow professionally as a result of participating in eMSS. The experienced teachers reported growth in all assessed domains, particularity in their reflective practices, professional engagement and leadership, pedagogical knowledge, and in their access to instructional resources. Two predominant avenues of professional growth were cited as being important including reflection on practice and communicating with other mathematics educators. Program flexibility was also named as an important facilitator of professional growth. Finally, it seems that a mentor's activity level does positively relate to perceived professional growth and that much growth occurs "behind the scenes" and may not be evident in participants' posts. In conclusion, implications of the findings and how the findings may be used to purposefully design mentoring programs to assist in the professional development of mentor mathematics teachers are offered to program designers. Recommendations for further research are also suggested.Item Principals' perceptions of mentoring in Montana's AA, A and B high schools(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2008) Saunders, Godfrey Eugene; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Arthur W. Bangert.Mentoring programs have become a popular source of training and professional development for high school principals over the past few years (Darish, 2001). However, there is little research which investigates the types of mentoring support these programs provide and the effectiveness of this support (SREB, 2007). This mixed methods study was undertaken to determine the frequency of mentoring support that high school and assistant principals in Montana's AA, A and B schools experienced during their beginning years as building administrations. In addition, this study also investigated principals' perceptions of the main sources of mentoring support and to describe the support strategies that principals used in the absence of mentoring. One hundred and twenty-two high school principals and assistant principals were sent the School Administration and Leaderships Skills Inventory (SALSS) (Stout, 2001) and asked to rate their perceptions of mentoring support during their novice years as building administrators. Results from this research found that when averaged across the ISLLC Leadership Skill domains, 95% of lead principals and assistant principals indicated that mentoring support would have been beneficial during their induction years as building administrators. Follow-up interviews were conducted with five principals were to more fully understand the sources of administrative support that were available to the support strategies that they used in the absence of mentoring. Results from semistructured interviews identified, "Supportive Peer Administrators", "Personality Traits", "Self-Development" and "Experience" as themes that described principals' sources of administrative support. "Creating Supportive Relationships", "Reflection", and "Supportive Peer Administrators" were the themes that principals collectively used to describe the support strategies they used in the absence of formal or informal mentoring. Results from this study suggest that there is a lack of mentoring support networks novice high school principals practicing in the state of Montana. Findings from this research suggest that Montana's school districts and the university principal preparation programs need to make a concerted effort to establish formal mentoring programs for new school administrators. It is recommended that these organizations work collaboratively to mentoring support networks for novice principals and to use the findings from this study to guide those efforts.