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Includes bibliographical references (p. 146-147) and index

Includes bibliographical references (p. 146-147) and index

Includes bibliographical references (p. 146-147) and index

Includes bibliographical references (p. 146-147) and index

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of developing edTPA as a teaching portfolio on pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy, specifically their perceptions of confidence related to the edTPA’s constructs of planning, instruction, and assessment within a tied-to-licensure state. The researcher employed a sequential explanatory mixed methods approach to study the effects and experiences for developing edTPA as a teaching portfolio. Three repeated measures ANCOVAs were conducted to determine the change in pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy after developing the edTPA teaching portfolio while controlling for the cooperating teachers’ support of pre-service teachers’ planning, instruction, and assessment decisions and practices. The quantitative data collected from 42 pre-service teachers, who responded to a pre and post Self-Efficacy Survey and representing various teacher preparation programs (e.g., Health and Physical Education, Theatre Education, Secondary Math), indicated a significant increase in their levels of self-efficacy after developing the edTPA as a teaching portfolio. However, once the covariates for the support offered to the pre-service teachers by the cooperating teachers for planning, instruction, and assessment were entered, there was no longer a significant increase in pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy. Additionally during the quantitative phase of the study, pre-service teachers were asked to self-assess their edTPA Tasks with the edTPA official rubrics. Data collected from the 15 rubrics were averaged; then, the mean was ordered from least to most and divided into quartiles. Pre-service teachers in the highest and lowest quartiles were asked to participate in individual, semi-structured interviews. After interviewing the two cases (i.e., one female representing the high quartile and one female representing the low quartile), a case study analysis was conducted to determine the similarities and differences between the two cases when describing their experiences for developing edTPA as a teaching portfolio. From the case study analysis, the following themes were constructed: edTPA as experiential (i.e., encountering challenges and influencing reflective practice) and edTPA as relational (i.e., relationships with cooperating teacher, relationships with students, cooperating teachers’ limited knowledge of edTPA, and perceptions of cooperating teachers’ teaching styles).

Standardized testing is viewed as particularly incompatible to the process of learning due to its summative nature as it measures what students are able to recall and produce. Because of the discrepancy between the process of learning and products of learning, educators today have come to recognize that an alternative form of assessment is required to complement the existing form of assessment. This study intends to determine the techniques ESL teachers use in implementing portfolio as an assessment tool. The techniques ESL teachers employed while implementing the assessment process in the classroom enabled the researchers to propose a model for portfolio assessment. Currently, ESL teachers in Malaysia do not have a specific model or technique to conduct the portfolio assessment process because portfolio is heard of but not widely used. Therefore, this study was carried to scrutinize procedures ESL teachers use as a guide in instructional planning and student evaluation based on their teaching in the L2 classroom. The participants were nine ESL secondary school teachers in Malaysia. Semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and teachers' individual portfolios were utilized to explore the techniques which served as a guideline for ESL teachers employed for the teaching and learning in the classroom. Findings indicate that the portfolio assessment model developed has provided ESL teachers the opportunity to document individual student's growth. Furthermore, the teachers divulged that teaching is sustained when teaching materials, teaching techniques and assessment techniques were upgraded to help students in achieving the learning outcomes. The results of the study have implications for assessment, teaching and learning of English as a second language.

1Ideal Bartender

By Tom Bullock

The book was written by Tom Bullock, a well-known bartender at the St. Louis Country Club. His skills as a bartender were so remarkable that a libel suit hinged on the excellence of his drinks. In The Ideal Bartender, Tom collects some of his best known beverage recipes.