Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Identifier

6316

Date

2018

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Department

Instruction & Curriculum Leadership

Committee Chair

Clif Mims

Committee Member

Amanda Rockinson-Szapkiw

Committee Member

Andrew Tawfik

Committee Member

Beth Shumate

Abstract

The purpose of this cross-sectional survey study was to determine the level of teacher self-efficacy to teach in a blended learning environment after receiving blended learning professional development (PD). The study used secondary analysis of existing data and interviews to answer the following research questions:1.What is the level of self-efficacy to teach in a blended learning environment for secondary teachers after receiving blended learning PD?2.What component of the blended learning PD contributed the most to teachers level of self-efficacy?3.How can the blended learning PD be improved to assist the teachers in improving their level of self-efficacy?The study used two instruments: 1) Teachers Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) comprised of 24 Likert-style items designed to assess three self-efficacy factors: student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management, and 4 opened-ended items to assess quality of the PD, and 2) a semi-structured interview protocol to answer questions 2 and 3. Existing data were derived from TSES surveys completed by 19 secondary teachers who participated in the blended learning PD. Interview data were collected from 5 of the 19 who were randomly selected for interviews. Findings revealed teachers reported more confidence in areas that they can control, which were instructional strategies and classroom management, and less confidence in student engagement, which although teachers may be able to influence, the students themselves are the determining factor rather than the teacher. Results of open-ended questions and interviews suggest the most beneficial PD components were learning how to teach with the blended learning software and how to differentiate instructional strategies, whereas participants also revealed that more face-to-face time might be beneficial to raise teacher self-efficacy to teach in a blended environment. This study has implications not only for the school district involved in the study, but also for other schools wishing to implement a more personalized approach to instructional strategies through a blended learning curriculum. Future research could involve a larger and more diverse group of participants and showcase secondary schools implementing a successful blended learning program.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to the local University of Memphis Electronic Theses & dissertation (ETD) Repository.

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