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ASSESSING PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS AMONG PRE-SERVICE AND IN-SERVICE TEACHERS WITH REGARDS TO ACADEMIC SKILL DEFICITS By SARAH BANKS Bachelor of Science in Child Learning & Development Bachelor of Art in Psychology University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, Texas 2009 Master of Science in Educational Psychology with an option in School Psychometrics Oklahoma State University Stillwater, Oklahoma 2010 Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College of the Oklahoma State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY July, 2014 ASSESSING PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS AMONG PRE-SERVICE AND IN-SERVICE TEACHERS WITH REGARDS TO ACADEMIC SKILL DEFICITS Dissertation Approved: Dr Gary Duhon Dissertation Adviser Dr Terry Stinnett Dr Benjamin Solomon Dr Dale Fuqua ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This entire study would not have been possible with the support and encouragement I received from numerous individuals Many people took time out of their lives to ensure I successfully completed the study and that I kept my passion for it alive I would first like to thank my scorers, Kathryn Moore and Brandon Harrower, from the School Psychology graduate program Thank you for having such positive attitudes I would also like to thank Brooks Lord for helping me so many times with submitting paperwork while I was living out of state I am very grateful for my advisor, Dr Gary Duhon, and for the support he provided not only with my dissertation, but also with my own personal journey through graduate school Thank you for your patience and guidance and for having a passion for what you My other committee members, Dr Benjamin Solomon, Dr Terry Stinnett, and Dr Dale Fuqua are also very deserving of acknowledgement Your feedback was valuable and helped keep me on track Lastly, I would like to thank my family, boyfriend, and friends for the unconditional emotional support that was offered You all supported me every step of the way and were always ready to give me a shoulder to lean on when things went less than perfect Mom, dad, and Whit, your belief in me carried me through Thank you for never doubting me and for your love iii Acknowledgements reflect the views of the author and are not endorsed by committee members or Oklahoma State University Name: SARAH BANKS Date of Degree: JULY, 2014 Title of Study: ASSESSING PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS AMONG PRE-SERVICE AND IN-SERVICE TEACHERS WITH REGARDS TO ACADEMIC SKILL DEFICITS Major Field: EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY, OPTION IN SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY Abstract: Given the importance of student academic success, it is imperative that teacher preparation programs ensure teachers-in-training, also called pre-service teachers, are being taught how to successfully identify and analyze the problems of struggling students The purpose of the current study was to evaluate whether in-service and preservice teachers differed in measured problem identification and analysis skills In addition, the study sought to evaluate whether no instruction, didactic instruction, or didactic instruction plus modeling would result in the highest measured problem solving skills among participants The results indicated in-service teachers possessed greater problem solving skills than pre-service teachers, and that didactic instruction plus modeling was the most effective form of instruction for teaching problem solving skills No significant differences were found between the control and didactic instruction conditions In addition, there was not a significant interaction between the independent variables Implications for teacher preparation programs and for how to teach pre-service teachers problem solving skills are discussed, as well as suggestions for related future research iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I INTRODUCTION II REVIEW OF LITERATURE Link between teacher skill and student success .7 Theories of effective teaching .8 Current training programs for teachers .12 Instructional method 15 Didactic .15 Modeling .17 Problem solving skills 19 Problem identification 20 Problem analysis 21 Teacher problem solving skills 22 III METHODOLOGY 25 Study Variables 25 Research design .26 Participants .26 Materials 28 Procedures 33 Analysis 35 v Chapter Page IV RESULTS 36 Demographic Differences 36 Research Question 37 Research Question 37 Research Question 38 V DISCUSSION 39 Research Question 39 Research Question 42 Research Question 43 Strengths of the study 44 Limitations of the study 45 Directions for future research 46 Conclusions 47 REFERENCES 50 APPENDICES 56 Demographics Survey: In-Service Teachers 63 Demographics Survey: Pre-Service Teachers 65 Problem Identification and Analysis Questionnaire 67 PIAQ Scoring Rubric .69 Vignette A 71 Vignette B 72 Debriefing 73 Consent Form 74 IRB Approval 77 vi LIST OF TABLES Table Page Demographic Characteristics of Sample 57 ANOVA Summary of In-Service Teacher Demographic Variables .58 ANOVA Summary of Pre-Service Teacher Demographic Variables .59 Summary of Univariate ANOVA Tests of Between-Subjects Effects .60 Mean Composite Scores on the PIAQ by Career Status 61 Tukey Posthoc Analyses for Instructional Conditions 62 Mean Composite Scores on the PIAQ Instruction x Career Status 63 vii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Education in public schools is a continuously transforming domain Every year, various teaching strategies regarding issues such as whether reinforcement is beneficial or detrimental to a child capture the attention of those in the profession of educating children This is often due to the ever-evolving research that seeks to support or invalidate theories utilized in education Another explanation for the continuous shifting of orientations is that a movement may gain momentum without empirical validity The task of educating children is a vital component of the success of a nation and thus must be carried out with great knowledge and skill A troubled country has a lesser chance of survival if it also fails to properly educate the children that will make up its future By the year 2020, the number of children and adolescents enrolled in the public education system is expected to reach 52.7 million (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2011) According to the National Assessment for Educational Progress, which assesses students across the nation to track progress in education, the percentage of 12th Grade students at or above the proficient level in reading in 2009 was about thirty-eight percent and about twenty-six percent for mathematics (NCES, 2011) These statistics indicate that by the 12th Grade, a frighteningly large percentages of students remain at unacceptable performance levels in academics When examining the question of why more children are not experiencing higher rates of success within the education system, it is important to assess the training teachers have received Unfortunately, little research exists regarding what specific skills a teacher’s repertoire should include to help maximize student success (Cleven & Gutkin, 1988) The current data from the National Assessment for Educational Progress, however, suggests this is a critical area deserving of research due to the low percentage of students that are proficient in basic academics (NCES, 2011) Research by Begeny and Martens (2006) found that undergraduate students training to become teachers, also called pre-service teachers, received more training in instructional strategies and principles than instructional programs and assessment strategies This is concerning because in order for a teacher to know the progress a specific student is making, the teacher must first possess a skill set for assessing and monitoring a student’s academic performance over time Instead, it appears teachers’ training focuses more on strategies, such as peer tutoring, and principles, such as reinforcement, than on how to best assess a student’s actual knowledge of what he or she is being taught (Begeny & Martens, 2006) In order to improve the education system, it is essential to examine the link between what pre-service teachers are being taught and what is actually occurring in the field It would be naive to assume that a highly qualified teacher automatically equates to being an effective teacher Current research suggests that pre-service teachers can possess skills that enable them to analyze classroom instruction strategies and to then collect evidence to support their effectiveness (Morris, 2006) Research has documented an obvious failure in the ability to generalize effective teaching strategies learned as a pre-service teacher and those actually employed as an in-service teacher (Scheeler, 2008) The deterioration of skills learned as a pre-service teacher may begin to emerge as early as the student teaching experience, suggesting that some significant knowledge of effective teaching strategies is lost even before graduation (Scheeler, Bruno, Grubb, & Seavey, 2009) This also has implications for children learning new material, suggesting that ineffective teachers may aid a child’s low academic performance over time How can we expect children to thrive academically if their own teachers cannot maintain and generalize knowledge of the use of effective teaching strategies? A teacher must also possess a skill set that allows him or her to recognize when a student is failing to make adequate progress in the classroom and what needs to happen after such a student has been identified This ability is often referred to as problem solving The better a teacher’s problem solving skills are, the more effective he or she is likely to be as a teacher (Begeny & Martens, 2006) The skills to be taught should include problem identification and problem analysis, which will then lead to successful identification of solutions and monitoring of progress toward a specific goal (Watson & Kramer, 1995) An effective problem solving model should contain components for problem identification, problem analysis, intervention design and implementation, and progress monitoring (Ysseldyke & Martson, 1998) The problem solving process should be driven by empirically-based practices Such a source of information will help ensure that a decision-making team is knowledgeable in determining when modifications to an intervention are necessary A wait-to-fail model should have no place in an environment that is meant to foster student success Instead, practitioners should seek to define what a problem is, why it is occurring, what needs to be done about it, and if the given solution has been effective at mediating the problem (Tilly III, 2002) The steps of the problem solving process are straightforward and can be applied to problems of varying intensity, severity, and duration The components of the model that must be altered as the dynamics of the problem change are the resources necessary and the intrusiveness of the tools Are you currently enrolled in a graduate degree program within Teaching, Learning, and Leadership?  No  Yes Are you currently a teacher working in a school served by Heartland Area Education Agency 11?  No  Yes 10 Are you a General Education teacher?  No  Yes 11 Do you have a bachelor’s degree in elementary education?  No  Yes 65 Appendix B Demographics Questionnaire Pre-Service Teachers Please answer the following questions to the best of your ability Age: Gender:  Male  Female What is your current classification?  Freshman  Sophomore  Junior  Senior  Other (Explain: _ ) What grade you intend to teach? _ What is your primary language? _ Do you currently have an undergraduate degree?  Yes  No If yes, what was your degree in? _ Are you currently pursuing a degree in elementary education?  Yes  No 66 How many courses have you taken that are related your degree? _ Have you completed or are currently completing student teaching?  Yes  No 67 Appendix C Problem Identification and Analysis Questionnaire (PIAQ) Define the problem Provide direct evidence from the vignette to support your definition of the problem What is the student’s current level of performance? 68 What factors are contributing to the student’s academic struggles? What kind of intervention is most likely appropriate for such a problem analysis? 69 Appendix D Scoring Rubric for the PIAQ PIAQ Question 1: To what extent was the academic skill deficit correctly identified? No answer Not at All Somewhat Well Very Well To what extent was the skill deficit defined in objective and measurable terms? No answer Not at All Somewhat Well Very Well PIAQ Question 2: To what extent was direct evidence used in the answers for questions one and two? No answer Not at All Somewhat Well Very Well 70 PIAQ Question 3: To what extent was the student’s current level of performance accurately described? No answer Not at All Somewhat Well Very Well PIAQ Question 4: To what extent were contributing factors accurately identified? No answer Not at All Somewhat Well Very Well PIAQ Question 5: To what extent was an appropriate intervention identified? No answer Not at All Somewhat Well Very Well 71 Appendix E Vignette A Michelle is a seven year-old female in your second grade classroom You have noticed her struggling with reading both independently and in small group formats She has shown mastery of basic reading skills, such as letter recognition and blending However, Michelle struggles to keep up with other students when reading as a group While reading in groups, she follows what other students are reading with her finger You notice that she quickly falls behind, stops following along, and then stares off into space You decide to pull Michelle aside and have her read three passages one-on-one with you while you time her for a minute and mark her reading errors The reading passages you select are on the second grade level You calculate the numbers of word read incorrectly and correctly In order to have something to compare her scores to, you administer the same task to the rest of the students in your classroom You find that while Michelle is overall accurate when reading, the numbers of words read correctly in one minute puts her in the bottom tenth percentile compared to her peers While reading, Michelle does not sound out words but does pause before saying words sometimes and also says them very slowly 72 Appendix F Vignette B Luke is an eight year-old male in your third grade classroom He appears to struggle when reading, even when you are there to help him He has mastered basic reading skills, such as identifying letter sounds and decoding You notice that whenever Luke is asked to read something aloud for the class or to read independently, he becomes fidgety and distracts others You pull Luke aside and have him read three passages written on his grade level, for one minute each You calculate the number of words read incorrectly and correctly While you’re happy to see that Luke is an overall accurate reader, you notice that the number of words he reads correctly in a minute is obviously below his grade level In order to have something to compare his scores to, you administer the same passages to the rest of the students in your classroom Compared to the rest of the class, Luke’s number of words read correctly in a minute falls in the bottom ten percent of the class While reading, Luke does not sound out words but does pause before saying words sometimes and also says them very slowly 73 Appendix G Debriefing The research team would like to thank you for participating in this study As you know, the purpose of the present study was not initially fully disclosed to you We adopted this approach so that your performance would not be influenced by any hypothesis you may have guessed we were aiming for Our goal was not to trick you, but to allow for you to respond naturally to questions I would like to take a few minutes to tell you about what the study was investigating We were examining the problem solving skills, specifically problem identification and analysis, of pre-service and in-service teachers with regards to an academic skill deficit We were interested in comparing these skills between undergraduate students who are training to become teachers and graduate students or current teachers that have experience as teachers We were especially interested in discovering if there is a difference between what undergraduate students are taught to and what teachers are actually doing in the field to identify and analyze academic skill deficits in the classroom In addition, there was a teaching component which you all participated in Not only were we comparing your answers on the PIAQ among the groups, but we were also interested to see if particular methods of instruction would result in the greatest problem solving skills among the groups We believe this study is important because it has the potential to inform institutional curriculum for undergraduate students seeking an elementary education degree and because it could lead to improved problem solving skills among those that have participated in the study So, as you may see there are some misleading aspects to this study, but we hope that you understand that they were included for important reasons Your participation today was greatly appreciated In closing, we ask that you not discuss this study with anyone else until the end of the semester because it could affect data collection You may contact any of the researchers at the following addresses and phone numbers, should you desire to discuss your participation in the study and/or request information about the results of the study: Sarah Banks, M.S., (214) 546-3405, sarah.banks@okstate.edu, or Gary Duhon, Ph.D., (405) 744-9436, gary.duhon@okstate.edu 74 Appendix H ADULT CONSENT FORM OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY PROJECT TITLE: Assessing skills of Pre-service and In-Service Teachers INVESTIGATORS: Sarah Banks, M.S., Gary Duhon, Ph.D., Oklahoma State University PURPOSE: You are being asked to participate in the present research study because of your relevant experience in elementary education In short, this study will examine particular skill areas of undergraduate students pursuing a degree in elementary education and graduate students and current teachers who already possess a degree in elementary education The particular skills this study seeks to examine will be gathered through your responses on two questionnaires PROCEDURES Undergraduate and graduate students will be recruited from Oklahoma State University’s Stillwater and Tulsa campuses through online methods, including the SONA system and email In addition, elementary school teachers will be recruited within the schools served by Heartland Area Education Agency 11 in Iowa Undergraduate students will meet the following criteria: (a) are undergraduate students who are currently juniors in a bachelor’s degree program for elementary education, and (b) who have not yet completed classroom observations or student teaching Graduate students and current elementary education teachers will meet the following criteria: (a) currently pursuing a Master of Science degree in Teaching, Learning, and Leadership, or a Master of Science degree in Curriculum and Leadership Studies (applies only to graduate students) (b) have an undergraduate degree in elementary education, (c) have at least one year of teaching experience, (e) are not currently Special Education teachers, (f) not have an alternative certification, and (f) and are not currently other faculty, such as Speech-Language Pathologist, Occupational Therapist, Principal, etc If you agree to take part in this study, you will be asked to complete a Demographics Survey, which will collect information such as your age, gender, and highest degree earned You will also be asked to complete an additional questionnaire during the third phase of the study The data will be collected online using Qualtrics This study is designed to last a maximum of one hour The time will be divided into three phases, with Phase and Phase lasting fifteen minutes and Phase lasting thirty minutes 75 RISKS OF PARTICIPATION: The investigators believe there are no known risks associated with this research study However, a possible inconvenience may be the time it takes to complete the study Participation in this research is voluntary BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATION: You may not directly benefit from this research However, we hope that your participation in the study enhances the particular skills targeted, and that this enhancement has practical application In addition, the investigators can send you a copy of the results of the study when it has concluded if you are interested Please email one of the researchers if you wish to have the results of the study sent to you after its conclusion The study will be offered on SONA for undergraduate students who are eligible to participate in the study and who are enrolled in courses offering extra credit opportunities Those who meet the predetermined criteria will be chosen to participate in the study for an extra credit opportunity Students who are not eligible to participate may receive extra credit through other opportunities already presented by professors of classes they are enrolled in or through other studies on SONA CONFIDENTIALITY: The records of this study will be kept private Any written results will discuss group findings and will not include information that will identify you Research records will include a list of SONA ID numbers of participants and will be stored securely using a password; only researchers and individuals responsible for research oversight will have access to these records If you are a student participating for extra credit for a class, your professor will be notified of your participation but will not have access to any of the data collected Your responses on the surveys will be kept confidential and will not be connected to your name This consent form, your responses to the surveys, and the list of SONA ID numbers will be maintained in paper form in a secure filing cabinet owned by the principle investigators, as well as in electronic form in a computer file that is password protected and will be only accessible to the principle investigators After years from the date of data collection, the electronic data will be deleted and any paper copies will be destroyed using a paper shredder COMPENSATION: You will not receive payment for your participation in this research study CONTACTS : You may contact any of the researchers at the following addresses and phone numbers, should you desire to discuss your participation in the study and/or request information about the results of the study: Sarah Banks, M.S., (214) 546-3405, sarah.banks@okstate.edu, or Gary Duhon, Ph.D., (405) 744-9436, gary.duhon@okstate.edu If you have questions about your rights as a research 76 volunteer, you may contact Dr Shelia Kennison, IRB Chair, 219 Cordell North, Stillwater, OK 74078, 405-744-3377 or irb@okstate.edu PARTICIPANT RIGHTS: I understand that my participation is voluntary, that there is no penalty for refusal to participate, and that I am free to withdraw my consent and participation in this project at any time, without penalty CONSENT DOCUMENTATION: I have been fully informed about the procedures listed here I am aware of what I will be asked to and of the benefits of my participation I also understand the following statements: I affirm that I am 18 years of age or older.I am aware that the data may be available for future publication after the completion of the study However, my data will be kept confidential at all times during the study It is recommended that you print a copy of this consent page for your records before you begin the study by clicking below If you choose to participate: Please, click YES if you choose to participate By clicking YES, you are indicating that you freely and voluntarily and agree to participate in this study and you also acknowledge that you are at least 18 years of age 77 Appendix I IRB Approval Letter 78 VITA SARAH ELIZABETH BANKS Candidate for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Thesis: ASSESSING PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS AMONG PRE-SERVICE AND IN-SERVICE TEACHERS WITH REGARDS TO ACADEMIC SKILL DEFICITS Major Field: Educational Psychology with option in School Psychology Biographical: Education: Completed the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Psychology with an option in School Psychology at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma in July, 2014 Completed the requirements for the Master of Science in Educational Psychology with an option in School Psychometrics at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma in 2010 Completed the requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Child Learning and Development and the Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas in 2009 Experience: 120hr Education Field Experiences Practicum at Skyline Elementary, Fall ‘09 240hr Shadow Practicum at Richmond Elementary, Fall ’10 - Spring ‘11 600hr School Based Practicum at Richmond Elementary, Fall ’11 - Spring ‘12 400hr Clinic Practicum at the School Psychology Clinic, Fall ’12 - Spring ‘13 Professional Memberships: School Psychology Graduate Organization (SPGO), Student Member Southwestern Psychological Association (SWPA), Student Member National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), Graduate Affiliate American Psychological Association (APA), Division 16, Student Member