Date of Conferral

2020

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Heather Caldwell

Abstract

Use of learner-centered teaching strategies (LCTS) in the classroom practices improves academic achievement. Secondary educators do not consistently demonstrate the use of these strategies. The purpose of this study was to investigate how secondary educators were using LCTS in their instruction and what support they perceived to need to use such strategies. The conceptual framework for this dissertation was based on the Dreyfus and Dreyfus model of skill acquisition. The research questions focused on how secondary educators use LCTS and the support they need to use these strategies in their classrooms. This study was a basic qualitative design that examined the classroom practices of secondary teachers and the support they needed to use LCTS. The data collection instrument was an individual interview protocol of 12 randomly selected secondary education teachers from a midwestern high school in the United States. In vivo and pattern coding of the transcribed interview data and thematic analysis revealed 3 overarching themes: (a) student ownership, (b) use of LCTS, and (c) content-specific professional development. The overall findings of this study indicated that secondary educators used LCTS in their classrooms by having students take ownership of their learning and using a variety of LCTS in their classes. The findings also indicated that teachers considered content-specific professional development an important means of support for using LCTS. The use of LCTS by teachers increases student engagement, which then improves academic achievement. When academic achievement increases for all students, positive social change occurs. Secondary school administrators and teacher preparation programs would benefit from the research by providing them knowledge for developing professional development that supports the use of LCTS.

Download

Share

 
COinS