{"title":"Rural High School Principals and the Challenge of Standards-Based Grading","authors":"Tom Buckmiller, M. Townsley, Robyn Cooper","doi":"10.3776/tpre.2020.v10n1p92-102","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3776/tpre.2020.v10n1p92-102","url":null,"abstract":"The purpose of this study was to better understand how principals in rural schools are thinking about assessment and grading practices and if they anticipate implementing policy changes in the near future that may require increased support. Principals of schools in rural areas often face challenges that are significantly different from those of their urban and suburban counterparts. The researchers used a mixed-method survey to better understand if progressive grading policies were a part of the vision for principals of rural high schools, if they possessed conceptual underpinnings of such practices, and if they believed they had the capacity within their districts to lead teachers toward more effective grading policies. A high frequency of high school principals in rural schools said standards-based grading (SBG) was a part of their 5-year vision. These principals also showed relatively high mean scores of standards-based assessment literacy, and moderately high percentages believed they have the resources and capacity to support SBG. The researchers thus conclude that there is a high likelihood that many rural high schools will be implementing some form of SBG within the next 5 years.","PeriodicalId":93826,"journal":{"name":"Theory and practice in rural education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43692514","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tena M. Versland, Kathryn Will, N. Lux, James Hicks
{"title":"Envisioning the Rural Practicum","authors":"Tena M. Versland, Kathryn Will, N. Lux, James Hicks","doi":"10.3776/tpre.2020.v10n1p103-118","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3776/tpre.2020.v10n1p103-118","url":null,"abstract":"Recruitment and retention of teachers in rural areas continue to dominate educational narratives across the country. School districts, state agencies, and university schools of education have instituted strategies including financial incentives, alternative standards and licensure criteria, and grow-your-own programs that target underemployed locals and paraprofessionals for accelerated licensure. While each strategy may enjoy situational success, none is a panacea for all circumstances. However, there is growing interest in the development of university and school district partnerships in creating innovative solutions to rural recruitment and retention issues. This study investigates the efficacy of a partnership between several small rural districts and a state university partnering to create and test a contextualized clinical practice model. The Montana State University rural practicum placed 13 preservice teachers in a week-long, immersive clinical practice in rural, remote schools in Montana, for them to authentically experience the rural context and for researchers to determine if such an experience might positively affect recruitment and retention efforts. The study used a community-based participatory research method to ensure equal participation of both university and rural school partners in co-creating the experience and in collecting and analyzing data. Results suggest that the rural practicum experience positively affected preservice teacher perceptions of rural teaching and rural communities. Rural school leaders and university personnel also agreed that the model held promise for recruiting and retaining teachers in rural areas.","PeriodicalId":93826,"journal":{"name":"Theory and practice in rural education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42419998","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Karen S Voytecki, Marsha Craft Tripp, K. Wilhite, S. Warren
{"title":"Video Grand Rounds in Rural Teacher Preparation","authors":"Karen S Voytecki, Marsha Craft Tripp, K. Wilhite, S. Warren","doi":"10.3776/tpre.2020.v10n1p119-140","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3776/tpre.2020.v10n1p119-140","url":null,"abstract":"Video Grand Rounds (VGR) were used at a rural university to prepare special education teacher candidates. Using the VGR structure, teacher candidates were taught to understand, observe, and articulate observations of classroom instruction through the use of authentic classroom videos created locally by K-12 rural special and general educators. The videos include teachers working with learners with disabilities and implementing instruction aligned with the general and adapted curriculum standards. In this paper, we report the effects of VGR on teacher candidates’ development of observation skills in an early experience course in this mixed methods study and share the design and development of templates for implementing this model.","PeriodicalId":93826,"journal":{"name":"Theory and practice in rural education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43484928","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Thinking Outside the Box","authors":"Candy Skyhar","doi":"10.3776/tpre.2020.v10n1p42-72","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3776/tpre.2020.v10n1p42-72","url":null,"abstract":"Despite the fact that they are all unique, rural school districts/divisions (in Canada and elsewhere) face similar challenges when it comes to providing effective professional development (PD) for teachers. Issues related to funding, geography, staffing, and contextual differences impact the availability of PD opportunities for educators in rural contexts; however, rural school divisions possess many strengths from which solutions to these challenges might be fashioned. The question of how rural divisions might construct local teacher PD models that draw on local strengths, mitigate local challenges, and support teacher professional growth is critical to the provision of quality education for rural students. Through a single-case study design, this study examined the effectiveness of a rural initiative, the Numeracy Cohort, that was locally constructed to mitigate challenges and improve mathematics instruction and student numeracy outcomes in a school division in Manitoba, Canada. Findings from the study suggest that (a) the Numeracy Cohort model was effective in accommodating contextual differences and mitigating challenges related to funding, geography and staffing through several promising practices; (b) the PD provided to teachers was effective in supporting teacher professional growth in several ways; (c) attention to the multiple nested and dynamic contexts in which teachers worked was an important and effective element of the model; (d) fostering social interaction (among teachers and with more competent others) was important for teacher learning; and (e) finding ways to foster human engagement through mediating tools for learning (e.g., dialogue, reflection, and action research) was critical to the model’s success.","PeriodicalId":93826,"journal":{"name":"Theory and practice in rural education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48295186","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Trauma-Informed Practices in Rural Education","authors":"Lauren Davis, R. Buchanan","doi":"10.3776/tpre.v10n1p24-41","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3776/tpre.v10n1p24-41","url":null,"abstract":"The overall wellness and well-being of today’s youth are of concern owing to high levels of stress, as well as other mental and physical health issues. Academic success can be negatively impacted because of the interconnectivity of these issues, along with traumatic childhood experiences and high numbers of adverse childhood experiences. In rural areas, these issues can be even more pronounced owing to issues related to socioeconomic status and high rates of poverty. Therefore, it is important to explore interventions in the educational setting that could mitigate the negative impact of these challenges. This pilot study examined the relationship between a trauma-informed approach incorporating yoga/mindfulness and academic, social, and emotional behaviors among fourth graders in a rural academic setting. Student and teacher pre- and postintervention survey data indicate the intervention had academic, social, and emotional benefits.","PeriodicalId":93826,"journal":{"name":"Theory and practice in rural education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43140648","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Book Review","authors":"K. Dorr","doi":"10.3776/tpre.v10n1p141-144","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3776/tpre.v10n1p141-144","url":null,"abstract":"A review of the book: No Longer Forgotten: The Triumphs and Struggles of Rural Education in America, edited by Michael Q. McShane and Andy Smarick. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018. ISBN: 978-1-4758-4608-9. 177 pages.","PeriodicalId":93826,"journal":{"name":"Theory and practice in rural education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45528848","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Role of Rural School Leaders in a School-Community Partnership","authors":"Sarah J. Zuckerman","doi":"10.3776/tpre.2020.v10n1p73-91","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3776/tpre.2020.v10n1p73-91","url":null,"abstract":"Rural schools play central roles in their communities, and rural education scholars advocate for rural school-community partnerships to support school and community renewal. Across the United States, including in rural areas, formal models for school-community partnerships have been scaled up. The literature on rural principals highlights their roles in developing school-community partnerships, yet questions remain as to how school leaders engage in such partnerships. Using boundary-spanning leadership as a theoretical lens, this descriptive study examines the role of district and school leaders in a regional school-community partnership, including as founding members, champions of collaboration, cheerleaders for the partnership, and amplifiers of often excluded voices.","PeriodicalId":93826,"journal":{"name":"Theory and practice in rural education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44940370","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Place-based Innovations for Rural Education","authors":"Elizabeth J. Japczyk Schuler","doi":"10.3776/tpre.v10n1p2-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3776/tpre.v10n1p2-5","url":null,"abstract":"This article provides an overview of the contents of volume 10, issue 1 of Theory & Practice in Rural Education.","PeriodicalId":93826,"journal":{"name":"Theory and practice in rural education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41526254","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"TPRE Editorial Board, Volume 9 Issue 2","authors":"Diane D. Kester","doi":"10.3776/tpre.2019.v9n2p92","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3776/tpre.2019.v9n2p92","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":93826,"journal":{"name":"Theory and practice in rural education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49200572","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Calls for Proposals","authors":"Diane D. Kester","doi":"10.3776/tpre.2019.v9n2p91-93","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3776/tpre.2019.v9n2p91-93","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":93826,"journal":{"name":"Theory and practice in rural education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48069378","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}