Research Article Co-Authored by Dr. Polka and Rosina Mete
Dr. Walter S. Polka and Doctoral Candidate, Rosina Mete, of Niagara University co-published an article with a colleague from Indiana in a Refereed International Journal and presented their study findings at a national conference in Pittsburgh, Pa this summer.
Dr. Walter S. Polka, Professor of Professional Studies in the College of Education and Coordinator of the Niagara University PhD Program in Leadership and Policy and Ms. Rosina Mete, Niagara University PhD Candidate recently had an article published in the Spring Edition of Educational Planning, the journal of the International Society for Educational Planning (ISEP) with Dr. Terrell Peace of Huntington University in Indiana. The title of their article is: Assessing and promoting student-centered teaching and learning practices using a quantitative educational planning tool: Results of 2016 Indiana case study. This specific study was part of the national research on differentiating instruction coordinated by Dr. Polka and conducted by university research teams in the following 12 states: Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Virginia.
Drs. Polka and Peace along with Ms. Mete and representatives from those various regional research teams presented additional information about the status of their research regarding the discrepancy between teachers’ desired use of student-centered constructivist approaches in their educational settings and their actual use of those differentiating approaches at the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) Conference in Pittsburgh on Monday, August 7. The Indiana sample consisted of 111 practicing classroom teachers from a representative Indiana school district in Northeast Indiana. The results of this 2016 Indiana study were compared with benchmark data previously collected in other states using the same qualitative survey instrument that was originally developed by Dr. Polka titled: Desired and Current Use of Constructivist Activities and Techniques. The goal of the general research project is to illustrate that there are numerous examples of teachers employing various differentiation techniques and strategies in their respective teaching-learning settings who can serve as key consultants to their colleagues to assist them in becoming more student-centered in their instructional approaches.
This articles published in Educational Planning are available online (ISEP). The following reference citation is provided for those interested in more detailed information about this Indiana research component of the national study: Peace, T., Polka, W., Mete, R. (2017). Assessing and promoting student-centered teaching and learning practices using a quantitative educational planning tool: Results of 2016 Indiana case study. Educational Planning. 24(2),