Amy Azano | Virginia Tech (original) (raw)

Papers by Amy Azano

Research paper thumbnail of Addressing the Rural Context in Literacies Research

Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of Exploring Teacher Beliefs and Use of Acceleration, Ability Grouping, and Formative Assessment

Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 2014

Research paper thumbnail of An Evaluation of Test Speededness in an Assessment for Third-Grade Gifted Students

Journal of Advanced Academics, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of Confronting Challenges at the Intersection of Rurality, Place, and Teacher Preparation: Improving Efforts in Teacher Education to Staff Rural Schools

Recruiting and retaining highly qualified teachers in rural schools is a persistent struggle in m... more Recruiting and retaining highly qualified teachers in rural schools is a persistent struggle in many countries, including the U.S. While rural education researchers have long lamented the struggle to recruit and retain teachers, there is relatively little known about intentional efforts to prepare teachers, specifically, for rural classrooms. Salient challenges related to poverty, geographic isolation, low teacher salaries, and a lack of community amenities seem to trump perks of living in rural communities. Recognizing this issue as a complex and hard to solve fixture in the composition of rural communities, we sought to understand how teacher preparation programs might better prepare preservice teachers for successful student teaching placements and, ideally, eventual careers in rural schools. In this study, we explore teacher candidates' perceptions of rurality while examining how specific theory, pedagogy, and practice influence their feelings of preparedness for working in a rural school. Using pre-and post-questionnaire data, classroom observations, and reflections, we assess the effectiveness of deliberate efforts in our teacher preparation program to increase readiness for rural teaching. In our analysis and discussion, we draw on critical and sociocultural theories to understand the experiences of a cohort of teacher candidates as they explore personal histories, the importance of place, expectations, and teaching strategies for rural contexts. We conclude our article with recommendations for enhancing teacher preparation programs in ways that might result in significant progress toward the goal of staffing rural schools with the highly skilled teachers all students deserve.

Research paper thumbnail of Exploring the Relationship Between Fidelity of Implementation and Academic Achievement in a Third-Grade Gifted Curriculum: A Mixed-Methods Study

Journal of Advanced Academics, 2011

... Amy Azano1, Tracy C. Missett1, Carolyn M. Callahan1, Sarah Oh1, Marguerite Brunner1, Lisa H. ... more ... Amy Azano1, Tracy C. Missett1, Carolyn M. Callahan1, Sarah Oh1, Marguerite Brunner1, Lisa H. Foster, and Tonya R. Moon1 ... the degree to which teachers who implement such curricula do so with fidelity to the research-based design (Lillehoj, Griffin, & Spoth, 2004; Lynch & O ...

Research paper thumbnail of Exploring Place and Practicing Justice: Preparing Pre-Service Teachers for Success in Rural Schools

This article examines efforts made by a teacher preparation program to provide pre-service teache... more This article examines efforts made by a teacher preparation program to provide pre-service teachers with an introduction
to the rural context, strategies for place-based pedagogy, and a fi eld experience in rural schools. The study explores the
infl uence of these efforts, along with how students’ sense of place and educational upbringing, might be related to pre-service
teachers’ perceptions of preparedness for teaching in a rural school. The struggle to recruit and retain highly qualifi ed
teachers in rural schools is ubiquitous in the literature on rural education, but there is limited research on preparing preservice
teachers for rural schools. We draw on critical and sociocultural theories to understand the experiences of four
teacher candidates as they negotiate their personal histories, expectations, and experiences in rural teaching contexts. While
exposure to rural life has been credited with increasing the likelihood for teaching in rural schools, we suggest that exposure
is only one aspect of preparing successful rural teachers.

Research paper thumbnail of Addressing the Rural Context in Literacies Research

Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of Exploring Teacher Beliefs and Use of Acceleration, Ability Grouping, and Formative Assessment

Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 2014

Research paper thumbnail of An Evaluation of Test Speededness in an Assessment for Third-Grade Gifted Students

Journal of Advanced Academics, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of Confronting Challenges at the Intersection of Rurality, Place, and Teacher Preparation: Improving Efforts in Teacher Education to Staff Rural Schools

Recruiting and retaining highly qualified teachers in rural schools is a persistent struggle in m... more Recruiting and retaining highly qualified teachers in rural schools is a persistent struggle in many countries, including the U.S. While rural education researchers have long lamented the struggle to recruit and retain teachers, there is relatively little known about intentional efforts to prepare teachers, specifically, for rural classrooms. Salient challenges related to poverty, geographic isolation, low teacher salaries, and a lack of community amenities seem to trump perks of living in rural communities. Recognizing this issue as a complex and hard to solve fixture in the composition of rural communities, we sought to understand how teacher preparation programs might better prepare preservice teachers for successful student teaching placements and, ideally, eventual careers in rural schools. In this study, we explore teacher candidates' perceptions of rurality while examining how specific theory, pedagogy, and practice influence their feelings of preparedness for working in a rural school. Using pre-and post-questionnaire data, classroom observations, and reflections, we assess the effectiveness of deliberate efforts in our teacher preparation program to increase readiness for rural teaching. In our analysis and discussion, we draw on critical and sociocultural theories to understand the experiences of a cohort of teacher candidates as they explore personal histories, the importance of place, expectations, and teaching strategies for rural contexts. We conclude our article with recommendations for enhancing teacher preparation programs in ways that might result in significant progress toward the goal of staffing rural schools with the highly skilled teachers all students deserve.

Research paper thumbnail of Exploring the Relationship Between Fidelity of Implementation and Academic Achievement in a Third-Grade Gifted Curriculum: A Mixed-Methods Study

Journal of Advanced Academics, 2011

... Amy Azano1, Tracy C. Missett1, Carolyn M. Callahan1, Sarah Oh1, Marguerite Brunner1, Lisa H. ... more ... Amy Azano1, Tracy C. Missett1, Carolyn M. Callahan1, Sarah Oh1, Marguerite Brunner1, Lisa H. Foster, and Tonya R. Moon1 ... the degree to which teachers who implement such curricula do so with fidelity to the research-based design (Lillehoj, Griffin, & Spoth, 2004; Lynch & O ...

Research paper thumbnail of Exploring Place and Practicing Justice: Preparing Pre-Service Teachers for Success in Rural Schools

This article examines efforts made by a teacher preparation program to provide pre-service teache... more This article examines efforts made by a teacher preparation program to provide pre-service teachers with an introduction
to the rural context, strategies for place-based pedagogy, and a fi eld experience in rural schools. The study explores the
infl uence of these efforts, along with how students’ sense of place and educational upbringing, might be related to pre-service
teachers’ perceptions of preparedness for teaching in a rural school. The struggle to recruit and retain highly qualifi ed
teachers in rural schools is ubiquitous in the literature on rural education, but there is limited research on preparing preservice
teachers for rural schools. We draw on critical and sociocultural theories to understand the experiences of four
teacher candidates as they negotiate their personal histories, expectations, and experiences in rural teaching contexts. While
exposure to rural life has been credited with increasing the likelihood for teaching in rural schools, we suggest that exposure
is only one aspect of preparing successful rural teachers.