Virtual reality is a rapidly growing technological innovation that continues to garner attention for use in education. This self-study of two teacher educators spans immersive head-mounted virtual reality implementation from 2014-2023 with middle-grades students, preservice teachers, and adult learners. Empirical data sources include learner…

Middle school students experience decreased academic motivation and declining achievement without proper classroom strategies and academic support. This single case study explores the parallels between child and adult education theories to identify a practical approach to adolescent learning and teaching by identifying effective educational…

This exploratory study, in which the participants portrayed a critical role, aimed to discover the perceptions of professional development in changing educator practice at the secondary level with middle school teachers in an urban school district. The data collection process included semi-structured interviews with nine secondary teachers via…

The effective continuing professional development (CPD) programs primarily aim to have an impact on teachers' knowledge bases, beliefs, and views and their classroom practices, which rationally lead most of the researchers to investigate those changes on teachers primarily. Although neglected, the interrelationship between CPD programs and…

Self-directed learning (SDL) is a critical success factor for massive open online course (MOOC) learners. This meta-analysis study examined the influence of SDL on learning outcomes in MOOCs by extracting the effect sizes of 60 samples from 14 studies published between January 2010 and April 2022. The results showed that the overall effects of SDL…

Background: Empirical evidence increasingly suggests that leadership which motivates, supports, and sustains the professional learning of teachers has a knock-on effect for both student learning and school improvement. The current study was conducted in China, where the workplace learning of teachers is embedded in a strong tradition of…

This mixed methods study was conducted to investigate the impact the knowledge, skills, dispositions, and coaching style of an instructional coach has on middle grades teacher instructional practices. The results of this study can be used to inform school leaders, administrators, and instructional coaches on methods for improving instructional…

In this paper, we report the results of a qualitative study examining the development of leadership competencies as Montessori school leaders gain experience using a coaching protocol with their teachers. Extending previous work, the emphasis is on the school leaders' specific roles as instructional supervisors leading reflective practices.…

Practices that take into account youth and adult education (YAE) are still rare in the literature.The present work applied an investigative activity with YAE students from the last year of middle education, in the discipline of sciences, about the methods of construction of science and tests of variables. From the categorization of metacognitive…

Diverse learners attending online K-12 schools deserve high quality and accessible educational programs. This research studies the preparation, knowledge, and practices of online middle school general and special education teachers in relation to supporting the needs of diverse learners, namely students with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD). A…

The purpose of this study is to examine teachers' social justice-based practices, the outcomes of those practices, the leadership roles revealed in the process, and the problems experienced. The sample of the study consisted of 13 teachers who were reached through the snowball sampling method. 10 middle school and 3 primary school teachers working…

This Data Point examines parent and/or guardian involvement in various school-based engagement opportunities before the coronavirus pandemic. This information was reported by U.S. public school principals on the principal survey of the 2017-18 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS). The NTPS is a sample survey of public and private K-12…

This phenomenological, action research study engaged a sample of teachers from a large middle school in northern South Carolina in developing a protocol and recommendations for the use of peer observations that would provide meaningful professional development for teachers at this school. Data collection methods consisted of interviews, focus…

Student discipline and subsequent placements are a common problem in education. This qualitative phenomenological study addressed a gap in the literature by discovering the experiences of middle school teachers and administrators regarding student discipline, classroom removal, and assignment of students to alternative education. This research…

The eParenting: High-Tech Kids program addresses the positive role technology can play in parenting 9- to 14-year-olds. Delivered via middle schools' parent email lists, the program comprises 56 "posts" (articles) related to positive uses of digital media/technology in parenting preteens and teens. In 2016 alone, nearly 35,000 Wisconsin…