This qualitative study investigates the development of coaching expertise within Division I college football, conceptualizing the coaching staff as Mission Critical Teams (MCTs) within a situated learning framework. Through phenomenological analysis of 27 semi-structured interviews with current and former Division I head football coaches, this…

The 21st-century global economy has significantly changed the landscape of the American workplace. Apprenticeship training programs are gaining momentum as a postsecondary training approach to fill growing worker shortages for industry-specific needs and prepare workers for new or expanding industries (Fitzpayne & Pollack, 2018; Freyer et al.,…

The purpose of this teacher-practitioner research study was to examine how elementary teacher candidates engaged in sensemaking about the learning process within the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and to further examine how they engaged in sensemaking about NGSS teaching and curriculum development. Interviews and course artifacts from 14…

This dissertation investigates the utilization of authentic reading materials in ESL textbooks and the role that textbook-based tasks serve in enabling ESL classrooms to mirror the target environment. Three original studies are conducted, and two models are designed and applied in order to address the research questions, which aim to establish a…

This transcendental phenomenology study was designed to examine the phenomena of the paid internship portion of the North Carolina Principal Fellows Program (NCPFP) through specific graduates of the universities that offer the scholarship. The study aimed to answer the following research question: How does the paid internship experience from the…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how contingent graphic design faculty in the US describe and interpret knowledge applications and real-world experiences from their accumulated conceptual repertoire in the execution of the classroom environment. Data was collected from 12 one-on-one semi-structured interviews and 16…

For second language (L2) learners of Chinese who are native speakers of alphabetic languages, it is common that even after years of learning, reading discourse-length authentic Chinese texts (e.g., newspaper articles and novels) is still an intimidating, laborious, and frustrating task. Two factors, among others, contribute to this problem. One is…

A growing body of literature focusing on undergraduate biology education calls for students to engage in the ways of thinking, feeling, and doing that reflect those in which biologists engage. Such reform efforts suggest that learning is best fostered when students engage in practices, concepts, and scientific reasoning as they endeavor to explain…

In 2013, a new set of science standards was introduced for K-12 science education, called the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), which focused on three dimensions of science learning that work together: disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and science and engineering practices. These standards are novel in their emphasis on…

At Ciudad Community College (pseudonym) and across the Colorado Community College System, the course competencies for Technical Writing I (ENG 131) have more than tripled to accommodate ENG 131 as a guaranteed transfer course equivalent to ENG 121: English Composition I. Unfortunately, this has had the effect of increasing the workload for…

Learning engagement and career-relevant skills are both important elements in learning. Unfortunately, there is a lack of research related to learning engagement in massive open online courses (MOOCs) from MOOC instructors' point of view. Research is also needed on MOOC instructors' strategies to provide career-relevant content to the learners. In…

This qualitative research study explored the procedures and instructional practices of implementing game-based learning within a course and/or curriculum in higher education. Game-based learning is structured to integrate gameplay into a subject matter to increase a student's ability to acquire and apply knowledge to the real world. Furthermore,…

The dominant image of mathematics as an abstract, universal, disinterested, and pure body of knowledge both misrepresents disciplinary practice and alienates many students. Undergraduate proof-based courses such as real analysis, which are supposed to introduce students to contemporary academic mathematics, often contribute to such idealized…

Problem solving is one of the most essential aspects of human life. Every day, people engage in problem solving any time they attempt to resolve uncertain issues or questions. Of utmost importance, in order to resolve problems effectively, people must "build them" by interacting with situations. In other words, people must actively…

The purpose of this quantitative study is to investigate the impact of technology training offered by teacher education programs on preservice teachers' TPACK development. Specifically, the study aims to investigate how the SQD strategies of: 1) teacher educators acting as role models, 2) learning technology by design, 3) collaborating with peers,…