The cognitive and performance benefits of group work in undergraduate courses depend on understanding how to structure groups to promote communication and comfort while also promoting diversity and reducing conflict. The current study utilized social network analysis combined with self-reported survey data from 555 students in 155 groups to…

Student success is dependent on teacher quality; therefore, it is imperative that principals hire the teachers most likely to experience success as measured by the impact on student outcomes. This study investigated teacher hiring processes to determine the extent to which practices that are supported by selection science and teacher quality…

Persistent and consistent criticism of our nation's educational system has increased pressure on school districts and teacher education programs to improve the quality of teachers in our public schools. While there is research regarding the characteristics of effective teachers, the difficulty is often in identifying and hiring those teacher…

Preservice teachers often build E-portfolios of their work prior to graduation, but their use beyond the college classroom is not clear. To identify if E-portfolios are used during the teacher hiring process, 170 administrators from 84 (K-12) schools in eight North Georgia districts were surveyed regarding their use of E-portfolio materials. Based…

This quantitative study investigated the relationship between teacher dispositions, subject content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and reasons that school principals recommend non-renewal of teachers' contracts. Nearly 2,000 school principals in 13 states completed an emailed survey. In deciding whether to non-renew a teacher contract,…

Soon after news of the child molestation scandal involving Jerry Sandusky, a former Pennsylvania State University assistant football coach, broke in November 2011, the development and alumni relations staff gathered for a town hall-style meeting. "The Penn Stater" has tackled controversial topics before: student riots, a faculty member…