As a result of the varied implementation of Response to Intervention (RTI) and uneven occurrence of professional development, special education teachers struggle to adapt to new roles and responsibilities. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore the role of special education teachers in implementing and monitoring RTI, the role…

Completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the first and most important step for students to receive their portion of the billions of grant aid dollars disbursed in federal student financial aid; however, every year many low income and community college students fail to complete the FAFSA. Over the past twenty years,…

Using the Social Presence Model (SPM), the authors explore the teacher and student experience at the North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS), the largest public online secondary school where teachers design and develop the curriculum. Through a series of surveys, focus groups, and interviews, this two-year mixed methods study investigates the…

The purpose of this study was to analyze the beliefs about inclusion and teaching students with disabilities of physical education (PE) majors from universities in North Carolina (NC). The participants were PE majors (n = 147) and other enrolled students (n = 30) at colleges and universities in NC. The research method was descriptive survey…

This research clarifies the public support of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in terms of acceptance, content, timing, and effectiveness as it may inform practice in the United States. The historical context of public opinion, as well as a summary of the efficacy of abstinence only education (AOE) versus CSE in the scientific literature,…

This article offers an overview of the framework that Sampson County Public Schools (North Carolina) used to critically reflect on the current state of their middle grades schools. The article also highlights the changes that resulted from the district-wide analysis and the ways in which these changes led to a significant increase in the academic…

Results from the 2013 NAEP assessments show fourth-and eighth-graders making progress in mathematics and reading. Nationally representative samples of more than 376,000 fourth-graders and 341,000 eighth-graders were assessed in either mathematics or reading in 2013. Results are reported for public and private school students in the nation, and for…

Results from the 2013 NAEP assessments show fourth- and eighth-graders making progress in mathematics and reading. Nationally representative samples of more than 376,000 fourth-graders and 341,000 eighth-graders were assessed in either mathematics or reading in 2013. Results are reported for public and private school students in the nation, and…

Adolescents are at increased risk of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the Southern states of the USA, where rates among youth are higher than in the rest of the nation. This paper reports on findings from a pilot study of an HIV prevention intervention that uses interactive theatre to educate young people about sexual health. The…

This dissertation was designed to examine the degree to which the fidelity of implementation of the Renaissance Learning program impacts teacher instruction, as well as teacher perception of student reading motivation and achievement. The teachers at a western North Carolina elementary school used the Renaissance Learning program for over 15…

To investigate the current practices of schools and school counselors working with students with chronic illness and the protocols for providing these services, the authors conducted a mixed design, grounded theory study, with an eye toward pinpointing any trends or patterns in service provision. They identified a collaborative, developmental,…

This paper will share the research on the use of social media (specifically Facebook) in an effort to promote critical thinking and reflection. It purports that although often overlooked as a teaching, learning and assessment strategy, social media is a viable method that supports cooperative learning through the encouragement of thoughtful…

The North Carolina State University Biotechnology Program offers laboratory-intensive courses to both undergraduate and graduate students. In "Manipulation and Expression of Recombinant DNA," students are separated into undergraduate and graduate sections for the laboratory, but not the lecture, component. Evidence has shown that…

This quantitative study investigated reasons that school principals recommend non-renewal of probationary teachers' contracts. Principal survey results from three regions of the US (Midwest, Rocky Mountains, & Southeast) were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U statistical procedures, while significance was tested applying a…

Participation in learning communities, and the construction of knowledge in communities of practice, are important considerations in the use of 3D immersive worlds. This article describes the creation of this type of learning environment in AETZone, an immersive virtual environment in use within graduate programs at Appalachian State University…