It has become imperative for teachers to receive support to meet the challenges of virtual learning practices as the number of virtual schools increases. This qualitative case study explored virtual instructional coaches' educational experiences within an online virtual charter school in the Central Southwest utilizing Garrison et al.'s (2000)…

This applied dissertation was designed to determine if cooperative learning strategies increased student engagement in a virtual elementary classroom. The purposes of this study were (a) to determine whether the implementation of cooperative learning strategies increased student engagement and (b) to explore student perceptions of engagement. In…

This study examined incivility in virtual classrooms among graduate students in behavioral sciences, focusing on the challenges of maintaining respectful online environments. The research question addressed how online faculty identify and manage incivilities in graduate programs in behavioral health science. The theoretical framework integrated…

Even though women have made progress in entering the workforce, they still face barriers to leadership. HiPo programs are a common strategy organizations use to develop their future leaders. These programs focus on equipping HiPos with skills and opportunities to support their growth and prepare them for leadership roles. However, little research…

The purpose of this case study was to evaluate how community college IT students interact with and succeed in virtual labs to determine the impact of these digital environments on learning outcomes. The research employed a comprehensive range of data collection methods, including pre-interview questionnaires, interviews, and observations, to…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how science students described their experiences of collaboration in a virtual learning environment at a community college in the Midwestern United States between 2020 - 2022. The literature review indicated the need to understand how science students described their experience of…

The problem this study addressed was that K-12 special education teachers were challenged with using effective instructional and engagement practices in a virtual setting for students with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to explore K-12 special education teachers' experiences with using effective instructional and engagement practices…

The purpose of this study is to explore teachers' experiences promoting equity and building student-teacher relationships in K-12 online and virtual classrooms. Research studies exploring and addressing equity in education are ample within the body of research, but there is limited research conducted in or about the K-12 virtual learning…

The COVID pandemic and ongoing risks to school safety drastically increased interest in full-time virtual school enrollment at the start of the decade. However, virtual schools have historically struggled to achieve mathematics outcomes comparable to their face-to-face counterparts and are at risk if they do not find ways to improve student…

This mixed methods action research intervention study analyzed the influence of social music improvisation (SMI) on students' behaviors and perceptions of their connectedness to others in a virtual middle school classroom setting. Nine 10-minute SMI sessions allowed for the accumulation of data, with two additional pre-sessions being informative…

This dissertation explored the challenges and adaptations made by educators and service providers in creating an inclusive virtual learning environment for students with special needs, particularly focusing on the experiences of educators working with deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students. Grounded in the identified gaps in the literature, the…

The problem addressed through this qualitative study was that middle school teachers in a suburban public school district in the southern United States were inconsistently using Google Classroom in their classrooms. At the project site, middle school teachers were creating a blended learning environment; however, administrators expected them to…

Many people consider teaching a calling; the profession is predicated on helping others while yielding little personal gain. A teacher's primary goal is to deliver a valuable and engaging educational opportunity. The onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic in 2020 created challenges to reaching this goal for many teachers across the United States…

This qualitative phenomenological study examines special education teachers' perspectives to understand how virtual learning environments can support, through social-emotional interactions, the cognitive development of students with low-incident disabilities in a homebound setting. For this study, which was based on Vygotsky's sociocultural theory…

This dissertation explores the utilization of internet-connected devices to address the accessibility challenges associated with microscopy in the field of biology. Traditional microscopy devices are often costly, limiting their widespread adoption in laboratories. To overcome this barrier, we developed a cost-effective multi-well imaging device…