The ongoing trend in research regarding feedback has been to explore quantitative assessment. Garnering support more recently is qualitative narrative feedback in support of formative assessment. This type of feedback offers insight into expectations as well as offer additional knowledge gained. It enables students to improve their performance…

This study investigated the effects of two instructional approaches -- Discovery Learning Scientific Community Laboratories (DL-SCL; Treatment) and non-DLSCL laboratories (Control) -- on students' conceptual understanding, epistemological views, and academic achievement in a Physics-1 lab. Conceptual understanding was measured pre/post using the…

The demand for STEM trained workers continues to increase not only in the United States, but globally. Reports have indicated that the United States is not doing a good job encouraging students to pursue STEM oriented degrees. In particular, it has become increasingly important to emphasize STEM connections at an early level in order to encourage…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of microblogging as an authentic real-world technology in a middle school classroom in response to the 2010 Department of Education's call to provide students with more relevant digital experiences. The non-equivalent control group, pretest-posttest design study was used to determine if…

Lesson study, a teaching and learning strategy used in Japan, is a new area of consideration for teacher professional development in the United States. An important component of the lesson study process is the role of the facilitator. The intent of this study was to investigate the role of the facilitator in the lesson study process relative to…

This was a quantitative study utilized to determine the effect of the Physio-Cat Program on improving reading-comprehension scores in reading for students in kindergarten through Grade 5 at an elementary school in Dade County Florida. The Physio-Cat Program, designed by this researcher, was developed to provide an innovative approach to improve…

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of structured note-taking compared to traditional note-taking on the acquisition of scientific knowledge for students with and without learning disabilities (LD) and students with reading difficulties (RD). An additional purpose was to examine whether the two note-taking methods…

Higher education institutions across the United States have developed global learning initiatives to support student achievement of global awareness and global perspective, but assessment options for these outcomes are extremely limited. A review of research for a global learning initiative at a large, Hispanic-serving, urban, public, research…

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study examines the effects of reading interventions for bi-lingual and bi-dialectal Broward County School District middle school children using research-based strategies combined with metacognitive and meta-comprehension frameworks. The experimental study reports findings on the effects of an 8-week…

This dissertation was designed to examine the effects of a site-based teacher mentoring program on teacher confidence and effectiveness in an elementary school in Florida. Based on preliminary data, there was a need for system organizational change to improve teacher confidence and performance with the district's Document Based Question (DBQ)…

The purpose of this experimental study was two-fold. The first purpose was to explore the levels of self-efficacy of pre-service teachers regarding their own reading and writing processes and their abilities to be effective literacy leaders. The second purpose was to implement two different interventions in literacy instruction for pre-service…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a socioscientific issues-based instructional model on secondary agricultural education students' content knowledge, scientific reasoning ability, argumentation skills, and views of the nature of science. This study utilized a pre-experimental, single group pretest-posttest design to assess…

This applied dissertation was designed to evaluate improving the reading performance of fifth-grade students through an afterschool reading program to determine whether it was effective in teaching Native American and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). This study compared the reading performance of fifth-grade students who struggle…

The purpose of this study was to examine the knowledge, skills, and dispositions enabled for elementary school participants in two summer herpetology programs, one in North Carolina and one in Florida. An additional purpose of this study was to examine the normative scientific practices in which participants engaged and to describe how these…

Many high schools are encouraging teachers to enhance the level of student engagement by having teachers interact more productively with students. Effective questioning, efficient use of wait time, use of high-quality examples, a clear goal, equitable distribution, and a balance of open and closed questions correlate with higher levels of student…