Most recently, there has been a noticeable rise in the push for use of technology in the classroom. The advancement in digital science has increased greatly the capacity to explore animations, models, and interesting apps. that should substantially enhance science cognition. At the same time, there is a great need to increase collaboration in the…

This dissertation contributes to the scholarship surrounding the development of international mindedness in teacher candidates. Phenomenological interview techniques were used to explore the experiences and perceptions of teacher candidates who enrolled in an undergraduate teacher preparation program leading to the International Baccalaureate…

There is a growing body of scholarship in mathematics education that has attended to the salience of race in mathematics teaching and learning. However, in the context of secondary classrooms with equity-oriented instruction, we know little about race and processes of racialization, and even less from the perspectives of students of color and in…

In 2010, the International Baccalaureate (IB) Organization mandated that all its schools, including Diploma (DP) schools, adhere to the collaborative planning and reflection requirements, which emphasized the importance of integrating its theory of knowledge (TOK) core component into all disciplines. Many schools officials and educations in Amman…

This dissertation explores the views and experiences of high school calculus teachers and college mathematics professors on the professional development which occurs at the annual national AP Calculus exam grading. This professional development experience comes in several forms: the exam briefing sessions, the actual reading of the exams, the…

In a school district with over 60% of the school population African American and Hispanic, it would seem judicious to believe the gifted, talented, and high ability programming would similarly represent these populations. Yet, based on the findings of this study, the representation of African American and Hispanic students in these programs is…

The study was used to develop an understanding of the nature of a creative learning experience that incorporated the foundational elements of Reggio Emilia, place-based education, and experience design. The study took place in an urban high school with eight students in an advanced placement art class. The qualitative research project revolved…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact on undergraduate college admissions decisions at selective U.S. colleges and universities of student enrolment in the Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) programs of international schools. A total of 30 interviews were conducted by the researcher with admissions personnel…

The College Board's Advanced Placement (AP) Program continues to expand annually with increased numbers of high school students nationwide enrolling in AP courses and taking end-of-course AP exams, in hopes of earning college credit and strengthening high school transcripts. As the College Board promotes increased minority student participation…

The purpose of this study is to determine the causes for high school students' decisions not to enroll in Honors or Advanced Placement (AP) courses. This study is a transcendental phenomenology whose participants are students who have been determined to be potentially successful in Advanced Placement classes by the "AP Potential"…

This qualitative research study examined how exemplary 11th grade English teachers described their writing instruction. The seven teacher participants were selected for the study after receiving a "highly effective" evaluation and being identified by their principal, an assistant principal, and a department leader as being exemplary…

This dissertation analyzes how mandated high-stakes tests and college and career ready standards influence local curricula and the reproduction of inequalities between students. I found that inequalities were reproduced based on distinctions between students in co-taught courses (classes that required the presence of an aide to assist students…

This quant-QUAL sequential explanatory mixed methods study describes a framework for evaluating the communicative competence (Canale & Swain, 1980; Canale, 1983) of non-beginner students of Chinese for placement purposes at U.S. four-year postsecondary institutions. A pragmatic lens was used to collect and analyze data that generated a…

The main focus of this dissertation is the literacy practices of students in a high school International Baccalaureate (IB) English classroom. The students demonstrated their meaning of texts that were studied as part of the curriculum in order to prepare them for their Formal Oral Commentaries. This was a mandated assessment of the IB English…

This study compared data related to National Board Certification (NBC) of mathematics teachers in a South Florida school district. Data included 1,162 student scores on the 2014 AP Calculus AB exam, student gender, student grade level, and eligibility for free or reduced price lunch (FRL) status. Teachers completed the Standards' Beliefs…