In this randomized multiple baseline across participants single-case design study, pre-service special education teachers received a modified Talk Aloud Problem Solving (TAPS) intervention to improve their use of problem-solving verbal behavior and reasoning skills when making instructional decisions. Special education teacher candidates may have…

This dissertation explores the integration of Place-Based Scientific Inquiry (PBSI) into science education through participatory design-based professional development for instructors at Sky School, an outdoor education program in southern Arizona. PBSI emphasizes student-centered, inquiry-driven, experiential learning grounded in outdoor contexts.…

This action research study in a North Dakota public school addresses the need for effective professional development (PD) to enhance instruction and academic outcomes for mathematically promising learners. Despite annual PD investments, concerns persist regarding the limited efficacy of short-term workshops (Knight & Skrtic, 2021; Kraft et…

Students with autism display challenges in social communication and often require specialized instruction to learn social skills. Since social norms are an element of culture, educators must assess and select skills to teach through a cultural lens; therefore, Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) is an appropriate instructional strategy. There is…

Many stakeholders emphasize the importance of diverse populations' participation in the sciences, though the motivations for this vary. Some reference an economic standpoint by emphasizing the importance of either recruiting more science workers to compete in a global economy, or of individual financial success for people from historically…

This dissertation showcases collective sensemaking in action. The study was situated in a larger North Carolina project, in which educators took a systems approach to update the state's instructional guidance infrastructure during content standards reform. Specifically, I investigated how K-5 educators from multiple stakeholder groups--teachers,…

The purpose of this study was to understand two things. One was understanding the similarities and the differences among Curriculum & Instruction PhD programs through their curriculum, and whether those programs are comparable or not; Second was to understand the meaning of the quality of education based on academic rankings, and the…

Western Pacific educational institutions are investing heavily in technology in classrooms to meet the needs of K-12 students. Measuring the effective use of digital technologies in the learning environment has become a routine part of monitoring and evaluating classroom instruction. One area of technology integration that has seen tremendous…

The 2019-2020 school year ushered in the Texas Education Agency's second year under a new A - F rating system for the state's 1,200 districts and 8,759 public schools. As such, educational leaders across the state began to take an even closer look at what it takes to meet the needs of an ever growing and diverse population of students. However, in…

The literature on entrepreneurship education in Indonesian vocational high schools is sparse and inadequately evaluated. Future research should aim to enhance students' entrepreneurial competencies and intentions by integrating practical environments and experiential learning into the curriculum. However, transitioning to these methods presents…

Research on how to best meet the academic needs and potential of gifted students with disabilities, known as twice-exceptional or 2e, has grown over the past 30 years. While recognition of 2e learners is slowly extending to educational policy, there are few school program options designed to accommodate 2e students and even fewer studies on the…

This descriptive phenomenological study examined how postsecondary faculty experienced instructional development workshops framed around the tenets of design-thinking. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven participants of varying disciplines from a private, R1 institution in New England. Transcripts were analyzed inductively using…

This study explores to what extent principals perceive "instructional program coherence" (IPC) and vertical collaboration occur in high schools and their mid-level feeder schools. It also measures IPC and its five components' association with different measures of student achievement. The study took place in the state of Missouri, and…

As the popularity of growth and fixed mindset in education grows, there is an increasing need to investigate how mindset is actually portrayed in the classroom, especially from the students' perspectives. This dissertation proposal aims to build upon the research conducted in the previous phase of the study. The research component study revealed a…

The influx of technology in the high school classroom has increased the demand for technology integration. But teachers struggle to implement technology in their lessons, which suggests that there may be barriers in their knowledge of content and pedagogy in a technology-driven lesson design. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to…