Recruiting, hiring, and retaining teachers has become increasingly difficult as the teacher shortage reaches crisis levels in the US. As schools continue to hire more teachers who come from an alternative pathway, it will become increasingly important for administrators and districts to understand the unique needs of this group of educators. The…

Student engagement is a common problem in schools today and a challenging one to solve. Choosing to dive deeper into this complex problem at one high school, ten teachers participated in a coaching cycle designed to impact self-efficacy in student engagement with the support of the school's instructional coach in collaboration with the principal.…

Instructional coaching is a popular form of professional development for improving teacher instruction and student achievement. While there are numerous studies that have examined the impact of instructional coaching on student academic outcomes, very few studies have explored the influence of specific coaching models on student achievement.…

Higher education institutions across the country have examined equity in education outcomes through disaggregating student demographic data. However, it is not as common for academic institutions to also examine student learning outcomes for inequities in student learning. The current study explores what the greatest contributors are for the lack…

The writing of legally compliant Individualized Education Programs (IEP) has been a difficult task for many educators. Poor quality writing of IEPs has caused a myriad of issues. Parents have brought lawsuits upon school districts and inaccurately written IEPs have been interpreted erroneously or presented an incorrect picture of the student.…

This case study was an exploration of how instructional coaches self-perceived the role and the responsibilities of the role, the barriers encountered in the role, and the professional development needs of both novice and seasoned instructional coaches. Results revealed that the role of an instructional coach is ill-defined, and the role can often…

Professional development is essential for teachers to grow in their profession. However, often professional development is a one size fits all approach, and it occurs outside of the teachers' classroom. This causes teachers to not fully implement new strategies when they return to their classroom. One way to overcome this is to utilize…

This study delved into the professional development strategies employed to enhance novice classroom teachers' grasp of culturally responsive teaching and pedagogy and their subsequent impact on cultivating equitable classroom environments. The research question guiding this investigation was: What specific components of culturally responsive…

School and district leadership is complex work. Educational leaders today are charged with a myriad of responsibilities, ranging from everyday operational duties to strategic development of school improvement plans. Leaders are expected to be experts at everything ranging from transportation to transforming teaching and learning. Gone are the days…

Instructional coaching focuses on increasing the effectiveness of instructional practices. However, little is known concerning the perceptions of teachers and administrators regarding the role of instructional coaching related to student performance. This basic qualitative study was conducted to analyze the perceptions of administrators and…

Teachers in K-12 education begin their careers underprepared for the complexity and demands of teaching. The current practice of a short span of student teaching and entering classrooms as the sole educator sets teachers up for overwhelm and frustration, which can negatively affect student achievement. New teacher induction programs can support…

This study aimed to determine the impact of the Math Matters Program on student achievement in third- and fourth-grade math and to understand leaders' perceptions of the Math Matters Program. Researchers analyzed end-of-year or spring Northwest Evaluation Association and Measures of Academic Preparation math results across treatment and control…

This study aimed to determine the impact of the Math Matters Program on student achievement in third- and fourth-grade math and to understand leaders' perceptions of the Math Matters Program. Researchers analyzed end-of-year or spring Northwest Evaluation Association and Measures of Academic Preparation math results across treatment and control…

This dissertation examines the structures needed to create a successful instructional coaching program to directly support teachers and students in the classroom. Districts spend billions of dollars each year developing research-based professional development opportunities for staff focused on increasing student learning (Knight, 2019; Moody,…

Children with disabilities often engage in less complex play and fewer spontaneous pretend play behaviors. Research has highlighted the value of providing caregivers with sustained support to promote their active involvement in the learning of their children with disabilities. Caregivers; however, are rarely offered opportunities to facilitate…