The problem addressed by this study is an increasing deficit in unstructured play in education due to the intensification of academics in younger grades, leading to immature social-emotional skills. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine teacher perceptions of benefits of unstructured classroom play on the impulse control of…

School systems in PK-12 are being challenged to incorporate real-world learning into their curriculum to better prepare students for success after graduation (Karakas-Ozur & Duman, 2019). As high school organizations are beginning to apply authentic learning strategies, there is a gap in knowledge for implementation as much of the research has…

This descriptive correlational case study sought to identify professional development recommendations for full-time community college faculty teaching within a guided pathways environment. Community college faculty across an urban, multi-college district in the southwestern United States were surveyed about their current learner-centered teaching…

This three-paper self-study dissertation explored the process of becoming a teacher with a focus on the emotional dimensions of teaching. Becoming a teacher is a complex, emotionally demanding process (Kelchtermans & Deketelaere, 2016) and teachers' emotions impact student achievement, motivation, and well-being (Balanescu, 2019). While…

It is essential for educators to be able to navigate educational standards and incorporate social- emotional learning (SEL) frameworks which align with teaching practices that support students' education. Teachers may possess knowledge of SEL components, but there is currently a lack of standards, especially at the upper grade levels, in…

Language is connected to a people, culture, history, and communicative purpose. One way world language teachers help students explore the intersections of culture and language is through the use of authentic texts, such as films, newspapers, podcasts, videos, music or short stories (see: Pinzon, 2020). While the research points to the success of…

The purpose of this participatory action research project (PAR) was to study how a group of teachers designed and implemented strategies with the intent of amplifying joyful learning experiences for Chinese English Language Learners (ELLs). The research focused on four classroom teachers in an elementary school as Co-Practitioner Researchers (CPR)…

Social studies instructional experts have called for a move from a knowledge-based curriculum to conceptually-driven inquiry, though tools for educators in meeting this challenge are lacking. Simulations are potentially a powerful inquiry tool to transform students' ways of seeing the world through realistic interactions with complex social…

This research is about investigating authentic learning experiences for elementary-age English learners' (ELs) engagement and attitudes toward learning. Oftentimes, EL instruction is siloed in its approach and is interdependent on what students are learning in the classroom. Moreover, due to potential limitations in language acquisition skills…

This dissertation is comprised of three interlinked studies investigating young children's authentic inquiry practices. The first article provides a literature synthesis of over two hundred and fifty in-depth cases of K-6 facilitated authentic inquiry learning environments. These cases reveal the wide-ranging authentic inquiry practices that are a…

When English Language Arts (ELA) students are not engaged in ELA coursework, they miss out on opportunities to practice reading, writing, speaking, listening, and--most importantly--critical thinking. The purpose of these two cycles of Action Research was to investigate the authentic pedagogies of ELA teachers at Ryken private preparatory school…

The purpose of this exploratory study is to assess the ways in which instructors teaching first-generation college students at a branch campus come to understand these students as being different from other students they teach, and if and how they develop teaching practices and pedagogies more effective for first-generation students. There is a…

Blended Online Learning (BOL) combines synchronous and asynchronous online learning in ways that potentially can overcome limitations of fully asynchronous online. Although BOL has been an emergent modality for decades, research on the experiences, benefits and challenges of its implementation has been limited. However, the COVID-19 pandemic…

Research in the past ten years has shown that there has been a lack of professionals to fill the jobs available in science. One possible reason for the lack of participation in science fields lies in students' beliefs in their ability to do science, or science self-efficacy, which is linked to interest and achievement. Their perceptions of science…

This dissertation study explored the feasibility of using authenticated spoken texts to test L2 Chinese listening comprehension. The spoken texts used in the study were created using an "authenticating" technique, in which scripted spoken Chinese texts were infused with characteristics of real-world, unscripted spoken Chinese. In the…