Despite existing legislation and provision of post-secondary transition plans to bridge the gap between secondary school and the workplace for individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID), workplace sites in rural central Ohio have continued to have a hiring rate of individuals with ID that is lower than the national average. The focal point of…

Although literacy coaching is used as a professional development mechanism in many schools to facilitate teachers' learning, few studies have looked carefully at the discourse used by literacy coaches who have successfully increased the professional capacity of teachers with whom they work. This qualitative multiple case study is grounded in the…

The purpose of this qualitative explanatory case study was to address the lack of understanding regarding how, why, and when former students trained in self-coaching apply a self-coaching process toward the attainment of personal goals post training. The two research questions of the study were, "how do former students trained in…

This dissertation builds upon previous coaching research by providing a deep examination of a university success coaching program that uses an International Coach Federation (ICF) coaching framework. The dissertation seeks to identify how ICF coaching compares to the findings of previous research, what training is required to be an ICF coach at a…

This mixed-methods study examined if coaching leadership behaviors created a culture of positive academic performance. The researchers examined coaching leadership behaviors perceived by student-athletes of their coaches and the coaches' self-perceptions. Chelladurai and Saleh's (1980) multidimensional model of leadership and Astin's (1991)…

Using a learning management system (LMS) to deliver robust content for K-12 students became an essential part of the discussion of technology's place in K-12 education when teachers were forced to teach online at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers used an LMS to deliver content in various ways and as part of different instructional…

This dissertation examines the effectiveness of a low-bridge, minimalist approach to addressing multiliteracies online at the Writing Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In the 2016-17 academic year, 110 students from 41 English composition classes received feedback on multiliteracy projects they submitted to the Writing…

This dissertation examined the correlation between teacher grit, teacher mindset, and teachers' perceptions regarding the coaching and feedback process. More and more school districts are hiring literacy coaches to provide teachers with ongoing professional development in literacy instruction. In the educational profession, there is a continual…

Classroom management is critical for students' behavioral and academic success, and researchers have identified numerous discrete teacher behaviors within several broad areas of classroom management skills. Unfortunately, these skills are often overlooked during pre- and in-service professional development (PD). Additionally, research suggests…

Recent policy efforts in early care and education (ECE) have aimed to ensure that all children have access to high-quality ECE programming. However, there is debate about how to most effectively improve ECE quality at scale. The three papers in this dissertation provide new insights into the impacts of two widely-used policies aimed at improving…

Too many students across the United States have been instructed by teachers who have delivered below grade level instruction and assigned below grade level tasks (The New Teacher Project, 2018). Due to these teacher practices, there has been a lack of student academic achievement and academic growth. Instructional coaching has been a strategy that…

School-based interventions that utilize mindfulness and yoga exercises to build students' self-regulation skills have become increasingly popular, both in practice and in published literature. Yet little information has been gathered about how to effectively train educators to deliver these interventions with fidelity. The present paper aimed to…

Mathematics coaching can have a positive impact on classroom teaching practices and outcomes for students, and there is a demonstrated need for improvement in mathematics teaching. This qualitative study examined the practices of three middle school mathematics coaches implementing the "Responsive Teaching Cycle" ("RTC"), a…

Researchers report on the complexity of instructional coaching as it contributes to the learning of elementary teachers. Although instructional coaching as a means of continual learning opportunities for teachers has increased over the last decade, little research exists on how coaching works when it does. The purpose of this qualitative single…

While instructional coaching has existed since the mid-1800s, such models became widespread in the 1950s. With so many annual federal mandates in educational legislation aimed to ensure high student achievement, there has been a nationwide increase in the use of instructional coaching models to improve the quality of instruction. The professional…