Many higher education faculty members are not trained to teach during their graduate study; thus, faculty development programs (FDPs) can provide systematic opportunity for teaching training. While FDPs are prevalent in higher education today, many such programs focus on practical or pedagogical skill development while neglecting to provide…

Kindergarten teachers must balance the competing interests of meeting grade level standards, including teaching students to be literate, and integrating developmentally appropriate practices. Students need to have opportunities to read, write, listen, and speak; however, a didactic, teacher-centered approach is not in the best interest of young…

Students in high-performing high schools often suffer from a constellation of stressors related to expectations such as good grades, number of Advanced Placement and honors classes, and successful admission to college. Critics have cast this method of educating students as outdated and more akin to a factory model. As a result, some educators have…

The three articles in this dissertation explore how curriculum, instruction, and assessments should align with the vision for science learning outlined in the Framework for K-12 Science Education. Together, the papers demonstrate how curriculum, instruction, and assessment, when mutually supportive of each other, can foster a learning environment…

This study aimed to enhance student engagement in language classrooms by developing a professional learning community (PLC) in the Modern Language Department in a high school. This exploratory study uses a mixed-method design collecting both quantitative and qualitative data through various instruments. Incorporating improvement science, the…

This study addressed the problem of identifying challenges and expectations when a school transitions from traditional education to personalized learning. The single case study used semi-structured interviews to discover the experiences and thoughts of ten teachers and staff members from a rural high school that transitioned. The school was in its…

The purpose of this qualitative narrative multiple case study was to address gaps in the research by exploring student engagement in a nature-based school in Georgia and a Missouri school moving to nature-based education. By considering three key dimensions of student engagement, behavioral, cognitive, and emotional, this in-depth investigation…

Lesson study is a model of effective professional development that originated in Japan and has become popular among math teachers worldwide in recent decades. Idaho math teachers have engaged in lesson study as a method of professional development for the past six years. Research is needed to determine the impact of lesson study on the…

Article 1: One-on-one tutoring is the most effective teaching arrangement. Most schools and families, however, cannot afford to provide each child with a tutor. Peer tutoring in classrooms, a more feasible and scalable learning arrangement, increases learning for both tutors and tutees, but peer tutors' efficacy is often limited by their didactic…

In recent years, schools have begun Social Emotional Learning (SEL) instruction. In 1994, the term Social Emotional Learning was coined by CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning; originally named the Collaborative to Advance Social and Emotional Learning). SEL instruction is critical in schools because communities and…

This dissertation argues for the importance of prioritizing the student experience in music theory discourse, both in teaching practice and content. To achieve this, a student centered curriculum and methodology are proposed, using learning objectives that align with student experiences. The concept of music literacy is defined as the sum of…

While the overall number of women superintendents has increased in recent years, representation disparities persist across educational ranks. The present study's aim was to explore the career paths that facilitate women's success in achieving and retaining the superintendent role for five or more years. Employing narrative inquiry through…

For over a century, teacher-centered learning occurred as the most prominent method of teaching students (Medve, 2023). The student-centered classroom provides students the opportunity to focus their learning on curriculum which is interesting to them. "Problem-Based learning (PBL) is a type of student-centered learning heavily influenced by…

This instrumental case study explores how a single teacher whose preservice teacher education program included the practice and implementation of differentiation for all students, gifted pedagogy, and a gifted clinical practicum described the factors that shaped her practice and implementation of differentiation for gifted students in her general…

Achievement gaps in mathematics between middle and high school Black students when compared to their white peers exist in part because of access, but also because Black learners' brilliance is not recognized. Finding ways to help students, especially Black students, become successful mathematical problem solvers was a driving force behind this…