This study described how agricultural education majors at Louisiana State University visually represented and narrated their concerns about teaching. To accomplish this, students captured photos during early field experiences (EFEs) and then critically reflected on those experiences through focus group interviews during the Fall 2018 and Fall 2019…

Reform is a common tool used by policymakers to increase student achievement, yet some reform efforts are more successful in some schools and not others. This study looks specifically at the following constructs related to both student achievement and reform: school culture, school climate, teacher efficacy, and collective efficacy. The…

Louisiana's COMPASS Teacher Evaluation Program is part of a national trend of linking teacher evaluation to student academic performance. Under COMPASS, 50% of a teacher's score comes from observations by supervisors and 50% from a measure of student growth in the form of a value-added (VAM) or a Student Learning Target (SLT) score. The purpose of…

The Louisiana State University Biology Intensive Orientation for Students (BIOS) Program has been found to be an effective retention initiative for freshman Biological Science majors (S. M. Wischusen, Wischusen, & Pomarico, 2010; S. M. Wischusen, Wischusen, W. E., 2007). Students who attended the five-day camp out-perform their non-participant…

Although fostering self-determination has emerged as a central element of recommended and evidence-based transition practices for adolescents with disabilities, few studies have examined the paths through which students develop the skills and dispositions that can enhance their self-determination and successful transitions. The authors used path…