The planning and implementation of effective transition services for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have emerged as crucial aspects of middle school special education. This action research study examines the impact of professional development and collaborative practices on improving transition services for middle school students with…

Socratic seminars are active learning opportunities for students that create a classroom atmosphere building upon the foundational knowledge and experience of the students in the room. The teacher acts as a facilitator of learning, and students research, create questions, and converse to create a deeper understanding of learning. The purpose of…

Purpose: Our purpose was to gather and evaluate accurate, up-to-date information on physical education (PE) policy implementation across multiple U.S. states and regions. Methods: A U.S. Physical Education and Physical Activity Policy questionnaire was developed and completed by 4,845 public-school PE teachers from 25 U.S. states. The U.S.…

In an effort to meet the requirements of the many reform efforts facing schools, professional learning communities (PLCs) have been created and implemented by many schools as a valuable strategy to increase student achievement. The main focus of most PLCs is on the cultivation of learning, which includes teachers and administrators working…

Artificial intelligence is impacting society on a very large scale and should be included in K-12 educational content in some capacity to provide meaningful STEM experiences. Computer vision (a field of research that heavily leverages artificial intelligence) was emphasized in professional development for in-service teachers. The teachers received…

Connectivism has been studied primarily in online college classes and was shown to increase the self-regulated learning behaviors of tertiary students. It was not known how Arizona public middle school teachers from a single metropolitan school district perceived the influence of connectivist learning networks on the self-regulated learning…

There has been a sharp increase in mental health support for children in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a growing demand for school-based mental health services due to gaps in the US youth mental health infrastructure. This dissertation presents an action research study conducted in a Title I middle school in Arizona, exploring a school…

The 21st century public school principal is faced with complex challenges and issues as would be expected to befall a key influencer of student success. Among others, these challenges include accountability demonstrated through high stakes testing, data-driven decision making, effectively incorporating innovative technology, recruiting and…

This article examines the re-professionalization of teaching across a transformative decade of market-based and standards-based reforms in the U.S.A. The first section works with the sociological concept of the 'new professionalism' to situate the No Child Left Behind act, Race to the Top, and CAEP accreditation within a broader movement to align…

This study explored the enactment of formative assessment practices in 89 observed lessons across 15 middle and high school science teachers before and after they participated in workshops that coalesced around formative assessment, teaching science to English learners (ELs), and integrating Next Generation Science Standards with Common Core…

There is a dearth of empirical research on the efficacy of integrated teacher professional development (PD) models, ones that synthesize both online learning and face-to-face teacher PD experiences and interactions. The purpose of this explanatory mixed-methods study was to determine how teachers perceived an integrated PD experience that…

Objectives: To provide further information regarding physical education (PE) teachers' perceptions of incorporating music in PE lessons and to evaluate the influence of music on the classroom environment using a qualitative approach. Method: Electronic survey interviews were conducted with 26 veteran PE instructors (10 male, 16 female), from 7…

Few studies on the role of bilingualism in mathematics classrooms explore the intersection of biliteracy, language use, mathematical discourse, and numeracy--especially at the middle school level. Drawing from biliteracy development theory and reform mathematics education literature, this qualitative case study of a dual-language mathematics…

Current legislation encourages schools to educate students with disabilities (SWDs) in general education settings to the greatest extent appropriate. However, it is unclear whether inclusion in general education settings provides SWDs a sufficient opportunity to learn the academic content assessed by accountability measures. This initial study was…

This study provides initial evidence supporting intended score interpretations for the purpose of assessing opportunity to learn (OTL) via an online teacher log. MyiLOGS yields 5 scores related to instructional time, content, and quality. Based on data from 46 middle school classes, the evidence indicated that (a) MyiLOGS has high usability, (b)…