The problem addressed in this study was that most opportunities for professional learning in the field of education have been created and assigned without the teacher giving input through a needs assessment. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to understand the experiences of veteran K-5 teachers who participated in an online…

This article presents findings from an education design research program to advance the development of the Cultural Proficiency Continuum Dialogic Protocol (CPCDP). The CPCDP is a primary data source that uses andragogical and asset-based pedagogies and approaches to assess and codify educators' cultural competence systematically. Findings…

Academic success is contingent on multiple factors not the least of which is literacy and comprehension. However, research demonstrates that literacy and comprehension levels for traditional aged high secondary school students, as well as non-traditional adult college students threaten the academic success of these demographics. Identifying…

Background: Manuscript written for the Adult Education Research Conference based on dissertation research completed at National Louis University. Purpose: To increase knowledge base of art based learning as a mode of anti-racist pedagogy and the use of an Africentric framework for continuing and professional education. Setting: African Centered…

The purpose of this study was to investigate, describe and assess parents' perceptions of effective strategies for developing vocabulary literacy; and to determine whether their opinions were consistent with what is reported by experts in the field of reading. The goal was to compare the views of parents who had attended school-based literacy…

This paper will share the research on the use of social media (specifically Facebook) in an effort to promote critical thinking and reflection. It purports that although often overlooked as a teaching, learning and assessment strategy, social media is a viable method that supports cooperative learning through the encouragement of thoughtful…

The purpose of this study was to explore the professional learning process that teachers reported enhanced their use of technology in their classrooms. The framework for this qualitative, theory-building study was guided by research from the field of adult learning. Data were obtained from interviews of six teachers who worked in an urban science…

This case study involved an intensive exploration of a single unit, a college program for urban participants designed to increase their professional knowledge and skills and academics. The study explored whether urban participants perceived change in their professional knowledge and skills, change in their roles, as well as progressed academically…

Our paper reports findings from a two-phase deployment of iPod Touch and iPad devices in a large, urban Canadian school board. The purpose of the study was to gain an understanding of the infrastructure required to support handheld devices in classrooms; the opportunities and challenges teachers face as they begin to use handheld devices for…

Middle school teachers' use of digital curricula incorporating dynamic technology has been found to support student learning of complex algebraic concepts. This article reports on pilot research involving collaboration among faculty from a public university's college of education, educational researchers from a nonprofit research organization, and…

Background/Context: As accountability pressures have mounted toward ever-higher targets under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, low-achieving schools have sought new tools for raising achievement. The association between parent involvement and student achievement is well established, though the association is an indirect relationship mediated…

The purpose of this study was to assess three methods of delivering in-service professional development regarding constructivist curriculum for early childhood educators. Educators in 44 not-for-profit child care centres in three Canadian cities were studied; 94 educators with formal preservice training participated. The three methods were (a) a…

This presentation capitalizes on a three-year, longitudinal, school-randomized trial of the 4Rs Program, a comprehensive, school-based social-emotional and literacy program for elementary schools, to test intervention induced changes in features of classroom climate and key dimensions of teacher affective and pedagogical processes and practices…

The purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy of three different approaches to professional development in Earth science education: preparing teachers to "adopt" expert-"design" curricula; preparing teachers to use a principled approach to design curricula; and preparing teachers to use a principled approach to "adapt" curricula. The claims…

Despite the fact that current reforms in education have placed significant emphases on the integration of computer-based technology in the curriculum and the use of it to improve teaching and learning, researchers reveal that effective technology pedagogy that assists to increase student achievement is not always used in urban and high poverty…