The purpose of this current explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to explore the perceived abilities of teaching critical thinking as reported by teachers and the actual lived experiences of classroom teachers within the elementary classroom. Kindergarten through fourth grade elementary teachers completed the Critical Thinking in the…

The purpose of this quantitative correlational-associative study was to examine if, and to what extent, there was a statistically significant correlation between perceived stress and resilience among undergraduate students in the Southwestern United States. Two theoretical concepts formed the foundation of the study, and they included the…

The field of biology is becoming increasingly fragmented, and this fragmentation spills over into the ways our students think and learn about biology. Biology education policy documents stress the importance of teaching biology in an integrated manner and call for the biology education research community to establish a unifying paradigm for the…

This qualitative action research study examines how middle and high school STEM teachers create and implement lessons that connect concepts to the real-world and develop student metacognition. The researcher collected data through interviews, focus groups, document analysis, and survey questions. Participants from vocational, private, and…

This action research study emerged in response to students' struggle to understand what critical thinking is and teachers' corresponding struggle to develop students' critical thinking skills. In my role as an instructional designer, I studied student and teacher reactions to interdisciplinary course design that used disciplinary inquiry,…

As schools continue to focus on outcome-based instructional practices, less emphasis is placed on the creativity and reasoning necessary for students to become effective critical thinkers. As a result, students struggle to demonstrate creative problem-solving skills in the classroom. This study examines how the facilitation of an instructional…

In the complex world of the workplace, change becomes a constant. This requires that adults can regularly adapt to this change, particularly as technology encroaches on the definition of work and alters the description of their work and, ultimately, their jobs. This adaptation also alters how employed adults learn about their jobs and develop…

Student retention is a major issue that has spanned multiple decades in higher education in the United States, corresponding with greater access to higher education and a rise in non-traditional students. Innumerable challenges can interfere with a student's academic performance or ability to remain in and complete a degree program. All manner of…

Fluency, vocabulary building, making inferences, expanding background knowledge, and metacognitive thinking are reading skills taught in schools across the country. Which of these do ELA teachers consider to be most important? It is not known which of these five areas Western Pennsylvania teachers believe has the most impact on comprehension…

Current high school instructional practices trending across our nation primarily focus upon providing content to students and lack content-area literacy strategies or higher-order metacognitive reflective writing practices. Educational research consistently demonstrates the need for increased skill development in American secondary schools, so why…

Partnership for 21st Century Skills has continuously identified critical and metacognitive thinking skills to be essential for life and career in post-secondary education and workforce settings. As a response to the Race to the Top (2010) initiative and Common Core State Standards (2009), New York State Board of Regents began an overhaul for all…

This dissertation focuses on the ways in which conceptual modeling illuminates, supports, and enhances historical thinking; and examines the extent to which modeling can help students get past the misconceptions that form barriers on their way to gaining better understanding. Conceptual modeling is done in four phases---preparation, development,…

The use of student-centered instructional strategies is a common practice in engineering classes. Instructors often use such strategies to promote greater learning outcomes and student engagement. However, prior research studies also acknowledge students' resistance and lack of motivation towards such innovative strategies. In both cases, the…

How often are teachers surprised to find out at the end of a learning episode that students have not actually learned? The first Mathematics Teaching Practice from NCTM's "Principles to Actions" asserts that "effective teaching of mathematics establishes clear goals for the mathematics that students are learning, situates goals…

Although the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS) present a detailed set of "Science and Engineering Practices", a finer grained representation of the underlying skills is lacking in the standards document. Therefore, it has been reported that teachers are facing challenges deciphering and effectively implementing the…