Physics classrooms, from high school through graduate school, chronically enroll far too few women, people of color, English language learners, and low-income students. Research suggests students' science identity functions as a strong indicator for their continued pursuit of physics coursework and careers. Further research indicates students'…

This study aimed to learn the subjective experiences of higher education business students pursuing intercultural development goals. As part of their academic programs students completed the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) assessment and received intercultural competency scores. Subsequently, they created personal goals to further…

This multiple case study sought to examine the individual experiences of three different teachers' experiences with learning about and using project-based learning in their elementary classrooms. The following factors influencing teachers' instructional decision making were used: teacher knowledge, teacher pedagogical beliefs, teacher…

The literature on history education in the United States suggests that history teaching was and still is dominated by traditional instruction methods that have persisted for well over 100 years. Some social studies teachers defy that tradition. They use ambitious approaches and resources to create student-centered learning experiences that enable…

This research seeks to understand how secondary science students make space for themselves in the classroom. Specifically, this study examines the interplay between classroom structures and students' agentic negotiations while identifying the relationship between students' enacted agency and their authored science identities by drawing from a…

Calls for history teachers to adopt inquiry methods continue to go unabated in educational research and curricular initiatives. In recent years, there has been increased recognition of the important role teacher reflection plays in managing the uncertainty that accompanies such pedagogy in history classrooms. Accordingly, this dissertation was…

This Dissertation in Practice (DiP) uses an action research (AR) methodology to answer a research question pertaining to the impacts of implementing a multimodal-based assessment project in the introductory, General Biology I (BI 114) classroom at East-State Junior College. A mixed-methods approach will be utilized to ascertain the impacts on…

This study examines how teachers navigate tensions between communicating expectations for college level work and student motivation as they determined summative grades in an AP Environmental Science course. Semi-structured interviews and a think-aloud protocol were conducted while teachers in poverty-impacted urban high schools determined final…

This instrumental case study examined universal design for learning (UDL) as a digital media design resource for teachers of bilingual Deaf students with special needs. Ten teachers from a school program for bilingual Deaf children with special needs engaged in professional development (PD) provided through the professional teaching and learning…

This descriptive and interpretive case study investigates how 12 undergraduate college students perceived participation in their high school Senior Capstone Project (SCP) impacted their college academic experience. Learning transfer was explored from the learner's perspective. Data was collected using qualitative methods in three sequential phases…

Doctors in a Northern California community reported that medical assisting students did not use medical terminology in context, could not think critically, and faltered in decision making and problem solving during their internships in medical offices. The intent of this instrumental case study was to investigate the gap between current methods of…