Schools, institutionally designed to formalize education, often leave individuals longing for something more. Multiple disciplines attribute the pursuit of something more to transformation. While a common discussion in academic literature, transformation is underdeveloped in education. This dissertation explored transformational education from a…

School readiness includes a range of competencies and is influenced by both parental beliefs and teacher perceptions. Despite its significance, only a small number of states have an established definition of school readiness, which raises questions about how well stakeholder understandings align and the effectiveness of parental activities in…

This dissertation investigates teacher candidates' definitions of inclusive learning and their preparation and confidence to collaborate to create accommodations and modifications for students receiving services and supports in the general education mathematics classroom. Further, the characteristics of the accommodations and modifications they…

This study examines the concept of Meaningful Digital Learning using a Grounded Theory research framework to provide a definition for it and identify its main characteristics. The concept of Meaningful Digital Learning was studied from the perspective of 10 undergraduate students in the College of Education at Southern Connecticut State…

There needs to be more information on how teachers use social-emotional learning (SEL) in the elementary classroom. The problem is that elementary teachers' familiarity with effectively teaching SEL lessons in the general education classroom is unknown. A gap in literature exists, including research that explores elementary teachers' knowledge of…

This exploratory phenomenological dissertation research evaluated students', instructors', and administrators', definitions and perceived value of experiential learning pedagogies. The research comprised interviews in late 2018 and early 2019 within a program run by a large public American university on its Singapore campus (pseudonym AmUAsia). At…

This dissertation presents various machine learning applications for predicting different cognitive states of students while they are using a vocabulary tutoring system, DSCoVAR. We conduct four studies, each of which includes a comprehensive analysis of behavioral and linguistic data and provides data-driven evidence for designing personalized…

Learning disabilities are the most common eligibility category in which children qualify for special education services. Despite this, there is surprisingly little current information on the prevalence and needs of children with math disabilities, and even less information on interventions to support children in schools. This dissertation aimed to…

This research examined, through a basic qualitative approach, how sixth-grade mathematics teachers and their students in a New York inner-city middle school experienced the implementation of three "Classroom Instruction that Works" (CITW) instructional strategies namely, summarizing and note-taking, cooperative learning, and generating…

This study explored two aspects of K-12 core content area teachers' experiences with digital citizenship through the Connectivism lens (Siemens, 2005). First, it explored how teachers instruct students on digital citizenship topics, including how they define digital citizenship and integrate it into their core content area curriculum. Second, it…

For many students with disabilities, exclusion from the general education classroom is common. Educational agencies are required to follow the policies mandated by IDEA. Educators need to understand how to meet needs of students with disabilities and follow the legal mandates as equitably and effectively as possible. They are required to implement…

A metropolitan school district wanted to understand blended learning as it existed in one of their high schools. Blended learning had been school-wide for four years, and district administrators wanted to know how students, teachers, and school administrators perceived blended learning and its impact on student engagement. This was a…

Student mastery of the academic vocabulary of course content is an important component of learning that content. This research study investigated the combination of two active multimedia strategies within 10 different high school science classrooms, to test for retention of science terminology. The dual process of learner-generated drawings…

Despite the increased unfolding of new Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) initiatives, confusion exists regarding the defining characteristics of a BYOT classroom. Using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to investigate how teachers at three different high schools in a…

English Language Learners (ELLs) are one of the fastest growing student populations throughout the country. With ELLs come unique challenges schools must navigate to best serve these students. One challenge is the identification of these students and proper placement and service within ELL programs offered by schools. Another challenge is…