This study examined the shared understanding between principals and special education teachers (SETs) regarding the instructional practices and components essential for special education teacher evaluations. Shared mental models and Cultural Consensus Theory (CCT) guided the methodology. Cultural Domain Analysis (CDA), Cultural Consensus Analysis…

As enrollment in postsecondary education increases, colleges and universities increasingly rely heavily on the use of the Internet as a means of communication with their students. Upon students' admission, institutional webpage messaging shifts to messages about students' new affiliation with the institution in their situated identity--a college…

Formative assessment is the process of eliciting students' understanding during instruction in order to make sensitive instructional decisions and provide feedback to enhance students' learning. Research indicates that when used properly, formative assessment can lead to significant learning gains and enhance students'…

This study examines the relationship between accent and identity in three Chinese graduate students attending a large research-one university in the northeastern United States. The study is based on Och's (1993) concept if identity as jointly constructed by the individual herself and the persons and conventions of her culture. It also examines the…

Teachers working with increasingly diverse student populations are expected, for the first time in American history, to bring all students to high levels of proficiency. American graduates must compete with graduates from other nations, given the realities of the 21st century global economy. American teachers must possess 21st century skills in…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the asynchronous voice-conferencing technology, "Voice Thread"®, on the anxiety and oral proficiency of high school students in their third year of studying Spanish as a foreign language. In this quasi-experimental study students' foreign language anxiety levels and oral proficiency…

This dissertation is an analytical exploration and evaluation of the concept of diversity. It springs from the author's concern that within the teacher education discourse there is an apparent deficiency regarding analytical effort toward challenging ordinary terms, their strong convictions, and categorical statements stemming from them. In…

This longitudinal qualitative study examined how four preservice elementary teachers used language to construct professional identities, learn within relationships, and take risks in the classroom during their final three semesters in teacher education coursework and field experiences. My female participants were former students of mine in the…