In the instructional design field untrained instructional designers are creating educational content. In these instances, the content is created by subject matter experts. This growing subset of experts is known as instructional designers-by-assignment (DBAs). DBAs are prevalent in the equestrian education field. Unfortunately, in equestrian…

Place-based educators recognize the importance of place in shaping learning, as our sense of place serves as a lens through which we interpret our experiences. Despite the growing prevalence of online environments in education, their impact on our sense of place remains largely unexplored. This case study employed critical case sampling to explore…

Professional learning communities (PLCs) have been used among educators in higher education as a way to address areas of concern, such as reform. One such area in higher education concerns inequities in education because they impact student learning and achievement. Faculty-driven PLCs in higher education have also been focused on ensuring that…

This dissertation investigates secondary educators' participation in a community of practice to determine how educators' discourse reveals a discerning stance of cultural humility and an understanding of culturally sustaining pedagogy. Applying critical race theory and Chicana feminist framework to a qualitative auto-ethnographic study, the author…

Despite the widespread commitment of many colleges of education to advance equity and social justice using critical theories, many students exit teacher preparation programs without a tangible idea of how to enact critical theories within their classrooms. The dominant approach to fostering critical practices among preservice…

Using a learning management system (LMS) to deliver robust content for K-12 students became an essential part of the discussion of technology's place in K-12 education when teachers were forced to teach online at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers used an LMS to deliver content in various ways and as part of different instructional…

Distance education quality assurance is a concern throughout the literature. Standards such as the Quality Matters (QM) Higher Education Rubric, 5th edition, are meant to support course design quality assurance. Professional development is associated with quality assurance initiatives, including the goal to transform faculty's instructional…

Despite Minnesota's investment in professional development in content area literacy, secondary students are not showing expected literacy gains. A lack of literacy proficiency limits future options for students. The purpose of this study was to examine content-area literacy strategy inclusion and its relationship to professional development in the…

An increasing number of university programs, particularly at the graduate level, are moving to an accelerated, time-compressed model for online degree offerings. However, the literature revealed that research in distance education effectiveness is still confounded by many variables, including course design and student approach to learning.…

With the Internet, foreign language learners can interact more easily with native speakers from other countries than in previous generations. For learners to develop the ability to function in foreign environments, it is vital to understand their experiences in postsecondary online foreign language classes. If educators and educational theorists…

This research study was designed to promote understanding of whether hybrid instruction supports students enrolled in a small private Christian university in the Southeastern United States in achieving transformational learning outcomes. The course was designed to encourage independent learning; social interactions; and the ability to arrive at…