Quality Professional Development (PD) interventions are important to improve teaching in schools (Desimone, 2009) and students' achievement (Wayne, Yoon, Zhu, Cronen, & Garet, 2008). Recent research has been focusing on learning using a situative perspective (Greeno, 2006). Within this body of research, this study analyzed elementary school…

In 2008, the Pennsylvania Department of Education enacted Chapter 49-2 which divided the certified grade spans of Elementary Teachers. This dissertation addresses the question of how the change of PA Teacher Certifications, known as Chapter 49-2, has affected the selecting, interviewing, and hiring process for administrators. A problem was…

This study addresses the impact of teacher preparation programs on novice teachers' perceived readiness for the classroom. An explanatory sequential mixed-method, three-phase design was used involving two collections of quantitative data and a focus group convened to explore themes that emerged from quantitative data. Data collected suggest…

The purpose of this study is to provide researchers, mathematics educators, and statistics educators information about the current state of preservice secondary mathematics teachers' preparedness to teach statistics. To do so, this study employed an explanatory mixed methods design to quantitatively examine the statistical knowledge and statistics…

The purpose of this study was to investigate Saudi mathematics teachers' understanding and practices of formative assessment as well as determine the factors affecting the practice of formative assessment in mathematics education. The sample included 202 in-service mathematics teachers at both rural and urban public elementary schools in Al Baha…

Faculty are responsible for providing the academic accommodations needed and used by students with learning disabilities (SWLD). Since learning disabilities (LD) are hidden, faculty may question the need for, efficacy of, and fairness of accommodations. Yet academically accommodating SWLD is important to academic success and persistence. This…

This study was intended to enhance the limited research on the knowledge and confidence of special education teachers in public education regarding transition services and the quality of transition plans they develop. The key variables examined in this study are knowledge, confidence, and the quality of student transition plans. The sample…

With the recent emergence of online professional development (PD), such opportunities are increasingly available to educators. It is important, then, to assess whether and how such options can be valuable and effective for them. The goal of this study was to assess whether and how a Massive Open Online Course for Educators (MOOC-Ed) can serve as…

The purpose of this mixed methods action research study was to identify the extent to which the Intervention and Referral Services program at the elementary schools in District M are effective at meeting the stated goals of helping students who struggle and helping teachers who work with those students. Both quantitative and qualitative methods…

The release of the "Common Core State Standards for Mathematics" in 2010 resulted in a new focus on mathematical modeling in United States curricula. Mathematical modeling represents a way of doing and understanding mathematics new to most teachers. The purpose of this study was to determine the conceptions and misconceptions held by…

This study used a mixed methods design to examine the characteristics--including competencies (i.e., knowledge and skills), and personal attributes--of successful teachers of students with E/BD. The characteristics were examined through the perceptions of teachers of students with E/BD (teachers who are expert in E/BD, n = 14, MEd Graduates…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS, 2010) as the latest initiative in the ongoing effort of educational reform in the United States reinforces the need to build the capacity of teachers as leaders and change agents. As such, graduate teacher leadership programs function to support and develop teacher leadership praxis. Although studies of…

This study focused on the mathematical content knowledge of prospective teachers in Iceland. The sample was 38 students in the School of Education at the University of Iceland, both graduate and undergraduate students. All of the participants in the study completed a questionnaire survey and 10 were interviewed. The choice of ways to measure the…

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which a signature faculty professional development program has impacted the pedagogical values and practices of the faculty members, and its contribution to the transformation of the climate, culture, and student achievement of a large urban two-year community college system. In…

This study investigated the influence of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching macroevolution on non-science majors' knowledge of macroevolution and evolution acceptance. The nature and sources of an experienced faculty member's PCK and instruction as enacted PCK (Park & Oliver, 2008) were examined to consider the influence of these…