The purpose of this study was to determine the existence of a relationship between online professional development and English language arts (ELA) teachers' instructional practices. Professional development is commonly utilized to develop teachers' pedagogy, but in-person sessions do not meet all teachers' needs. "Mixed methods" research…

The purpose of this research was to determine self-efficacy levels of Secondary English Education pre-service teachers attending two public universities concerning writing and the teaching of writing. The study found that pre-service teachers were confident and identified as writers, but they felt uncertain as teachers of writing. Past teachers'…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine how well the use of transparent assignment design, based on the Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) framework, worked in introductory special education courses for preservice teachers at a public comprehensive university located in a rural area of the southeastern United States. In…

The purpose of this study was to build on recent survey research on writing instruction to examine both the types and extent of teachers' preparation to teach writing and what teachers' writing instruction currently looks like, including the evidence-based practices teachers use, the amount of time spent teaching writing, and the types of writing…

The purpose of this mixed methods action research project was to address the problem of practice of incorporating foundational grammar, spelling, and punctuation (GSP) instruction into community college journalism classes through the intervention of online interactive modules called The Story Mechanics Project (SMP). The modules were developed and…

This three-article dissertation explores Learning by Evaluating (LbE), an educational approach that enhances student learning through the process of assessing and providing feedback on peer work. Leveraging principles of comparative judgement, students evaluate pairs of exemplars side-by-side to determine which is better and provide a rational for…

One in seventy-five college students sustains at least one mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) each academic year. Individuals with TBI, including mTBI, tend to have difficulties with passage comprehension and reading rate, along with reporting reading to be effortful. As reading is fundamental to students' academic success, contributors to reading…

While the concept of reflection is not new to education, researchers suggest that students be given more space to engage in meaning-making activities (Sambrook & Willmott, 2014). In recent years, there has been an increased emphasis placed in education on self-reflection. In part, because of Donald Schon's (1983, 1987) work on…

This study investigated the effects of reflective writing on student writing self-efficacy and on the quality of the final research-based essay. Subjects were 110 students enrolled in a freshman 101 Honors English class in a public high school in northern Illinois. Students in the control and experimental groups wrote two essays requiring the…

Digital textbooks are replacing print books in school districts across the United States due to their adaptability for students with special needs, enhanced student interest, and lower cost. This is also true in the rural state of West Virginia which lags the U.S. in broadband Internet saturation. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to…

An interest in writing practices in the state of Kansas led to a statewide survey of middle school teachers to examine key writing practices and issues. Questions focused on teacher preparation, beliefs, self-efficacy, and sense of responsibility to teach writing; use of evidence-based writing practices; the role of assessment; technology; types…

In this study, I explored the interactions among genre, task complexity, and L2 proficiency in learners' writing task performance. Specifically, after identifying the lack of valid operationalizations of genre and task dimensions in L2 writing research, I examined how genre functions as a task complexity variable, and how learners' perceptions and…

Advances in technology and changes in educational strategies have resulted in the integration of technology into the classroom. Multimedia instructional tools (MMIT) have been identified as a way to provide student-centered active-learning instructional material to students. MMITs are common in introductory computer applications courses based on…

The purpose of this study was to provide information that may improve or design technology professional development for family and consumer sciences teachers to integrate technology into student assignments. This study was designed to investigate (a) the extent to which Alabama family and consumer sciences teachers are requiring students to…

Although women account for more than 50% of the college degrees awarded nationally, The College of Idaho has had a challenge retaining female students. There are any number of reasons for women's struggle to persist at the college, but one of the most basic may be a matter of self-efficacy. This mixed methods study used a combination of…