The five chapters of this dissertation are anchored around the theme of supporting teachers in making inclusive instructional decisions in science to facilitate active student participation and engagement in science learning for students with complex support needs (CSN). Chapter 1 describes the benefits of inclusive education for students with…

The skill of collaboration is fundamental for every student as a future participant of a global society. Students with learning disabilities feel excluded amongst peers in a traditional classroom setting, specifically elementary students with learning disabilities in the area of collaboration. The overall purpose of this basic qualitative study…

Background: Higher education is more diverse than ever with a drastic increase in college enrollment over the past two decades by those who have not traditionally sought undergraduate credentials, including students with disabilities (Espinosa, Turk, Taylor, & Chessman, 2019; Clouder et al., 2020). Despite the growing demographic diversity of…

The purpose of this non-experimental causal-comparative study was to determine whether there is a statistically significant difference in the academic performance of high school students with and without disabilities who received math instructions in face-to-face and online educational settings during the 2020-2021 school year. During that year,…

All students, including students with learning disabilities, deserve a mathematics education that successfully prepares them for their future endeavors. This preparation includes effective instruction in algebra, which is known as the gatekeeper to post-secondary schooling, employment, and constructive citizenry. However, majority of students with…

Students who have problems comprehending textual material tend to experience failing grades, peer rejection, and even social isolation. Furthermore, students with poor reading comprehension demonstrate poor academic performance in all subjects, not due to difficulty in learning specific subject content (i.e., math, history, etc.), but rather their…

Many high school students with disabilities receive instruction in a cotaught classroom. Despite the consistent implementation of this service delivery model, students with disabilities are inconsistently demonstrating content mastery in ELA and math on end of course assessments. The goal of this multiple case study was to identify barriers to,…

The present study employed an alternating treatment design to examine the use of a socially assistive robot on the educational outcomes of children with severe symptoms of autism spectrum disorder. Participants included three children, ages 5-7 years old, recruited from a public elementary school in the Northeastern United States. The study…

Biology and biotechnology are increasingly ubiquitous and genome research will define the 21st century as the century of biology (Venter & Cohen, 2004). Comprehension of biology is needed to engage with major public policy issues and to make informed decisions (Barton & Uphadyay, 2010; Ladson-Billings, 2003; NRC, 2012; Walker, 2021).…

The purpose of this study was to describe d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing (d/DHH) students' and an instructor's perceptions of "teaching presence" and "social presence" in online learning environment. A focus on education of underrepresented populations coupled with d/DHH student preference to take online courses creates a need for…

Students with learning disabilities at the secondary level struggle with failure and a diminished emotional capacity to learn. Research suggests that the cumulative effects from the discrepancy model of identification, Learned Helplessness, and learning anxiety may explain the long-standing gap between students with disabilities and their…

This study aimed to understand paraprofessionals' knowledge in social emotional learning (SEL) in a public school district in the Northeastern United States. Many paraprofessionals do not have direct knowledge or training in social emotional learning and work with students with disabilities who require SEL support. Participants and data collected…

This causal-comparative quantitative study investigates learning centers as a cooperative learning instructional strategy in the secondary mathematics setting. The research literature on group work within the secondary mathematics classroom indicates that group work is an effective way to increase academic success if supported with effective…

The purpose of this Executive Position Paper was to research how to design an online, synchronous, asynchronous, or face-to-face training program for higher education instructors to serve the needs of a diverse student population of emergent learners, specifically in the community college sector. The subsequent research resulted in a faculty…

Over decades, researchers have identified an increase in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis resulting in a growing population of students with ASD attending higher education environments. Several researchers have found that individuals with ASD experience challenges in on-campus college settings. Examining other postsecondary learning…