It was still true that some children came to school with a smaller vocabulary than their peers (David, 2010, Duff & Brydon, 2020; Templin, 1957; White, Graves, & Slater, 1990). If students did not have enough word knowledge to access the correct meanings of the words they read in text, they failed to comprehend those texts and struggled to…

This dissertation-in-practice is a reflective self-study exploring the lived experience of the current researcher as a leader of Lesson Study (LS) over 2 years. Drawing on the concepts of perspective and engagement articulated by Wenger-Trayner and Wenger-Trayner (2016) in their "Learning in Landscapes of Practice" conceptual framework,…

Advocates for inclusive diversity with equity, access and accountability (IDEAA) are often torn between individual-level change and institutional-level change processes. Similarly, antiracist scholarship spans individual-level and institutional-level efforts towards antiracism. In discipline-based education research (DBER) in microbiology…

Covariational reasoning is a cognitive activity that attends to two or more varying quantities and how their changes are related to each other. Previous studies indicate that covariational reasoning seems to have levels. Content analysis was used to examine the pedagogy and development of covariational reasoning levels in the sections that…

Even though the number of culturally and racially diverse students in the United States continues to rise, most teachers in our schools continue to be white females. When they enter classrooms without having critically examined the ways that they have been shaped by their own cultures or the ways that schools can perpetuate or disrupt…

A quality basic education that allows meaningful learning can serve to eradicate great social differences and conflicts existing in our society. The development of the citizen is one of the main goals of today's education, which seeks to promote the person as a whole. In the present study, I propose an intersection between "Temas…

Online literacy learning is still a relatively new field, however, with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, online learning became the primary mode of instruction for millions of students in public, charter, and private schools. This descriptive content analysis seeks to identify trends within the field of online literacy instruction from…

This study investigates the policy sensemaking of urban educators on the "Read by Grade Three" (RBG3) Law and their sensemaking impacts on English Learners' (ELs') learning experiences. Applying a critical cultural policy sensemaking framework, I conducted an urban district case study to highlight educators' perceptions and behaviors in…

That writing can support students' learning in science and mathematics has been documented, yet little is known about how empirical findings have been applied in (1) materials designed to support science and math instruction; and (2) informal learning environments mediated by peer instructors. This dissertation examines two relatively unexplored…

Much research exists about adolescent reading, particularly young adult literature (Allington, 2014; Gallagher & Kittle, 2018; Krashen, 2009). Within that body of research are explorations of nontraditional reading experiences among today's adolescents. This research includes gaming narratives (Ellison & Drew, 2019; Hall, 2011; Sylven…

Mathematics scores on the 2019 National Assessment of Education Progress increased by only two points for both fourth and eighth grade students since 2007, indicating that students continue to struggle in mathematics (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2007; U.S. Department of Education, 2019). The development of both conceptual and…

The theory of evolution is the central combing theory that brings together all the tenets of biology that bring about a solid understanding of life. It is also one of the most controversial scientific theories of all time and is widely rejected by about 40% of the general public in the United States. One of the biggest reasons for low evolution…

This study addresses current trends in theological higher education by proposing a potentially viable mechanism for institutional reform, namely the Montessori method. Although Maria Montessori is widely known as an early childhood educator, this study suggests that her approach aligns quite well with the telos of theological education, the…

Research has suggested that measures of both general classroom observational tools (Classroom Organization and Teacher Emotional/Instructional Support) and content-specific observational tools (Ambitious Math Instruction and Errors and Imprecision) are related to K-6 student math achievement and therefore there is encouragement to use both types…

Educators are striving to use instructional methods that engage and motivate students in online coursework. Recent studies have not addressed whether the use of games as an instructional strategy is associated with improving students' motivation and engagement to learn at the community college level. The purpose of this qualitative…