Conceptual approaches to contemporary physics topics pose many learning challenges. One factor influencing knowledge integration is a student's epistemological framing. Epistemic frames provide a context within which a particular situation is perceived, interpreted, and judged. The utility of an epistemic frame is context dependent, and the…

This convergent parallel mixed methods study explored barriers to teaching disability and accessibility awareness in the early elementary classroom and assessed the impact of an instructional video on educators' current perceptions and future teaching practices. Through one-on-one, semi-structured interviews on Zoom and a pretest, intervention,…

The Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards propose that students learn concepts and practices related to engineering as well as science. Currently the research surrounding how engineering practices through engineering design are implemented in the life sciences such as high school biology is limited. To…

Infographics are part of daily life because of the rise of digital media and technology, as learners now encounter a barrage of images carefully designed to convey data and information through social media. But what happens in the classroom when young learners first encounter this expressive genre? This case study examined a unit of instruction on…

The purpose of my study was to determine the effectiveness of using dynamic geometry software while exploring the properties of quadrilaterals. Dynamic geometry software can be effective if used properly in the exploration process as students construct their own knowledge through constructivism. Students were given the Van Hiele Test as a pretest…

Statistical association is a key facet of statistical literacy: claims based on relationships between variables or ideas rooted in data are found everywhere in media and discourse. A key development in introductory statistics curricula is the use of simulation-based inference, which has shown positive outcomes for students, especially in regards…

The purpose of this study is to understand the thoughts of teachers on the Amistad Integrated Units and the influence of the culturally relevant units on Black female students. The researcher identified if culturally relevant pedagogy influenced teacher instructional practices and the classroom academic experiences of Black female students. The…

Professional development programs aim to make long-lasting change to teacher practice. However, these programs are often short-lived due to limited personnel, cost, and time constraints. Using an actor-oriented approach, this study aimed to understand how teachers transfer their learning from a professional development program focused on…

Over the last decade, the demands on secondary science teachers have shifted to encompass a new range of objectives. Science teachers need support in their efforts to be responsive as they navigate shifting demands in the teaching profession: new state standards, an ever-diversifying student body, and a drive to integrate social justice into…

As the need for critical media literacy practices in classrooms increases, it is important to investigate students' experiences with a variety of media texts, specifically when analyzed from a critical media literacy stance. Critical media literacy creates spaces for students to question, challenge, and analyze the role of media texts in promoting…

This study investigated what is remembered about social studies education, how memories can be made useful in current classrooms, and how this knowledge can inform a social studies-to-be imagining future memories. Special attention was paid as well to issues of social justice and how they were engaged in in the past, how they have been taken up in…

Geometry education is an important aspect of STEM education and career development, but it is often overlooked in K-12 education in the United States. Although there is some research on teaching geometry to students with learning difficulties at the elementary level, there is a lack of research on teaching advanced geometry skills at high school…

The typical middle school in the United States is designed for superficial learning rather than deeper learning, compliance rather than engagement. This study sought to understand and develop problem-based learning (PBL), student choice, and community partnerships to increase deeper learning. Participants and data collected in Cycle 1 consisted of…

Cognitive development of eighth-grade students, as identified by Jean Piaget, occurs during a time when many of them are transitioning between concrete operations and formal operations where the ability to think in abstract concepts becomes possible. Because of this period of transition, many eighth-grade students find difficulty in demonstrating…

This dissertation is rooted in three strands of scholarship: translingual approaches to writing (Horner et al., 2011), social design-based experiments (Gutierrez & Vossoughi, 2010) as a subset of participatory design-based research (Bang & Vossoughi, 2016), and the Learning on the Move framework centering embodied and mobile epistemologies…