At-risk students are at risk of falling behind in contributing to tomorrow's 21st-century technological workforce unless educators address deficits early on. Scholars have indicated school librarians can raise at-risk students' self-efficacy levels and address inequity through access to technology and instruction. Nonetheless, there are…

The purpose of the study was to explore the use of visuals as it applied to English Language Arts instruction for teachers in suburban and urban middle and high schools in a metropolitan area in the state of Georgia. This study was implemented to address the reading needs of students in response to the changing context of literacy in an age of…

Diversity-centered courses may prompt student biases and misconceptions in unique ways. Studies have illustrated that developing an understanding of why value-laden content is difficult for students to learn is paramount to effective teaching. Research has indicated that self-reflection has a positive effect on academic growth. This study explores…

Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) are key partners in the education of undergraduates. Given the potentially large impact GTAs can have on undergraduate student learning, it is important to provide them with appropriate preparation for teaching. But GTAs are students themselves, and not all of them desire to pursue an academic career. Fully…

To help faculty connect programmatic assessment with the advancement of their own scholarly agenda, a professional development series was created that introduces faculty to the mutual benefits of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) and academic program assessment. An additional benefit to faculty for participating in assessment…

Dr. Ada Long (1945-2024) advocated for equal access to quality education. Authors suggest that her reflections on neighborhoods, community, and intentional inclusion were not one-off musings but rather indicative of how she saw her responsibility as an educator. Drawing on Long's establishment of a lecture series that brought faculty into a local…

The sustainability of the educational system is under threat, with teacher stress leading to high attrition. This dissertation advocates for a holistic development framework that nurtures teacher well-being, essential for sustaining effective learning environments. This study contributes to educational strategies that promote teacher resilience…

Implementation of blended teaching (BT) practices is in- creasing rapidly in K-12 classrooms. This trend creates an urgent need for professional development to support BT. An understanding of how experienced teachers implement BT can inform teacher educators and professional development leaders as they develop training to support this practice. We…

This article presents a SoTL study of students' use of concept maps in my undergraduate class "Women in Christian History," in a mid-semester module called "the Eve project." I present three students' maps to show the different kinds of understandings that students developed in this literacy encounter. I am especially…

Even though small group instruction is a research-based intervention and has many benefits, researchers have shown that many students are reading below grade level and struggle with mastering reading skills, and this may be due to the ineffectiveness of small-group reading instruction. The problem that was addressed in this study was teachers'…

The goal of this quasi-experimental study was to assess the effects of Dual-Coding Theory on domain-specific vocabulary and comprehension in a 5th grade social studies classroom. The pretest/posttest design research was conducted in a rural elementary school (N = 49). Twenty-three students participated in an intervention of dual-coding based…

In this paper, the authors describe an investigation of Kennesaw State University's inaugural MOOC, a professional development opportunity designed to enhance educator skills in designing blended and online learning environments for their K-12 learners. Additionally, the authors discuss design aspects of the MOOC in regard to learning impact and…

This study examines how a museum-led professional development workshop impacts preservice teachers' perceived preparedness to teach the Holocaust. Utilizing an instructional model of historical empathy, researchers designed a virtual Holocaust education workshop for preservice teachers. Teacher candidates at three large universities were invited…

Coaching is a popular mechanism for supporting teachers' improved use of teaching strategies. However, relatively little is known about which coaching processes are used or how those are implemented, especially in emerging formats like online asynchronous coaching. We used a multiple-case study design to examine coaching logs from an asynchronous…

The purpose of this qualitative, interpretive study was to investigate general education K-12 teachers' perceptions of instructional practices and professional development for teaching Spanish as a first language English Language Learners. Specifically, I investigated the instructional practices and professional development experiences of K-12…