John Dewey is well-known for claiming that school education is all about developing the ability to think. There is nothing else for schools to do so far as students' minds are concerned. Thinking is not only the aim of education for Dewey, however, but the means of achieving it. This is not because it is the method to be preferred. Rather, as…

Equitable and accessible classrooms should engage all learners with mathematics content in meaningful ways. However, practicing teachers need support from professional development (PD) to learn to teach with this ambitious vision. Informed by sociocultural theory, we employed an evaluative case study methodology to describe, explain, and assess…

This study addresses the need to better describe instructional strategies used by middle grades mathematics teachers. After coding 177 videos of grades 6-8 mathematics instruction for indications of effective instructional practices, we further analyzed 8 of the highly scored videos with specific attention to teachers' implementation of strategies…

In this study, I present how eight U.S. college calculus instructors with different patterns of inquiry practices used instructional situations to frame instructional tasks for introducing derivatives graphically to students. During four interviews, the instructors proposed up to eight tasks for introducing derivatives physically, graphically,…

Following a 3-study format, this multi-methods dissertation investigates three prominent issues surrounding inclusive approaches to faculty development, instructional approaches, and student learning in the community college. The first study employs text mining techniques to examine how centers for teaching and learning at community colleges…

While the challenges of collecting multiple streams of digital trace data are diminishing with the help of the rapid development of learning technologies, the challenges of analyzing and understanding multimodal interactions remain substantial. Diverse multimodal data sources, such as digital tool use, speech, gesture, and more, can make it…

Educators want to make a difference in students' lives. They have a passion for subjects that they want to teach, and they have a desire to help students learn, thrive and experience education in a positive way. Good intentions are often embedded in every decision that an educator makes. Even with the best intentions, there is a clear gap in…

The past 30 years have witnessed unprecedented social and political polarization alongside a mental health crisis, disproportionately affecting youth and further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Largely because of these pressures on teachers and students, and despite recent political backlash, social and emotional learning (SEL), has become…

Decreased academic achievement of middle school students is occurring due to educators' inability or reluctance to differentiate instruction and the barriers that impede or prevent its use. The purpose of this qualitative single-case study was to explore strategies for implementing differentiated instruction in the classroom and overcoming…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore faculty engagement with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in the college classroom. Specifically, this study sought to uncover how instructors of record of Middleview University (MU) use and experience UDL-based tools and pedagogy. The lived experiences of the participants were examined…

This systematic review aims to research, analyze, and synthesize peer-reviewed studies using guided reading or small group reading instruction as an intervention with K-12 students within the last ten years. Guided reading is a differentiated reading approach tailored to a reader's needs and is structured in small groups. The three reading skills…

This study examined a faculty development program about cultural strengths teaching designed to build knowledge of teaching practices that embrace and leverage diverse students' strengths. More than 30% of community college students are first-generation students, and a majority are from systemically minoritized and low-income backgrounds (American…

The primary objective of this study was to systematically review the available research collected thus far on the effectiveness of math conversations in improving the mathematical proficiency of elementary students. Ninety studies were analyzed to determine what effect math conversations had on the number sense, conceptual understanding, and…

Coding bootcamps targeting diverse learners are increasingly popular. However, little research has focused on the student experience of these courses: what pedagogic practices make learning coding meaningful for them and why. In a previous paper, we proposed a conceptual framework outlining three dimensions of learning opportunities in relation to…

Development of the cardinality principle, an understanding that the last number-word recited in counting a collection of items specifies the number of items in that collection, is a critical milestone in developing a concept of number. Researchers in early number development have endeavored to theorize its development. Here we critique two widely…