Educators serving students who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) serve a population that is heterogeneous. Deaf education teacher preparation programs cannot address all of the knowledge and skills deaf educators will need to be effective teachers. Yet DHH-specific professional development (PD) is limited and often difficult to locate. The purpose…

Thriving at work is a psychological construct associated with being well and doing well in the workplace and is operationalized as a composite score of vitality and learning. The problem addressed by this study was the growing concern that a composite score for thriving at work does not account for how the sub-components of vitality and learning…

Schools should be the place to cultivate and model a just society. Teacher candidates must be equipped with the ability to recognize, critique, and oppose any practices, policies, or structures that perpetuate the social and economic inequalities that currently exist. Yet the culturally responsive teaching strategies increasingly adopted by…

The purpose of this study was to determine the existence of a relationship between online professional development and English language arts (ELA) teachers' instructional practices. Professional development is commonly utilized to develop teachers' pedagogy, but in-person sessions do not meet all teachers' needs. "Mixed methods" research…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of personalized professional development (PPD) on induction teachers' sense of teacher self-efficacy when employed to address a teacher-identified, student-centered problem of practice using improvement science. Induction teachers' problem of practice focused on at least one of three areas:…

Two years ago, we presented a newly formalized process for systematically inculcating new faculty into our department, which up to that point had relied solely on the generosity of the department chair, seasoned faculty, and other new faculty for advice, support, and the sharing of ideas, resources, and knowledge about the specifics of the…

Engagement in learning is crucial for students, having long term effects that extend beyond a student's schooling years. However, many students, particularly at the secondary level, are not actively engaged in their schooling. Deficit mindsets, low self-efficacy, and a system that places excessive demands on teachers all lead to low expectations…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a method of instruction that challenges students to answer questions in a practical manner using their understanding of learned course content. The question at the heart of this study concerns if and how faculty in one institution are currently using PBL. I used an exploratory descriptive case study to research the…

This dissertation examined the term legal literacy as it applies to education, the state of legal literacy in educators today, and how that might be improved through lens self-efficacy. This dissertation is organized into four separate papers. Paper 1 is a review of the literature about legal literacy in both the field of education and in the…

This qualitative case study examined how six educators utilized professional development training designed to foster equity in the classroom through culturally sustaining pedagogy, critical reflection, and the development of student self-efficacy. Research participants engaged in professional learning during the Fall or Spring of 2018-2019 and…

Since 2008, the Ministry of Education in Grenada, where this study took place, started curriculum reform with the implementation of the HighScope curriculum in preschools. The problem is that many teachers faced challenges implementing the HighScope curriculum. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the perspectives of early…

Geometry is a complex subject to teach and learn at all levels in education. Poor performance in geometry in Bermuda has raised concerns about whether teachers are fully prepared to deliver content effectively. The purpose of this research was to examine teachers' efficacy in the geometry classroom using a basic qualitative study design. The study…

Every student deserves to be educated by a highly qualified teacher. Since teachers have the greatest impact on student success (Sheninger & Murray, 2017), it is critical to ensure teachers are afforded opportunities to build their capacity through professional development. When teachers perceive that professional development sessions offered…

An inequality in literacy rates exists between deaf children and their hearing peers. Research indicates that visual phonic interventions such as Visual Phonics used alongside a phonics program enhances grapheme-phoneme correspondence. That practice in turn improves overall literacy achievement. However, as rates deaf literacy continue to lag…

Collaborative leadership is an effective organizational model, yielding opportunities for teachers and benefits for schools; however, challenges exist when teams execute collaborative leadership. The purpose of this action research study was to investigate and improve the experiences of teachers working in a school with collaborative leadership.…