A networked learning community (NLC) comprises teachers from different schools engaging collaboratively in purposeful and sustained professional learning. Networked learning entails the construction of knowledge that is new to the members of the group by tapping their collective practitioner knowledge and the public knowledge base. Members can use…

Effective, inclusive, equitable, and evidence-based teaching is widely recognized as a crucial part of higher education change efforts with direct implications for student success and belonging, particularly at the undergraduate level where coursework plays a large role. It is also essential that faculty enact effective curriculum design and…

Written and edited by experts in the field, this book provides a blueprint for weaving effective word study into the fabric of classrooms and schools. Provided are principles, ideas, materials, and activities for use with teachers in a range of professional learning contexts. Key topics include word study foundations and orthographic knowledge;…

In order to achieve educational changes, professional development initiatives are needed. Recently more emphasis is placed on methods in which teachers are engaged in collaborative discourse. One potential strategy for this is the use of Teacher redesign Teams (TrDT), in which the support of an academic developer is imperative for its…

This dissertation served as a case study that examined the impact of a districtwide system of support drawn from existing literature and organizational structure and management. The identified framework, the Limelight County College and Career Readiness Intervention (LCRI) Framework, utilized the Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycle of improvement…

This research study, rooted in the theoretical framework of phenomenology, examined the impact of professional development related to specially designed instruction for students with a learning disability in reading. Teachers of students who had mastered at least 50% of their IEP goals in reading or had exited from special education services were…

Data-driven decision making (DDDM) is an important teaching practice that can positively influence student achievement by using assessment data to make instructional decisions. The problem is that teachers do not always use this practice. Teachers' perspectives of DDDM can influence their data use practices. This basic qualitative study was…

This dissertation focused on the outcome of elementary science teachers' learning in theories and practices of epistemic tools in professional workshops over the course of two years, starting in the summer of 2019. Study one focuses on teachers' understanding of language as an epistemic tool. The data were teachers' written responses to a…

This study addressed the need for districts to make professional development available to help teachers develop the skills they need to effectively adapt classroom practices to support students' social-emotional needs and create an inclusive, culturally responsive learning environment. The problem was teachers recognize the need for…

The Department of Defense's enduring mission is to provide combat-ready military forces needed to defend our nation, deter war, and protect the security of the United States (DoD, 2020). Effective military training and education are critical to our National Defense Strategy in that it provides a way to prepare our servicemembers with the ability…

Problem: While full-time faculty at any institution of higher learning undergo an established system of evaluation of teaching effectiveness, adjunct faculty members' experience varies greatly from institution to institution. There is little in the relevant academic literature about an effective feedback mechanism for evaluating teaching…

Engagement of learners is a critical determinant of efficacy in any educational program, and presents a unique challenge in a distributed, virtual method of delivery. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to explore lived experiences and perceptions of K-12 teachers and administrators about cognitive engagement in distributed, virtual…

A departmentalized classroom setting allows educators to focus their time on one content area, thus mastering their knowledge and craft in that subject area. However, many elementary school teachers are trained to be generalists who spend the entire year with one group of students, commonly referred to as self-contained classrooms. The problem…

This quantitative research study of first-grade students in two rural school districts sought to understand the difference, if any, between teachers' professional development training in the science of reading and student achievement. The study also examined the statistical relationship between the science of reading professional development and…

This paper utilizes a dissertation-in-practice model (Storey et al., 2015) wherein scholar-practitioners examine the implementation of teacher professional learning in the areas of culturally responsive practice (Gay, 2000; Ladson-Billings, 2001; Brown, 2004; Bondy, 2007; Lambeth & Smith, 2016; Chang & Viesca, 2022), implicit bias (Mason…