This qualitative case study is a part of a larger university-community partnership that explores adolescents' utilization of critical literacy to write, engage, and lead in their communities. For this specific study, we explore the question: "How does an educational community use literacy practices and modalities to grieve through collective…

This paper analyses the opportunities for presenting knowledge that are created when assessment allows senior high school biology students to draw on linguistic and visual resources when constructing meaning in response to short-answer examination-style questions requiring a sequential explanation. Students within one senior high school biology…

In this pilot single-case study, we evaluated the effects of using LEGO® as a tool for students identified with disabilities to improve their expressive writing performance. We applied a simple ABA reversal design to test whether the intervention was effective with four seventh graders. Social validity data were also obtained. Findings indicate…

Designed to be used as a primary text in introductory research methods courses, "Music Education Research: An Introduction" aims to orient even the most novice researchers toward basic concepts and methodologies. Offering sustained attention to historical, philosophical, qualitative, quantitative, and action research approaches, the book…

Writing is an essential skill for EFL learners to be able to communicate effectively. Achieving effective communication is condemned by the degree of developing text coherence. Reviewing the related literature shows that coherence, unlike other text features, posits a significant problem with L2 learners, males and females. Due to biological and…

The COVID-19 pandemic catapulted higher education institutions to shifting their teaching, learning and assessment practices. Universities globally were abruptly forced to close their doors and adapt to digital learning platforms with the intention of meeting students' learning needs. In a University of Technology (UoT) context such as the Durban…

The emergence of generative artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT has left people feeling ambivalent and disagreement among scholars, academicians, educators and the community at large prevails. While the artificial intelligence could potentially revolutionize how research is conducted and how research papers are written, a number of ethical…

Many higher education faculty members are not trained to teach during their graduate study; thus, faculty development programs (FDPs) can provide systematic opportunity for teaching training. While FDPs are prevalent in higher education today, many such programs focus on practical or pedagogical skill development while neglecting to provide…

The purpose of this action research is to evaluate the impact of gamified peer feedback in a high school English Language Arts classroom at Southern Charter High School. National assessments on writing show that student proficiency is low in part because many high school students lack revision skills. Compounding the problem is that as classroom…

The purpose of this qualitative exploratory single case study was to explore English composition faculty members' experiences during the expedited transition from face-to-face instruction to online instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic. The problem addressed in this study was that a lack of understanding exists regarding faculty experiences…

This dissertation study explores the lived experiences of three graduate writers. Using narrative inquiry and ethnographic methods, I collected and analyzed data that focused on how three graduate writers, in two PhD programs housed within the same college of education, perceived and experienced their writing projects and themselves as writers.…

Dissertations are a challenging requirement for completion of a doctoral program, especially for multilingual students pursuing a degree in a second language medium of instruction, as is the case for many international students pursuing degrees in the United States. Although institutions provide various means of support for graduate students,…

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects 6-17% of college students in the United States, which can negatively impact academic achievement and is associated with other emotional difficulties. Exposure therapy, including written exposure therapy as been found to be efficacious for treating. However, concerns of treatment dropout and low symptom…

This dissertation has a couple of purposes: (1) to examine what writing knowledge and digital experiences are transferred/fail to be transferred to digital writing in a first-year writing class, and (2) to explore how writing knowledge, digital literacy, and students' prior writing experiences impact students' transfer between different activity…

The research presented here is a qualitative heuristic inquiry, sparked and driven by the following research question: How do first-year elementary teachers experience coping with strain? This inquiry investigated the experiences of six first-year elementary school teachers coping with strain working in a southwestern state of the United States.…