The National Technical Assistance Center on Transition's (NTACT) Competitive Integrated Employment (CIE) Toolkit was developed in accordance with the requirements of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Rehabilitation Act), as amended by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as a…

This qualitative case study examined the professional development practices at 2 of the 9 schools involved in the Incentives for Highly Effective Administrators and Teachers (iHEAT) Program in Miami-Dade County Public Schools from 2013-2017. The iHEAT Program was funded through a Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) grant and provided participating…

The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of short professional development interventions, covering core concepts in teaching and learning, on the self-efficacy of academic librarians in the teaching role. The participants in this study were six academic librarians at a large, research-intensive university in Canada for whom instructional…

Advocates for the school counseling profession have called for school counselors to become leaders in their schools (e.g., Bemak, 2000; Campbell & Dahir, 1997; House & Sears, 2002). However, evidence suggests that school counselors are not getting enough leadership training within their graduate programs. Rather, "on the job"…

In this dissertation, I explored how residence life professionals are teaching social justice. Using critically informed qualitative methods, I conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 student affairs professionals who are responsible for ongoing social justice-oriented initiatives in residence life. I also analyzed documents associated with…

This dissertation seeks answers to perplexing questions: 1) Why don't more students--particularly minority and other traditionally underserved students--participate in study abroad programming? 2) Does institutional culture play a role? In higher education, study abroad is almost universally perceived to be good for students. Research supports…

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between learning modes and the use of social media for learning in undergraduate college students. Social media use among students has continued to grow for the past 10 years, yet, not many have been exposed to using it in an academic setting. The study was guided by Kolb's (1984)…

The majority of American college students pursue a degree outside one of the STEM fields (US News & World Report, 2015), yet these same students must still complete a minimum level of coursework in mathematics for graduation. The intent of liberal arts math courses is to help students who are majoring in one of the liberal arts successfully…

This study investigates how the phenomena of vocational discernment is experienced by faculty members who have participated in Collegium's summer colloquy. Through this research, the researcher contributes to the literature and discussion regarding mission in Catholic higher education, faculty development, and the role of lay faculty in Catholic…

Little research about fathers with young children with developmental disabilities or delays and their participation in early intervention/Part C programs is available. This study adds to existing scholarship through a narrative inquiry into the experiences of six fathers with children who have participated in early intervention services. Emergent…

This book offers a selection of stories about teaching, learning, and school life that you can use in a variety of PD formats and settings. Grouped into four categories--students, teachers, administrators, and parents--these tales offer a powerful entry point for thinking and reflecting on your school environment in a new and meaningful way. Each…

Providing high-quality and equitable learning opportunities should be a primary goal of all schools and school systems. Charter schools comprise the most steadily growing sector of Pennsylvania's public education system, now home to over 160 brick-and-mortar charter schools. As with all public schools--given the right conditions--the charter…

Roughly 50 percent of students participating in the alternate assessment who are pre-symbolic or emergent communicators do not have access to Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). The Systematic Processes for Enhancing and Assessing Communication Supports (SPEACS) Initiative was created more than 6 years ago to address the lack of…

One of the key aspects to learning a language is building good vocabulary knowledge. However, building vocabulary is considered to be as hard a process as developing the language itself in the long term. In second language acquisition (SLA), the larger vocabulary size has been connected to intelligence and as a major determinant of successful…

The purpose of this research was to determine the perceptions of high school English teachers on how they perceive their reading coach's effectiveness. The researcher specifically sought to determine if differences existed among teachers' perceptions in accordance with their years of teaching experience (novice vs. experienced) in their teaching…