This research presents the investigation of physics students' and physics faculty members' professional development and a design methodology via which we could best support them in their professional development. In particular, the first part of this dissertation will focus on undergraduate upper-division physics students' conceptual learning and…

The entrance into ninth grade is a critical time for urban high school students. A successful transition is needed to ensure that students do not fall behind and graduate on time with their cohort. There was a need to study the perceptions of teachers to better understand specific issues surrounding the transition to high school. The purpose of…

This paper reports math and reading academic achievement and growth in grades 2 to 8 for Hispanic participants and nonparticipants of a Spanish-English dual language program. I apply a piecewise multilevel growth model to administrative data from a large school district that enrolls a substantial English Learner student population. Dual language…

This dissertation investigated the roles of early childhood fundamental motor skills (FMS) competence on physical, cognitive, and psychosocial health outcomes among underserved preschoolers in Head Start, and examined parental influence on their children's FMS competence. An explanatory sequential mixed methodology was used to examine the…

This design case describes the process by which a private office was renovated using the Working Labs model, which engages students, faculty, and staff in hands-on engagement from project conception through completion and beyond into ongoing evaluation of everyday use. The spaces that follow the Working Labs model are intended to provide students…

This design case describes the development of three analog games intended to introduce middle school-age girls to core computer science (CS) concepts. We describe the learning objectives, game mechanics, and narrative elements of each game, and some key problems and decisions that we confronted during the design process. Our design process was…

This paper examines the differences and challenges encountered when trying to create informal blended (virtual and hands-on) engineering design STEM activities. It contrasts the creation of STEM activities for formal and informal learning environments, stressing that the differences extend far beyond the length of the activity or depth of any…

From a critical pedagogy standpoint, we examined a bilingual (American Sign Language [ASL] and English) video-publication titled "Seizing Academic Power." The video-publication explores interactions of power and knowledge in deaf education and research and proposes tools to subvert ableism and deficit ideologies within them. By…

Washington has a long history of sustained support for early learning. Over the last decade, that investment has led to real progress for children and families across the state. Many of the strategies outlined in the 2010 Early Learning Plan--the state's first comprehensive formal plan for early learning--have been implemented, including the…

This study aimed to evaluate and redesign an online master's degree program consisting of 12 courses from the informatics field using a context, input, process, product (CIPP) evaluation model. Research conducted during the redesign of the online program followed a mixed methodology in which data was collected through a CIPP survey,…

Respondents to our 2011 survey on the impact of Community Outreach Partnership Centers (COPC) grants administered by HUD between 1994 and 2005 reported deep and lasting impacts on their respective institutions. These grants affected institutional structures, embedded community engagement within institutional cultures and academic curricula, and…

Recent years have brought many changes to the ways in which schools in the United States address learning disabilities in their students. In an attempt to provide all students with appropriate reading instruction and to identify struggling students in a more timely manner, the 2004 revision of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act…

In 2005, the UK government introduced new vocationally related diploma qualifications. Two-year programs were examined in the summers of 2010 and 2011; initial government hopes for candidate numbers proved largely ephemeral and results were disappointing. This article explores what happened to the diploma's lofty ambitions using the summer of 2010…

Little information exists on the basic elements of diversity recruiting on college campuses. A set of questions was developed for the Collegiate Employment Research Institute's (CERI's) annual college hiring survey that attempted to capture the current practices and benchmarks being employed by organizations in their diversity recruiting programs.…

The mission and vision of adult education is to provide every individual in Illinois access to Adult Education and Literacy services. In Illinois, more than 1.15 million adults have less than 12 grades of formal education, approximately 2.8 million Illinois residents speak a language other than English in their home, and more than 350,944…