The newest science standards and national economy demand a committed emphasis to STEM integration in K-12 education. The need for STEM programs in K-12 education continues to grow, specifically in the formative adolescent years. In response, one public school district pursued and was awarded a grant to implement a STEM program. This research study…

Research has indicated video-based interventions are successful at teaching skills to individuals with varying types of disabilities. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding video-based intervention, such as video modeling, as an evidence-based practice for academic skills. As technology becomes more and more integrated into U.S.…

Math anxiety is a concern for elementary students and their teachers. It is thought that the more confident a teacher feels within the area of math, the more confident they are delivering math instruction. If students are being instructed by teachers who lack confidence in math, there is a greater chance of the students themselves developing math…

More students with High Functioning Autism (HFA) are in inclusive settings than ever before, however, the physical combination of students with HFA and their typical peers alone is insufficient to address the social needs of students with HFA. Students with HFA in inclusive settings require evidence-based practices (EBPs) for social skills to be…

This dissertation is a case study of a school district in the Pacific Northwest that developed three-year high school science curricula using a Physics First course sequence (Physics, Chemistry, Biology), with the crosscutting concept "Patterns" as the central theme of the courses. The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of…

Demands for increased school accountability created by No Child Left Behind and Every Student Succeeds legislation has resulted in the implementation of professional development programs in which educators are observers rather than collaborative participants. The problem at a secondary independent charter school in Central Ohio was the lack of a…

In many Western countries, there has been an emphasis on ways in which to support teachers to shift practice from traditional mathematics instruction to inquiry-based classrooms. As a form of professional learning and development, lesson study offers the potential for teachers to develop their ability to respond to students' thinking through…

Public schools teachers in the U.S. strive to reach the needs of all students in the elementary classroom. However, teachers are increasingly expected to follow standardized curriculum. Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (Paris, 2012) pushes toward individualized educational practices and against the assimilationism embedded in standardization. This…

This research focuses on the ways in which preservice teachers evolve in their beliefs and understandings of literature while they are enrolled in a semester-long course, TLS 480, Children's Literature in the Classroom. I was the instructor of the course and served as a teacher researcher using qualitative research and Louise Rosenblatt's…

Adolescence is a time of transition characterized by rapid physical, neurological, cognitive, and socioemotional development. As students move toward adulthood, their bodies and minds change. Those changes affect how they learn and, likewise, should influence how educators interact with youth. This Alliance for Excellent Education report…

This issue brief summarizes the economic conditions in rural communities since the Great Recession and highlights the educational attainment of rural men. It then describes the barriers to attending college that rural men face and these promising efforts that Hinds Community College and the Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS)…

Teacher quality is the most important school-based factor affecting student learning and achievement. In 2009, the Race to the Top (RttT) federal education initiative provided an opportunity for states to compete for federal grant resources to reform their public education systems, which included revamping teacher evaluation systems to improve…

Research shows the number of paraprofessionals who provide support to students with exceptionalities is increasing (Data Accountability Center [DAC], 2010) and that special educators are becoming increasingly responsible for managing, training, and supervising paraprofessionals who support students with exceptionalities (Carlson, Brauen, Klein,…

This study examines the effect of teacher preparedness and the effectiveness of professional development that has been designed to enhance special education instructional strategies. The purpose of this qualitative study is to determine the preparedness level of general teachers and special education teachers that enable them to effectively teach…

Online and blended courses are becoming increasingly prevalent in higher education settings, and the pressures to incorporate these environments highlights the increased demand to serve a generation that prefers learning through experience or through interacting with learning tools. Challenges arise in assisting instructors in facilitating and…