Educators across the U.S. participate in professional development (PD) to improve their teaching competencies. Numerous legislatures have mandated PD to develop highly qualified teachers; however, literature on PD has shown that teachers feel PD does not meet their needs. With consideration for the diverse needs of teachers, in this study I sought…

This case study examined the opportunities for self-directed learning and the resulting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) outcomes among participants in a STEM Girls program. The research questions guiding this analysis are as follows: (a) In what ways does the STEM Girls class provide participants with opportunities for…

The problem is that many public-school educations in various states rely on standardized testing resulting in misguided policies that further affect teaching and learning. This exploratory case study aimed to explore how teachers with 5 to 10 years of teaching experience in the Florida Region describe the influence of standardized testing on…

This study followed a cohort of former ELLs for two years after they exited the EL program. The exit school year for this cohort was between August 2022 and June 2023. We compared their academic achievement in English language arts (ELA) and math with a cohort of students who were never English learners (non-ELL). We used propensity score matching…

School violence is a problem that affects students, families, teachers, staff, and administration (Crews, 2019). Restorative justice is a proactive, alternative method to penal discipline (Payne & Welch, 2018). My study sought to understand the perceptions of administrators, teachers, and students with a restorative justice program at Happy…

A problem in the field of education is a high rate of teacher turnover. Because the problem is reaching a crisis level, the purpose of this qualitative descriptive dissertation study was to describe influences of an Educational Support Program for novice teachers relative to their feelings of support, job satisfaction, and teacher self-efficacy.…

The problem addressed in this study is the disproportionality in office discipline referrals (ODRs) for Black students at a Northeast Florida Middle School despite the implementation of School-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS). The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand middle school teachers'…

This study examined the impact of Personalization for Academic and Social Emotional Learning (PASL), a school based social emotional reform implemented in the Broward County Florida Public Schools. Taking advantage of a phased roll out of PASL, we analyzed data collected during the first implementation year (2017-18) and compared 205 9th grade…

Vol. II: Short-Term Programs features eight OST STEM programs for females from across the United States that run one to three days in length, in most cases, a single day. In this book, the chapter authors describe their programs, the effectiveness of those programs, and practical implications of their program evaluation data. This book series is…

Early mathematics achievement is a strong predictor of later mathematics achievement, and student competence in fractions and division may be the strongest predictor of success in secondary-level algebra. We used a multisite cluster-randomized trial to estimate the impact of a mathematics teacher professional development (PD) program on student…

We examined the effectiveness of the "Say Something Anonymous Reporting System" (SS-ARS) program in improving school safety in a cluster randomized control trial among over 700 students in 19 middle schools in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools. The SS-ARS is a program that emphasizes youth engagement and trains youth to recognize…

This study investigated the impact the Achieve3000 program had on reading growth and reading proficiency of 1,531 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students from four Title 1 middle schools in Florida who were enrolled in remedial reading classes. Archival data from the Florida Standards Assessment English language arts provided pre-and-post data…

Despite the use of literacy coaching to help improve the instructional practices of teachers and increase reading achievement, data of the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) indicate that Florida's students are averaging about 60% below NAEP proficient level. This dissertation reported the results of a nonexperimental study that…

Virtual reality (VR) and electronic field trips (EFT) can introduce youth to natural environments, climate change mitigation strategies, and related STEM careers. We developed a VR and EFT outreach program featuring scientists working on living shorelines for coastal restoration as a response to sea-level rise and examined the program's impacts on…

This multiple case study was designed to examine the facilitating factors and barriers of the PBIS implementations from the perspectives of the administrators and PBIS coaches. Three middle schools, three administrators and three PBIS coaches in a school district in Florida participated in 30-40 minute interviews. Within-case analysis and cross…