COVID-19 presented educators with a quick transition to virtual teaching. The problem was that secondary teachers in southwest Florida had to overcome obstacles, including preparedness, to teach successfully using different modalities during the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. Research on this topic is important because teachers' perceptions will…

Novice Teacher Experiences of Online Reading Instruction During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Deyanira Candales, 2023: Applied Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice. Keywords: novice teachers, reading, online instruction, elementary school, virtual learning, distance learning,…

This qualitative, thematic analysis explores the emergent themes related to community college professors' experiences adopting and using technology during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. The interviews included semi-structured questions (i.e., closed- and open-ended) to elicit themes related to the professors' adoption and use of…

This research shows that improved scientific reasoning and application of concepts occurred when creating and viewing student-crafted digital storytelling projects. By utilizing digital storytelling projects to showcase course competencies in an undergraduate biology course, students were able to apply subject matter outside the classroom. In this…

The study examined how school closures and the rapid transition to online learning may have impacted student performance. In March 2020, a global pandemic was declared in response to the quick spread of the COVID-19 virus. The impact of this global pandemic was felt across all areas of daily routines. Businesses closed, and many workers found…

In the Spring of 2020, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) physics faculty used the rapid response and change of teaching modality to the pandemic to holistically re-imagine the course assessments. They developed and implemented a course architecture that focused on more smaller-stakes assessments to better engage students with the…

The following research study discusses how the St. Lucie District public schools can transform to virtual education. Inspiration for the following dissertation has been derived from the recent outbreak and pandemic of the COVID-19 virus and how it has crippled the global education sector. The closure of schools in the United States due to the 2019…

While adaptive learning is emerging as a promising technology to promote access and quality at a large scale in higher education (Becker et al., 2018), the implementation of adaptive learning in teaching and learning is still sporadic, and it is unclear how to best design and teach an adaptive learning course in a higher education context. As…

Although many studies demonstrate that online education is as good as face-to-face education with regard to learning gains, course grades, and other near-term metrics, there is a major gap in exploring the long-term outcomes of online vs. face-to-face education, particularly in STEM programs. In this study, the effect of course delivery method on…

This interview study offers educators practical tips on using tools to improve online learning experiences. Eleven instructors, professors, and instructional designers were interviewed about the challenges they faced designing and teaching online university courses in Florida. This study aimed to explore how educators and instructional designers…

Since the spring of 2020, many early childhood education programs (pre-K, K, 1st, and 2nd grades) had to close as governments around the world took serious measures to slow down the transmission of COVID-19. As a result, the pandemic forced many early childhood teachers to start teaching online and continue supporting their students remotely.…

The Micro-Credential Program is a digital badging system composed of competency-based pathways that move forward early childhood professionals to achieving mastery in employability skills. These skills are crucial for early childhood professionals to have to provide high-quality, nurturing learning environments to children in their care as well as…

In 2020, the state of Florida strategized to improve reading instruction for K-12 students by mandating all elementary and literacy teachers receive a reading endorsement. In response to the mandate, the University of Florida's Lastinger Center for Learning developed an online, asynchronous, self-paced teacher professional development program to…

Instruction plays a critical role in student success. However, most studies of teachers' effects on student learning focus on face-to-face settings. Some aspects of online courses, such as the choice of synchronous or asynchronous instruction and the course structure, might reduce teachers' influence on their students. This study of an online high…

These are the appendixes for the report, "Exploring Teachers' Influence on Student Success in an Online Biology Course." This study of an online high school biology course offered by Florida Virtual School examined the variation in students' course segment (similar to semester) completion rates, end-of-segment exam scores, and time to…