Project based learning (PBL), a well-known pedagogical approach, is becoming more widely recognized for creating and sustaining student engagement and motivation in 21st-century learning while improving academic achievement. Teachers support this hands-on, collaborative approach and see it as beneficial for students of all learning modalities, but…

Undergraduates frequently approach research methods classes with trepidation and skepticism, owing in part to math-phobia and confusion over how methodology is relevant to their interests. These self-defeating barriers to learning undermine the efficacy of methods classes. This essay discusses a strategy for overcoming these barriers--use of a…

This article examines the pedagogical potential of art-based, early critical literacy as a space in which young bilingual children can explore the issues of human diversity and uniqueness. Adopting a qualitative case study approach, this study focused on 12 five-year-old children of Mexican origin at a charter school located in Texas.

Billions of dollars have been injected to reform turnaround schools over the past decades with minimal tangible positive outcomes related to improving student achievement, if any. In this qualitative study, we investigated how using longitudinal external root cause analyses (RCAs) contributed to enhancing leadership instructional practices in thee…

Blended Learning (BL) is often used as a "catch-all" term describing the modern educational environment, which centers on using technology to integrate traditional face-to-face (F2F) and online paradigms in higher education for over fifty years. HyFlex is considered a subset of BL since it incorporates different modalities to support F2F…

Literacy educators have long understood the importance of designing multicultural instruction for students. However, in an educational context that is both increasingly multilingual, literacy educators are not realizing that multiculturalism isn't enough. This article focuses on practitioner friendly recommendations for understanding linguistic…

In this qualitative collective case study, we investigated how participating in external longitudinal root cause analyses (RCAs) contributed to the enhancement of instructional leadership practices of the leadership teams in three turnaround elementary schools in Texas. We participated with an external team of expert professors in conducting the…

The purpose of this instrumental case study was to investigate band teacher agency in a high-stakes performance environment. Research questions were: (1) What experiences and professional relationships were most salient in the past (iterative), present (practical-evaluative), and future (projective) dimensions of band teacher agency in a…

Despite evidence suggesting that standardized tests are an imperfect measure of academic readiness, many community colleges across the country rely on them alone to determine student course placement. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced campuses to transition to remote operations in spring 2020, proctoring in-person placement tests became…

This is a case study of supplementary support sessions for Spanish proficiency offered in a bilingual teacher preparation program in Texas throughout an academic year. The support sessions were created to assist pre-service bilingual teachers in further developing their command of Spanish through extra practice, feedback, and test preparation in…

This case study takes place in a Midwestern, politically conservative rural community shortly after a highly contested presidential election. Like other communities, Paisano has experienced demographic change in a relatively short time. Meat processing plants and construction jobs proliferate, attracting migrant workers. One day, secondary school…

Entrepreneurship in rural areas has been seen as a potential tool to mitigate rural outmigration. Entrepreneurship has long been a part of the comprehensive model for school based agricultural programs in the United States, often emphasized through Supervised Agricultural Experience Programs (SAEP). Using case study methodologies, this study…

According to the PEW Research Center (2014), Texas' Hispanic population comprises 39% of its overall population, twice the U. S. Hispanic population. Texas Education Agency (TEA) predicts a 14% increase in the next seven years, with a surge of about 40% in its English Language Learners (ELLs) population. Already, it reports Texas experienced a 20%…

This case study explored how the translanguaging stance of two instructors from different disciplines was reflected in their course design, instructional decision-making, and interactions with students at a large Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) in the state of Texas in the United States. The results of the study revealed that the instructors…

Students today can enter classrooms lacking the social and emotional skills needed to achieve academic and behavioral success in school. As the need for the classroom-based social and emotional interventions and supports grow, the need to identify the perceptions of teachers involved in the identification and implementation of these interventions…