This mixed-methods action research study investigated the impact of makerspaces on student creativity. Seventy fifth-grade students were exposed to makerspaces for 12 weeks. Quantitative data were collected using two assessment instruments. Prior to the experience, the students were given a preassessment of their creative potential using the…

This study examined the teaching qualities and behaviors that U.S.-educated and foreign-educated faculty who teach at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) deem necessary for teaching excellence. The Teacher Behavior Checklist (Buskist, Sikorski, Buckley, & Saville, 2002) was administered to faculty participants who were asked…

This comparative case study investigated integrated reading-writing instruction (IRWI) as an approach for writing instruction implemented after the adoption of Common Core State Standards (NGA & CCSSO, 2010a). Specifically, I explored the nature of IRWI through video-recorded observations of writing instruction, teachers' perspectives towards…

This research study compared gender and grade level differences in divergent thinking among middle school and high school students in the Midwest, in an attempt to determine whether gender or grade level-based differences exist in divergent thinking. The instrument used was based on the Wallach and Kogan Creativity Test (WKCT). There were 166…

The importance of creative thinking in science cannot be overstated. Creativity is integral to the development of knowledge about the natural world and the knowledge, skills and abilities that support it are in need of greater understanding. The Next Generation Science Standards (2012) include practices that implicitly emphasize the creative…

Over the last three decades Indigenous people in Ecuador have faced government policies threatening their internationally recognized Indigenous human rights. Although a national social movement emerged in Ecuador in 1990, the level of mobilization has since varied. This dissertation project proposes to address the question, under what conditions…

This study aimed to identify key views of foreign-educated who teach in American universities on what constitutes excellence in teaching based on different demographics using online version of the Teacher Behavior Checklist (Buskist, Sikorski, Buckley & Saville, 2002). Faculty were asked to rank the top 10 of 28 teacher qualities for excellent…

This study explores the strategic thinking and strategic planning efforts in a department, college and university in the Southeastern United States. The goal of the study was to identify elements of strategic planning processes that meet the unique organizational features and complexities of a higher education institution. The study employed a…

This dissertation utilized a multiple case study design to explore how advanced learners synthesize information about ill-structured topics when reading-to-learn and reading-to-do on the Web. Eight graduate students provided data in the form of think-alouds, interviews, screen video, digital trails, and task artifacts. Data analysis was based on…

The impact of gifted education services is not monitored by accountability measures required by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB, 2002), and giftedness is not a suspect class in equity concerns (Leslie, 2009). Therefore, a research base that measures the impact of well-designed practices on student outcomes may serve as the strongest…

Developing and maintaining a "completion mindset" is a necessary mental condition for online educational doctorate (EdD) and educational specialist (EdS) students to obtain their advanced degrees. The purpose of this research study was to examine the effect of a neuroeducational intervention on a volunteer convenience sample of EdD and…

Creativity is highly valued when teaching children to play, and it is through acts of play children begin to learn about the world. However, along the road to adulthood, creative minds often become stifled. Creativity may be viewed as impractical or unnecessary when learning hard and true facts, and yet, as experienced in childhood, creativity…

This study investigated the impact of an inquiry-based science program on the critical thinking skills, science process skills, creativity, and science fair achievement of middle school students. Although research indicates the connection between inquiry and achievement, there is limited empirical research relating specific inquiry-based programs…

The purpose of this research is to find the relationships among attributes of creative problem solving ability and their relationships with the Math Creative Problem Solving Ability. In addition, the attribute patterns of high, medium, and low mathematical creative groups were identified and compared. There were 409 fifth and sixth graders…

This study examined the creative thinking of interior design graduate students in an online learning community. This study considered potential changes in creative thinking (fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration) about design research resulting from peer-led online discussions. It further studied the learner characteristics of…