This project examined the adoption of cybersecurity into computing programs within liberal arts programs and whether the rate constitutes an innovative program. The research questions focused on the lived experience existing faculty members have had with the cybersecurity curriculum within liberal arts computing programs. Liberal arts general…

Culturally Relevant Pedagogy is a method of education that promotes an inclusive and empowered learning environment by acknowledging and valuing students varied cultural origins. CRP is especially important for tackling the ongoing achievement discrepancies encountered by high school Black Male students in the context of mathematics instruction.…

This dissertation examined the relationship between school reform initiatives in the United States over the last thirty years and multicultural teaching practices. The methodology chosen was a qualitative phenomenological research study that was conducted with six participants, three novice teachers and three teacher educators. The research…

The COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 resulted in widespread school closures, leading to a rapid transition from traditional face-to-face instruction to distance learning. Educators who used this traditionally face-to-face multi-tiered instructional framework to provide services to students with disabilities faced obstacles with implementation due…

This study explores the efficacy of the Math Workshop Model in enhancing the capacity of secondary mathematics teachers to differentiate instruction, implement equitable teaching practices, and meet the diverse needs of students in mixed-ability classrooms. Through a mixed methods approach, including classroom observations, interviews, and surveys…

The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally altered the course of education and this is no more evident than in the world of Career and Technical Education (CTE). When the education world was thrust into the remote learning environment, CTE instructors were forced to discover ways to provide students in their programs with high-quality learning…

This qualitative multiple case study attempts to capture and document the lived experiences of a group of elementary educators surrounding the COVID-19 emergency school closures of the 2019-2020 school year. The purpose of this study is to capture the observations and reactions of teachers after their experience using the Collabrify Roadmaps…

Social and emotional learning has been recognized for positively impacting students' social, emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes (Durlak et al., 2011; Dusenbury & Weissberg, 2017; Taylor et al., 2017). State departments of education have taken this research and implemented statewide social and emotional learning standards for…

If we want mathematics education to be valuable to everybody, including those who do not pursue mathematics-related careers, we need to use mathematics as a training ground for certain ways of thinking. This dissertation focuses on one aspect of mathematical thinking, namely theory building. It has three parts -- unpacking what constitutes theory…

Problem: Nurse practitioners lack knowledge and skills to effectively communicate with D/deaf individuals which potentiates risk for health disparities and gaps in care. Graduate nursing programs rarely incorporate D/deaf-focused education in their curriculums. Methods: This descriptive quality improvement project implemented the first…

For students with moderate to severe disabilities, their secondary education, specific to Grades 9 through 12, greatly impacts postsecondary outcomes. Key components of secondary education for this learner population include classroom structures and alternative curricula implementation. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine selected…

The purpose of this research study was to examine the perceptions of STEM teachers on the factors contributing to successful STEM education in a Title I school district. A sample of educators who earned their degree in STEM fields and teach STEM related coursework in their district were interviewed and observed. The educators were interviewed to…

This qualitative study explored the perspectives of nine educators on how they define social justice and how they imagine transformational teaching and learning by integrating social justice in their teaching practices. The research sought to answer the following questions (a) How do teachers define social justice? (b) What is a teacher's role in…

This study investigated teachers' perception of building-level authentic leadership and its effect on teachers' perception of change. A survey comprised of a pre-STEAM questionnaire, the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ), and Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ) sent through Qualtrics was used to collected data and was analyzed using…

This transcendental phenomenological study, grounded in Bandura's self-efficacy theory (1997), investigates K-4 specialized literacy professionals' (SLPs) experiences and perceptions of implementing Response to Intervention (RTI) within a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) framework. Data collected from interviews and self-reported journal…