Colleges face growing pressures to maintain or enhance the quality of what they offer while being challenged to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse range of students. Staff in higher education face the challenge of supporting students to feel they belong and are valued. The co-creation of teaching and learning is one model in which we may be…

The purpose of this action research study was to improve the implementation of a large-scale redesign of teacher preparation programs at Arizona State University. This was a highly complex redesign that impacted over 150 courses across 27 programs, involving more than 200 faculty and 2,500 students annually. As a result, implementing the redesign…

The purpose of this descriptive, bounded, qualitative single-case study was to explore the experiences of ten training instructors at the School for Family and Morale, Welfare, and Recreation, a civilian training institution of the Army, about their transition to using a new standardized model of curriculum design and delivery. This study used…

The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to explore if and to what extent a correlation existed between the implementation of the Sown to Grow social and emotional learning curriculum, academic growth, and attendance. The study was grounded in the CASEL framework used by district leaders and curriculum designers to guide the…

International curriculum is a scholastic model to implement international and intercultural dimensions within teaching and learning strategies across disciplines. However, theorists emphasized that IoC is not an independent institutional strategy rather it is tied to internationalization of higher education as a complex and institutionally…

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…

Recent K-12 science reforms necessitate a shift in curriculum and instruction to support coherence from the students' perspective. This coherence emerges when students see their science work as addressing and making progress on their questions and problems. Storyline curricular units afford student coherence, but teachers need support to craft…

Culturally Relevant Education (CRE) focuses on the design of curricular materials that strengthen students' cultural identities while teaching classroom content and science practices. While examples of CRE in science continue to grow, the identities and cultures of the designers are often different from those of the students and communities in…

Approximately 80% of community college students and 25% of four-year students taking mathematics courses in post-secondary institutions struggle with moderate to high math anxiety, and 67% of two-year and 44% of four-year students are remedial noncompleters "no degree and not enrolled" (Chen, 2016, p. 35). Tobias (1993) stated that it…

For decades, education policy has prioritized the need to improve reading and math achievement while science teaching and learning have received far less emphasis. In 2013, schools across the United States began implementing Next Generation Science Standards (or similarly structured, state-adopted science standards). These new science standards…

The purpose of this study was to examine the application of the high-quality components of an online course rubric and impact on student success. Using a mixed method design and a practitioner analysis, this study explores the connection between components of a quality online course and student final semester grades in an online classroom. Using…

The problem addressed by this study was the commonly held belief that lack of confidence, preparedness, educational neuromyths, and little or no professional development are factors that impede early childhood teachers' implementation of brain-based learning strategies in the daily curriculum design structure. This qualitative narrative inquiry…

This study examined the impact of knowledge-building curricula on raising reading achievement for students from high-poverty backgrounds. The overall purpose of the study was to contribute to our understanding of curricula that may be effective in closing achievement gaps for students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds compared to…

This dissertation takes up the topic of simulations in social studies education. Though simulations are taken up widely by social studies educators, and though they are described as best practice in social studies standards documents and teacher evaluation rubrics, the term lacks specificity. Additionally, design, research, and implementation…

This study addresses the inadequacies of the traditional ninth-grade science curriculum at The Charter School of Wilmington (CSW) and proposes a focused initiative to enhance the curriculum's relevance and effectiveness. The current Integrated Science & Research curriculum lacks socioscientific inquiry, neglecting to incorporate social issues…