This Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis study explores how elementary teachers made sense of their experience in the National Writing Project's Summer Institute and how it influenced their teaching of writing. Many elementary teachers have not received writing methods as a stand-alone course during their teacher preparation. Furthermore, the…

The principal purpose of this program evaluation was to determine how the 2010-2019 alumni of the William & Mary (W&M) D.C. Summer Institutes (DCSI) perceived their participation helped them achieve career readiness. Existing literature on experiential learning methods and practices has suggested great value in such opportunities, but less…

The purpose of this study was to understand how Puente Project community college faculty experience and conceptualize carino in the Puente Summer Institute training context and how carino is enacted with students. In this research, I used a grounded theory approach informed by culturally relevant and carino pedagogies as conceptual frameworks to…

Teach For America is the largest supplier of novice educators in the United States as well as the largest postgraduate employment provider in the country. It is renowned for its unorthodox approach to teacher education, with the Summer Institute at the heart of its training model. The five-week, accelerated program is designed to prepare new…

This study of four case studies looks at how secondary math, music, science, and social studies teachers' attitudes and classroom practices were affected by their participation in the Central Utah Writing Project (CUWP) summer institute. Participant interviews, observations, and artifacts were analyzed by looking at themes for effective…

This research analyzed the effects of teacher professional development and lesson implementation in integrated Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) on: (1.) Teacher self-efficacy and their confidence to teach specific STEM subjects; (2.) Teaching outcome expectancy beliefs concerning the impact of actions by teachers on student…

The meaning of literacy has drastically transformed over the past two decades, and it continues to evolve. Literacy extends beyond the traditional reading, writing, listening, and speaking. "Multiliteracies" was coined by the New London Group (1996) and includes digital literacy, new literacy, visual literacy, computer literacy, and…

Teachers are continually confronted with meeting the needs of all students and preparing them to be successful on state end-of-course assessments while changing or evolving to be more of a facilitator of student-centered. Lessons are to be relevant for the students, engaging them so they are active participants in their learning. However, many…

This qualitative study examined the influence of the 2011 Oregon Writing Project (OWP) Summer Institute (SI) on the professional development of six teachers in the following ways: 1. The development of case descriptions of teachers' personal and professional backgrounds relevant to their teaching of writing. 2. An examination of the effects of the…

This qualitative naturalistic descriptive case study provides an understanding of the characteristics of a community of practice within a National Writing Project invitational summer institute. This study utilized naturalistic, descriptive case study methodology to answer the research question: What characteristics of a community of practice are…

The concept of cultural competency, its application, and impact on K-12 learning have not received much attention in the literature. Teachers need to understand the connection between culture and pedagogy when teaching minority and underrepresented students. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine whether the skill sets in…

Problem: Since abolition of slavery, the United States has struggled to recognize people of color, specifically African-Americans, as equal citizens worthy of equal education. For several generations, within the curriculum of American schools, students have been taught the narrative of American History with a Eurocentric perspective. However, the…

This policy study contributed to an understanding of the types of professional growth activities that improve teacher self-confidence to teach challenging subjects and helped determine the future allocation of resources relative to teaching secondary social studies in Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS), the eighth largest school district in…