Socratic seminars are active learning opportunities for students that create a classroom atmosphere building upon the foundational knowledge and experience of the students in the room. The teacher acts as a facilitator of learning, and students research, create questions, and converse to create a deeper understanding of learning. The purpose of…

This research paper examines the application and performance of gamification through the use of Kahoot in elementary Mathematics classrooms. The participants were 10 elementary school Mathematics teachers from across the United States. All data were collected over one semester through interviews questions and, subsequently, findings presented a…

A person's literacy level impacts multitudinous aspects of their life. Determining and implementing effective procedures to address reading struggles continues to plague the education sector. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how teachers in the fourth grade describe how they select and implement reading intervention…

This applied dissertation was designed to provide access to current information for administrators, teachers, and staff in an elementary school that is relevant to technology and assessments. The purposes of this study were: (1) to examine how the decomposed determinant factors of the DTPB influence the teachers' intention to adopt…

Teacher education is an essential time for preservice teachers to learn effective assessment practices, particularly formative assessment. If used effectively, formative assessment is a planned process wherein students and teachers reciprocally share and use information generated through instructional and assessment activities to improve and…

The proliferation of an expanding English second language community has led to an increasing number of English language learner (ELL) students enrolling within the California public schools system. This research study sought to understand how teacher self-efficacy affected ELL assessment outcomes and the role professional development had in…

The work in this dissertation is presented in two parts. The first part (Chapters 3 and 4) details work relating to students' explanations of reaction mechanisms in organic chemistry. The second part (Chapters 5 and 6) details work relating to the evaluating the uptake of research-based instructional practices in introductory chemistry,…

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in beginning teachers' perceptions of their preparedness to teach based on whether they attended traditional university-based programs or alternative certification programs regarding content knowledge, classroom environment, providing meaningful chances in instruction, a variety of…

For a long period of time, translation has been taught using the traditional teacher-centered approaches in which students are rarely engaged in the process of their learning. In these teacher-centered approaches, students play no role but that of passive learners who wait for the teacher to 'spoon-feed' them with the knowledge they need to learn…

Higher education faculty have begun to explore innovative teaching methods in response to the increased diversity of undergraduate degree seekers. Differentiated instruction (DI), popularly utilized in K-12 education, offers an approach to teaching that relies on continuous assessment designed to inform educators of how to adjust content, process,…

Adaptive tutoring systems often model student knowledge in ways that break away from a "one size fits all" approach to learning. Nonetheless, the strengths of these systems can often be limited, as knowledge representations are not easily interpreted by teachers, which make these systems difficult to integrate into pedagogical practices.…

This dissertation examines the transformative potential of reflective practice in student assessment and feedback, while also developing tools to gain a nuanced understanding of teacher feedback dispositions and practices. It outlines the development and refinement of three novel tools: the Reflective Classroom Assessment Protocol (ReCAP), the…

As educational accountability pressures and science teacher attrition rates within American public-school systems continue to rise, so does the need for improved reform-based professional development (PD) opportunities that allow science educators to challenge their pedagogical beliefs and teaching practices. This qualitative case study explores…

The assessment and evaluation process is crucial for building or reforming any educational system. Saudi Arabia, via its different educational entities, has invested heavily in developing assessment and evaluation programs and practices at many levels of the education sector. A national student assessment framework is needed to support…

Data-based decision-making has been a frequently used policy and practice intervention used in schools to help inform the decision-making processes of educational practitioners, with the aim of improving student outcomes. Interim benchmark assessments are designed by commercial test developers to support educators in this framework. In fact, the…