While there has been a recent focus on developing programs to support educational research by community college anatomy and physiology instructors, there is not yet an established long-term community of practice (CoPs) in this particular area. Studies of long-term CoPs, particularly in STEM education, are few and far between. This study examines…

The overarching goal of this dissertation is to examine institutional change initiatives in STEM and to understand the impact of engaging with a specific change strategy on a biochemistry educator's instructional practice. Institutional change initiatives involve executing an intentional strategy to influence teaching practices within a specific…

The present study aimed to examine the effect of collaborative practices among teachers on student achievement in state-tested science courses. Using an action research model, the author planned, implemented, and evaluated the effect of teachers collaborating in PLCs in science classes in a rural school district. Prior to the study, teachers in…

This study deals with an elementary school that is undergoing a process of pedagogical change. The teachers understood that their weak point was excessive use of teaching based on memorization rather than developing high-order thinking (HOT) skills. The school therefore established teachers' learning communities for peer learning and designing…

During March of 2020, a novel strain of the Coronavirus began to close college campuses across the United States. But the teaching and learning did not stop, even though faculty and students were sent home to engage in remote teaching in order to avoid accelerating the spread of the pandemic on their campuses. In this study, interviews were…

In this article, the author argues that the narrow-sense community of inquiry, which is the methodology of education, must be driven by the pedagogy that underscores the wide-sense community of inquiry, i.e., the pedagogical guidelines that drive the community or inquiry as a teaching method. In doing so, they are not expressly ignoring the…

Schools across the United States are becoming more diverse and the way they respond to that diversity could make all the difference in the success of future generations. The purpose of this participatory action research study was to provide beginning teachers with a better understanding of how culture plays a role in teaching and learning. This…

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, chemical engineering departments from around the world shifted their course offerings from in-person to online almost instantaneously. The AIChE Education Division immediately responded to this educational shift by developing five Virtual Communities of Practice (VCPs) that allowed faculty to share experiences…

Political parties are often construed as playing an imperative role in democratic systems. However, what happens inside a party once people have joined as members and during their continued engagement is underexplored in research. This paper investigates the organisation of party education within political parties in Sweden and how political…

This qualitative research study sought to help community colleges aid math faculty in making a transformation in their teaching practices. The research questions were: (a) What did it take for faculty to change their teaching style from traditional lecture-based instruction to one that incorporates low-stakes collaborative practice, just-in-time…

As the main facilitators of teaching and learning, faculty developers' views as individuals and as members of their academic communities are essential to higher education research. Yet, developers' perceptions of their own growth and learning as practitioners are underrepresented in the extant literature. This qualitative study explored…

This qualitative study compares four public school districts in a state to investigate how "Next Generation Science Standards"-aligned, three-dimensional science classroom teaching and learning in biology classrooms could become normal, instead of exceptional. Interview data were collected through two rounds of interviews -- one year…

Engagement in active learning and learning communities is important for persistence of STEM students early in their academic programs. Colleges and universities have an ongoing call to facilitate active learning techniques, yet large group, lecture-based instruction is still the prominent method of instruction. This qualitative case study examines…

The United States lags behind other countries in science education outcomes, even though STEM fields contribute to our economic growth and output. The challenge of improving science education and reducing achievement disparities has been especially pervasive in diverse urban centers such as New York City. In that vein, New York City has embarked…

The study explored the viewpoints of two groups of mentors -- subject and pedagogy -- on their roles in a 12-month problem-based learning (PBL) academic development program at a Danish university. Q methodology analysis from 49 mentors revealed consensus on certain generic characteristics of good mentorship, namely active listening, constructive…