Professional learning community (PLC) has drawn global attention in the field of adult learning. This study applies paradox theory to examine how a group of Chinese school teachers transform their teaching practices in a self-organized PLC without school policy support. The researchers applied the biographic-narrative-interpretive method (BNIM) to…

In this article, the Education Studies Department (ESD) at Berea College shares lessons learned while becoming an inclusive, justice-focused, and democratic Education Preparation Program (EPP) together with its "Community of Teachers" (CoT). ESD values diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI+B) and democratic relationships.…

This study's main objective was to use structural equation modeling to examine the direct effects of teachers' amotivation, identified regulation, external regulation, introjected regulation, and intrinsic motivation on PLC development in Ethiopia's Awi administrative zone's primary and middle schools. For this purpose, a correlational…

The purpose of the study is to explore the advantages of study groups for first-year engineering students in a challenged Global South context. The research aims to explore how the support and resources provided by the peer-led study groups can help students cope with the stressors and challenges that are often associated with the transition to…

This dissertation investigates the impact of a pedagogical class and a Community of Practice (CoP) on the implementation of reading strategies by faculty at a community college. It explores the types of reading strategies instructors plan to use, their integration into classroom practices, the factors enabling or impeding this implementation, and…

This dissertation discusses the relationship between teacher sensemaking, attributions, and instructional adjustments prompted in response to student performance data. Through this qualitative observation study, this paper explores the varying perspectives of teachers, including their level of assessment literacy, and the dynamics of their…

The term transmedia learning is focused on how students learn in both formal and informal learning environments, across multiple platforms. This article identifies the literature on transmedia learning across the last decade and draws together a consistent definition. A conceptual model for transmedia learning is outlined and further advances a…

Utilizing Wenger's (1998) work of Communities of Practice and hermeneutic phenomenology, the purpose of this study was to examine the phenomenon of participation among alternatively certified agriculture teachers in the agriculture teacher community of practice. Two themes emerged as we interpreted the findings: (1) we're all in this together, and…

Homesickness, a distinctly human phenomenon, is common among college students, domestic or international and is the focus of this research. In this study, we focused on international students in American institutions to better understand the relationship among homesickness, acculturation, and social media use. Through focus group interviews,…

As schools face increasing student achievement accountability, many educators have turned to school-level professional learning communities (PLCs) as a possible solution. The challenge is that many schools are not implementing PLCs with fidelity. It is imperative that school leaders assess PLC practices to ensure that critical components are being…

The community of inquiry (CoI) framework is commonly used to study online learners' engagement and satisfaction. However, few studies have examined CoI's ability to predict online undergraduate students' end-of-course grades. The purpose of this quantitative hierarchical multiple regression study was to determine the ability of the CoI framework…

Interdisciplinarity (ID) and transdisciplinarity (TD)--in their definitions and practical characteristics--encapsulate the tensions, demands, and transformations that scientific research is currently undergoing in response to the complexity of scientific problems across various domains. This article aims to contribute to the discussion on how ID…

In the spring of 2019, the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research (Belk Center) began collaborating with ATD to better understand the work of teaching and learning in a cohort of institutions in the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS), within the context of future collaboration with, and support of, the System's…

In today's post-pandemic world, a sense of belonging within and in the larger relational world is something that many people struggle with, particularly those individuals leaving home to enter college. Socially engaged mindfulness can connect individuals with their breath, thoughts, emotions, and one another to promote and support well-being. This…

This guidebook is designed to help generate successful professional learning communities (PLCs) by providing a set of steps one may wish to consider when developing, recruiting for, and facilitating PLCs. Some aspects may not be relevant to a PLC (each PLC is unique), but this guidebook provides the structure to get started. In following the steps…