This case study examines in what ways the #Oklaed hashtag on Twitter represents a community of practice, why educators are participating in this space, and what benefits educators see in their practice. Educators are choosing to participate in Twitter chats, and this study will show the value of professional development when educators can choose…

This study employed the explanatory sequential mixed-methods design to assess the effectiveness of PLCs in Ghanaian basic schools. Using proportional stratified random sampling technique, the study selected 650 respondents (400 teachers and 250 headteachers) from the basic schools in five regions of Ghana for the quantitative phase of the study.…

This article looks at how membership of a community impacts learning for individuals. Community membership and learning have received much attention from scholars and practitioners alike (for example, in Wolfensberger, 2012; Inkelas, Jessup-Anger, Wawrzynski, & Benjamin, 2007; Wenger, 1998). Specifically, many studies have focused on learning…

This study reports on efforts over several years to design and implement a yearlong intervention intended to support secondary mathematics teachers in their early years of teaching. The intervention is designed to retain early career mathematics teachers in the professions by engaging them in the development of meaningful professional…

This article describes the effects of sequential non-residential writing retreats on graduate students the development of sustainable writing practices in the latter stages of writing theses and dissertations. Our study looks to understand how graduate students implement techniques of academic writing productivity. We collected data from three…

In this paper, we consider the changes to mathematics learning support (MLS) at Maynooth University due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the provision of novel online study groups aimed at increasing student engagement and interaction. We briefly outline the local, national and international impact of COVID-19 on MLS and then focus on the…

This conceptual article examines the "ukama" ethic concerning the COVID-19 pandemic-induced 'new normal' in African higher education. In so doing, we endeavor to appropriate "ukama" which is a communally oriented value system to militate against socially isolated individualism in Remote Learning and an Ethic of Care that…

Continuous professional development is necessary for teachers to stay current with teaching and learning. However, teachers face tensions when they engage in such activities. From the sociocultural and distributed leadership perspectives, this case study investigates how a school, recognised for its excellence in staff well-being and development,…

Many scholars recommend preparing faculty for educator roles. Faculty Learning Communities, The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), and teaching centers represent common preparatory approaches. But faculty and teaching assistants report time, disciplinary disconnects, and lack of incentives as ongoing barriers. Inspired by K-12's…

This study reports on the experience of three novice science teacher educators as their journey on unpacking and scrutinizing their inquiry implementation. In this study, the three science teacher educators formed a critical inquiry group and engaged in collective action research to identify weaknesses and strengths in their instruction of inquiry…

Our department is in the early stages of a multi-year effort to nurture a culture that values active learning. We focus on the change process, including specific, pragmatic ideas from the literature on grassroots leadership and systemic change. We briefly review Wenger's work on cultivating communities of practice and use Wenger's evaluation of…

This paper reports on findings from a study that examined students' online asynchronous discussions in five online courses on qualitative research methods. Online asynchronous discussion data from 22 students in 5 courses over a period of two years were analyzed iteratively, revealing two themes: (1) patterns of writing in students' posts that…

Blended Learning has existed for many years, and while it has gradually been gaining a measure of impetus in third-level programmes, it has traditionally been used as a cost-effective way to deliver part-time courses to adult learners. Delivered at times that are usually considered outside of core teaching hours (evening classes and weekend…

This manuscript discusses the creation of online strategies to support belonging while de-stressing for learning community student participants during the compounded stress of the world epidemic of COVID-19 and final exams. De-stress techniques were implemented via Instagram Live and were presented and facilitated as an easily accessible activity…

The National Science Foundation projects that the United States could see over 2 million unfilled STEM jobs in 2025 (National Science Foundation, 2018). At Redacted University for Review faculty from the STEM fields have undertaken the Science and Mathematics Attraction, Retention, and Training for Texas (SMART Texas) project, a National Science…