Over the last several decades, significant pressures resulting from financial challenges, declining undergraduate enrollments, changing demographics and now the COVID-19 pandemic, have caused college and university leaders to consider interinstitutional merger for both economic and strategic purposes. However, both knowledge and methodological…

Empathy is an important instructor variable that improves learning outcomes by creating a safe learning environment (Herbek & Yammarino, 1990). Advancements in virtual reality technology and 360-degree videography allow individuals to empathize with others through a perceptual illusion called embodiment (Bertrand et al., 2018). The purpose of…

Despite research suggesting the importance of centering students and focusing on deep conceptual understandings, direct instruction and step-by-step procedures remain common in mathematics classrooms nationwide. For this self-study, I embarked on a year of striving to change how I taught. I documented that process through a reflective journal, and…

Reading includes multiple skills essential for students to develop to become productive adults, yet results from state testing show some students are not meeting grade-level expectations. Colorado Department of Education shows a percentage of students have sufficient reading deficiencies, which resulted in having schools use an approved reading…

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to identify and examine the technology-based instructional strategies and digital tools being used by teachers in grades 3-5 that engage children in problem-solving learning opportunities. The study included 11 purposely sampled participants from a school district in East Tennessee who…

As program-level assessment increasingly becomes an integral part of the higher-education landscape, so does the debate regarding the efficacy of current assessment methods. Traditionally, students do not participate in assessment--neither of their own learning nor of institutional or program efficacy. Our assessment process presents an…

This qualitative case study asks current students and alumni of a Master of Fine Arts/Studio Arts program in the United States about their experiences in and with critique in their degree program. The purpose of this study is to understand the nature of critique and add empirical research to the growing scholarly conversation about the…

The purpose of this quantitative, causal-comparative study was to determine if and to what extent there was a statistically significant difference in students' Algebra I or Algebra II AzMERIT standardized proficiency rates in non-charter public high schools that implement digital curriculum compared versus those that implement traditional…

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of teachers early in their practice as they work with an instructional coach to build their cultural awareness in three large, urban school districts at different phases of their implementation. These phases were identified as the levels of implementation of cultural…

This dissertation study explores how teachers perceive and use data to inform their instructional practices and ultimately impact student achievement. The research focuses on whether or not data availability impacted how often teachers used data for instructional purposes and if leadership and coaching practices impacted teachers' perception of…

Texas consistently has one of the highest high school graduation percentages across the nation yet falls below the national average for adults passing high school equivalency tests (U.S. Census Bureau, 2017). In 2019, there were 300,401 adults in Tarrant County eligible for a high school credential. This opportunity for high school equivalency…

Teaching and learning processes often reflect traditional practices that do not meet the academic needs of historically underserved students, especially Latinx and Black students. The goal of the participatory action research project and study, anchored by our collective beliefs in critical pedagogy tenets, was to improve teacher practices and…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore faculty experiences with a professional development program designed to prepare them for improved online teaching and learning. The research question was: how do faculty perceive their experiences in a professional development program designed to prepare them for better online teaching and…

This study was designed to explore the lived experiences of elementary educators who utilized choice instruction in the classroom. This study utilized teacher interviews to determine the educational impact of student-choice-driven instructional strategies. To accomplish this objective, a qualitative phenomenological approach was chosen. The…

This explanatory sequential mixed method (QUAN - qual) research study investigated the relationship between primary teachers' morphology knowledge and spelling instructional practices. Triple Word Form Theory (TWFT) assumes that accurate spelling from a young age involves synchronizing phonology, orthography, and morphology knowledge (Garcia et…