This dissertation focuses on support for faculty teacher professional learning at a research university. This study brings new perspectives and direct data reporting to the field of higher education faculty professionalism. My conceptual perspective offers approaches to developing robust faculty teacher professional learning structures that are…

A commitment to equity in our schools ensures that every student has the access and opportunity necessary to thrive in school, regardless of race, ethnicity, language, citizenship status, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ability, and so on. Creating and sustaining equitable spaces requires examination of the…

What makes a powerful and results-driven Professional Learning Community (PLC)? The answer is collaborative work that expands the emphasis on student learning and leverages individual teacher efficacy into collective teacher efficacy. "PLC+: Better Decisions and Greater Impact by Design" calls for strong and effective PLCs…

Promoting student engagement is a critical performance indicator for undergraduate success and is, therefore, a priority for academic institutions as they seek to improve teaching and learning practices (Meyer, 2014). Educators need to improve their instructional pedagogy by developing unique methods for engaging students with educational…

Lesson Study (LS) is a structured, collaborative professional development approach that gives instructors a framework for actively investigating how to improve student learning in their classrooms. Despite evidence of LS improving teacher practice and student learning in K-12 settings, there have been few documented examples of its use among…

The current Canadian higher education environment is one in which there is competition for limited resources, learning must be measured and demonstrated, and student demographics are evolving and changing on a continual basis. The field of Student Affairs in higher education, which traditionally provides support services to students and is often…

This non-experimental, descriptive study examined the effect(s), if any, that professional learning communities have had on the professional practices of secondary (grades 9-12) mathematics teachers in Boone, Clay, Putnam, and Kanawha counties in West Virginia. Also investigated were the potential differences in instructional-practice change(s)…

State postsecondary education data systems are vital information assets for policymakers, researchers, and the public. The Communities of Practice project (funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) at the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) builds upon SHEEO's ongoing efforts to measure the capacity and effective…

Over time, state testing has been the central focus of schools and school districts regarding accountability and the pressures to improve student achievement (Dufour, 2004). Under those circumstances, professional learning communities have been discovered to improve teacher effectiveness which in turn improves overall student achievement (Kuh,…

This dissertation was motivated by a deep commitment to creating robust mathematics learning communities for teachers and for students that are grounded in care, dignity, and connection. Designing for learning from this relational perspective requires disrupting dehumanizing aspects of systems of schooling that function to construct difference and…

To help produce more expert coaches at the participation and performance levels, a number of governing bodies have established coach mentoring systems. In light of this trend, against the limited literature on coach mentoring and the risks of superficial treatment by coach education systems, this article critically discusses the role of the mentor…

This proposal reports on the use of facilitators to help develop networked learning communities. The findings presented herein are derived from a five-year study (2013-2018) designed to ascertain how these collaborative networks function and evolve as well as to assess their possible impact on the educational contexts they are located in.…

The collaborative instructional design system is the transformation of the instructional design system, developed as an option for educationalists to design their instruction online in addressing the current educational needs. It is a new dimension with the wider concept at engaging teachers and other professional learning communities…

Campus leadership at a satellite campus of a large national university took a research approach to solve the workplace problem of increased scholarship requirements for practitioner faculty. The Community of Scholars Action Research Project was developed as a faculty engagement and professional development initiative. The goals and objectives for…

A question like "what do you want your children to be like when they leave your class?" seems simple on the surface, but it quickly becomes complex when teachers are asked to name, prioritize, and document the kinds of student learning and engagement they value most. This article shares the ongoing work of a regional learning community…