<p> The purpose of this study is to explore the technology high school music students are using to improve musicianship. For this study, research was done to determine how students are using the available devices and the most popular applications, programs, and websites available and used by high school band students. A survey was issued to instrumental music students in two high schools asking questions pertaining to the topic. Then, data was compiled into lists consisting of the devices, uses, and applications that were the most favored. The results showed that a majority of students occasionally used technology to either self-evaluate while practicing or find music on their own. In addition, students favored using smart devices while practicing, and they chose applications based on accessibility or familiarity. The findings from this study were similar to a few sources in the related literature, which determine that students are familiar with the technology in similar ways several educators are. For those reading this thesis, the information will provide them with better awareness of the technology their pupils use for music learning.</p><p>

<p> Racial injustice in U. S. society cannot be separated from that which happens in U.S. classrooms. Indeed, many battles between white supremacy and antiracism are waged in the public school arena&mdash;such as, the whitewashing of slavery in textbooks, and the Supreme Court decision to ban Mexican American Studies in Arizona. Thus, this dissertation took into account teacher learning and classroom practice around race, racism, and social justice through professional development. Specifically, among teachers committed to social justice, this dissertation investigated the role professional development plays in shaping how their commitment translates into classroom practice. I designed &lsquo;race space&rsquo; Critical Professional Development (CPD) (Kohli, Picower, Martinez, &amp; Ortiz, 2015) to support in-service urban teachers in learning about race, racism, and what it means to engage in social justice teaching. I employ the term &lsquo;race space&rsquo; to describe an aim to engender transformational, reflective, real talk and action around race and racism, through collective effort. With the theoretical groundings of critical race theory (CRT) in education, ideological becoming, and Third Space, I asked: What is the nature of &lsquo;race space&rsquo; CPD? Specifically, among urban in-service teachers committed to social justice, how does a &lsquo;race space&rsquo; CPD cultivate: a) racial literacy; b) social justice teaching, and; c) ideological becoming? </p><p> Methodologically, this research project consisted of an ethnographic case study of the &lsquo;race space&rsquo; CPD. During the 2016-2017 academic year, three in-service, social justice-oriented public school teachers, who teach mostly students of color, participated in twelve &lsquo;race space&rsquo; CPD sessions over the course of eight months. I facilitated the sessions, completed 1-2 classroom observations of each teacher every week, and interviewed teachers and two of their students. Shay is a Black female Academic Intervention Services (AIS) and English Language Learners (ELL) teacher. Josh, a white male sixth grade special education teacher, teaches in a self-contained classroom. Gigi, a white female secondary biology teacher, teaches in a nontraditional high school. Primary data sources included: a) audio and video of &lsquo;race space&rsquo; CPD sessions and classroom interactions, b) field notes, c) teacher and student interviews, and d) pre- and post-questionnaires of teachers. I transcribed audio of &lsquo;race space&rsquo; CPD sessions and teacher and student interviews. Employing descriptive and process coding, I analyzed 591 pages of session transcriptions for narratives and dialogic exchanges around racial literacy, social justice understandings, meaning-making around social justice teaching, classroom practice, curriculum planning, and social justice ideological becoming. I then conducted a critical discourse analysis of focal dialogic exchanges to understand collective and individual racial literacy cultivation, social justice ideological becoming, and social justice teaching engagements. </p><p> Data analysis revealed three major findings. First, &lsquo;race space&rsquo; CPD cultivated racial literacy by being responsive to the racial literacy teachers already displayed while providing support in responding to the racial consciousness of students of color. Second, &lsquo;race space&rsquo; CPD cultivated social justice teaching among teachers through dialogic exchanges that pushed thoughtful and meaningful social justice curriculum planning that co-exists with the organic social justice teachable moments that arise. Third, &lsquo;race space&rsquo; CPD cultivated social justice ideological becoming among teachers, through dialogic exchanges that advanced and critiqued the oppressive nature of school. Through the actualization of a Third Space within &lsquo;race space&rsquo; CPD, participant and facilitator ways of knowing/acting were both welcomed and called into question, for the purposes of interrupting and revising their performances of the present. Implications include extended time and space in professional development initiatives for learning around race, racism, and social justice.</p><p>

<p>The topic for this study was online professional development for college composition teachers that may help support dyslexic learners. Two populations samples, both impacted by the problem, were chosen for this qualitative multiple case study. The populations were college composition faculty and college dyslexic learners or graduates. The samples were collected from composition instructors at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma, and people with dyslexia living in the U.S. The dyslexic participants needed a formal diagnosis of dyslexia and either were in college, or had some college, or graduated from college. Besides two populations, two theories were addressed: the Experiential Learning Theory and the Technology Acceptance Model. The purpose of this study was to explore how online professional development for college composition faculty can build dyslexia awareness and identify writing strategies for college dyslexic students. Four research questions based the study. Three instruments were used: online surveys, modules and a discussion focus group. The participants? responses to the questions resulted in extracting seven themes, after the data was collected, coded and analyzed. Findings showed no faculty participants had training on dyslexia; the five dyslexic participants and about half of the seven faculty participants associated dyslexia with not only reading but also writing problems; and both groups had found some self-regulated writing strategies, showing potential for helping college dyslexic students in an inclusive classroom. Conclusions were online PD programs on college students with dyslexia and writing strategies should be available for college composition faculty. A gap exists in this area. Thus, the researcher recommends study replication, for future research. For practice, the researcher encourages college composition instructors try the writing strategies in this study to hopefully help future college dyslexic learners to learn academic writing.

<p> Through interviews with the principal, teachers, and parents, the researcher describes how teacher training and implementation of culturally responsive education (CRE) has influenced the climate in a Title I school. Educators teaching in schools that serve racially diverse students from low socio-economic communities face challenges that lead to low teacher morale, high discipline, and low student achievement. The problem is that these indicators often result in a negative school climate. CRE training provides teachers with knowledge and skills to help teachers better connect with and teach racially diverse students. In addition to the interviews, another point of data collection included the review of seven years of suspension rates and discipline referrals for Black and Latino children at the selected Title I school to determine if there was a decline following the training and implementation of CRE practices. Principals are key to leading change in their schools. Schools that fall in the Title I category present unique and significant challenges for improvement. Research shows that schools with a positive climate reflect low rates of discipline, higher student learning, strong relationships among staff and students, and higher teacher morale. The narrative data tables presented in this study indicate improvements in the overall school climate with emerging themes in relationship, culturally responsive education, school climate, and decreased discipline. There was more than a 30% decline in suspensions and more than a 25% decline in office referrals for Black and Latino students at the selected Title I school.</p><p>

<p> The subjects of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) have grown in importance because they are fundamental to the future quality of life and the ability to compete in today&rsquo;s global society. The demand for STEM careers is increasing; however, the United States is having difficulty meeting this demand. Society needs students who can research and think critically, so they can be proficient in STEM education and become the next generation of mathematicians, scientists, technologists, and engineers. Mathematical proficiency is of particular concern because while it is required for STEM education success, individuals find it challenging. </p><p> Both adults and children have apprehension about mathematics, and their negative attitudes toward math develop a barrier to STEM education and careers. This negative math phobia, or math anxiety, causes a decrease in math achievement. This study explored the perceptions of elementary teachers in establishing a classroom environment free of math anxiety. Specifically, this study focused on best practices that teachers incorporate in order to reduce math anxiety. </p><p> The purpose of the study was to (a) determine the strategies and practices teachers employ to reduce math anxiety, (b) determine the challenges teachers face in reducing math anxiety, (c) determine how teachers measure the success of their practices in reducing math anxiety, and (d) determine the recommendations teachers would make for future implementation of strategies in reducing math anxiety.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this quantitative correlational research study was to examine the extent that teaching experience affected the knowledge, implementation, and perceived skill level in implementing the 27 evidence-based practices (EBPs) established by the National Professional Development Center for Autism Spectrum Disorder. The study was conducted in the state of Iowa, with special education teachers from fourteen different school districts. Survey responses were gathered from 228 special education teachers. Of the 228, there were 48 novice teachers and 180 veteran teachers. Novice teachers were classified as having less than three years of teaching experience and veteran teachers with more than three years. Based on the data, results showed that as experience tended to increase from less than three years of experience to more than three years, the scores on EBPs knowledge, implementation, and perceived skills also tended to increase. The results of the study found a positive correlation (<i>r</i> = .26, <i>p</i> = .001) between years of teaching experience and knowledge of EBPs, a positive correlation (<i>r</i> = .22, <i>p</i> = .001) between years of experience and EBP implementation, and a positive correlation (<i>r</i> = .26, <i>p</i> = .002) between years of experience and perceived skill level in implementation. This small effect size indicates that as experience increased, there was a positively correlated increase of teacher knowledge and implementation of the EBPs to use when working with students with autism. </p><p>

<p> This mixed methods study explored how elementary school teachers who use Twitter extensively use it to support their professional learning and development. Four research questions guided this study: 1. How are teachers using Twitter for their professional learning and development? 2. What do teachers report learning from their use of Twitter? 3. What do teachers say they do with the information they have learned from using Twitter? 4. What support do teachers have when they want to implement what they have learned from Twitter? </p><p> An online survey was distributed via Twitter targeting teachers of elementary grades. A total of 107 participants were included in the final sample. Interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 19 teachers. Document analysis of tweets from a subsample of interviewees and from a sample of tweets from the #2ndchat Twitter community served as triangulation. </p><p> The key findings from this sample illustrated several ways teachers learn from Twitter. In response to the research questions, teachers reported using Twitter as a source of motivation and support, explaining that it provided them with feedback, encouragement and peer accountability. Second, teachers reported learning about many topics, especially technology integration techniques. Third, teachers described using the information they learned to alter some of their teaching practices and to pursue other educational opportunities. Lastly, more than half of teachers reported having administrators who supported their efforts to implement Twitter-based ideas. In addition, teachers appreciated certain affordances of Twitter including immediacy, choice, and access to other educators. </p><p> These findings have several implications for teachers, school leaders, and policymakers. Teachers reported that they believed they were getting trustworthy information from highly reputable Twitter users. However, it would be important for them to critically review the information and ensure its alignment with evidence-based teaching practices for how students learn. Further, teachers&rsquo; responses seemed to indicate that they want input and control over their learning, which has important implications for traditional professional development offerings. As Twitter continues to expand and gain acceptance as a source of learning for teachers, considerations for its use as a 21^st century tool must be taken into account.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of the qualitative single-case study was to explore and gain deeper understanding of instructor responsibility within hybrid learning courses from the perspective of higher education music students. Two research questions guided the case study: (a) How do higher education music students perceive their instructors&rsquo; responsibility for cognitive, social, and instructional presences along with their expectations of content development and quality of feedback in hybrid learning courses? (2) What do higher education music students perceive as valuable instructor responsibilities in hybrid learning courses? From a triangulated case study, data were collected via demographic and Community of Inquiry questionnaires along with individual one-on-one interviews with participants. Data were analyzed using Atlas.ti8 software with open and list coding. Themes were derived from the codes to adequately arrange, analyze, and organize participant perspectives. The exploration led to discovering the five main themes representing a large spectrum of expectations students had of their hybrid instructor&rsquo;s responsibilities including, (a) assignments, (b) communication and online presence, (c) engagement, (d) feedback, and (e) curriculum. Through the nature of the in-depth case study investigation, various perceived and expected hybrid instructor responsibilities, qualities, and values were also revealed from the students including an overall view of the hybrid learning structure. As more distance and hybrid courses were built, higher education institution leaders increasingly needed to be in tune with their students&rsquo; instructor expectations and learning needs. </p><p>

<p> The present study used a multiple probe across participants design with an embedded generalization measure to examine the effect of systematic and explicit instruction of text-based listening comprehension strategy instruction through the implementation of two concurrent dependent variables: listening comprehension responses to wh- questions and communicative turn-taking during a discussion of those texts. Participants were four high school students with moderate to severe disabilities and commThe present study used a multiple probe across participants design with an embedded generalization measure to examine the effect of systematic and explicit instruction of text-based listening comprehension strategy instruction through the implementation of two concurrent dependent variables: listening comprehension responses to wh- questions and communicative turn-taking during a discussion of those texts. Participants were four high school students with moderate to severe disabilities and communication needs supported by augmentative and alternative communication. Additional analyses included the generalization of these effects to a special education classroom group discussion, the target student&rsquo;s view of the intervention, and the classroom staff&rsquo;s view of the changes observed between baseline and intervention communicative turn-taking by target participants with disabilities.unication needs supported by augmentative and alternative communication. Additional analyses included the generalization of these effects to a special education classroom group discussion, the target student&rsquo;s view of the intervention, and the classroom staff&rsquo;s view of the changes observed between baseline and intervention communicative turn-taking by target participants with disabilities. </p><p>

<p> This qualitative single case study on backward design lesson planning experiences of teachers in a professional learning community focused on gaining a better understanding of collaborative planning of standards-based learning intentions, success criteria, assessments, and activities as performed by four participants meeting daily in one high school content area department. The backward design lesson planning model contains three stages, including development of standards-based learning objectives, learning objective-based assessments, and assessment criteria-based authentic learning activities. The research problem was informed by multiple selections from the body of literature in the field of education on backward design lesson planning, curriculum evaluation frameworks, and suggestions for a need to better understand collaborative planning, backward design curricula, professional development-informed planning and practice, and professional learning community interactions in designing curricula. The purpose of the study was to better understand how teachers develop standards-derived learning intentions, success criteria, assessments, and activities through the backward design lesson planning model. The conceptual framework was constructed from a synthesis of findings from quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods peer-reviewed research reports in the field of curriculum and teaching. Synthesized findings informed the structure and sections of the conceptual framework, supporting the purpose of the research in better understanding connections between components of traditional linear curriculum evaluation, the three stages of backward design, and the need to better understand interactions between professional development practice of new curriculum development initiatives, implementation of new initiatives in professional learning community lesson plan design, and teacher perceptions of planning lessons through the lens of backward design. Through observational field notes and open-ended questionnaires pertaining to the three stages of backward design lesson development, teacher actions observed during professional learning community meetings and experiences noted by teachers on questionnaire forms indicated that teachers utilized their common lesson planning time in deriving learning objectives from content area standards, generating formative assessments for ongoing feedback to inform teaching and learning, generating rubrics for clarity in the relationship between success criteria and the satisfying of learning objectives, and sequencing activities based on ability levels of individual learners so that challenges were scaffolded based on cognitive complexity, with the goal of all students meeting learning objectives. Potential impacts of study results include integration of backward design lesson planning into professional development programs and professional learning community curriculum development programs for alignment, clarity, and congruency between content area department standards, objectives, assessments, and activities. Recommendations for future research informed by minor themes uncovered during the study include a need for further study of teacher perceptions of standards-based grading practices.</p><p>