The author provides a comprehensive overview of critical pedagogy along with an examination of how its major themes have been incorporated into undergraduate teacher education curricula. An analysis of two distinct teacher education programs illustrates how themes relevant to critical pedagogy have been infused in undergraduate teacher training curricula. Through a review of literature, syllabi, as well as course, department, and university home pages found on the World Wide Web, the author discusses the potential role of critical pedagogy in teacher education reform.

The purpose of this study was to determine what factors contribute to and what factors inhibit the integration of computer technology in classroom instruction in the middle school setting at selected schools in a central Virginia public school system. Information derived from this study may be used to assist in the planning and decision making process by central office and building level administrators.;The population for this study included teachers from three middle schools in a central Virginia public school system. This school system has demonstrated through the Virginia Standards of Learning test scores, an even distribution of results regardless of demographics. A pilot study was conducted in the same school system. Participants completed a questionnaire, and a sample of participants was interviewed. The results were coded and chunked for the purpose of establishing an emerging theme or themes.;There has been a wealth of quantitative data with regard to student to computer ratio and computer to classroom ratio over the last several years. However, there is scant data from a qualitative perspective that may allow for in-depth answers to questions regarding the factors that come into play as to the reasons for the use or non-use of available technology.;Findings indicate that respondents appear to use computer technology for a range of personal reasons, yet are reluctant to use and integrate that technology into classroom instruction. In addition, thematic analysis revealed that time, access, and support appear to be major factors that inhibit the use and integration of computer technology in classroom instruction.

This dissertation explores how faculty development for online teaching in higher education might facilitate transformative learning and the transfer of instructional practices across teaching modalities. The first manuscript examines how the essential constructs of transformative learning are promoted in online faculty development and which elements of faculty development help to foster transformative learning. The second manuscript describes a case study that emerged from a university faculty development seminar to prepare instructors to teach online. The purpose of this study was to examine how, if at all, the Online Faculty Development Seminar changed five participants’ perspectives of teaching. This study found written reflection activities, combined with dialogue with colleagues, and having experienced instructors come in to tour their courses and discuss lessons learned contributed to perspective transformation. The third manuscript examines whether instructional practices introduced in the seminar would transfer to instructors’ in-person teaching and how faculty development and the experience of teaching online may have facilitated that transfer. The study found participants experienced perspective transformations that affected how they perceived their role as instructors, and they transferred some online course design and instructional practices to their in-person teaching. These practices included incorporating more digital tools to in-person courses, communicating clearly and transparently, designing courses with intentionality, and paying forward the lessons they learned to assist colleagues transitioning to teaching remotely in Spring 2020. Findings suggest that a structured course design process, self-reflection activities, opportunities to dialogue with colleagues, and course tours from colleagues aided in transfer of practices across modalities.

This study explored the correlation between perceived contextual factors (leadership, collegiality, resources, professional development, autonomy, and respect) and departmental climate for teaching quality improvement in STEM settings across institutional types and faculty's institutional roles. Institutional types include associate's colleges, doctoral-granting universities, master's colleges and universities, and baccalaureate colleges. Faculty's institutional roles included full professor, associate professor, assistant professor, lecturer, and instructor. Gappa et al.'s (2007) framework regarding faculty work was used to explain the explored correlation. Two hundred and seventy-eight faculty members in STEM settings across institutional types participated in the web survey. A partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach was utilized to analyze the collected data and test the research hypotheses. The results indicate there were perceived contextual factors positively correlated with departmental climate, for teaching improvement across institutional types except between collegiality and associate's colleges. Moreover, the results revealed that although these factors are positively correlated with departmental climate for teaching improvement among faculty, regardless of their ranks, lecturers are not supported with resources, and instructors are not supported with autonomy. Further, the findings indicate that faculty in STEM are generally satisfied with and supported by their departmental climate. Research implications support the idea that for improved teaching in STEM, policy makers and stakeholders need to focus on providing support, resources, and increased autonomy for lecturers and instructors.

Excessive academic workload has been cited as a leading cause of medical student stress, depression, and drop out. A study was conducted at a Southeastern Medical School to identify a relationship between institutionally prescribed workload (objective workload) and the students' perceptions (subjective workload). The existing school workload policy and the Rice University Center for Teaching Excellence workload estimator were utilized to calculate time to complete two types of academic artifacts: (1) assigned (required) course materials and (2) recommended (optional) course materials, which we compared at the Module level to identify difference in objective workload. The students' perceptions of workload were analyzed according to the Keller's Attention, Relevance, Confidence, Satisfaction framework for student motivation and compared to the student's statements of satisfaction for each module. Additionally, a content analysis to analyze the learning objectives for the highest and lowest instructional day workload was performed. Results from the study indicated similar objective workload calculations comparing the USCOM out of class workload policy and the RICE CTE workload estimator when the lowest difficulty and purpose parameters were selected. The selection of higher difficulty and purpose parameters within the RICE CTE workload estimator indicated a significant variance in workload calculations. Learners were generally motivated by the course content and delivery methods but preferred more self-directed learning methods. Content analysis for two courses resulted in rejection of 13% and 16% of learning objectives analyzed due to poor construction and lack of objective based language. The remainder of the learning objectives analyzed resulted in a 20% categorized as Higher Order Cognitive Skills (HOCS). Innovations of this study included categorizing medical student workload in the domains of objective and subjective workload, the use of the Rice University Center for Teaching Excellence workload calculator as an alternative for course workload estimation, as well as well as assessing medical student's motivation utilizing Keller's model of motivation.

Educators and policymakers advocate for the implementation of problem-based approaches to STEM education in K-12 classrooms to help students develop 21st-century skills such as the ability to think critically, collaborate, and problem-solve. The first exploratory case study in this three-article dissertation examines how students engage in STEM-focused PBL experiences and the meaning of these experiences for the development of their STEM identities. The second study utilizes Braun and Clarke's reflective thematic analysis framework to explore the experience of a model STEM teacher at a high-performing STEM-focused elementary school as she implemented problem-based learning in the first year of a school-wide progressive reform initiative. Overall findings from the first two articles indicated missed opportunities to connect students' lived experiences to the problem-solving process. The final article in this study introduces the practice of asset mapping, which has traditionally been used in the field of social work and community development and applies it to the context of a STEM-focused PBL activity. The novel Problem-based Learning through Asset Mapping (PLAM) Framework recognizes the assets students bring to the learning process and supports educators aiming to leverage these assets to solve problems that are relevant and meaningful to learners.

Proponents of K-12 online learning claim that it can provide more equitable learning opportunities by offering access to courses that might not otherwise be available to students, and by providing personalized learning experiences. Despite the growth of online learning in K-12 public schools, very little is known about what constitutes good online teaching. The purpose of this interpretivist investigation was to learn about some of the ways in which culturally responsive teaching can occur online. This study focused on the practices of four full-time online high school teachers. Using the methods of grounded theory research, I analyzed data generated through observations of online courses, interviews with teachers, and teacher-written narratives in order to learn how four instructors practiced culturally responsive online pedagogy in one state-supported online program. Results indicated that the teachers engaged in frequent and ongoing dialogue with their students. The teachers used multiple strategies to get to know their students, to build class community, to adapt instruction to students’ learning needs and preferences, and to make learning relevant. Teachers also discussed contextual factors (e.g., program structure and student enrollment) that impacted their practice. However, some characteristics of culturally responsive pedagogy, including infusing students’ cultures into the curriculum and helping students to challenge power and hegemony, did not emerge. A discussion of these results includes potential implications for educational leaders at the state, district, and program levels, as well as recommendations for future research on culturally responsive online pedagogy (CROP).

This study sought to explore if training significantly increased community workers' perceived level of confidence and their ability to provide services to returning military personnel in two locations. To measure community workers' perceived level of confidence, participants N = 143 (n = 63 Norfolk, VA) and (n= 80 Fayetteville, NC) responded to an instrument containing 40 items. Inferential and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the study variables. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) were used to compare the reliability of means between the groups from 2011 to 2012 (i.e., pre-intervention to post-intervention). A Bonferroni Correction was applied to control the familywise error rate. A one-tailed p-value for each analysis was used based on the hypothesis that the intervention produced greater agreement with each item. Means for each item and range of ratings for each item were also calculated. To examine community workers' ability to provide improved service to veterans, qualitative data from (n=81) participants were analyzed. Comments were transcribed and grouped into clusters, then the data were themed and categorized according to participants' reported change in the way they thought about themselves as community service workers. Themes related to the study of confidence for better service to veterans were included in the results. The results of the hypothesis were that overall statistically significant improvement was found for individuals who actively work with military personnel in Fayetteville, NC. Results for the Norfolk, VA site demonstrated statistically significant improvement in confidence on 7 survey questions, but statistical significance was not found overall. Overall practical significance for the community provider setting in both cities was surmised from the results. Results of the data analysis for the research question indicated participants were applying knowledge acquired to their work with reintegrating veterans and their families. The study and the resulting information can inform instructional designers, instructors, course developers, and the research community. Opportunities for future research are briefly discussed.

Higher education courses are increasingly moving online while educational approaches are concurrently shifting their focus toward student-centered approaches to learning. These approaches promote critical thinking by asking students to solve a range of ill-structured problems that exist in the real world. Researchers have found that student-centered online learning environments require students to have self-regulated learning skills, including metacognitive skills to regulate their own learning processes. Much of the research suggests that externally supporting students while they are learning online, either directly or indirectly, helps them to succeed academically. However, few empirical studies have investigated what levels of support are most effective for promoting students' self-regulated learning behaviors. Additionally, these studies reported conflicting results – some found maximum support to be most effective while others found no significant difference. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of different levels of support for self-regulated learning during a complex learning activity to solve an ill-structured problem-solving situation in an online learning environment. In addition, the role of students' self-efficacy on their academic achievement was examined. A total of 101 undergraduate students from three international studies courses offered at a large urban Southeastern public university in the United States participated in the study. The students were randomly assigned to treatment (minimum support, maximum support) and control groups. Students' academic achievement scores were measured using a conceptual knowledge test created by the professor teaching the courses. O'Neil's (1997) Trait Self-Regulation Questionnaire measured students' self-efficacy. Analysis of Co-Variance (ANCOVA) was conducted to analyze the data. The ANCOVA results indicated significant improvement of the academic achievement of the minimum support group versus both the maximum support and control groups. Additionally, self-efficacy as a co-variable did not significantly impact students' achievement scores in any of the groups. The overall results indicated that it is important to consider the level of self-regulated learning support when designing online learning environments promoting students' critical thinking skills. Promoting students' self-regulated learning skills is vital when designing online higher education courses.

School administrators at the research site, which is a public school district, had been under pressure to improve low reading state scores of Grade 11 students as measured by Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) tests. A web-based reading software called Study Island was integrated into the literacy curriculum for students to increase their reading proficiency and pass PSSA state tests. The research problem was that the integration of Study Island had not been evaluated and students were not meeting adequate yearly progress (AYP). The purpose of this study was to provide research-based evidence on whether Study Island helped students to improve their reading proficiency. This nonequivalent, quasi-experimental study was based on Tomlinson's differentiated instruction theory and Marzano's intelligence theory. Archived PSSA scores were collected for 2 cohorts of Grade 11 students (N = 800), before and after the curricular integration of Study Island between the academic years 2009--2011 and 2011--2013. An independent samples t test showed that students' reading proficiency scores were significantly higher after receiving the Stony Island software than they were before the software. These findings can be used by school and district administrators regarding the integration of Study Island into other academic subjects. Implications for positive social change may include professional development (PD) for high school teachers to use Study Island in the academic subjects they teach. PD on Study Island for high school teachers may help students pass PSSA testing, meet AYP, and graduate from high school.