Students are not adequately prepared to contribute to the workforce or engage in global citizenship in the 21st century. Research indicates proper education of students cannot be accomplished without teachers' acceptance of technology in the classroom, engagement in effective professional development, and ability to transform their curricula. Although there is an abundance of research supporting the use of technology in the classroom, little research has examined how to incorporate the technology into student-centered learning. The research questions in this study examined teachers' use and acceptance of technology in the classroom and how teachers incorporate technology to meet the 21st century learning skills requirements. This qualitative case study used Bandura's social cognitive theory and the Partnership for 21st Century Learning Framework. The purposeful sample included 6 participants teaching in Grades 9-12. Data were gathered using a selection survey, interviews, and course documents. The data analysis included the organization of participant responses and development of 6 primary themes. The results indicated that a high level of technology self-efficacy drove these teachers' integration of technology into student-centered activities that built 21st century learning skills. The results also showed a lack of effective professional development provided to teachers that focused on incorporating technology into the curriculum. These findings are significant for educators to understand how to meet the learning needs of their students. Implications for positive change include providing educators with knowledge and understanding of the importance to design professional development opportunities for teachers that not only teach how to use the technologies available to them but to also teach how to effectively incorporate that technology into the learning process.

In an urban Georgia school district, teacher satisfaction surveys revealed that technology-based professional development was not equipping teachers with the skills or support needed to implement technology into their teaching practices. The purpose of this mixed-methods case study was to explore teachers' experiences and perceptions of technology-based professional development and its effect on self-efficacy. Guided by Piaget's constructivist theory, this study was based on the perspective that teachers often construct knowledge rather than gain it. Guiding questions explore the experiences teachers have had with technology integration in daily teaching practices, their self-perceived competency level and self-efficacy regarding technology, their attitudes about provided professional development and time and resources provided for their collaborative professional work, and perceptions about their technology related professional development needs. A purposeful sample of 35 teachers was used to collect quantitative data through a survey and 8 of these teachers were interviewed. Interview data were transcribed, coded, and member checked. Three themes emerged: teacher-centered versus student-centered use; necessity of differentiated professional development; and lack of support, resources, and time. Descriptive analysis revealed that most teachers were using technology daily. Factors contributing to the frequency and quality of technology use included resources, support, and self-efficacy. As a model intervention, the final outcome is a comprehensive professional development plan to provide teachers with a platform to share and improve their teaching practices, which when implemented will offer positive social change, in the form of support for these and other teachers, which will lead to improvements in teaching and learning and achievement of educational outcomes.

An important approach to prepare new managers for increased responsibility is participation in online management development programs; however, there is a lack of information about the factors that affect employee completion of these programs. This study addressed how chief executive officers (CEOs) can implement these programs to rapidly develop new managers who are qualified to serve in the leadership roles left behind by many retirees. This qualitative descriptive case study explored employees' perceptions about persistence in an online management development certificate program at a U.S. nonprofit organization. Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory and Rovai's composite persistence model provided the conceptual framework for the study. The research questions addressed how employees' perceptions of persistence in an online management development program affected success rates and what steps CEOs could take to incentivize employees to complete the program. A combination of 12 semi-structured interviews, program data, and member checking was used for the data collection. Data were analyzed using Yin's 6 steps and constant comparative data analysis methods. Key results indicated that student persistence in the online program was affected by purpose and meaning, coaching and support, course relevance, barriers, learning preferences, motivation and readiness; and incentivized by CEOs conveying their perceived value of the online program directly to employees. This research has implications for positive social change: CEOs can better understand the persistence factors employees need to prepare for and complete online management development certificate programs that support the transition to higher-level management positions.

Due to anxiety, low confidence, and inadequate content knowledge, many college students struggle to complete their developmental math coursework. As colleges redesign their programs to address these issues, careful research is imperative to determine the factors that best meet the needs of these struggling students. The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of one college's redesigned program (integrating online, mastery, and project-based learning) compared with the traditional program. Using Weiner's attribution theory of achievement motivation and emotion as a guide, this mixed methods case study used a quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group design in conjunction with a qualitative examination of student interviews. The study used archived quantitative data and interview data from community college students in the Western United States. The quantitative data was analyzed using multiple regression, and a thematic analysis was used for the interview data. The results indicated that students in traditional courses achieved higher final exam scores than those in the revised courses. However, the revised and traditional math students did not exhibit significantly different attitudes toward math. Some of the key factors that directly impacted student success included the availability of student support services, student collaboration, and self-concept and motivation. Based on these results, the participating college and similar colleges will be able to make more informed decisions to improve the efficacy of their developmental math programs. These revisions will then help to improve student attitude and success in mathematics, will motivate students to persist in their education, and will better equip students to positively contribute to their future communities and workplaces.

The Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 requires high standards, but academic achievement among English Language Learners (ELL) falls below that of their peers in Texas. These students' lower academic achievement may lead to their dropping out of high school, not going to college, or being underemployed, a problem that led to this study. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether computer-assisted language learning (CALL) helps ELLs improve their English language proficiency compared to traditional learning approaches. Levy's theoretical framework on the implementation of CALL guided this study. A nonequivalent, pretest-and-posttest design was used to examine mean differences in the increase in proficiency level from the beginning to the end of the year on the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) of ELLS in Grades 3-5 who participated in CALL and of those who did not participate. The sample consisted of 106 English language learners in Grades 3-5: 57 students in the treatment group and 49 in the comparison group. A one-way analysis of variance was conducted to compare language proficiency between the treatment and comparison groups. Results revealed no significant difference in the mean increase in proficiency levels of English language learners between the treatment and comparison groups. Additional analyses of TELPAS subdomains (reading, speaking, listening, and writing) indicated CALL was effective on reading only. Based on the findings, a project study on professional development was designed to focus on instructional strategies to support CALL. This project may lead to social change among administrators and teachers in the methods and strategies they use in the classroom to support CALL and as they work collaboratively to improve language proficiency among English language learners.

Nontraditional students enrolled in online courses tend to drop out within their first year because they do not have the basic literacy skills or essential college skills needed for success. They often need the guidance of an online instructor. The purpose of this case study was to explore the perceptions of instructors and students about the effectiveness of Skype as a scaffolding tool for increasing academic achievement for underprepared students in online remedial English composition courses through interactions with their instructor. The conceptual framework included Bruner's cultural-psychological theory of education, Vygotsky's social constructivist theory, and Siemens's connectivism theory. The study was centered on 4 research questions; the first 2 focused on students' and instructors' perceptions of student writing based on student-instructor Skype interactions, and the last 2 concentrated on students' and instructors' perceptions of Skype's effectiveness to scaffold English composition skills to remedial online students. The data sources were 6 student interviews, 2 instructor interviews, and 12 audio recordings of Skype sessions. Data were analyzed for patterns and themes using open coding. The key findings were that students and instructors perceived the Skype interactions created changes in students' writing because of ease of use, indispensableness, rapport, and skill acquisition. This study may affect positive social change by informing online instructors and other personnel of online institutions of higher education about the importance of real-time interactions between students and instructors and providing services for underprepared students using Skype to help enhance their learning of critical writing skills.

Research shows that use of high fidelity simulation (HFS) as a teaching strategy requires extensive amounts of faculty time and financial resources for faculty development and equipment. This project study addressed the challenges encountered in the integration of HFS into a Midwestern metropolitan baccalaureate nursing program. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore perceptions of nursing faculty about best practice elements for successful integration of HFS into undergraduate nursing programs. Guiding questions were developed using Donabedian's structure-process-outcome model and focused on faculty perceptions related to successful implementation of simulation in their programs. Purposeful sampling was used to select 22 faculty who had integrated HFS into 5 regional baccalaureate nursing programs in metropolitan areas of 2 Midwestern states. Nine participants completed an online interview tool developed by the researcher and designed to elicit responses to open-ended questions about barriers encountered, methods used to overcome those barriers, first impressions about conducting HFS, perceptions of successful integration, and incentives to using HFS. Data were coded and analyzed to identify themes. Emergent themes included the need to identify specific courses for HFS, ensure participation of faculty teaching didactic courses, use nationally recognized principles for HFS implementation, implement consistent methods of debriefing, and use formal written plans. Findings from the study were used to design a staff development initiative to facilitate planning and establishment of HFS in a nursing curriculum. Positive social change may occur when faculty and administrators use project guidelines to develop sound practices for integrating HFS into the nursing curriculum.

Social media for personal use has evolved rapidly among adolescents, changing the way they communicate with each other. However, little research has been conducted about how teachers use social media in the classroom to improve student learning. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe how social presence on Twitter impacts student engagement and learning when a mathematics teacher integrates this social media tool into an instructional unit. The conceptual framework was based on social presence theory developed by Short, Williams, and Christie. This qualitative study used a single case study design. Participants included 6 students and 1 classroom teacher in a Grade 8 mathematics course at a public middle school in a Canadian province. Data were collected from multiple sources including individual interviews, reflective journal responses from the teacher and students, documents such as course standards, and artifacts such as student tweets. Data were analyzed in the following way: interview and reflective journal data were coded for categories using the constant comparative method, and documents and artifacts were reviewed to identify emergent themes and discrepant data. Findings for this study indicated that Twitter had a positive impact on student engagement and learning of data management concepts. This study contributes to positive social change by providing a deeper understanding of how social media tools such as Twitter encourage students to create communities of learners to support each other during the learning process.

Young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) face unique social skills challenges as they transition into independent living environments and seek fulfilling relationships within their communities. Research has focused on social education and interventions for children with autism, while transitioning young adults with ASD have received insufficient attention. The purpose of this multisite case study was to explore perceptions of school personnel related to the use of visual support system (VSS) technology and enhancement of social skillsets for young adults with ASD. Information processing theory and social learning theory provided the research framework. Research questions addressed perceptions related to the utility of VSS technology and social skills teaching strategies. Interviews were conducted with 11 special education administrators, teachers, and intervention specialists from 3 different programs in the United States. Data from interviews and field notes were analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding; themes such as social skills, video-modeling, learning strategies, use of visual technology, and cognition emerged. Participants indicated that exploring cognitive learning strategies underpinned with VSS technology provided alternative methods to teach social skills in classroom settings. They identified the need for more funding for VSS technologies for all learners. Implications for social change include that social skills and critical thinking skills can be enhanced by learning through the use of VSS technology. Empowering young adults with ASD to participate with greater confidence in learning situations and in social situations will support their efforts to be more comfortable and to interact more appropriately in work and community interactions.

The goal of this study was to examine the professional development experiences of two participants while they were creating standards-based individualized education plan (IEP) goals using a virtual world called TeacherSim. The focuses of the study were how did special educators engage with the task of creating standards-based IEP goals using TeacherSim and how did TeacherSim support or hinder this? This research used a descriptive case study selecting two participants from the larger data set of seven participants. The data was analyzed using qualitative coding which compared the observed experiences with the case propositions. This case study demonstrated that special education professionals can work at a distance to learn the process of creating standards-based IEP goals while using the technology of a virtual world. Similarly, the use of virtual world technology appeared to facilitate feelings of physical and social presence, which aided in online collaborative activities.