This research is a qualitative case study involving eight participants' €”seven teachers and one instructional coach at an elementary school. The student population of this school was a Title I eligible elementary campus with students of mixed ethnicity. The purpose of the study was to document teachers' perceptions and understanding of the implementation process and those factors they perceived that inhibited and facilitated the implementation by an instructional coach of the Cognitive CoachingSM process. The method of inquiry was an instrumental case study at a single site that included a minimum of three one-on-one interviews with each of the eight participants. These interviews triangulated with historical data and observations provide the information to tell the story of the implementation process and extend the reader's understanding of the implementation process. The themes revealed in the research included: (1) lack of understanding and clarity of the Cognitive CoachingSM process, (2) influence of the campus leadership, (3) teacher'™s willingness or resistance to change educational practice, (4) relational trust, (5) influence on instructional change, and (6) increased student achievement. This research study offers implications for both practice and theory. There are specific implications for administrators, instructional coaches, principals, and teachers as they implement the Cognitive CoachingSM process. There is a need for clear, welldefined expectations for implementation at both the campus and district level. In addition, personnel responsible for the implementation process at the campus and district level must be trained in the Cognitive CoachingSM process. Teachers must be aware of the process and terminology pertinent to the implementation process. The Cognitive CoachingSM process provides the opportunity for teachers to restructure their educational practice as they to engage in professional dialogue and reflection with instructional coaches, principals, and peers. Further studies on the connection between relational trust and the implementation process, would provide educators and researchers a fuller understanding of the factors that support the process of implementing innovative reform models in schools.

The design method for this study was non-experimental quantitative. The survey was distributed via email to Kindergarten teachers in two Northeastern Tennessee school districts. There were 69 Kindergarten teachers who responded to the survey. The study revealed that Kindergarten teachers perceive that gender, socioeconomic status, and preschool experience have a significant impact on student readiness for school. Chronological age was not perceived to have an impact on student readiness for school to a significant extent. Kindergarten teachers perceived that preschool experience has the greatest impact on student readiness for school when asked to rank the order of impact from greatest to least. Chronological age was perceived to have a greater impact on student readiness for school than either socioeconomic status or gender.

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the patterns of Saudi Arabian elementary female science teachers’ understanding and knowledge of critical thinking, as well as their perceptions towards critical thinking guidelines in the course of their lesson plans. The research questions that guided this study were: 1. How female elementary science teachers perceive the role of critical thinking in science education? 2. How do female science teachers perceive students’ abilities to use critical thinking skills in the classroom? 3. How do female science teachers incorporate and implement critical thinking as an essential objective in lesson planning? This research contains background information about student centered learning and developing critical thinking skills in the classroom. It is becoming increasingly apparent that critical thinking is an important aspect of intellectual development among students. Critical thinking is a crucial skill for students, especially in the STEM fields where problem solving is a large part of the discipline. The sample of this study was three Saudi Arabian elementary female science teachers. I conducted semi-structured interviews and used documents to collect data as well as answer the research questions. The findings revealed that all participants believed of the importance of using critical thinking skills in the classroom. However, the participants had a lack understanding and perception of incorporating students’ critical thinking in their lesson plans.

At an international school in Taiwan, English learners have struggled to meet the U.S. national average in vocabulary on standardized testing instruments. This problem has become more significant since 2009. The purpose of this research was to conduct a case study on successful vocabulary teachers to determine their perceptions of effective teaching. Knowles' andragogy, Brookfield's self-directed, experiential learning, and Vygotsky's social constructivist framework provided the conceptual framework for this study. The research questions focused on teachers' perceptions of why they were successful in teaching vocabulary in English. The study site had access to quantitative data regarding previous standardized testing results; however, there was little information about what was causing these teachers to be successful. The primary data collection method was individual interviews with 5 teachers whose success in teaching vocabulary in English was determined by previous students' standardized testing results and the administrator's recommendation. The teachers' perceptions were analyzed using a structural coding process to derive key words, categories, and themes. Findings revealed the needs for increased scaffolding for teachers and students, a purposeful and supportive learning environment, and meaningful context and comprehensible content. This study also included developing a professional learning workshop to enhance the knowledge of all teachers regarding vocabulary instruction. Enhanced knowledge could result in teachers implementing best practices to enable all students, especially English learners, to improve their vocabulary development, which over time may lead to proficiency and mastery in academics and empower students to succeed academically.

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