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Converging demographic, societal, and political conditions are raising concerns among educational policy makers regarding Virginia's capacity to meet the demand for high quality instructional personnel. The variables affecting demand include shifts in student enrollments, efforts to meet Virginia Standards of Accreditation, retirement rate, efforts to increase diversity in instructional positions, efforts to reduce staffing ratios, increased technology in the classroom, legislative mandates, competition for instructional personnel, salary and other quality of life issues, rising licensure standards, and non-public school pupil enrollment. This research is a quantitative study that combines descriptive and correlational research methods. One purpose of this study is to aggregate and summarize data from Virginia school districts that will provide important information for educational policy makers. The second purpose is to create a paradigm that will quantify and rank order the variables that affect the demand for educators in Virginia. The third purpose of this study is to place school districts into groupings according to variables that influence demand for instructional personnel. The k-means cluster analysis procedure was utilized for this purpose. The Virginia Public School Systems' Instructional Personnel Profile: 1999-2000, a survey commissioned by the Virginia Department of Education, was sent to the 132 Virginia public school districts. A total of 126 school districts responded. This survey provided the data used in this study. This survey was developed because there is no uniform, statewide system to collect demographic data for PreK-12 instructional personnel in Virginia. The results find that Virginia is experiencing shortages of instructional personnel. Special education, mathematics, science, and technology endorsement areas are expected to experience the most critical shortages. Competition from other Virginia school districts, retirement, efforts to reduce teacher to pupil ratios, and salaries are reported as the variables that most influence demand for personnel. Virginia public school districts are clustered into two groups using the k-means cluster analysis procedure. / Ph. D.

This study investigated the perceptions of elementary school principals in Virginia in their role as technology leaders during the COVID-19 global pandemic. This study focused on three research questions: 1) What technology leadership requirements did elementary principals feel were emphasized due to the COVID-19 pandemic? 2) What level of support and preparedness did elementary school principals receive for their role as technology leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic? 3) How did elementary school principals adapt their practices and development as technology leaders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic? Invitations to participate were sent to over 600 elementary school principals in Virginia. As part of the study, the researcher interviewed a group of elementary principals (n=12) from several school divisions across the Commonwealth of Virginia. The themes generated from the transcripts of interviews were analyzed to generate findings and implications from the perspectives shared by the participants. The analysis showed that 75% of the participants actively deployed, distributed, and managed 1:1 devices in their building. Concerning preparedness, 91% of the participants reported that they did not feel adequately prepared for their role as technology leaders. However, the pandemic response also made them feel supported by their school division to fulfill the necessary obligations, and less than half (42%) of the participants reported a lack of support. Technology-focused Professional development having more importance than before the pandemic was a perspective shared by 67% of the participants. The majority of participants (58.3%) indicated they placed greater importance on their staff's effective use of technology due to their experiences during COVID-19. Findings suggest that elementary principals embraced their role as technology leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic in the face of not feeling prepared or necessarily knowing how to define technology leadership. The implications of this study could significantly contribute to school leaders, school divisions, and principal preparation program leaders in promoting technology leadership among elementary principals in Virginia. / Doctor of Education / This study investigated the perceptions of elementary school principals in Virginia in their role as technology leaders during the COVID-19 global pandemic. This study focused on three research questions: 1) What technology leadership requirements did elementary principals feel were emphasized due to the COVID-19 pandemic? 2) What level of support and preparedness did elementary school principals receive for their role as technology leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic? 3) How did elementary school principals adapt their practices and development as technology leaders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic? A group of elementary principals (n=12) from several school divisions across the Commonwealth of Virginia participated in the study. The analysis showed that 75% of the participants actively deployed, distributed, and managed 1:1 devices in their building. Concerning preparedness, 91% of the participants reported that they did not feel adequately prepared for their role as technology leaders. Findings suggest that elementary principals embraced their role as technology leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic in the face of not feeling prepared or necessarily knowing how to define technology leadership. The implications of this study could significantly contribute to school leaders, school divisions, and principal preparation program leaders in promoting technology leadership among elementary principals in Virginia.

The topic of this study is inclusive strategies utilized by teachers in collaborative, co-taught K-12 classrooms. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify inclusive practices, strategies, communication, and professional development (PD) factors in collaborative, co-taught K-12 inclusive classrooms. A gap was addressed in the literature by exploring and investigating the lived experiences of collaborative, co-teaching teams. The primary research question for this study was, what practices and strategies are implemented in collaborative, co-taught K-12 classrooms? The secondary questions were (a) What strategies do co-teaching collaborations utilize? (b) What communications/collaborations between partners were utilized? (c) What additional training/support do co-teaching partners need from administrators? A demographic survey of 48 teachers was completed, and focus groups or one-on-one interviews were conducted with nine participants from nine schools. The research site consisted of teachers from nine K-12 public schools representing varying levels: primary, middle, and secondary. Nine eligible teachers agreed to participate in a one-on-one or focus group interview paired by areas of expertise using a protocol. Criteria for participation were one or more years of experience in an inclusive, collaborative, co-taught K-12 classroom within the pre-selected rural school division in Southwest Virginia. Data on effective practices and strategies in collaborative, co-taught K-12 classrooms as perceived by teachers were analyzed. Deductive coding was used to determine common themes, similarities, differences, and patterns from the data. Eight major findings were discovered, including collaborative, co-teaching pair strategies, administrative needs, and tips for future pairs. An in-depth understanding of the perspectives of the collaborative, co-teaching pair focusing on the pair's communication, responsibilities, tasks, and expectations helped to identify strategies for improving inclusive practices. The interview findings were used to identify strategies (e.g., differentiated lessons, scaffolding, team approach, and station teaching) for improving inclusive practices. Studying inclusive practices in the collaborative, co-taught K-12 classroom is important for raising awareness about the importance of this kind of teaching relationship for improving the learning environment of all students and increasing academic achievement. / Doctor of Education / Studying inclusive practices in the collaborative, co-taught K-12 classroom is important for raising awareness about the importance of this kind of teaching relationship for improving the learning environment of all students and increasing academic achievement. A demographic survey of 48 teachers was completed and one-on-one interviews or focus group interviews paired by areas of expertise were conducted with 9 eligible participants from 9 schools who agreed to participate. The research site consisted of teachers from 9 schools from varying levels, primary, middle, and secondary K-12 public schools. Criteria for participation were 1 or more years of experience in an inclusive, collaborative, co-taught K-12 classroom within the pre-selected rural school division in Southwest Virginia. An in-depth understanding of the perspectives of the collaborative, co-teaching pair focusing on the pair's communication, responsibilities, tasks, and expectations helped to identify strategies (e.g., differentiated lessons, scaffolding, team approach, and station teaching) to provide literature-based strategies for improving inclusive practices. Studying inclusive practices in the collaborative, co-taught K-12 classroom is important for raising awareness about the importance of this kind of teaching relationship for improving the learning environment of all students and increasing academic achievement.

At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and with the closure of schools, the question of how to continue schooling became a major challenge in education systems (Kong, 2020). Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning (ERTL) has since become the only solution to continue the learning process. Moving instruction to ERTL is based on the assumption that virtual learning can be effective in K-12 settings during times of disaster. The purpose of this study was to explore Saudi teachers' experiences in leading ERTL in K-12 settings and employed a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews. This study included six K-12 public schools in Saudi Arabia from different educational levels. Participants were asked to share their perspectives and experiences with ERTL through open-ended questions. The findings revealed the experiences of K-12 teachers during the quick transition to ERTL (redesign support, technological, pedagogical, and classroom management training), the changes that occurred in their practice (teaching and assessment strategies), the implementation of ERTL (challenges and other aspects), the impact of ERTL after the pandemic, and the lessons learned from the crisis. The results of this study suggest that a curse may be turned into a blessing by incorporating the experience of ERTL (using technology, lesson design, and online activities) into the school agenda on a regular basis. In doing so, teachers and students may develop important digital competencies and be better prepared for the next emergency. The implications of our findings and limitations are also discussed. / Doctor of Philosophy / Due to the urgent need for those in the education profession to change teaching modes, Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning (ERTL) which is defined as "a temporary shift of instructional delivery to an alternate delivery mode due to crisis circumstances. It involves the use of fully remote teaching solutions for instruction or education that would otherwise be delivered face-to-face or as blended or hybrid courses and that will return to that format once the crisis or emergency has abated." (Hodges et al., 2020). ERTL came to serve all levels of learners in response to the crisis of COVID-19. The use of ERTL was unplanned, but helped to assure continuity of learning. This rapid shift forced faculty to take courses that were designed for in-classroom teaching, and transition them to an online learning format, causing challenges to teachers and students. The purpose of this study was to explore Saudi teachers' experiences in leading Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning (ERTL) in K-12 settings, and employed a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews. This study included six K-12 public schools in Saudi Arabia from different educational levels. Participants were asked to share their perspectives and experiences with ERTL through open-ended questions. The findings revealed the experiences of K-12 teachers during the quick transition to ERTL (redesign support, technological, pedagogical, and classroom management training), the changes that occurred in their practice (teaching and assessment strategies), the implementation of ERTL (challenges and other aspects), the impact of ERTL after the pandemic, and the lessons learned from the crisis. The results of this study suggest that a curse may be turned into a blessing by incorporating the experience of ERTL (using technology, lesson design, and online activities) into the school agenda on a regular basis. In this way, teachers and students may develop important digital competencies, and be better prepared for the next emergency. The implications of our findings and limitations were also discussed.

Multi-touch technology on tabletop displays lets children interact with digital objects in collaborative and competitive ways. Multi-touch tables are not a part of classroom instruction because of high cost and lack of meaningful applications. This thesis explores possible solutions to building hardware and software that support the engagement of children. Outlined is a demonstration of our Mobile Interactive Learning Table (MILT), a custom hardware system that can be built for a cost well below current commercial implementations. Experiences with transporting the table to schools and similar settings are discussed, as well as proposed advantages to this do-it-yourself custom approach. Additionally, digital card games were created to encourage elementary and middle school student engagement in meaningful learning. Observations of children collaborating and competitively playing these games, and a comparison study comparing gameplay using different input devices were conducted. / Master of Science

The research study investigated the history of the curriculum standards movement in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the context of the national standards movement in order to explain how and why the Commonwealth of Virginia arrived at the decision not to adopt the Common Core State Standards based on descriptive evidence. The study utilized a qualitative methodology with a two-phase data collection process. First, documents from the Virginia Board of Education and the Virginia Department of Education were collected and analyzed using the constant comparative method (Maykut and Morehouse, 1994). Second, data were collected from major figures in the history of Virginia public education over the last 20 years, including former Superintendents of Public Instruction, through in-person interviews. Data from the interviews were analyzed using the constant comparative method (Maykut and Morehouse, 1994). An interview protocol was developed, tested for content validity, and piloted prior to conducting the interviews. Categories that emerged from the data analysis for both research questions were identified and descriptive evidence was presented related to both research questions. Three major conclusions from the study were identified and discussed that appeared to influence Virginia's decision not to participate in the Common Core State Standards: the Virginia Standards of Learning are an institutionalized system; the Virginia Standards of Learning had bipartisan political support; and confidence in the Standards of Learning outweighed confidence in the Common Core State Standards. / Ed. D.

In response to STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) educational reform, pedagogical approaches such as technological/engineering design-based learning (T/E DBL) have received increased emphasis as a means to enrich student learning and develop their higher-order cognitive competencies. Despite students exposure to the T and E of STEM as a means to make connections and improve learning (NAE and NRC, 2009), there still exists minimal evidence such experiences have a positive impact on their cognition and achievement (Honey, Pearson, and Schweingruber, 2014). Additionally, although research has well illustrated the design cognition of professional designers, and even students at the collegiate level, few investigations of high school students' cognitive activity during designing has been undertaken (Crismond and Adams, 2012; Hynes, 2012; Lammi and Becker, 2013). Furthermore, as researchers have begun to address this gap, broad coding schemes have been employed, describing students' cognitive efforts in terms of comprehensive categories such as formulation, analysis, and synthesis. However, as previous research has demonstrated nuances among existing categories (Purcell, Gero, Edwards, and McNeill, 1996), what has yet to be done is describe K-12 students' cognitive behaviors in terms of these underlying mechanisms. The purpose of this study was to characterize students' cognitive processes during engineering design at a more distinct level, which can increase understanding and begin to address the minimal attempts to 'connect research findings on how people design with what teachers need to understand and do to help K-16 students improve their design capability and learn through design activities" (Crismond and Adams, 2012, p. 738). The methodology of this study was informed by procedures of cognitive science and verbal protocol analysis. The primary form of data analyzed was audio and video recordings of the design task. The recorded data, in transcript form, was coded using the Purcell, Gero, Edwards, and McNeill (1996) framework. These coded data were then analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings from this study revealed that significant differences existed between high school seniors who took pre-engineering courses, and those who did not when engaged in Consulting Information about the Problem (Cp) and in considering System issues, which examined the problem from the point of view of the user. Additionally, Proposing a Solution (Ps), Postponing a Design Action (Pd), and Looking Back (Lb) approached a value of statistical significance in differences between the groups of participants. Findings also characterized how students exert the most and least amount of their cognitive effort in relation to the Problem Domain: Degree of Abstraction and Strategy Classification coding schemes. / Ph. D.