The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among high school teachers' self-reported social and emotional competencies (SECs), social interaction teaching practices, and instructional interaction teaching practices. Yoder's (2014) research suggests to successfully implement social-emotional learning (SEL) practices, teachers must have strong social and emotional competency skills (Brackett et al., 2009; Jennings and Greenberg, 2009). This study included a quantitative descriptive method to examine the anonymous survey data collected. Additionally, the data were examined for possible correlations between social, and instructional interaction teaching practices to identify areas of strength or weakness and suggest professional learning options for teachers related to their scores. This study sought to answer the following research questions: 1. What is the relationship among high school teachers' self-reported social, and instructional interaction teaching practices that influence students' social, emotional, and academic skills? 2. What is the relationship between educators' self-reported self-efficacy of their social and emotional competence and how it influences their ability to implement social, and instructional interaction teaching practices? 3. What is the relationship between teachers' overall social interaction score and their overall instructional interaction score? 4. What do the scores from the overall social interaction score and the overall instructional interaction score suggest about the professional learning needs of the participating high school teachers? High school teachers in this study who reported a higher self-efficacy in positive social interactions had a higher self-efficacy in social interactions influencing students' social, emotion, and academic skills. High school teachers with a high self-efficacy in Teacher SEC: Social Interaction Teaching Practices strongly correlated to a higher self-efficacy of Teacher SEC: Instructional Interaction Teaching Practices. Furthermore, high school teachers with a higher self-efficacy in their Overall Social Interaction to that of their self-efficacy of their Overall Instructional Interaction also strongly correlated. Conversely, high school teachers who reported higher self-efficacy with instructional interaction did not report the same level of self-efficacy of their social interaction, albeit the finding was deemed small. The study suggests division and school leaders could prioritize supporting teachers' development of their self-efficacy of their social and emotional competence. / Doctor of Education / The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among high school teachers' self-reported social and emotional competencies (SECs), social, and instructional interaction teaching practices. The study examined the possible correlations between the self-efficacy of social, and instructional interaction teaching practices to identify areas of strength or weakness and to identify and differentiate the professional learning needs of teachers related to their scores. This study included High School teachers from one school division in Virginia. The high school teachers participated in a pre-published survey from Yoder, 2014a (see Appendix A). The findings suggest teachers with a higher self-efficacy in their SECs were more likely to implement them in their teaching practices. Whereas high school teachers that had a higher self-efficacy in their Instructional Interactions practices did not have a statistically significant higher self-efficacy in their Social Interaction practices. Future actions could include building leaders can provide on-going professional learning to improve the self-efficacy of teachers' SECs and implementation of school-wide practices. Additional implications and future study suggestions are shared.

With the proliferation of 21st century educational technologies, science teaching and learning with digitally acclimatized learners in secondary science education can be realized through an online Science-Technology-Society-Environment (STSE)-based issues approach. STSE-based programs can be interpreted as the exploration of socially-embedded initiatives in science (e.g., use of genetically modified foods) to promote the development of critical cognitive processes and to empower learners with responsible decision-making skills. This dissertation presents a case study examining the online environment of a grade 11 physics class in an all-girls’ school, and the outcomes from those online discursive opportunities with STSE materials. The limited in-class discussion opportunities are often perceived as low-quality discussions in traditional classrooms because they originate from an inadequate introduction and facilitation of socially relevant issues in science programs. Hence, this research suggests that the science curriculum should be inclusive of STSE-based issue discussions. This study also examines the nature of students’ online discourse and, their perceived benefits and challenges of learning about STSE-based issues through an online environment. Analysis of interviews, offline classroom events and online threaded discussion transcripts draws from the theoretical foundations of critical reflective thinking delineated in the Practical Inquiry (P.I.) Model. The PI model of Cognitive Presence is situated within the Community of Inquiry framework,encompassing two other core elements, Teacher Presence and Social Presence. In studying Cognitive Presence, the online STSE-based discourses were examined according to the four phases of the P.I. Model. The online discussions were measured at macro-levels to reveal patterns in student STSE-based discussions and content analysis of threaded discussions. These analyses indicated that 87% of the students participated in higher quality STSE-based discussions via an online forum as compared to in-class. The micro-level analysis revealed students to attain higher cognitive interactions with STSE issues. Sixteen percent of the students’ threaded postings were identified in the Resolution Phase 4 when the teacher intervened with a focused teaching strategy. This research provides a significant theoretical and pedagogical contribution to blended approach to STSE-based secondary science education. It presents a framework for teachers to facilitate students’ online discussions and to support learners in exploring STSE-based topics.

With the proliferation of 21st century educational technologies, science teaching and learning with digitally acclimatized learners in secondary science education can be realized through an online Science-Technology-Society-Environment (STSE)-based issues approach. STSE-based programs can be interpreted as the exploration of socially-embedded initiatives in science (e.g., use of genetically modified foods) to promote the development of critical cognitive processes and to empower learners with responsible decision-making skills. This dissertation presents a case study examining the online environment of a grade 11 physics class in an all-girls’ school, and the outcomes from those online discursive opportunities with STSE materials. The limited in-class discussion opportunities are often perceived as low-quality discussions in traditional classrooms because they originate from an inadequate introduction and facilitation of socially relevant issues in science programs. Hence, this research suggests that the science curriculum should be inclusive of STSE-based issue discussions. This study also examines the nature of students’ online discourse and, their perceived benefits and challenges of learning about STSE-based issues through an online environment. Analysis of interviews, offline classroom events and online threaded discussion transcripts draws from the theoretical foundations of critical reflective thinking delineated in the Practical Inquiry (P.I.) Model. The PI model of Cognitive Presence is situated within the Community of Inquiry framework,encompassing two other core elements, Teacher Presence and Social Presence. In studying Cognitive Presence, the online STSE-based discourses were examined according to the four phases of the P.I. Model. The online discussions were measured at macro-levels to reveal patterns in student STSE-based discussions and content analysis of threaded discussions. These analyses indicated that 87% of the students participated in higher quality STSE-based discussions via an online forum as compared to in-class. The micro-level analysis revealed students to attain higher cognitive interactions with STSE issues. Sixteen percent of the students’ threaded postings were identified in the Resolution Phase 4 when the teacher intervened with a focused teaching strategy. This research provides a significant theoretical and pedagogical contribution to blended approach to STSE-based secondary science education. It presents a framework for teachers to facilitate students’ online discussions and to support learners in exploring STSE-based topics.