Digital Commons Network^™

Creating A Gifted-Friendly Classroom, David Wolff

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

The goal of undergraduate teacher preparation programs is to equip future teachers to work with all learners. Gifted and talented learners are likely found in every classroom regardless of where they reside. According to Rinn et al. (2022), Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Nebraska do not require undergraduate teacher candidates to take university coursework on gifted education. The goal of this presentation is to provide a general overview of gifted education specific to Kansas. This presentation aims to address myths and misconceptions about gifted education and gifted learners, characteristics of gifted learners, a basic overview of a general identification process, …

Going The Extra Mile To Increase The Wilder School’S Student Enrollment, Xueming (Jimmy) Chen

GEHLI - 2026 VCUL Team Project Publications

To align with the themes and goals of VCU Quest 2028: One VCU Together We Transform, the Wilder School has prepared and will implement a schoolwide strategic plan to guide its development to 2028. In this strategic plan, one of the metrics of student success is student enrollment, which is of paramount importance.

After the background introduction, this report gives an overview of the student enrollment data of the five academic programs within the Wilder School during the past 5 years and takes a snapshot of the 2022 MURP student demographic data. Afterward, it briefly introduces the enrollment management strategies …

The Impact Of A Series Of Professional Development Sessions On Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (Crp) On The Awareness Level Of Seven Teachers At A Suburban High School, Charity Jo Brady

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation aimed to examine the impact that culturally responsive pedagogy had on a suburban high school. Specifically, it focused on the effectiveness of a six-session professional development series in increasing the awareness level of seven teacher-participants at Bayside High School during the Spring 2022 semester. The study utilized pre- and post- questionnaires, weekly journal reflections (written), field notes and observations, and participant interviews for data collection. The findings suggest that the professional development sessions were successful in increasing the awareness level of the teachers, leading to a more culturally responsive classroom environment. This study highlights the importance of ongoing …

Culturally Responsive One-Shots Flowing From Institutional Data, Hope Y. Kelly Phd

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Explore how aggregated institutional data can inform culturally responsive instructional design and delivery through a case from a public, urban, minority-serving institution.

Virginia Commonwealth University’s Office of Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Success annually shares a “Freshman Profile” that helps instructors gain insight into the student population we see in our library instruction sessions. This descriptive data paints a general picture of our first year students while maintaining individual privacy. This information is used to design and develop culturally responsive one-shot instruction that is in dialogue with race, gender, economics, family educational experience, academic preparedness and motivation, and social factors. …

Middle Savannah River: An A/R/Tographic Ecopedagogical Ethnography Experimenting With Rhizomatic Perspectives, Lisa Augustine-Chizmar

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This research is an experiment in perspective. Using the four commonplaces (Schwab, 1978), I practiced letting the Savannah River teach me what there is to know about the water, the land, the people, and the other entities that depend on ki through artistic, ethnographic, and ecopedagogical lenses. The ethnographic findings describe the social actors that depend on ki and give a voice to the River. The a/r/tographic findings display the River on a canvas map through two hundred years using paint, clay, photography, video, abstract acrylics, and fabric. Together, these methods contribute to a unique ecopedagogical journey. This word cloud …

A Paradox Of Fact And Fiction: Cultivating The 'Literary Imagination' Through Quiet Rebellion, Eden A. Evans

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The dissertation explores the problems that patterned and processed teaching and learning poses for implementing principles of critical pedagogy in English Literature courses. I apply multiple theoretical frameworks including literary theory, critical theory and post-humanism to place my own experiences amidst the on-going conversations about standardization and democracy. I draw upon the work of educational theorists such as Maxine Greene, Martha Nussbaum, Louise Rosenblatt, and Mary Aswell Doll to explore the ways that literature can enrich students’ lives and society, and Geneva Gay and Lisa Delpit to explore how cultural bias regarding linguistics can function when teaching literature and language …

Religiously Responsive Pedagogy In Christian Schools: A Qualitative Exploration Of Faculty Perceptions Of Faith Integration, Andrea R. Woodard

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study introduced a theoretical framework of Religiously Responsive Pedagogy (RRP) and explored the ways in which RRP is enacted in Christian schools, along with the barriers and supports that may exist for effective RRP within those schools. The study investigated PK-12 faculty perceptions of faith integration, responsiveness to students, and school support in order to develop this new framework. Twelve teachers participated in a semi-structured interview via Zoom, which included four scenarios to probe teacher perspectives on RRP. The data was coded recursively using Boeije’s (2002) constant-comparative method.

The primary research questions addressed were:

• How do teachers at …

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Information, Communication, And Technology In Developing Countries: The Impediment To Nigeria Economic Growth, Fatima Ali Muhammed

Dissertations and Theses

Technological revolution has shifted the world to a post-industrial society as information communication and technology (ICT) govern the centrality of human interaction. ICT has become widely influential at all levels of life, especially socially and economically.

In the 21st century, innovative technologies have become a crucial element of accelerating all factors of production to deliver rapid and effective results in every sector of the economy. The Internet, as a component of ICT, has become the global computing network that facilitates the access, analysis and dissemination of infinite information rapidly using advanced technology.

Policy makers, researchers, business leaders, academics are all …

Collaborative Lesson Study: A Qualitative Case Study Of Elementary Teachers’ Professional Learning Experience, Arlene D. Harmon

Theses and Dissertations

Teacher collaboration practices in schools have impacted how teachers work together to prevent professional isolation. The mandate of collaborative practices has resulted in some teachers expressing frustration and a lack of benefit from their current experiences. The purpose of this qualitative case study, conducted in the Southeast region of the United States, was to determine if lesson study provided a more meaningful collaborative approach during focused group sessions. Using New London Group’s (1996) designs of meaning concept encapsulated in the Pedagogy of Multiliteracies Theoretical Framework to gauge the relevance of lesson study, I sought to explore a deeper understanding of …

From Homeschooling To Unschooling: A Comparison Of Academic Achievement, Myra Breen

Masters Theses

Within the homeschooling community, there are many options for educational methods that a family might choose. Unschooling, which is an approach to education that emphasizes self-directed learning and does not follow a set curriculum, is often viewed as inferior to a traditional pre-determined curriculum.

The purpose of this research was to determine whether students who come from families who use traditional curricula to educate their children have drastically different assessment scores from the students in families where they follow their own interests and learn from those activities.

This study uses a mixed-methods approach. There are qualitative results based on case …

Understanding The Implications Of Work Based Learning For Students Pk-12 School Systems Institutions Of Higher Education And Hosting Organizations, David Naff, Amy Corning, Meleah Ellison, Albion Sumrell, Zehra Sahin Ilkorkor, Jennifer Murphy, Ciana Cross

MERC Publications

This literature review by the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) and Institute for Collaborative Research and Evaluation (ICRE), in partnership with the Virginia Talent + Opportunity Partnership (V-TOP) and State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) explores work-based learning and its implications for PK-12 institutions, institutions of higher education, and hosting organizations (e.g. employers). The report also provides background information about the foundations of work-based learning and concludes with a series of recommendations for practice, policy, and future research related to work-based learning. There is also an accompanying podcast episode where report authors discuss the key takeaways with …

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy: An Understanding Of How To Educate Black And Latinx Students, Darius Jackson

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This case study examined culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) with a primary focus on students and their culturally responsive perspectives through qualitative interviews and focus groups with students and teachers at an alternative high school in Chicago. Using an engaged scholar and insider researcher approach, I was able to have deep and meaningful conversations with the participants that supplied a rich bond and foundation for data analysis. The overarching purpose of this study was to supply an understanding of how students and teachers understand cultural responsiveness to find cultural curriculum changes. A series of interviews, focus groups, and analysis of artifacts …

A Peer Review Of Product Design Visualization, Ides 416|816, Aziza Cyamani

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This portfolio explores a new course on product design visualization introduced in the product design minor program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Due to the nature of the diverse student group pursuing the minor program, this course adapts flexible teaching and assessment methods that foster inclusivity and enrichment.

Faculty Perceptions And Beliefs About Utilizing Social Media As A Teaching Tool In Higher Education: A Q Methodology Study, April Robinson

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

The purpose of this study was to examine college faculty’s perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes concerning the use of social media as a teaching and learning tool, and to determine possible factors that may influence their perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes about social media use in the classroom. For this purpose, Q Methodology which is a mixed-methods approach was used to study the subjectivity of the participant’s perceptions and beliefs objectively. Q methodology systematically can reveal the shared perceptions and beliefs of college faculty. Data were analyzed from 19 teaching faculty in Long Island, New York. This study identified and examined the …

Training Strategies To Improve Salesperson Confidence And Production, William B. Bronson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many sales leaders need strategies to improve the productivity and confidence of their sales personnel. Ineffective sales training programs cost organizations billions of dollars in annual revenue and profits. Grounded in adaptive leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative mini-ethnographic multiple-case study was to explore successful strategies used by sales leaders that combine and balance virtual and online resources with traditional face-to-face training methods to increase the productivity and confidence of sales personnel. Data were collected by interviewing eight salespeople and two sales managers spanning two Texas insurance companies and reviewing company documents. Data were analyzed using Yin’s five-step process …

Historically Black Colleges And Universities' Faculty Experiences With Online Course Design, Ashley Burton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Quality online course design requires course designers to make carefully informed decisions based on current resources and considerations for the learner. Some faculty at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) design online learning without the assistance of instructional designers, training, or a technological infrastructure that supports online learning. To date, there is a shortage of scholarly research about how HBCU faculty design online courses and what supports or barriers exist for them. Thus, this basic qualitative research study aimed to understand faculty’s online course design experiences at HBCUs. Instructional design, adult learning theory, and the HBCU context formed the conceptual …

The Effects Of Parental Engagement Programs On Grades 3-5 Milestones Student Achievement, Deborah Malone

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although the Every Student Succeeds Act sets the parameters for parents and families to be involved in their children’s education, there are no specified guidelines on how that involvement should be designed to best impact student achievement. The purpose of this study was to compare Grade 3-5 students’ mean Milestones test scores in English Language Arts, mathematics, and science (dependent variables) at two Southeastern United States elementary schools which offered parental involvement/parental engagement programs—a nonmandatory or mandatory program (independent variable), represented by School A and B, respectively. The theoretical foundations of the study were the social and human capital theory …

Secondary Teachers’ Perceptions Of Training Needed To Apply Personalized Instruction, Christina Armstrong

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem at a Southwestern private school is that secondary teachers have insufficient training to apply personalized instruction (PI) with fidelity to meet the needs of students with severe to moderate cognitive impairments. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the secondary teachers’ perceptions of the training they need to apply academic interventions using PI. The conceptual framework that grounds this study was Bruner’s theory of instruction. The theory is used to focus on the process of gaining knowledge beginning with predisposition toward learning, in this case, the teachers’ attitudes toward PI. According to the theory, individuals …

Instructional Practices Teachers Use To Improve Elementary School Students’ Mathematics Achievement, Kwanza Lee Atkinson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since 2016, third to fifth-grade students at a Title I elementary school have not met adequate yearly progress because 70% of students have not scored proficient on the end-of-grade mathematics assessment. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the instructional approaches that elementary school teachers use to teach mathematics to students at the Title I school and to investigate which instructional strategies teachers believed to be the most effective in improving mathematics test scores. This study was grounded in social constructivism, based on the impression that the individual creates knowledge based on mental ability. Data for this …

Perspectives Of Middle School Teachers About The Use Of Virtual Reality For Learning Spanish, Betty N. Ukera-Kajoh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Foreign language education in the United States has historically produced poor outcomes, with very few language learners achieving communicative competence. The increasing global demand for multilingual professionals makes the issue a salient one. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the perspectives of U.S. middle school Spanish teachers about the use of virtual reality (VR) as an instructional tool for developing communicative competence in Spanish language. The research question, which was informed by Canale and Swain’s communicative competence theory, and educational technology theory by Huang, et al., addressed middle school Spanish teachers’ perspectives regarding their use of …

High School Teachers’ Perspectives On Formative Assessment In The Virtual Learning Environment, Tiffany Mcbean

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Formative assessment in the virtual learning environment is a beneficial complement to teacher pedagogy and student learning. But there is little research on high school teachers’ perspectives on the use of formative assessment in the virtual learning environment. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to address this research gap. The conceptual framework was Black and Wiliam’s theory of formative assessment. Two research questions guided the study. The first addressed high school teachers’ perspectives on formative assessments in the virtual learning environment. The second addressed how teachers used formative assessment in the virtual learning environment. Semistructured interviews were conducted …

Employer Perceptions Of The Skills Gap In College Graduates’ Written Communication, Julie Minnaugh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

U.S. employers have reported that many college graduates are underprepared in written communication when hired and that lack of preparedness hinders these graduates’ employment success. Higher education institution (HEI) administrators need information regarding which writing skills should be taught across the curriculum to improve student outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate employers’ perspectives on the written communication skills gap that hinders college graduates from being successful in their professional practice. Swales’s six characteristics of a discourse community provided a conceptual lens for the study, as graduates commencing employment represent newcomers to a discourse community. A basic qualitative …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Social Emotional Learning Instruction And High Residential Mobility Students’ Reading Literacy, Janel Dorene Morris

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Based on recommendations from research, leaders in a north Texas public school district implemented social emotional learning (SEL) to address academic gaps among high residential mobility (HRM) students. Incorporating SEL instruction improves academic achievement 11 percentile points on average; however, in Adoniram School District (ASD), 2021 passing rates fell 8% from 2019 despite adopting SEL curriculum. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how ASD elementary teachers instructed SEL, and their perceptions of how SEL techniques influenced HRM elementary students’ reading literacy development. The study on social and emotional skills (SSES) conceptual framework guided this study because …

Examining High School Teachers’ Perspectives With Culturally Responsive Teaching, Maria Victoria O'Brien

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem that was addressed through this study was teachers’ inconsistent use of culturally responsive teaching (CRT) in a high school in Northern Virginia (NVHS). The purpose of the study was to examine high school teachers’ perspectives on the successes, challenges and support needed to better implement CRT at the NVHS. Ladson-Billing’s and Gay’s culturally responsive teaching theory formed the conceptual framework that guided this study. The research questions focused on teacher perspectives about the successes, challenges, and support needed with CRT. A basic qualitative design was used to capture the insights of eight high school teachers through semistructured, individual …

University Interdisciplinary Linked Block Schedules And Developmental Student Success, Linda S. Reeves-Wymer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Developmental education is the starting point for many 1st-year college students, especially from underrepresented, low-income, and first-generation populations. One such 1st-year program linked block-scheduled academic skill-development courses with a required interdisciplinary general education science course where instruction was provided simultaneously in a lecture format to college-ready nondevelopmental students and developmental students in three skill-development courses: reading, writing, and combined reading/writing. Although this program had existed for over 20 years, the effectiveness of the program, meaning whether the linked skill-development courses were associated with academic success, had not been assessed. Guided by Tinto’s integration theory, a causal comparative design with the …

High School Teachers’ Perspectives On Formative Assessment In The Virtual Learning Environment, Tiffany Mcbean

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Formative assessment in the virtual learning environment is a beneficial complement to teacher pedagogy and student learning. But there is little research on high school teachers’ perspectives on the use of formative assessment in the virtual learning environment. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to address this research gap. The conceptual framework was Black and Wiliam’s theory of formative assessment. Two research questions guided the study. The first addressed high school teachers’ perspectives on formative assessments in the virtual learning environment. The second addressed how teachers used formative assessment in the virtual learning environment. Semistructured interviews were conducted …

Examining High School Teachers’ Perspectives With Culturally Responsive Teaching, Maria Victoria O'Brien

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem that was addressed through this study was teachers’ inconsistent use of culturally responsive teaching (CRT) in a high school in Northern Virginia (NVHS). The purpose of the study was to examine high school teachers’ perspectives on the successes, challenges and support needed to better implement CRT at the NVHS. Ladson-Billing’s and Gay’s culturally responsive teaching theory formed the conceptual framework that guided this study. The research questions focused on teacher perspectives about the successes, challenges, and support needed with CRT. A basic qualitative design was used to capture the insights of eight high school teachers through semistructured, individual …

Religious Influences On The Growth Of Literacy Practice, Loukia K. Sarroub, Cassandra Schroeder

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Religious influences on the growth of literacy practices are well documented and span more than a century of research ranging from disciplines such as social and cultural anthropology to sociology to language and literacy studies in education. Intellectuals known across disciplines such as Benedict Anderson, Lila Abu-Lughod, Pierre Bourdieu, Jonathan Boyarin, Clifford Geertz, Michaela de Leonardo, Shirley Brice Heath, Alan Peshkin, Claude Lévi Strauss, and Brian Street broke new ground in the 20th century in connecting literacy to religious literacies. In recent years, the work of contemporary language education scholars such as Huamei Han (2018) as well as English education …

Effective Teachers Of Multilingual Learners: A Mixed-Method Study Of Uk And Us Critical Sociocultural Teaching Practices, Naomi Flynn, Annela Teemant, Kara Mitchell Viesca, Ratha Perumal

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This convergent parallel mixed-method study (quan + QUAL) relies on systematic classroom observations of mainstream teachers considered highly effective with multilingual learners in the United Kingdom and the United States (N = 9). Using a critical sociocultural theoretical lens, we use an established quantitative observation rubric and lesson field notes to capture real-world teaching practices. Using deductive reasoning to merge closed- and open-ended observation data, we illuminate the features of highly effective teaching for multilingual students. Evidence demonstrates that elements of challenge in activity design and teacher presentation, prioritizing language and literacy development, and modeling, were practices with the highest …

“It Was Just My Name!”: A Crt/Crf Analysis Of International Female Graduate Students’ Perceptions And Experiences Regarding Their Ethnic Name, Peiwen Wang, Xiaoyan Gu, Amanda Morales

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Although international female students accounted for 44% of the enrolled international students in the United States (U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, 2020), their experiences regarding their ethnic name are relatively understudied in the onomastic literature. This study considers the experiences of eight international female graduate students of Color who are studying at a Midwestern predominantly White university. Utilizing critical race theory (CRT) and critical race feminism (CRF) as the theoretical and analytical lenses, this qualitative phenomenological study collected data through semistructured, in-depth interviews. We explore the meaning of ethnic names and their connection to …