Digital Commons Network^™

Induction Programming For Novice Special Education Directors: The Significance Of Informal Supports In The Absence Of Formal Structures, Julie E. Rottier-Lukens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The role and responsibilities of a special education director are unique and highly complex when compared to other district-level leadership roles. Since the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) passed in 1975, states gradually increased requirements for certification of these administrative roles, more clearly defining the criteria and standards to incorporate within preparation programs. Despite improvements in preparation programs for special education directors, there continues to be variation in preparation and certification requirements across states and persistent challenges with shortages of special education directors. After completing a preparation program, what support exists for novice special education directors to help them …

Disproportionality And Possibilities: State-Level Policy Recommendations For Special Education Oversight In A Shifting Federal Landscape, Amanda B. Roberts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study employed a convergent parallel mixed-methods design to explore how U.S. states identify and respond to disproportionality in special education within a shifting federal policy landscape. As uncertainty surrounds the future role of the U.S. Department of Education, questions have emerged about states’ capacity to safeguard educational equity. Without federal oversight, states would assume responsibility for maintaining protections for students with special needs, making it critical to strengthen safeguards for marginalized and underresourced populations.

This study analyzed the current special education governance structures nationwide to inform equity-oriented policy and practice recommendations. Quantitative data were collected from Individuals with Disabilities …

Perceptions Of Giftedness: A Mixed Methods Study Of General Education Classroom Teachers And Gifted And Talented Specialists, Rachel J. Martino

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This convergent mixed methods study examined similarities and differences in perceptions of giftedness held by general education teachers and gifted specialists in two suburban elementary school districts. Grounded in social constructivism and labeling theory, the study explored how educator role shapes understandings of giftedness and gifted education. Survey data from 70 educators and interviews with eight participants were analyzed and integrated. Findings revealed alignment regarding the multidimensional and social–emotional nature of giftedness, but statistically significant differences in perceptions were found related to instructional practices and differentiation, identification, autonomy, and service models. Findings also revealed a gap between belief and practice, …

The Organizational Experience Of Next Gen Learning Through Portrait Of A Graduate, Kathleen J. Campbell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative single-case study investigates the organizational journey of navigating the complexities of systemic transformation. In 2021, Silver Peak School District (SPSD; a pseudonym), a rural educational organization in the western United States, implemented a graduate competency framework known as Portrait of a Graduate. This study analyzed the experiences of teachers, instructional coaches, and principals with the explicit Portrait policies, practices, and resource flows of five learning structures—graduate competencies (in SPSD, this is analogous to Portrait), deeper learning, agency, performance assessment, and teaching culture—in a district in the messy middle of Portrait adoption. By focusing on a district situated in …

A Case Study Of Principal Preparation In A Social Justice-Informed Principal Preparation Program, Katie Golieb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study examined how a social justice-informed principal preparation program fostered the development of socially just school leaders and how graduates perceived their capacity for resilience as educational leaders in the contemporary PK–12 context. The Mountain Range Principal Preparation Program (MRP3), a university–district partnership designed to prepare educational leaders to be transformative leaders equipped to improve student achievement and address challenges in low-performing schools, served as the site of inquiry. The study explored how principals made meaning of their preparation experiences and how those experiences shaped their enactment of equity-focused leadership and their ability to sustain such work. …

Becoming The Phoenix: Black Women’S Experiences And Leadership Growth Through Humanized Black Feminist Action Learning, Jovan Keith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the workplace learning experiences of Black women professionals in corporate leadership contexts. Leadership development programs often rely on standardized models that overlook the lived realities shaping Black women’s professional experiences. In response, this study introduced Humanized Black Feminist Action Learning, a leadership development intervention that integrates Black feminist scholarship, humanizing pedagogy, and critical action learning.

Using a qualitative case study design, the research examined a cohort of midcareer Black women professionals who participated in four facilitated learning sessions structured around workplace dilemmas. During these sessions, participants engaged in reflection, dialogue, and action as they examined workplace dynamics …

Educator Perceptions Of Human-Ai Co-Creativity: A Mixed Methods Study, Wendy L. Jensen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Educators play a critical role in navigating the intersection of creativity and artificial intelligence in the work of teaching and learning. As frontline implementers of daily instruction and decision-makers around the use of technology tools, teachers determine, in practice, how creativity and artificial intelligence converge in learning environments. Because teachers play this central role, examining their perceptions is critical for fostering the effective use of AI in educational contexts in ways that preserve and advance creative teaching and learning. In this convergent mixed methods study, I investigated educators’ perceptions of human-AI co-creativity, with particular attention to how these perceptions inform …

Higher Education Institutions In U.S. Blockchain Innovation Governance Documents, Clarissa Terracciano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Blockchain technologies have attracted growing attention as an evolution of digital recordkeeping, prompting interest in higher education governance, credentialing, and data management. Yet, no systematic analysis exists on how U.S. government blockchain documents define institutional roles and governance authority within higher education institutions. As the national blockchain innovation system expands through governance infrastructure, the inclusion of higher education institutions as governing actors is imperative for coherent and equitable deployment. This qualitative study examines what roles the U.S. government blockchain documents assign to higher education institutions within the national blockchain innovation system.

Using innovation systems theory, particularly the triple-helix model of …

Exploring Engineering Technology: A Multi-Year, Multidisciplinary Project-Based Engineering Technology Workshop, Benito Mendoza, Angran Xiao, Muhammad Ummy

Publications and Research

Many students enter engineering technology programs with a limited understanding of disciplinary differences, curricular expectations, and career pathways, contributing to early dissatisfaction and attrition. To address this challenge, we developed Exploring Engineering Technology, a multidisciplinary, project-based workshop that introduces students to Mechanical, Electrical, and Computer Engineering Technology through a shared robotic systems project. This paper presents a multi-year design-based educational research (DBER) study documenting the iterative refinement and sustained implementation of the workshop across three consecutive summers (2023–2025) at a large urban public college. Using a consistent post-workshop survey administered across cohorts and aggregate student progression indicators, we examine …

Voice And Choice: Exploring The Role Of Student Agency In High School Math Course Placement, Anne Patia Carpenter Sterry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined how students make sense of the mathematics placement process within a high-rigor independent school. In contexts where placement decisions shape access to advanced coursework, students’ interpretations of these decisions may influence both their academic trajectories and their developing mathematical identities. The purpose of this qualitative bounded case study was to understand the experiences of students who enrolled in mathematics courses that differed from placement recommendations, focusing on their motivations for self-selection, their interpretations of feedback from adults and peers, and how these experiences shaped their mathematical identities.

Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 10 high school …

Chatbot-Based Feedback + Revision And Reflection For Lab Reports, Janie Brennan

Generative AI Teaching Activities

Students will upload draft versions of laboratory reports to a specially designed chatbot trained on course guidelines and instructor preferences. The chatbot gives structured feedback on the submission, and then students update their work and write a reflection about the experience.

Structure-Based Discovery Of Malate Dehydrogenase Inhibitors With Efficacy Against C. Parvum Oocysts, Ankita Bharatbhai Kheni

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Cryptosporidium parvum, the etiological agent of Cryptosporidiosis (diarrheal illness) represents a significant global health burden, particularly affecting immunodeficient and pediatric populations. Since the parasite has a highly reduced mitochondrion and relies on glycolysis, enzymes such as C. parvum malate dehydrogenase (CpMDH), which are believed to be indispensable for parasite viability due to their pivotal roles in NAD⁺ regeneration and redox balance, remain largely unexplored as therapeutic targets. The present study employed a multifaceted experimental and computational strategy to evaluate the inhibitory activity of two lead-like and drug-like small molecules, referred to as compound 1.8 and compound 1.5, against the cofactor …

Students In Motion: How Educators Enact Movement In Elementary Mathematics, Katherine E. Nash

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study used an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design to examine how elementary mathematics teachers report using physical activity in their instructional practice. The purpose of the study was to develop, provide evidence of validity, and implement a questionnaire to document the types of movement teachers use and when these practices occur in relation to mathematics instruction. In Phase 1, qualitative interviews were conducted with eight elementary mathematics teachers to identify common movement types and inform instrument development. The eight movement types that were identified are non-academic fine-motor, non-academic gross-motor, non-academic music-elicited, non-academic environmental, academic fine-motor, academic gross-motor, academic music-elicited, and …

Collaborative Practices Of School-Based Professionals In Conducting Multilingual Assessments, Megan Buckley

Theses and Dissertations

The current study evaluates the perceived best practices and current actual practices of school-based professionals in interprofessional collaboration and in conducting multilingual assessments. The participants consisted of 341 professionals from across the United States in the following groups: speech language pathologists (SLPs), assistants, special education teachers, general education teachers, specialists, school psychologists, and administration. Participants responded to an online Qualtrics survey with a total of 74 possible items regarding demographics, caseload, multilingual assessment practices and beliefs, and interprofessional collaboration practices and beliefs. Results were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics. Results indicate that participants recognize the need for interprofessional collaboration …

Speech Motor Variability In Typical Speakers With Blocked, Predictable, And Unpredictable Stimulus Order, Jocelyn L. Turley

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effect on spatiotemporal variability of speech in reading threesyllable, five-syllable, and eight-syllable phrases in blocked, predictable, or unpredictable order. This was done to address the need in the field for a greater understanding of the interactions of stimulus length and stimulus presentation order. The experiment was completed with 35 typically speaking young adult participants. Participants read variable stimuli in the different presentation orders to measure the spatiotemporal variability in different conditions with electromagnetic articulography and audio recording software tracking their speech. The statistical analysis main condition effect revealed a significant impact on all phrase lengths between …

Effects Of A Complexity-Based Approach For Treatment Of Be Verbs In Children With Developmental Language Disorder: A Single-Case Design, Megan Shawnee Rowe

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine whether a complexity-based treatment approach improves the production of BE verb structures in a child with developmental language disorder (DLD). One school-age child with morphosyntactic deficits participated in a single-case AB experimental design. Treatment targeted a complex structure (auxiliary BE questions), and performance was measured using experimental probes, a narrative language sample, and the Test of Early Grammatical Impairment (TEGI). Results indicate a functional relationship between treatment and increased accuracy of the treated structure, with a medium effect size (τ = .695, p = .019). In addition, the participant demonstrated generalization to …

Prosodic Characteristics Of People With Moderate Broca's Aphasia: Measures Of Pitch And Intensity, Morgan Smith Lambert

Theses and Dissertations

Aphasia is an acquired neurogenic language disorder commonly treated by speech language pathologists (SLPs). People with aphasia (PWA) experience various language deficits which impact their ability to effectively communicate with their environment. One of these deficits which impacts individuals with non-fluent aphasia is dysprosody. The purpose of this study is to acoustically evaluate the pitch and intensity of individuals with moderate Broca's aphasia along with age and gender matched control participants across a variety of task types in order to help SLPs better understand how to effectively assess and treat prosody in PWA. This study is an extension of Pickard …

Chicago Southland Regional Model Pathways, Education Systems Center

Practitioner Toolkits and Resources

These models from Prairie State College and South Suburban College are aligned to the State of Illinois College and Career Pathway Endorsement framework and include dual credit coursework pre-approved by the colleges for inclusion by regional high schools.

Lesson 1. Makhózula Etáŋhaŋ Wiyútapi Ke: Tomato Journey From Tiny Seed To My Plate, Rachel Pastrana, Madhav P. Nepal

iLEARN Teaching Resources

In this engaging kindergarten food systems lesson, students become “Plant Parents” as they follow the remarkable journey of a tomato from a tiny seed to food on their plate. Through storytelling, observation, movement, and hands-on plant care, students explore how sunlight, water, and soil work together to support plant growth. Using the Lakota concepts of Makhózula (Abundant Land), Wopila (Gratitude), and Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ (We Are All Related), students learn that food is a gift made possible by the cooperation of people, plants, animals, and natural resources. Students observe and care for tomato seedlings, participate in outdoor exploration activities, and create …

Lesson 2. The Soil Doctors: Healthy Vs. Thirsty Soil Detectives, Rachel Pastrana, Madhav P. Nepal

iLEARN Teaching Resources

In this lesson, Kindergarten students in Norris, South Dakota, become "Soil Detectives" to investigate the health of Maka (the Earth). By using their hands to touch, squeeze, and compare local schoolyard soil, students learn to identify Maka Wasté (Healthy Soil) and Maka Puza (Thirsty Soil). This lesson utilizes communal storytelling and Lakota terminology to ground scientific inquiry in local Indigenous knowledge and South Dakota land history. Students apply Regenerative Agriculture principles by providing a "cure" protecting the soil with a natural blanket—and conclude with a Wóglaka (Reflection Circle) to share their experiences as young stewards of the land.

Lesson 3. Sky Explorers: The Rhythm Of The Moon And My Garden, Rachel Pastrana, Madhav P. Nepal

iLEARN Teaching Resources

In this kindergarten lesson, students become "Sky Explorers" as they investigate the patterns and rhythms of the Sun, Moon, and Earth. Through storytelling, movement activities, Oreo Moon modeling, outdoor observations, and hands-on exploration, students learn how Earth's rotation creates day and night and how the Moon changes appearance through predictable phases. Students explore the Lakota concepts of Wí (Sun), Haŋwí (Moon), and Mitákuye Oyás'iŋ (We Are All Related) while making connections between natural cycles, food systems, and plant growth. Students discover how people have long observed the Moon as a natural calendar and how farmers and gardeners use seasonal patterns …

Examining The Effects Of A Complexity-Based Treatment For One Child With Down Syndrome Using Single-Case Design, Markelle Luddington

Theses and Dissertations

Common language difficulties observed in English-speaking children with Down syndrome (DS) and developmental language disorder (DLD) include challenges with marking tense and agreement on verbs, particularly with BE verbs. In addition, difficulties with syntactic movement may further exacerbate these challenges, often resulting in increased omission errors. A complexity-based approach to treatment target selection has been suggested as one method to address these needs. Therefore, this single-case design study examined the effects of a complexity-based treatment approach for one participant with Down syndrome. Specifically, this study investigated the effects of targeting a more complex treated structure, auxiliary BE questions, and the …

Measures Of Linguistic Complexity And Vocabulary Diversity As Indicators Of Oral Language Production Growth Of 4th Grade Spanish-Speaking Els, Carla T. Zayas-Santiago

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As fourth-grade students transition from learning to read to reading to learn, their ability to use language for academic purposes becomes increasingly important, particularly for Spanish-speaking English Learners (ELs). However, students often have limited opportunities to produce extended oral language during instruction. Students’ oral language production reflects both structural aspects of language use, captured through measures of linguistic complexity, and lexical aspects of language use, captured through measures of vocabulary diversity. Although prior studies have examined transcript-derived measures of oral language production, limited research has examined how these measures predict English proficiency, capture growth over time, and respond to different …

The Effectiveness Of School-Based Bullying And Cyberbullying Prevention Programs, Akhwani Akhwani, Lalu Habiburrahman, Nurul Aini, Muhammad Rusli, Raden Roro Nanik Setyowati

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

Bullying and cyberbullying are increasingly complex forms of peer violence because they occur simultaneously in school spaces and digital environments. This situation demands the development of school-based prevention programs that not only target conventional bullying but also integrate cyberbullying prevention strategies. This article aims to examine the effectiveness of school-based bullying and cyberbullying prevention programs in the context of a high-performing education system. This study uses a systematic literature review design with reference to the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. The literature search was conducted through the Scopus database using keywords representing three main concepts: cyberbullying, bullying, and prevention or intervention programs. …

Engaging Immigrant Families Of Children With Disabilities: Recommendations For Practitioners, Robai N. Werunga, John William Mckenna, Rocio Rosales

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Family involvement is essential for positive school outcomes. Yet research suggests that family engagement for students with disabilities may be marked by conflict. Furthermore, creating an environment that promotes active engagement for immigrant families may be challenging. In this paper, we synthesize existing research, legal guidance, and community-engaged insights to present four practice-oriented recommendations for educators and practitioners working with immigrant families of children with disabilities. Grounded in Hans and Love’s stages of immigrant family engagement, these recommendations aim to support meaningful and culturally responsive participation in special education processes.

Understanding Dysgraphia: Teaching Students With Dysgraphia, Elizabeth Klein Ms.

The Language and Literacy Spectrum

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In today’s inclusive classrooms, the ability to develop skilled, confident writers is a core competency for every educator. However, while reading disabilities …

A Qualitative Study Of People With Aphasia And Their Experiences With The Bible, Marin Li

Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of 4 individuals with aphasia (1 female, 3 male; 3 Catholic, 1 Lutheran) regarding their relationship with and engagement with the Bible. Participants completed three remote sessions via Zoom. In Session 1, participants completed the Test of Nonverbal Intelligence, Fourth Edition, (TONI-4), and the remote Quick Aphasia Battery (QAB). In Session 2, participants engaged in a semi-structured interview led by the researcher. In Session 3, the researchers presented preliminary analysis to receive feedback from participants. Student researchers coded interview transcriptions to develop a structured codebook. Five primary themes describe the participants' experiences with …

Teachers' Promoting Literacy Achievement For Middle School African American Male Students, Angelia Slavings

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Transformative Practices: The Multiple Impacts Of The Mat Program At Al-Quds Bard College, Daniel Terris, Derek Furr

GHEA21 Open Educational Resources

This paper summarizes research on the impact of the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program at Al-Quds Bard College, which since 2009 has trained more than 600 Palestinian K-12 teachers working across the West Bank and reaching over 120,000 students, many in disadvantaged communities. Supported in part by the Education Above All foundation, the program combines educational theory, discipline-based knowledge, classroom research, and reflective practice, requiring in-service teachers to experiment with new teaching approaches in their own classrooms. Multiple studies reviewed in the paper show that MAT graduates adopt more student-centered pedagogies—such as backward design, inquiry-based learning, and collaborative …

When School Culture Excludes: Deficit Discourse, Microaggressions, And The Mental Health Of Marginalized Students – A Conceptual Framework With Implications For School Psychology Practice And Equity Policy, Modupe Mercy Oyewunmi

Publications

Deficit-laden language like ‘behavior problem,’ ‘not college material,’ ‘won’t fit in’, ‘not a cultural fit’, operates as a systemic form of implicit bias and microaggression in school settings. Despite decades of research on school belonging and well-being, school psychology has yet to integrate these exclusionary discursive practices into a coherent health-determinant model that also accounts for the current anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policy environment. This conceptual paper proposes a testable framework linking deficit discourse and school-based microaggressions to student identity suppression, academic impostor phenomenon, and educator moral injury, with downstream effects on school mental health outcomes. We situate these …