Digital Commons Network^™

Moving Goalposts: Unknowables, And Anxiety In Tenure And Promotion, Mark Diacopoulos, Ruth Monnier

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

In this study, two tenure-track colleagues (Mark and Ruth) examined their process of seeking tenure and promotion. They sought to answer the following question: To what extent do the unknowables in the tenure and promotion process lead to unnecessary anxiety?

The Integration Of Artificial Intelligence And Ontologies: Transformations In Knowledge Representation And Application, Grazia Serratore, Julaine Clunis

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping the landscape of knowledge representation. There is an increasingly strong bidirectional relationship, between AI techniques and ontologies. AI techniques revolutionized traditional, manual ontology development and contribute to automated ontology construction, while ontologies enhance the performance of AI systems and their semantic accuracy. Through a comprehensive review of current literature, this paper aims to examine: i) how Machine Learning (ML) techniques contribute to the automated construction, refinement, and validation of ontologies; ii) the most widely used and effective ML approaches for ontology construction; iii) how domain-specific requirements influence the selection and adaptation of AI techniques for …

How Can Educators Distinguish Special Education Accommodations/Modifications From General Education Differentiation To More Effectively Support All Learners, Olivia R. Nelson

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teachers often use the terms differentiated instruction, accommodations, and modifications, but research shows that these words are not always understood or used correctly. This thesis reviews current studies to examine how these differences affect teaching decisions, teamwork between general and special education teachers, and students’ access to grade-level learning. The literature shows that when definitions are unclear, teachers may provide the wrong type of support or lower expectations, which reduces students’ opportunities to learn challenging material. The review also points to the need for a common language, better teacher preparation, and continued collaboration. Understanding the differences among these supports is …

Local Roots, Global Minds: Student Entrepreneurship Through Exploration And Community Connections, Madison Stracke, Becky Haddad, Matt Kreifels

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Faculty Publications

What if students could see themselves not just as learners but as future business owners, community leaders, and innovators? That was the idea behind Local Roots, Global Minds, a hands-on semester project designed to connect students to their communities while helping them explore real-world career paths.

In a rural Nebraska high school, students weren’t just studying plant science. They were brainstorming business ideas, talking to local professionals, and thinking critically about their community needs, which in turn allowed them the opportunity to see how a future in their agricultural-based community could be accomplished.

Local Roots, Global Minds was a Work-Based …

How Have Teacher Candidates Learned To Use Evidence? A Systematic Review Of Research, J. S. Beck, D. R. Riddle, J. J. Morgan, H. Whitesides, N. Brown

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

The purpose of the current manuscript was to provide a systematic review of the literature regarding how preservice teachers learn to use evidence to evaluate student learning. To that end, we operationalize the terms data literacy for teachers, data-driven decision making, and assessment literacy before outlining the methods of our systematic review. Our review produced 36 relevant articles situated within the United States. Based on these articles, we describe how teacher candidates learn to use data including relevant interventions and instructional methods. We also expand on the types of research methods used in these studies. We conclude with implications for …

Block Schedules In Virginia Schools: Purposes, Outcomes, And Policy Considerations, David Naff, Meleah Ellison, Jamelle Simmons, Xun Liu, Martin Darby, Crystal R. Bell, Shelby Garofalo, Obed Boateng, Wendy Rodgers, Audrina Farrar, Karli Johansen, Mysia Perry, Maggie Szydlowski, Fatemah A. Khawaji, Katherine Urban

MERC Publications

When schools and divisions choose a daily schedule structure to follow, it is important to consider its purpose and potential impacts on students, educators, and families. The purpose of this MERC research and policy brief is to inform the work of school division leaders and school board members making decisions about whether to adopt or continue the use of block scheduling in middle and high schools. It explores the following questions:

1. What are block schedules and where are they used?

2. How are school schedules related to student outcomes and educator quality?

3. What policies at the federal, state, …

Supporting Students In Transition To And From Elementary School, Meleah Ellison, Jamelle Simmons, David B. Naff, Taryn G. Traylor, Meredith Dean, Sooyeon Moon, Jia Jia Liu, Latonja Y. Wright, Cameron Parkins, Jennifer Locasale-Crouch, Dana V. Yarbrough, Audrina Farrar, Obed Amoakoh Boateng

MERC Publications

This report is part of a two-part series focused on supporting students in transition across PK-12 education. Specifically, it explores transitions into and out of elementary school. The report includes a synthesis of recent peer-reviewed literature, analysis of publicly available data (with a specific focus on Virginia and the metropolitan Richmond region), and summary of relevant federal, state, and school division-level policies. It answers the following questions:

1. What are key considerations for supporting students in transition to and from elementary school in the MERC region?

2. How do federal, state, and division policies guide support for student transitions to …

Exploring Collaboration In Interdisciplinary Ei/Ecse Programs: A Qualitative Study On Service Provider Preparation, Meagan Dayton

Theses and Dissertations

Interdisciplinary preparation is critical for early childhood special education professionals, yet few programs are designed to support such collaboration across disciplines. This study aimed to explore how interdisciplinary EI/ECSE preparation programs support collaboration. The study was guided by the following research questions: (1) How are program components designed to support the development of collaboration skills? (2) What is the student experience of collaboration in the program? (3) What connections exist between program components, student experiences, and the development of collaboration skills? Using a qualitative multiple-case study approach grounded in ecological systems theory, data were collected from program documents and interviews …

Mental Health Supports In The Public Schools, Elizabeth Walters

Masters Theses

Increasingly, young students experience mental health challenges, some as early as first grade. With mental health challenges reaching students at younger ages, teachers and school staff need to be ready to assist their students in need. Roughly a third of young people experience mental health challenges, and 70-80% are unable to receive mental health services. As a large portion struggle in school with mental health concerns, teachers and school staff are likely to be the first to see any potential signs of struggle. When teachers notice signs of a student struggling with mental health, the staff often do not know …

First Portfolio - Alec 207: Communicating Science With Public Audiences, Heather Akin

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This portfolio investigates how collaborative group projects and structured peer reviews enhance undergraduate students’ science communication skills in ALEC 207: Communicating Science with Public Audiences. Drawing on mid-semester evaluations, peer review reflections, and overall course outcomes, the analysis highlights how group-based activities and peer critiques help students develop clarity, relevance, and confidence in their communication. ALEC 207 introduces core principles of strategic communication in food, agriculture, and natural resources contexts, and gives students opportunities to refine their writing through press releases, feature articles, visual communications, and audience-tailored messages. While the course predominantly emphasizes writing, it also leverages ongoing revisions to …

Sharing Your Science: Special 2025 Edition, Wilson Gonzalez-Espada

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

The Sharing your Science stories were completed as part of a 2025 Science Communication Summer Internship (COMM 647), a collaboration between the Kentucky Academy of Science and the Departments of Engineering Sciences and Communication, Media, Art & Design, Morehead State University, KY. This work was made available as an Open Educational Resource thanks to the Faculty Center for Teaching & Learning, the Camden-Carroll Library, and the Office of Research & Sponsored Programs, Morehead State University.

Oer Faculty Fellowship, Leila Walker

Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

Becoming And Belonging: Exploring Teachers’ Insights On Community Interest And Engagement In Waldorf Middle School Students, Monica Laurent

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This research explores how Waldorf middle school teachers experience, perceive, and support the development of community interest, engagement, and belonging among the early adolescence years of middle school. Adolescence, particularly ages 11 to 14, is a period of profound developmental transition characterized by intense emotionality, evolving identity, increased peer influence, and growing social complexity. Rudolf Steiner’s philosophical and pedagogical framework positions this stage as a time that leads to the birth of the astral or feeling body, contributing to new levels of self-awareness and the emergence of individuality, the beginning of critical thinking, and moral judgment. This period is also …

Catholic School Teaching As Participation In The Common Good, John L. Beltramo

Journal of Catholic Education

Increasing rates of teacher attrition have exacerbated the shortage of teachers in regions of the United States. In response, some scholars have proposed initiatives that promote the professionalization of teaching, hoping to attract and retain new teachers through greater classroom autonomy and stronger professional development. Others have advocated for a vision of teaching as a vocation, through which teachers can find deeper meaning and thereby better tolerate challenging working conditions. While both conceptualizations of teaching hold compelling implications for the field, their lack of grounding in a broader conception of community ultimately limit the extent to which they can respond …

Benefits And Challenges With The Modular Model Of Teacher Certification In Australia: Listening To Teachers’ Voices, Bernard Brown, Rohan Nethsinghe

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper examines teachers’ views about the Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher (HALT) Certification 2.0 Modular Model (CMM 2.0). The research reveals teachers’ voices and agency in relation to HALT certification. Participants in this study included HALT certified teachers, current HALT participants, and prospective participants. The semi-structured interviews conducted provide insights into the benefits and challenges associated with the CMM 2.0. Thematic coding and systematic analysis were applied to the data to arrive at the key findings. The research revealed that teachers believed that the modular approach was advantageous as it was flexible and provided professional recognition and development. Issues …

Challenging Assumptions: Ai And Teacher Assessment Identity Formation, Nadia Ollington

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article explores the ways in which teacher educators can strengthen the developing teacher assessment identity of preservice teachers who are at the precipice of Industry 4.0, where work with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and assessment will require flexible thinking. This reflective case study narrative outlines a teacher educator’s experiences in a novel assessment task using Generative AI for technology enhanced learning in an Australian postgraduate teaching program. In the task, those who held positive beliefs and emotions about AI were more likely to engage in flexible thinking skills than those who were more critical of the AI. To ensure that …

Changes In Mentor Teacher Participation In Postgraduate Secondary Initial Teacher Education: Climatic Conditions Preceding Workforce Reform., Alison L. Hilton, Chad Morrison, Felicity I. Mclure, Kathryn G. Dehle, Sandi Fielder

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Professional Experience placements provide invaluable opportunities for pre-service teachers to connect their expanding knowledge to teaching practice. When done well, these experiences are underpinned by purposeful and continuous guidance from experienced mentor teachers. Significantly, the participation and engagement of Australian mentor teachers in this process is voluntary in nature, meaning the system relies on teachers ‘opting-in’ to mentoring. This research examines mentor teacher participation within Secondary-level initial teacher education courses and highlights issues relating to overall mentor teacher (and host school) engagement. Analysis of placement data over a five-year period to 2021 illustrates a significant change in participation with a …

Raising Information Literacy Of Biology Pre-Service Teachers: Study On Three Problem Solving Methods, Muhammad Saefi, Hadi Suwono, Rifka Fachrunnisa, Widi Cahya Adi, Herawati Susilo, Ahmad Kamal Sudrajat

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Integrating information literacy teaching methods with subject-content curricula to develop prospective biology teacher students' abilities is still problematic. This quasi-experimental research, with a nonrandomized pretest-posttest control group design, intends to compare the influences of challenge-based learning (CBL), problem-based learning (PBL), and problem-solving through classroom discussion (PCD) – as the control- in improving information literacy. This study involved 183 students from three classes of freshmen and three sophomores in the biology education program. The results showed that CBL significantly improved students' information literacy compared to PBL and PCD across five indicators: 1) identifying the required information, 2) attaining the required information …

Teacher Resilience In South Africa: The Self-Efficacy And Teacher Efficacy Of Pre-Service Teachers Preparing To Teach In A Challenged Context, Carine Jonker, Marien Alet Graham, Liesel Ebersöhn

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This publication addresses a gap in high-quality, quantitative studies on teacher resilience within the less-researched context of the Global South. Specifically, it examines the self-efficacy and teacher efficacy of three cohorts of final-year pre-service teachers in South Africa (N = 1,193). This article aimed to contribute evidence on teacher resilience from an under-researched African context and population. Despite contextual challenges, the pre-service teachers indicated high intrapersonal resilience-enabling pathways, with a statistically significant relationship between their self-efficacy and teacher efficacy. The authors propose an evidence-based framework of how high levels of self-efficacy and teacher efficacy may enable prospective teachers to teach …

Virginia Literacy Act Expansion: Implications For Middle Schools, Candace Bechtold, Joan A. Rhodes, Valerie J. Robnolt, David B. Naff, Kendall Hunt, Jan Collins

MERC Publications

This MERC research and policy review focuses on expansion of the Virginia Literacy Act (VLA) to include support for middle school students across the Commonwealth. It explores three questions:

1. What were trends in middle school literacy prior to the VLA expansion?
2. What state policies exist for middle school literacy achievement?
3. What does research say about literacy intervention at the middle school level?

It concludes with a series of key takeaways and recommendations for middle school literacy policy and practice.

Supporting Students In Transition To And From High School, David Naff, Jamelle Simmons, Meleah Ellison, Shelby Garofalo, Laura Thoene, Kim Dupre, Sooyeon Moon, Karli Johanson, Paul Harris, Martin Darby, William L. Parker, Tracy Booker, Janel Miley, Mysia Perry, Xun Liu, Maggie Szydlowski, Ahmed Abbas

MERC Publications

This report is part of a two-part series focused on supporting students in transition across PK-12 education. Specifically, it explores transitions into and out of high school school. The report includes a synthesis of recent peer-reviewed literature, analysis of publicly available data (with a specific focus on Virginia and the metropolitan Richmond region), and summary of relevant federal, state, and school division-level policies. It answers the following questions:

1. What are key considerations for supporting students in transition to and from high school in the MERC region?

2. How do federal, state, and division policies guide support for student transitions …

Restoring Wonder: Play, Inquiry, And Humanizing Pedagogies In Early Childhood Teacher Education, Christie Angleton, Xiaoying Zhao, Robby Anggriawan

Faculty Publications - College of Education

At a writing retreat in the middle of the woods, we considered the trees. Inspired by our surroundings, we discussed possibilities for how we might demonstrate an inquiry cycle with our undergraduate teacher candidates. We considered our spaces: the buildings in which we teach our classes, the university campus, and the broader community. We reminded one another of our campus quad and its status as an arboretum, owing to the diverse variety of trees there, representing myriad species and varieties. We posed questions. “What do we have available within our reach? What do we have that students can literally touch? …

Restorative Leadership: A Generative Exploration With Women School Leaders, Camille Rénée Pauline Tyson Jacobs

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

As schools increasingly adopt restorative practices, a parallel shift in leadership is occurring, challenging traditional leadership models like servant and transformational leadership. While research has largely focused on student outcomes, there is a critical gap in understanding how restorative practices influence school principals’ leadership. Given their central role in sustaining and expanding restorative initiatives, this study aimed to address that gap by developing a definitional framework for restorative leadership, grounded in the experiences of women school leaders in grades 5 to 12. Using sensemaking theory, the research examined how leaders conceptualize and apply restorative values in practice. Key questions included …

Unveiling The Layers: Exploring The Nuances Of Student Organization Experiences For Enhanced Student Leadership Development, Richard Alan Doty

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Previous studies on the topic of student organizations and clubs often focused on the broad involvement of students, overlooking the complex facets of their experiences within these clubs and organizations. This dissertation investigates the development of leadership capacity in community college students through their engagement in student clubs and organizations. Utilizing the Ready-Willing-Able (RWA) Keating, Rosch and Burgoon (2014) model as a guiding framework, this study explores the ways in which student leadership skills are shaped by various factors, including the size and diversity of the organization and individual behaviors. The research aims to fill a gap in existing literature, …

Empowering Futures Together: The Role Of Emotional Intelligence In Postsecondary Outcomes For Young Adults With Autism, Olivia Bliss

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Autistic young adults are disproportionately excluded from postsecondary education and employment opportunities, with significantly lower rates of college completion and higher levels of unemployment than their non-disabled peers. While social and emotional learning (SEL) has been widely promoted as a vehicle for student success, research on how emotional intelligence (EQ) shapes the postsecondary experiences of neurodivergent individuals remains limited. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study explores how emotional intelligence competencies influence postsecondary outcomes and satisfaction among autistic young adults. Participants completed the Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Assessment (SEI), and their results were analyzed alongside demographic and outcome data. The second …

A Participatory Action Research Exploring Results Of Explicit Instruction Of Open Task Problem-Solving Through A Mathematical Mindset, Bridget Ferrin

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

With local assessments showing mathematical achievement below 50% and an increasing need for problem-solving mathematicians, this dissertation investigates instructional methods in math, emphasizing problem-solving skills and fostering mathematical mindsets. The goal was to measure math achievement from the beginning to the end of the year after a Plan, Do, Study, Act cycle at a rural Vermont school serving approximately 600 students from Pre-K through eighth grade. The population in this school is diverse in SES but lacks significant racial and ethnic diversity. Boaler’s (2022) Mathematical Mindset Framework is the underpinning of this Participatory Action Research (PAR), providing the foundation for …

Waldorf Wonder: An Exploration Of Waldorf Teaching Strategies, Laura A. Keys Moreno

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation explores Waldorf teacher praxis as related to cultivating wonder. In this exploration, a variety of wonder researchers will form a picture of what is needed in public schools of today. This will be considered a mainstream perspective. This dissertation hopes to build a bridge to those mainstream researchers such as Egan, Schinkel, and Wolbert with the indications of Steiner and Waldorf education practices. Emotions researcher Keltner provides a framework of wonder experiences from his research on the emotion called awe. An overall framework grounded in Steiner’s work is utilized to form interview questions. In this mixed methods exploration, …

Literary Homeplace As A Site Of Knowing And Healing, Shamonique Hassell

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The concept of literary homeplace serves as a locus of rhetorical healing for Black women, emphasizing their lived experiences and creative expressions as forms of resistance and restoration (Collins, 1986; hooks, 1990; Nettles, 2001). The labor of Black women within families, churches, and artistic endeavors contributes to the cultivation of a collective consciousness surrounding oppression and healing (Edwards, 2010; Carey, 2016; Morrison, 1992). Building upon hooks’ (1990) notion of homeplace, this dissertation examines how Black women foster spaces characterized by care, dignity, and resilience (Hersey, 2022; Tate, 1984). Using personal narrative and articulating Black women’s voices, I position homeplace as …

Motivating Students Through Problem-Based And Project-Based Learning, Dennis J. Moore

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

ABSTRACT

As educators, motivating students can be a difficult task.Sixteen eighth-grade students discuss their perceptions of what makes educational programs motivating. In teacher-centered classrooms, teachers lecture while their students take notes, quizzes, and tests and practice memorization skills in preparation for high-stakes testing. Is this a fair assessment of a student's knowledge, and does this type of instruction fulfill students’ needs for a successful future? Research for this case study focused on students' perceptions of an agricultural program that utilizes problem-based and project-based learning with a sustainability focus.

In problem-based learning (PBL) classes, students are given real-world problems and asked …

Fresh Eyes: Viewing Education Through A Critical Lens, Glennda Shealey-Griffiths

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation confronts neoliberal ideology in public education, where standardized testing and market-driven accountability systematically undermine teacher autonomy and creative learning. Moving beyond critique to action, this study develops a practical pedagogical framework empowering educators to resist these dehumanizing forces and cultivate democratic learning spaces through arts-integrated professional learning as critical aesthetic pedagogy. Drawing on Henry Giroux, Maxine Greene, Paolo Freire, and Jacques Rancière, this qualitative case study examines a professional learning initiative with public school teachers through interviews, classroom observations, and analysis of participants' photographic projects. These visual works function not merely as documentation but as catalysts for Giroux's …