Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Advancing Digital Technology Teacher Education Through The 3c Model, Peter Curtis, Michael D. Carey, Natalie Mcmaster, David A. Martin

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The integration of digital technologies into teacher education is a significant development to prepare educators for the demands of contemporary classrooms. However, current teacher education programs often fall short in supporting pre-service teachers to understand the pedagogical shift toward embedding coding and computational thinking (CT) skills. In response, this paper presents the 3C Model (Context, Capabilities and Computational focus), a research-informed pedagogical framework designed to support pre-service and in-service teachers in delivering structured, curriculum-aligned instruction in coding and CT. Drawing on recent research, its findings, and its implementation in teacher education contexts, the 3C Model is presented as an innovative …

Enhancing Teachers’ Intercultural Literacy: Examining The Impact Of A Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad Program To Indonesia, Paul R. Wallace

Journal of Global Education and Research

The Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad (GPA) Program offers institutional grants to support overseas experiences and curriculum development for educators. The study reported here focused on changes in the intercultural literacy of participants involved in a 4-week Fulbright-Hays GPA Program to Indonesia. Participants in this study included K-12 teachers from public schools and teacher education majors. Before and after traveling to Indonesia, eight participants completed a self-assessment of intercultural literacy, which measured competencies, understandings, attitudes, language proficiencies, participation, and identities deemed necessary for successful living and working in a cross-cultural environment. This article presents the results of the assessment survey, along …

Geopoetics: Expanding The Philosophy Of Teacher Education, Linda M. Craig Dr

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

Amidst our accelerating ecological crisis, this essay argues for a fundamental reimagining of teacher education through Kenneth White's theory of geopoetics. Drawing on complexity science and Whitehead's process philosophy, I trace a paradigm shift from mechanistic models of education - characterised by fixed knowledge transmission and neoliberal performativity - toward a relational, orientation grounded in emergence and becoming. Geopoetics offers a transdisciplinary framework that dissolves boundaries between science, poetry, philosophy, and spirituality, positioning education not as content delivery but as participation in the creative unfolding of life. Through an exploration of Nan Shepherd's The Living Mountain as geopoetic spiritual practice. …

Teacher Education In The Arts: A Case Study Of Constraint, Standardization, And Resistance, Terry Sefton, Danielle Sirek

Visions of Research in Music Education

In this case study, we explore one course in one Ontario initial teacher education program to examine the intersecting institutional documents and practices that regulate teaching in the arts (dance, drama, music, and visual arts). Using the feminist sociological research approach of institutional ethnography, we identify and trace institutional mechanisms that regulate teaching in the arts and how four women instructors activated or resisted those regulatory practices. Our analysis illuminated tensions between institutional policies and practices, and instructors’ efforts to maintain creativity, ambiguity, and discipline-specific experiential learning in the course. While instructors varied in their pedagogical approaches, over a seven-year …

Rethinking Teacher Education Programs: (Mis)Understanding Of Culturally Responsive Teaching Among Teacher Candidates, Shirley M. Sommers

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

This article draws from a study conducted on pre-service teachers enrolled in a teacher education program. The study examines students’ understanding and misunderstanding of what constitutes culturally responsive teaching. This is a mixed methods study. A Likert-type survey and qualitative questionnaires were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze survey data, and a thematic coding method was used for analysis of qualitative data. The results of the study show that pre-service teachers are aware and knowledgeable of the term culturally responsive teaching as the term is widely used in the teacher education program in which they were …

Empowering Future Educators: How Service-Learning Shapes Teacher Candidate Self-Efficacy And Understanding Of Book Access, Nancy F. Hulan, Morgan S. Major

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Literacy rates are historically low in areas where access to books is limited. Thus, students with limited exposure to books prior to school pose a unique challenge to teachers, who often feel unprepared to teach students from underserved populations. To help remedy this, teacher candidates need preparation that builds their abilities to provide both access to books and quality literacy instruction for students who live in poverty. The study described in this article investigated the impact of literacy-related community engagement on teacher candidates’ self-efficacy, their understanding of book access, and their perceptions of teachers’ roles in providing book access. Participants …

Our Journeys As Teachers Of Writing: Learning From Our Mentor, Tracey T. Flores, Cecilia Espinosa

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

Written in two voices, we reflect on our journeys as teachers of writing and teacher educators shaped by transformative mentoring in literacy methods courses at Arizona State University and community embedded learning at William T. Machan School. Weaving together sociocultural and translanguaging theories, we explore how being invited to write from our lives reshaped our identities as writers and educators. In our work, we draw on strength-based approaches to teaching writers that centers voice, meaning making, multilingualism, and funds of knowledge. In the midst of an increase in the use of a scripted curriculum, we argue for reclaiming writing as …

Everyone Is A Writer: Building Writer Identities And Writing Communities In Preservice And English Language Arts Classrooms, Amber Warrington, Hanna Burns, Allie Zimmerly

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

In this article, a teacher educator and two early-career teachers reflect on a Teaching Writers methods course the teachers took as part of their teacher education program. In the course, the two teachers developed their own writer identities and took part in a writing community. The teachers discuss ways they have brought those experiences into their classrooms and adapted the experiences for their students and contexts.

From Corrector To Reader: Pre-Service Teachers’ Writing Values And Feedback, Amanda Brewer

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This study investigates the written feedback practices of secondary English Pre-Service Teachers (PSTs) to understand how their values regarding "good" writing influence their comments on student work. Through analysis of feedback on 10th-grade writing samples and value-sorting surveys, the study examines their feedback tendencies and the links with their values. Findings indicate a significant shift over the semester from a directive, deficit-based "corrector" stance to a facilitative, asset-based "reader" stance. The data suggests that when PSTs lack specific metalinguistic language, they default to generic advice or mechanical correction. However, when instructed to align their feedback with their core writing values, …

Collaborative Curriculum Design For Culturally And Historically Responsive Education: Implications From Initial Program Evaluation, Christine L. Craddock, Rachel Juergensen, Shelley Rouser, Michael Ryan, Diamond Lee

Current Issues in Middle Level Education

This article discusses a unique program initiative of one university’s education department to interrogate teacher education coursework together as educators and researchers. We evaluated the course curriculum of five different courses together as a team on a routine basis and documented our thoughts and discussion through video and an organized survey tool. This tool was developed according to Muhammad’s five pursuits of culturally and historically responsive education which include: identity, skills, intellect, criticality, and joy. This produced qualitative and quantitative findings related to methods for adapting and adjusting course instruction, content, and assessments according to the pursuits. Relatedly, it promoted …

“I Want My Students To Be Knowledgeable About Civics”: Supporting Pre-Service Teachers Through A Civics-Focused Plc, Helena M. Sands, Daniela Kruel Digiacomo, Laura Darolia, Carly Muetterties, Stephanie Mobley

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

This study describes a semester-long, civics-focused Professional Learning Community (PLC) with five elementary pre-service teachers (PSTs). Using inductive qualitative analysis of meeting transcripts, reflections, and field notes, three themes emerged: the PLC increased PSTs' confidence in integrating civics across the curriculum, built community through shared practicum experiences, and provided resources that broadened their understanding of civic learning. Findings suggest PLCs offer a promising structure for preparing elementary PSTs to prioritize civic education in their future classrooms.

Caring In An Online Graduate Synchronous Learning Environment, Keith Higa

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

This self-study examines how caring practices are understood, enacted, and experienced within a synchronous online graduate teacher-education environment. Although online programs have expanded substantially, limited research addresses how relational approaches translate into mediated instructional spaces. Guided by Noddings’s ethics of care, this inquiry integrates reflective self-study with participant interviews to explore how technological structures, instructor practices, and real-time interactions shape students’ experiences of care. Findings reveal a multidimensional model consisting of (a) technological or structural care, characterized by course organization, predictability, and flexibility, and (b) humanistic care, expressed through relational presence, acknowledgment, responsiveness, and emergent dialogue in synchronous sessions. Together, …

Full Issue: Journal On Empowering Teaching Excellence, Volume 10, Issue 1, Spring 2026

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

The full-length Spring 2026 issue (Volume 10, Issue 1) of the Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Access the online Pressbooks version (with downloadable EPUB format) here.

This issue of the Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence brings together articles that explore innovative instructional approaches and emerging technologies for strengthening teaching and student learning in higher education. The contributions examine team teaching as a model for building instructor collaboration and reducing burnout in online doctoral courses, cross-curricular instruction in speech-language pathology clinical education, guidance for graduate students undertaking single-case research design in the social sciences, an experiential SNAP Challenge assignment for …

Defending Lgbtqia+ Young Adult Literature In Classrooms: A Secondary English Methods Assignment, Summer Melody Pennell

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

The author describes how teachers and community advocates can defend the use of LGBTQIA+ Young Adult Literature in the secondary classroom by aligning teaching ideas to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English. Through analyzing student work from two secondary English methods courses, the author found that students were able to find ways to teach the majority of the domains of ELA: reading literary fiction, reading informational texts, writing, and speaking and listening. Students also justified their pedagogical ideas with scholarship from English education. Rather than seeing LGBTQIA+ texts as outliers, the evidence shows they can be used to …

Recruitment And Retention In Action: A Reflection On The Teacher Ambassador Program, Samantha L. Strachan, Nathan Blom, Kelli Bain

The Journal of Advancing Education Practice

As teacher preparation programs across the United States grapple with declining enrollments, institutions such as Alabama A&M University are exploring unique approaches to improving university students’ interests in the teaching profession. One such approach is the Teacher Ambassador Program (T.A.P.), a student-led initiative that empowers current teacher candidates to serve as leaders in the recruitment and support of others who are currently pursuing teaching degrees or who are interested in entering the teaching pathway. This piece provides an overview of the Teacher Ambassador Program (T.A.P.) and reflects on how the program can benefit both students and institutions.  

Stories Of Social Transformation And Resistance: A Narrative Inquiry Into The Culturally Sustaining Practices Of Teachers Of Color, Daniel E. Hernandez

Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, persistent inequities in schooling have intensified the need for asset-based  frameworks, such as culturally sustaining pedagogies (CSP), to support students from  communities that have been historically racialized and minoritized. At the same time, growing  political and social resistance to practices of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has created  barriers for schools and teachers seeking to implement culturally responsive approaches to  teaching and learning. Using narrative inquiry, this dissertation explores the stories of three culturally  sustaining teachers of color to understand how they enact resistance and pursue social  transformation in their classrooms and schools. Through an examination …

Rethinking Pre-Service Teachers’ Agency In Ai-Supported Lesson Design Through A Posthuman Synthesis Of Three Empirical Studies In Teacher Education, Wen Wen, Huijing Wen

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is increasingly used in lesson planning in teacher education. There has been a growing interest in exploring the different practices of teachers using GenAI to support lesson planning. This conceptual paper, using posthumanism as a framework, synthesizes three empirical studies to conceptualize pre-service teachers’ agency in AI-supported lesson design on literacy instruction. Pre-service teachers’ agency emerges from the interaction with GenAI, as well as with other human and non-human resources. Although their agency is shared and distributed during the design process, it remains essential for pre-service teachers to actively exercise their agency and make informed judgments …

Intern Experience And Support In The Byu-Public School Partnership, Ryan S. Nixon, Rebecca K. Hunter, Paul H. Ricks

Faculty Publications

This study examines the experiences and perceived support of early childhood and elementary education interns in the BYU–Public School Partnership. In June 2025, 137 former interns (54% response rate) completed an anonymous survey with open-ended prompts, and responses were qualitatively analyzed. Most interns characterized the experience as positive or both good and hard (84%), though 16% reported largely negative experiences. Relationships with students were consistently identified as the most meaningful aspect, often providing motivation during difficult periods. Support was most frequently attributed to facilitators, with additional support from grade-level teams and Clinical Faculty Associates (CFAs). While generally helpful, support was …

Agents Of Agency: Identifying Teacher Traits And Trainings Associated With Promoting Student Agency, Clara Mateo

Dissertations

This study shifts the focus of mathematics teacher quality from the traditional metric of test scores to “student agency,” defined as a learner's capacity to access power, make decisions, and take ownership of their learning process. While the literature on student agency provides ample qualitative insights, it is largely composed of small-scale studies. This research addresses this gap by conducting a large-scale, nationwide quantitative analysis to identify teacher factors associated with the promotion of student agency. The central research question is: What teacher demographics, dispositions, and professional development experiences are associated with increased student agency?

This study used a cross-sectional …

Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Second-Career Educators, Kyle Avink

Dissertations

School districts across the United States face a persistent teacher shortage driven by high attrition rates, declining enrollment in teacher preparation programs, and increasing demands on educators (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017). Teacher attrition is especially high within the first three to five years, with nearly 40-50% of new teachers exiting within their first five years (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017; Cells et al., 2023; Gray et al., 2015; Ingersoll et al., 2025). In response, many states have expanded alternative certification pathways that allow professionals from other fields to enter teaching, making second-career educators a potential solution to workforce challenges (Afacan, 2022; …

“Do We Belong?”: Supporting Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Students Through Teacher Education, Morohunkeji Orija

All Dissertations

The population of students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds in K-12 education continues to increase, yet the teacher workforce remains largely homogeneous, predominantly White. This imbalance creates a cultural mismatch in educational settings. In teacher education, predominantly White teacher educators prepare predominantly White preservice teachers, further increasing this mismatch. In early childhood education (ECE), which spans birth to 8 years, racial mismatch can lead to misunderstandings and misconceptions, contributing to bias and manifesting as Racial Microaggressions (RMAs). RMAs are mostly unintentional, and research is needed to examine how preservice teachers can identify and address them, given their impact on …

Implementation Of A Classroom-Based Sensory Regulation Toolkit To Enhance Participation In Students With Severe Disabilities, Camryn R. Woods

Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Doctorate - Doctoral Capstone Symposium

Students with severe and multiple disabilities often experience sensory processing differences that can adversely impact their ability to engage, participate, and regulate within the classroom environment. Educators frequently report feeling underprepared to address sensory needs and implement effective, practical strategies to support these students. The purpose of this doctoral capstone project was to develop and implement a classroom-based sensory regulation toolkit within a specialized educational setting serving students with significant physical and cognitive disabilities.

The primary goals of the project were to (1) increase teacher knowledge and confidence in recognizing sensory processing patterns, (2) provide accessible, evidence-based strategies to support …

Humanizing Engineering For Preservice Elementary Teachers Through Sustainable Engineering Stories, Jeffrey D. Radloff, Madison M. Morris, Jacob Pleasants

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

Meeting the goals of US K–12 science education reform requires that preservice elementary teachers (PSTs) understand engineering as a specialized discipline and a human endeavor that addresses real-world issues. Yet in their formal education, few PSTs receive opportunities to learn about the humanistic dimensions of engineering: engineers’ personal values and motivations, the sociocultural nature of engineering work, and the societal significance of engineering. Storytelling about engineering offers a practical way to give PSTs access to these ideas. This study examines the impacts of integrating storytelling about engineering in a science methods course for future elementary school teachers. Over a two-year …

Book Clubs And Young Adult Literature: Preparing Preservice Special Educators In Inclusive Literacy Practices, Marie Tejero Hughes, Juana Abarca, Marta Mohammad

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The study presented in this article explored how book clubs centered on young adult (YA) literature supported 67 preservice special educators (PSEs) in developing inclusive literacy practices. The study examined PSEs’ reflections on social, cultural, and personal themes in YA narratives and how these informed their planning for students with disabilities. Using a qualitative descriptive approach, researchers analyzed online discussion posts collected over a 6-week book club course component. Findings reveal that PSEs engaged with themes such as identity, resilience, systemic inequities, and disability representation, often connecting literature to their own positionalities and future teaching roles. PSEs also identified a …

Ai-Supported Reflective Practice: Redesigning Teacher Education Courses For Critical Ai Integration, Nabat Erdogan

Essays in Education

This article proposes AI-Supported Reflective Practice, a design framework that positions generative AI as a secondary evaluator and reflective partner in a graduate-level online ELL assessment course. Drawing on two redesigned assignments, an ELL writing evaluation and an assessment critique, the framework asks teacher candidates first to conduct independent analyses, then to elicit, compare, and critically interrogate AI-generated evaluations. These designs aim to cultivate critical AI literacy, professional judgment, and equity-centered interpretation, particularly for multilingual learners. The article discusses emerging benefits, challenges, and program-level implications, arguing that embedding AI within authentic disciplinary tasks can deepen, rather than erode, candidates’ ethical …

A Model For Artificial Intelligence (Ai) Literacy Education: Reflections On Teaching Graduate-Level Teacher Education Courses, Hyunjin Jinna Kim

International Journal of Transformative Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

This practice-oriented self-study examines the development of an artificial intelligence (AI) literacy education model grounded in my reflective teaching practices and journey in graduate-level teacher education courses. As AI tools become increasingly embedded in educational and everyday technologies, both teachers and learners often remain unaware of the algorithms, data ethics, and biases that shape AI-driven systems (Ghallab, 2019; Ng et al., 2022). Recognizing that many teachers and teacher candidates responsible for educating the next generation have a minimal understanding of AI tools’ limitations and the ethical risks involved in AI use, I drew on my own experiences and knowledge as …

Teachers’ Ethical Decision-Making Under Constraint: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Of Professional Risk, Aaron A. Baker

Faculty Publications - College of Education

Ethical dilemmas are a routine feature of teaching in diverse and politically contested school contexts. Drawing on interpretative phenomenological analysis of interviews with seven experienced teachers, this study examines how ethical judgment is lived in practice. Participants rarely struggled to determine what was right; instead, they described tension between moral clarity and limited capacity to act amid institutional constraint, perceived risk, and prior consequences. These conditions shaped what actions felt professionally viable. Teachers responded by managing relationships, regulating emotion, and adapting to context while balancing care and risk. The findings specify how constraint operates within ethical judgment itself, shaping what …

Embodying Policy Work: An Exploration Of Contexts, Actions And Meanings Towards New Possibilities For Physical Education Teacher Education (Pete), Victoria Evans, David Aldous, Dawn Penney

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This theoretical paper presents a heuristic framework that is directed towards transformative thinking and practices in Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE). The research focus and direction, embodying policy work, applies and extends Bernstein’s concepts of the pedagogic and corporeal device to offer new directions for inquiry and explore the considerations these raise for PETE professionals and their practices. The paper affirms the importance of policy work in PETE, while recognising a need for more nuanced and critical understandings of the complex interrelationships between contexts and actions, and the potential meanings generated and ascribed to different forms of policy work and …

It Makes You Nervous When You Start Talking About Racism: Shining Light On Teacher Educators’ Experiences Of Anti-Racist Pedagogy In Australian Teacher Education, Sasha Janes

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Teacher educators have a significant responsibility in promoting anti-racist pedagogy and guiding preservice teachers to engage in critical self-examination regarding dominant narratives. However, many teacher education programmes fall short of adequately equipping aspiring teachers for diverse classrooms as they often perpetuate a predominantly white system and curricula. Informed by Critical Pedagogy and underpinned by a lens of Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies, this paper discusses the experiences of teacher educators facilitating anti-racist pedagogy within teacher education programmes at Australian universities. Semi-structured interviews were held with 23 experienced teacher educators employed at universities across Australia. Data reveal teacher educators’ efforts to promote anti-racist …

A Figurational Analysis Of Health And/Or Physical Education Teacher Educators’ Conceptualisations Of Policy, And Their Sociogenesis, Laura Alfrey, Dylan Scanlon, David Aldous, Jenna Lorusso, Kellie Baker, Christopher Clark, Mo Jafar

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Policy engagement is key to promoting quality physical education yet it has been identified as a ‘grand challenge’ for Health and/or Physical Education (H/PE) internationally. All H/PE professionals, including teacher educators, have a collective responsibility to engage with policy but existing research tells us little about how H/PE teacher educators (H/PETEs) understand and engage with policy. It is important to examine H/PETEs conceptualisations of policy for a few reasons, not least because teacher educators play a crucial role in supporting future generations of teachers who themselves will need to engage with policy as a core feature of their professional lives. …