The study of writing has moved through process and product movements. The rapid introduction of technology into classroom spaces has provided new platforms and opportunities for students to integrate multiple modes of communication into a single act of composing. While there is an acknowledgment that digital multimodal composition is a highly complex act and set of processes, much of the literature and investigation into this digital turn in composing has largely been product focused versus process focused. This exploratory qualitative case study examined how students compose using digital tools and were driven by questions about what activities in which they engage and what patterns exist in how those activities come together. Using a combination of data sources including screen capture video, think-aloud protocols, and retrospective surveys, eleven process activity categories emerged from analysis including selection, text entry, manipulation, referencing, environment setting, review, contemplation, waiting, breaks, transition, and completion. Process activity categories then informed the inductive determination of four tendencies that impact how process activity comes together during participant acts of composing. Participants displayed as one-dimensional, irresolute, flexible, and perfectionist. Broad patterns related to process activity progression and traditional concepts of print were present in participant composing activity. Viewed together, vague …

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine the impact of a long-term, 5E inquiry-based professional development on content and pedagogical knowledge in eighth-grade science teachers in Texas. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected via university designed reflective prompts, science content pretests and post-tests, and a classroom observation instrument. Results showed the professional development had a statistically significant impact on teachers' content knowledge in earth science, less significant impact in content knowledge in physical science and that teachers' levels of inquiry-based practice were in the early stages. The teachers' reflections of the professional development's impact indicated self-identified growth in their content knowledge and an impact on their understanding of inquiry-based classroom instructional practice. The findings suggest inquiry-based professional development has an impact on teachers' content and pedagogical knowledge, specifically regarding conveying content effectively, concept interconnection, lesson design, and teachers' opportunities to experience inquiry-based learning themselves before implementing it in their classrooms. The study's implications for further research include examinations of professional learning opportunities at local district and campus levels to identify and incorporate science teachers' existing levels of content and inquiry-based pedagogical knowledge and provide opportunities for practice to incorporate the pedagogy in classrooms.

Exclusionary discipline is a consequence of behavior for students who break the student code of conduct. Extensive research about the effects that exclusionary discipline can have on secondary students, as evidenced by reduced graduation rates, has been conducted; but, research studies investigating the potential impact that exclusionary discipline can have on the academic outcomes of students at the elementary level have yet to be conducted. The use of exclusionary discipline is overrepresented in students with low socio-economic (SES) backgrounds; large populations of low-SES students are educated at Title I schools that receive federal funding to support academic growth. The purpose of this causal-comparative, non-experimental study was to investigate the impact that exclusionary discipline consequences had on fifth-grade students who attended all of the elementary schools within one north Texas school district during the 2018-2019 school year. In conjunction with the examination of the effect that the assignment of exclusionary discipline consequences can have on the academic outcomes of fifth-grade students, student-specific variables such as attendance at a Title I or non-Title I campus, student race, timing of exclusionary discipline assignment, and students in various educational programs were investigated to determine the potential impact of exclusionary discipline on fifth-grade students by …

Teachers face pressures to meet the needs of an ever-changing diverse population of learners while simultaneously attempting to assist students in meeting state standards. There is a body of research that supports emergent bilinguals' growth in reading and writing. However, those practices do not necessarily reflect classroom instruction nor the needs of the students. The purpose of this study was to examine adolescent emergent bilinguals' perceptions about their learning from research-based literacy practices implemented in a classroom designed as a third space. Data were collected using participatory research and photo-elicitation and were analyzed using inductive analysis. The emergent bilinguals provided their insights about class assignments. Findings revealed that research-based literacy practices support emergent bilinguals' perceptions of learning when they are made accessible to them in distinctive yet extensive ways. For students to uncover which literacy activities they value, teachers need to present them with various opportunities to explore their own learning and encourage them to take ownership of their learning. Educators must consider the unique and individual needs of emergent bilinguals when designing the classroom environment and the lessons based on the standards. Recommendations for practitioners, professional development coordinators, and researchers are presented.

As more Saudi individuals temporarily settle in the United States to pursue higher education, it becomes increasingly important to understand the impact this experience has on their families. The purpose of this qualitative instrumental case study was to examine Saudi mothers' experiences and motivations after transitioning to life in the United States. The main research question was: What are Saudi mothers' experiences of supporting their children maintaining and developing Arabic language skills and Islamic-Saudi identities while they are learning English and Western culture in U.S. schools? The sub-questions of the study were: Why do Saudi mothers in this study want their children to learn the Arabic language and culture? What are their concerns? What are the challenges Saudi mothers face in socializing their children to develop their Islamic-Saudi identity? What practices do mothers use to help their children preserve their Arabic language and develop the Islamic Saudi-identity while growing up in the United States? This study was conceptually framed within the theories of parenting style and acculturation. Participants in the study were five Saudi mothers pursuing higher education in Texas. Data were collected through three semi-structured interviews and four audio journals with each participant, and a focus group with the …

Using Black feminist thought and BlackCrit/critical race theory frameworks, this qualitative study examined Black educators' practices in addressing the behavior of their students in an urban school district. It utilized counternarratives and storytelling to explore the cultural dynamics at play between Black educators and their Black students. The Black educators in this study operated under several behavior systems, including positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS), socio-emotional learning (SEL), restorative practices (RPs), and zero tolerance policies (ZTPs). Such systems have been implemented based on research that they have the capacity to train Black students to make appropriate decisions regarding their behavior. These systems are also reinforced under the notion that they create learning spaces which promote academic achievement. Due to their own experiences and understanding about how institutional practices and disciplinary interventions result disproportionately in oppression and violence against Black students, these educators disrupted these practices and utilized cultural approaches that centered Black-ness. In doing so, they were able to address behavior and affirm Black students' well-being. The cultural approaches conceptualized as disruptive pedagogies include aspects of othermothering, otherfathering, critical caring, sermonizing, womanist caring, and Black masculine caring. An analysis of the stories and counternarratives illustrated that Black principals, counselors, and …

The purpose of this descriptive case study was to explore the self-perception of three rural, intermediate, ELA teachers to motivate their students to read for pleasure. The methods utilized in this study included one-on-one interviews, and a focus group discussion, including all three participants and the researcher. The subjects shared teaching strategies from their childhoods that succeeded and failed in motivating them to read. The biographical perspective proposed by Kelchtermans and Vandenberghe allows us to see how the teachers' biographies influenced their instructional beliefs. Through this lens, it was revealed that, in their current classrooms, the teachers in this study utilize strategies they recalled from childhood as motivational. For example, they have confidence in read-alouds, literary freedom of choice, the development of positive student-teacher relationships, and engaging lessons that are significant to the students. Further, they avoid strategies they recollect from childhood that failed to motivate them to read such as teacher-chosen literature and lessons they believed were irrelevant. Findings have the potential to inform teachers, teacher educators, school administrators, and in-service providers of the nature of beliefs and intentions regarding reading motivation that rural, ELA teachers possess.

Although one-to-one technology programs are rapidly expanding in secondary schools, the literature about how to effectively leverage these programs to improve teaching and learning is relatively small. Little guidance is available for school leaders attempting to improve teachers' willingness and ability to incorporate technology effectively into their instruction. The purpose of this mixed-methods case study was to discovery what supports school leaders provide to promote high levels of computer self-efficacy and transformational digital pedagogies in one-to-one learning environments. Data were collected from English language arts, Social Studies, and science teachers in three high schools in a suburban school district in northeast Texas using an online survey, eight virtual semi-structured interviews, and two virtual focus group interviews. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and deductive and inductive analysis. The findings of the study reveal most teachers perceived their ability to effectively deliver digital instruction as strong, and most were able to incorporate technology into their lessons at transformational levels. The following themes emerged from data regarding teachers' perceptions of support: shared vision, realistic and supportive climate, collaboration, encouragement, job-embedded professional learning, continuous improvement, equity, and safe, legal, and ethical use. The findings of this study serve as a foundation for understanding …