Professional learning communities (PLCs) have become common in many educational settings. A collaborative team (CT) is one component of a PLC. The purpose of this action research study was to examine the impact of a professional development innovation, Project Collaboration, which included a set of on-demand support modules for CTs to support their work and collaborative efforts. This study was a mixed method, action research study using surveys, rubrics, interviews, and the analysis of CT meeting artifacts. Results from Wilcoxon tests concluded there was not a significant difference from the pre to post quantitative data, descriptive statistics indicated there was an increase in the mean scores on both the postsurvey and the post-rubric when compared to the presurvey and the pre-rubric. The participants perceptions of their individual collaboration skills, their team’s collaboration skills, their self-efficacy to collaborate and the team’s collective efficacy to collaborate was positive and it was reflected in the mean scores after using the collaboration modules. Qualitative data indicated that the collaboration modules were used by participants and well received. Implication for future practice and next steps in action research are discussed.

This quasi-experimental, mixed-methods action research study explored perceived levels of resilience for academic and peer-related settings among sixth-grade females in an independent middle school. A 5-week after-school intervention aimed to provide treatment participants with the opportunity to foster resilience by utilizing grit, growth mindset, and mindfulness practices. Pre and postsurveys (n = 26) completed by treatment and control groups showed that sixth-grade females experience a number of different academic and peer-related stressors with some of the most common stressors including bad grades in a class and feeling left out by peers. Survey findings also showed that treatment and control participants rated themselves highest in areas of flexibility for both peer and academic settings. Treatment and control participants rated themselves lowest on questions related to self-efficacy and emotional regulation in both peer and academic settings. While there were not statistically significant increases in perceived levels of resilience found for the treatment group pre- and post-intervention, interviews with treatment participants (n = 16) and workshop artifacts indicated that students found the exercises taught in the intervention helpful to navigate academic and peer related stressors they encounter. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

Student tardiness has not received as much attention as absences in research on school attendance, despite the disruptions to learning it can cause. The purpose of this study was to design, implement, and study an alternative intervention—the Student Training for a Restorative Outlook for Needed Growth (S.T.R.O.N.G.) Program—to the existing punitive tardy detention practice at a high school where tardiness was a problem. The program promoted on-time behavior to school and class by utilizing positive restorative practice elements along with self-paced learning modules focused on growth mindset, goal setting, punctuality, and organizational skills. The driving force behind the creation of the S.T.R.O.N.G. Program was to determine if this intervention could support a change in students’ intent to be on time for class. Students in the S.T.R.O.N.G. Program intervention participated in three steps, beginning with individual restorative conversations and a group restorative conversation. In the second step, students engaged in learning module lessons related to growth mindset, goal setting, punctuality, and organizational skills. After each learning module, students reflected on their learning in individual journals. In the final step, students exited the intervention with a student feedback form. This mixed-methods action research study involved collecting data from interviews, surveys, and reflective journals. Thirteen students participated in the intervention and took an initial student intake questionnaire asking them about their student experiences in the existing punitive tardy detention practice. Qualitative data were coded, analyzed, and used with quantitative data to triangulate findings. The results of the study indicated that students were not in favor of the existing punitive tardy detention practice and preferred an alternative, positive tardy practice that supported self-improvement to help with their on-time behavior. Results also showed the S.T.R.O.N.G. Program to be useful and effective at teaching students information related to the constructs in the learning modules, resulting in students declaring a positive attitude.

This dissertation takes up the topic of simulations in social studies education. Though simulations are taken up widely by social studies educators, and though they are described as best practice in social studies standards documents and teacher evaluation rubrics, the term lacks specificity. Additionally, design, research, and implementation efforts associated with social studies simulations often lack theoretical grounding and clarity. A major consequence of this lack of conceptual and theoretical clarity is curriculum violence perpetrated upon young people, particularly along racial and socioeconomic lines, as the result of poorly conceived simulations.This dissertation is presented as three standalone manuscripts, bookended by an Introduction and a Conclusion. In the Introduction, I present an overview of the social studies simulation literature. In Chapter Two, I propose mechanics analysis, a methodological approach to systematically analyzing social studies simulations and games. In Chapter Three, I report on an empirical study using mechanics analysis to analyze three digital social studies-themed simulation games: Offworld Trading Company, Frostpunk, and Surviving Mars. In Chapter Four, I build on the previous two chapters to coordinate the salient research and theory across three field—history and social studies education, learning sciences, and games scholarship—to propose a design theory for a particular kind of simulation game: disciplinarily integrated, consequentially engaging simulation games, or DICES. Finally, I conclude with Chapter Five, in which I highlight what I view as the implications of this work as a whole, including for teachers, teacher educators, researchers, and designers.

The transition experience for students who are transferring from community college to university can be an overwhelming experience for any typical student, but can be even greater for students with vulnerable backgrounds. This phenomenological action research study followed the five-month community college to the university transition experience of five students in a scholarship program. The students participated in a three-part intervention in support of their transition experience. Three theoretical perspectives framed the study: community cultural wealth, transition theory, and transfer student capital. This framework enabled me to first identify the strengths the students possessed, despite their vulnerable backgrounds, through participation in individual interviews. The students then participated in pre- and post-focus groups and completed pre- and post-questionnaires. Through these, they identified which transition coping skills were their strongest and which transfer capital they possessed from their community college experience. They also shared how they applied those prior learned skills and capital at the university. This study revealed how these students utilized their strengths at moments when they lacked certain coping skills and transfer capital during their transition experience. One particular strength was how the students accessed the resources of the scholarship program at the center of this study to help them with their sense of the ability to succeed at the university.

The transition process from high school to college can be filled with many rewards and challenges not only for students, but also for their families. As institutions have continued to evolve to support student success and retention, many universities have added or expanded parent and family program offices. While universities continue to work collaboratively with families promote student success, it is important to understand the how the needs of families may vary. One area to explore is the proximity of students to their family members and how distance may impact the transition for both students and families. A perceived problem in this study was that family members of local students were not as engaged as family members who lived outside the local area. The purpose of this action research study was to better understand and enhance the experience of local families as their students transitioned from high school to college. The study and innovation were grounded in two theoretical frameworks: funds of knowledge and Schlossberg’s transition theory. The innovation developed based upon learnings from these theoretical frameworks included four elements: (a) a family guide, (b) family newsletters, (c) an online family video series, and (d) an updated parent and family website. The study was a mixed methods action research study conducted over the course of one semester. Quantitative data was collected through the use of a presurvey at the start of the academic year and a postsurvey as the semester completed. Qualitative data was collected through individual interviews with local family members. The results of this study indicated that families who participated in at least one element of the innovation reported more knowledge of campus resources, felt more supported by the institution, and were confident in their ability to assist their student in the transition to college. Additionally, implications for practice and areas for future research were explored.

Recent advances in geo-visualization technologies, such as Google Earth, have the potential to enhance spatial thinking. Google Earth is especially suited to teaching landforms and geomorphological processes in traditional, online, or hybrid college classroom settings. The excitement for the technology as a learning tool, however, must be tempered by the need to develop sound and supportive pedagogies. A fundamental gap in the geoscience education literature exists because learning experiences with Google Earth, from the perspective of the student, are not completely understood. This dissertation analyzes three case studies in college introductory physical geography (Chapters 2 and 4) and teacher education (Chapter 3) courses at Arizona State University where students completed an online (Chapter 2 and 3) laboratory that used Google Earth as the main tool for landform identification and interpretation, and a hardcopy laboratory and in-field exercise (Chapter 4) that compared Google Earth oblique with traditional stereopair air photo and planimetric perspectives. Gauging student performance in these tasks, along with their formative and summative opinions for `what it was like to learn this way', provide information as part of a feedback loop to develop and improve instructional scaffolding and best practices so that the focus remains on the content-to-be-learned and not the tool. These case studies show that, in general, prior use of Google Earth is usually not a limiting factor; multiple perspectives and supplemental visualizations of landforms with Google Earth's may enhance the learning experience; the hands-on nature of structured Google Earth exploration in these labs are virtual field trips that increase enjoyment and fit within a learner-centered curriculum; scaffolding landform-learning exercises for aspiring elementary school teachers linked to children's literature assists the development of content knowledge for teaching physical geography and spatial thinking; and, finally, despite a virtual globe's high-quality visualizations and promising potential for learning, there is still a role for stereopair images in the geomorphology classroom.

Efforts to privilege STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines, initiatives, and industries in American discourse are arguably the foremost expressions of scientific authority in contemporary educational policy. Citing a diverse body of STEM literature, I discuss the histories and rationales that sustain the promotion of STEM. In doing so, I appropriate two concepts -Michel Foucault's Regime of Truth and Hayden White's Emplotment- for the purpose of analyzing the complex interests embodied by STEM discourse. I argue that the Sputnik Narrative is the prevailing story in STEM advocacy discourse. I claim that STEM advocates typically emplot this history as a Romance. Furthermore, I classify two major bases of appeal (rationales) that appear within this literature to justify STEM projects and proposals, "competition" and "equity." Throughout my writing, I cite discursive strategies for challenging and reimagining STEM history. My goal in indicating these sites of narrative possibilities is broaden the discursive field to new, perhaps liberating possibilities.