Science, engineering, technology, and mathematics (STEM) classes are required for families in the United States. Due to this requirement, there have been more STEM focused schools present in the educational landscape. Traditionally a high school offering, middle schools are now developing more focused STEM curricula, opening STEM campuses, and creating opportunities for students to expand their STEM knowledge. Parental involvement at the middle school level can be lacking, which is also observed in STEM specific campuses. This action research study examines communication and connection with parents on a STEM middle school campus. The purpose of this study was to create a program where parents can meet once a month with each other and staff on campus to start building a thriving partnership. Ten parent participants were chosen to take part in this three-month study. Each month, participants would meet for an hour to discuss agenda items created by participants at previous meetings. The researcher employed a mixed methods design to understand connection and communication with parents on a STEM middle school campus. To analyze data, descriptive statistics were used for quantitative data, and themes were developed via grounded theory for qualitative data. Results determined that participants' views rose overall from pre to post-innovation in communication and connection. In addition to the gains seen quantitatively and qualitative data, the researcher developed three themes: connection, communication, and parent voice. Overall, the monthly parent meetings were a success overall and enhanced communication and connectivity in the STEM magnet campus. Several limitations, including a lack of diversity in the study population and researcher error, hindered this study. Suggestions for future research include replicating the study while removing the limitations seen in this study and conducting subsequent cycles of AR. Finally, suggestions for future practice indicate the vital need to involve parents in attending programs and in the design, delivery, and application of programs.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education recently adopted the new academic standards for Science, Technology & Engineering, and Environmental Literacy and Sustainability (STEELS). Scaling STEELS across the commonwealth is a challenging endeavor that depends upon local school districts' implementation of STEELS-based instruction. Therefore, it behooves local school districts to develop strategies supporting local STEELS adoption. The current action research study examined the influence of an intervention built around a Professional Learning Community (PLC) to support a local school district’s implementation of STEELS guided by the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM; Hall & Hord, 2020). Four secondary science teachers from the Bellwood-Antis School District participated in a PLC. The implementation process of the PLC group was measured via the three diagnostic dimensions of CBAM: Innovation Configurations (IC), Stages of Concern (SoC), and Levels of Use (LoU). A concurrent mixed-methods action research design was employed to collect and analyze CBAM measures. The SoC dimension was measured quantitatively via the Stages of Concern Questionnaire. Individual scores were converted to a whole-group PLC SoC Profile for analysis. SoC, LoU, and IC dimensions were assessed qualitatively via semi-structured interviews. Meta-inferences were developed from combined data analysis of quantitative and qualitative data. A CBAM diagnosis for the PLC group was the primary outcome of this action research cycle, which indicated that the PLC members moved into the early phases of implementation during the intervention. Findings from the current cycle of action research informed an updated intervention game plan to be used in the next phase of implementation.

More and more, colleges and universities across the United States and throughout the world are relying on adjunct instructors (sometimes called casual academics or part time instructors) to teach classes in their field of expertise. Often, those classes require a blending of theory into practical application, such as in business, accounting and other career focused classes. Previous literature has shown that adjunct instructors often have little formal preparation for teaching, and even when some preparation is offered, it is often insufficient to establish confidence, or teaching self-efficacy, in the classroom. This study examined changes in teaching self-efficacy after adjunct instructors were provided information (articles) around constructivist teaching strategies within collaborative Community of Practice (CoP) meetings to discuss those strategies. The study was conducted at a small private college, which relied heavily on adjunct instructors to conduct classes. A quantitative pre-post survey, and qualitative comments throughout the intervention sessions were used to examine changes. Participants reported a significant increase in teaching self-efficacy, which was especially prominent amongst new instructors compared to those with more experience. There was also a self-reported increase in the use of more constructivist strategies within their classes over the course of the intervention. Finally, participants also rated the components of the intervention (articles and the CoP meetings) and while they rated them similarly in terms of impact, the CoP meetings were discussed as critical to both learning and application of strategies in practice. Future studies should examine how these strategies could be used in wider groups of instructors and how the effects might be enhanced if a longer program were used, but it is clear that providing opportunities for adjunct faculty to come together and discuss new strategies can help improve teaching self-efficacy in higher education.