Alyson Adams

University of Florida | UF · School of Teaching and Learning

Building community in online EdD programs can be a challenge, and the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of doing so. In this essay, we will situate community building within the larger Community of Inquiry framework and focus on the element of social presence. By understanding more about the various aspects of social presence, facult...

This study addresses gaps in the research about the effect of professional development (PD) quality on effective instruction by taking a broad perspective when defining professional learning of teachers and by providing a theory-based explanation for effective instruction. Using a large-scale data set, Teaching and Learning International Survey (TA...

Master's degree programs in education are increasingly under fire in policy arenas due to mounting evidence that such programs do not result in increased student learning outcomes. Informed by the Blue Ribbon Panel's 2010 recommendations for clinically rich teacher preparation, this article makes a case for a reconceptualized master's program, cent...

evaluation of professional learning in Florida

Many nutrition programs include classroom-based education. Schoolteachers are relied upon to deliver these programs despite gaps in nutrition education motivation, knowledge, and self-efficacy. Teacher professional development (PD) for these nutrition education programs has been identified as a strategy for improving program effectiveness, yet many...

This manuscript is a review and critical analysis of professional learning communities (PLCs) research using 13 empirical international studies. Our findings confirm what previous reviews have found: participation in PLCs resulted in improved teacher practice and increased student achievement. In this review, we provide detailed and specific exampl...

Investigating a “problem of practice” is a signature feature of the EdD dissertation. Yet, little is known about how doctoral students derive their problems, the nature of the problems they study, and the impact studying problems of practice has on students’ local contexts. The purpose of this study was to investigate EdD students’ problems of prac...

This manuscript builds on the previous reviews of professional learning communities (PLCs), using 10 empirical international research studies to present the impact of PLCs on teacher practice and student learning. The results showed that PLC studies that embrace collaboration and focus on student learning reported improved teacher practice and stud...

The focus of this chapter is on examining current literature to develop a better understanding of teacher learning in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). The authors start by initially laying the groundwork for the practice of PLCs within a U.S. context and then discuss the theoretical underpinnings of PLCs that support teachers’ collective l...

In this article we describe a graduate program for practicing teachers at the University of Florida. Offered in a blended format (mostly online but supported by a local faculty member), the program embeds graduate work within school reform efforts in hard to staff schools in partner school districts up to 350 miles away from campus in order to dire...

As EdD programs are revised across the United States, it is important to understand how the development of innovative approaches to these degrees gains traction in higher education settings, especially those with a history of traditional PhD preparation. In this article, we describe the creation of a job-embedded online EdD program designed as a pr...

This qualitative study was designed to examine teachers’ and principals’ perceptions of the impact of a graduate program designed to prepare teacher leaders. Impact was investigated through interviews with 20 graduates and 6 principals. Using Mezirow’s concept of transformational learning, the study documents perceived transformation of teachers’ f...

After an overview of the characteristics of professional learning communities (PLCs), this manuscript presents a review of 10 American studies and one English study on the impact of PLCs on teaching practices and student learning. Although, few studies move beyond self-reports of positive impact, a small number of empirical studies explore the impa...

Personal epistemologies, individuals' beliefs about the nature of knowledge and how one comes to know, can facilitate and constrain cognition, motivation, and learning (Pintrich, 2002). They are especially relevant in teacher education because preservice teachers will become responsible for the knowledge and knowing of others. This study investigat...

In special education, professional collaboration is viewed as a powerful tool for helping teachers serve students with disabilities. An underlying assumption is that general educators will improve practice if they have opportunities to participate in collaborative professional development aimed at improving instruction for students with disabilitie...

Although most of the faculty who teach in the Unified Elementary Special Education Proteach (UESEP) program would describe themselves as subscribing to a constructivist approach to teaching and learning, the meanings and complexities of constructivism and constructivist teacher education have yet to be examined and debated within the College of Edu...