W. David Scales

• Professor (Assistant) at Western Carolina University

Given the scarcity of research on how teacher educators prepare teacher candidates to successfully bridge coursework and fieldwork, we conducted a case study of six literacy teacher educators to investigate how they described learning experiences designed to help teacher candidates navigate varied coursework and fieldwork. Teacher educators describ...

This research sought to develop argument as a problem-solving process by adding debate to social studies instruction with three groups of fifth-grade students. This design-based research (DBR) reports on the ways that instruction was refined across three topical units to develop argumentative agency and a critical participatory literacy. Students a...

South Carolina’s Read to Succeed Law (RTS) is different than the other 15 states’ literacy-based third grade retention laws. It mandates literacy intervention training for in-service and pre-service teachers. Research indicates academic gains from retention are short-lived, diminishing over time and increasing drop-out rates. Through a statewide su...

This survey research broadly investigates how literacy instructors perceive and address curricular contexts candidates experience in fieldwork. Twenty-eight literacy teacher educators in 15 states indicated perceived high degrees of alignment between coursework and fieldwork contexts. Findings describe fieldwork context characteristics, perceived a...

This study reports the results of a survey of a representative sample of 1,206 elementary reading and English Language Arts teachers in Oregon to learn (1) what materials are currently being used, (2) what materials teachers would prefer, and (3) what instructional practices teachers use. Qualitative data included 365 comments and 34 interviews wit...

This research examines the relationship between religiosity, political orientation, and attitudes toward the LGBT+ community.

The teacher is the most important in-school factor influencing students' literacy achievement Therefore, professional development supporting teacher effectiveness is a primary means of enhancing students' literacy learning. This article describes the beginning of a longitudinal, collaborative professional development initiative that is based upon a...

Using mixed-methods approaches and cross-case analysis procedures of a study of 10 teacher-preparation programs across the United States, researchers identified signature aspects of the programs that captured key elements unique to each institution and compared teacher candidate perceptions of learning with the expressed intentions of the faculty....

As implemented in North Carolina, Early College High Schools are small, autonomous schools designed to increase the number of students who graduate from high school and are prepared for postsecondary education. Targeted at students who are underrepresented in college, these schools are most frequently located on college campuses and are intended to...