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In this study, we explored how a reimagined EdD supports leaders to develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for effective school and district leadership. We analyzed the usefulness of inquiry-focused, equity-based participatory action research (PAR) in EdD dissertations by using case study methodology to analyze four graduates during and after the EdD program. The findings indicate participants successfully implemented PAR studies while simultaneously bolstering their leadership capacity. Findings have practical use for: (1) EdD graduates as they continue to use the PAR methodology in their current work and communities; and (2) leadership programs that choose to use PAR as a methodology for scholarly practitioners.

The East Carolina University International EdD supports school leaders in the United States and across the globe to address local educational equity challenges. To achieve this, we prepare and support school and district leaders to use evidence as practitioner-researchers together with members of their educational community. As a result, the reimagined EdD harnesses the power and utility of participatory action and activist research to address a contextualized, equity-focused dissertation in practice. We explore how two doctoral students have transformed their practices during and after their EdD experience.

The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated the need to reliably detect the presence of viral genomes in human clinical samples. The most accurate viral tests involve the use of qPCR. Thus, it is important for students to understand the mechanism to detect viral genomes by qPCR including critical qPCR controls and how to properly interpret qPCR data. Herein, we describe a 2-week undergraduate laboratory to detect a viral genome in a human DNA sample. The strategy follows a SARS-CoV-2 qPCR test in numerous ways. Students are provided isolated DNA representing a mock human patient sample, and determine if a viral genome (bacteriophage lambda) is present using qPCR. A battery of control samples and patient pooling strategies are utilized. The laboratory exercise is successful based on high rates of student success in detecting viral genomes, pre-quiz and post-quiz assessments focusing on viral qPCR testing, and positive student comments.

We used Q methodology, a form of factor analysis, to explore and establish correlations across the perceptions of key stakeholders (i.e., deans, faculty members, doctoral students) about how doctoral programs in educational leadership engage in work with diverse communities. Four distinct viewpoints emerged suggesting the ongoing need to: develop prerequisite skills (listening and dialogue); situate learning in the community rather than in the college classroom; move towards student- and community-led curriculum; and provide doctoral students with the hands-on experiential learning they request and require. Implications include the implementation of practical innovations of learning within diverse communities.

Students with learning disabilities seek postsecondary education at rates comparable to their peers yet lag behind on retention and graduation rates. This research used InQuiry methodology to analyze 44 individual perspectives from multiple K12 and postsecondary stakeholders. Quantitative data analysis generated a four-factor solution, identifying four "family groups" of participants. Subsequent interviews yielded qualitative data to inform the context for each group perspective. Families agreed on broad themes of self-advocacy and the need for intentional communication and collaboration between secondary and postsecondary settings, yet emphasized varying responsibilities and opportunities related to addressing these priorities in both K12 and college environments. The study generated promising practices and identified barriers to transition success from practitioners for practitioners.

Next generation sequencing has revolutionized molecular biology and has provided a mechanism for rapid DNA and RNA sequence analysis. Yet, there are few resources to introduce next generation sequencing into the undergraduate biochemistry and molecular biology curriculum. Herein, we describe the design, execution, and assessment of a four-week laboratory for junior and senior undergraduate students that focuses on bacterial gene expression changes detected by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). In the laboratory, students analyze a bacterial RNA-seq dataset in detail and answer questions relating to the impact of DNA methylation on bacterial gene expression. In addition, students confirm key results from the RNA-seq dataset using qRT-PCR and compare their results to similar experiments in the literature. A major strength of the laboratory is the ability of students to analyze raw RNA-seq data. In addition, another strength of the laboratory is the utilization of both dry approaches (informatics and statistics) and wet approaches (RNA isolation, cDNA synthesis, and qRT-PCR) to answer bacterial gene expression questions. Assessment of the laboratory indicates that significant learning gains were achieved with respect to next generation sequencing and RNA-seq. We expect that the laboratory will be a valuable resource as is, or via modification with other datasets and projects.

This study reports on findings from a survey of Massachusetts' school principals that examined their perceptions of the nature and quality of certification programs. Results indicate that "when" participants were certified (pre or post NCLB) and "where" they were certified (public, private, alternative programs) has a significant influence on the perceived content and quality of their preparation. These findings reveal that accountability measures may have led to changes in the content and structure of principal preparation programs over time and suggest a need for state standards that influence the development, delivery, and evaluation of principal preparation programs to reflect the requisite skills principals need and want in the 21st century. (Contains 2 tables and 6 figures.)

Most leadership programs emphasize knowledge over skills, being skillful over how to be skillful, knowledge about skills over skill application, and ad hoc and hard-to-assess field activities over focused and observable skill practice. "Knowledge and skill application laboratories" provide opportunities to experiment with--and receive criteria-based feedback from multiple observers on--new ways of thinking and behaving. They challenge students to integrate course-specific content with universally applicable skills: diagnosis, goal setting, communication, teamwork, and conflict management. We describe the purpose, history, and objectives of this kind of laboratory, sample lab activities, design considerations, and what we learned. (Contains 2 figures and 6 tables.)

This study focuses on student development of two important laboratory skills in the context of introductory college-level physics. The first skill, which we call model making, is the ability to analyze a phenomenon in a way that produces a quantitative multimodal model. The second skill, which we call model breaking, is the ability to critically evaluate if the behavior of a system is consistent with a given model. This study involved 116 introductory physics students in four different sections, each taught by a different instructor. All of the students within a given class section participated in the same instruction (including labs) with the exception of five activities performed throughout the semester. For those five activities, each class section was split into two groups; one group was scaffolded to focus on model-making skills and the other was scaffolded to focus on model-breaking skills. Both conditions involved direct measurement videos. In some cases, students could vary important experimental parameters within the video like mass, frequency, and tension. Data collected at the end of the semester indicate that students in the model-making treatment group significantly outperformed the other group on the model-making skill despite the fact that both groups shared a common physical lab experience. Likewise, the model-breaking treatment group significantly outperformed the other group on the model-breaking skill. This is important because it shows that direct measurement video-based instruction can help students acquire science-process skills, which are critical for scientists, and which are a key part of current science education approaches such as the Next Generation Science Standards and the Advanced Placement Physics 1 course.

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs) represent a novel type of adaptive immune system found in eubacteria and archaebacteria. CRISPRs have recently generated a lot of attention due to their unique ability to catalog foreign nucleic acids, their ability to destroy foreign nucleic acids in a mechanism that shares some similarity to RNA interference, and the ability to utilize reconstituted CRISPR systems for genome editing in numerous organisms. In order to introduce CRISPR biology into an undergraduate upper-level laboratory, a five-week set of exercises was designed to allow students to examine the CRISPR status of uncharacterized "Escherichia coli" strains and to allow the discovery of new repeats and spacers. Students started the project by isolating genomic DNA from "E. coli" and amplifying the "iap" CRISPR locus using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The PCR products were analyzed by Sanger DNA sequencing, and the sequences were examined for the presence of CRISPR repeat sequences. The regions between the repeats, the spacers, were extracted and analyzed with BLASTN searches. Overall, CRISPR loci were sequenced from several previously uncharacterized "E. coli" strains and one "E. coli" K-12 strain. Sanger DNA sequencing resulted in the discovery of 36 spacer sequences and their corresponding surrounding repeat sequences. Five of the spacers were homologous to foreign (non-"E. coli") DNA. Assessment of the laboratory indicates that improvements were made in the ability of students to answer questions relating to the structure and function of CRISPRs. Future directions of the laboratory are presented and discussed.

The ability of students to understand the relationship between genotype and phenotype, and the mechanisms by which genotypes and phenotypes can change is essential for students studying genetics. To this end, we have developed a four-week laboratory called Blue Genes, which is designed to help novice students discriminate between two mechanisms by which the genetic material can be altered: genetic transformation and gene mutation. In the first week of the laboratory, students incubate a plasmid DNA with calcium chloride-treated "Escherichia coli" JM109 cells and observe a phenotype change from ampicillin sensitive to ampicillin resistant and from white color to blue color on plates containing 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-ß-D-galactopyranoside (X-gal) and isopropyl ß-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG). Over the course of the next three weeks, students use a battery of approaches including plasmid DNA isolation experiments, restriction maps, and PCR to differentiate between mutation and transformation. The students ultimately come to the conclusion that the changes in phenotypes are due to genetic transformation and not mutation based on the evidence generated over the four-week period. Pre-laboratory tests and post-laboratory tests indicate that this set of exercises is successful in helping students differentiate between transformation and mutation. The laboratory is designed for underclassmen and is a good prerequisite for an apprentice-based research opportunity, although it is not designed as a class based research experience. Potential modifications and future directions of the laboratory based upon student experiences and assessment are presented.

This article analyzes specific uses of digital video production in the field of educational leadership preparation, advancing a three-part framework that includes the use of video in (a) teaching and learning, (b) research methods, and (c) program evaluation and service to the profession. The first category within the framework examines videos produced by students and/or faculty to advance student-centered and reflective learning practices. The second category describes methods for research in leadership education through production of videos or documentary films. The third category explores videos created to evaluate programs or to share innovations within the field. This article includes web links to 23 video examples with guidelines for readers to practice video production within each category.

One of the biggest challenges in doctoral education is creating an intellectual community such that students can not only engage with their field and its pressing challenges, but can also learn how to become scholars with all the social norms, epistemologies, and ways of being and interacting in the specific community of one's discipline. This type of learning extends beyond the intellectual understandings of one's field and requires an ongoing social engagement with both novices and experienced scholars. Fostering an intellectual community takes an intentional effort that often runs counter to prevailing norms and practices of academia. This article describes a purposeful strategy which fosters reflection and community building with a newly matriculated cohort of PhD students enrolled in an educational research and policy program. Three faculty members agreed to the department head's request to create and facilitate a year-long extracurricular professional seminar--a series of coordinated monthly activities. This article describes one part of this intervention wherein faculty and new doctoral students met regularly to engage in an extended reflective activity. Examples of student work are provided.

This study reports on experiences of doctoral students in educational administration at a time when the effectiveness of programs preparing practitioners and academics in this field are being questioned. Concerns related to how students in educational administration developed knowledge about research and identity as researchers were closely examined in a research-intensive university in the United States. Through participant interviews and personal narratives, findings revealed the challenges encountered at the nexus of the effectiveness of the educational program intersecting with the experiences of the doctoral students. Participants shared the importance of proximity to campus, self-advocacy, student status (full-time versus part-time) and personal and professional goals as influencing their development of research knowledge and identity. There were indicators that communities of practice, relationships with faculty, thematic pedagogy, public practice and action-oriented research were equally important in acquiring research knowledge and in developing a research identity.

Epigenetic inheritance is the inheritance of genetic information that is not based on DNA sequence alone. One type of epigenetic information that has come to the forefront in the last few years is modified DNA bases. The most common modified DNA base in nature is 5-methylcytosine. Herein, we describe a laboratory experiment that combines bioinformatic and molecular approaches to study the presence and abundance of 5-methylcytosine in different organisms. Students were originally provided with the protein sequence of the "Xenopus laevis" DNMT1 cytosine-5 DNA methyltransferase and used BLASTP searches to detect the presence of protein orthologs in the genomes of several organisms including "Homo sapiens," "Mus musculus," "Plasmodium falciparum," "Drosophila melanogaster," "Saccharomyces cerevisiae," "Arabidopsis thaliana," and "Caenorhabditis elegans." Students generated hypotheses regarding the presence and abundance of 5-methylcytosine in these organisms based on their bioinformatics data, and directly tested their predictions on a subset of DNAs using restriction enzyme isoschizomer assays. A southern blotting assay to answer the same question is also presented. In addition to exposure to the field of epigenetics, the strengths of the laboratory are students are able to make predictions using bioinformatic tools and quickly test them in the laboratory. In addition, students are exposed to two potential misinterpretations of bioinformatic search data. The laboratory is easily modified to incorporate outside research interests in epigenetics.

This article describes an innovative approach, developed by North Carolina State University, to prepare leaders specifically for work in rural schools in high poverty districts. Operating with Race-to-the-Top funding, the Northeast Leadership Academy is a selective program with embedded practice and focused summer community internships. The program aims at spanning developmental psychology across K-12 grades. Models of turnarounds are chosen for their rural contexts, and executive coaching and mentoring aid in the transition to leadership positions. Perhaps most innovative is the aim that leaders of rural schools in poor districts need to be both community-focused and student-focused. The activities for NELA Fellows are designed to graduate turnaround leaders who are diagnosticians of student learning as well. (Contains 2 endnotes.)

Background/Context: Today we have moved from the debate of student opportunity to postsecondary educational setting to 100% access. That is, today's high school settings have been charged with preparing "college ready" graduates. Educational policy has leveraged mandates and sanctions as a mechanism to improve college placement rates, especially in high schools with a high percentage of low-income students. However, little empirical evidence exists to assist us in understanding how college readiness is actualized for low-income students. Focus of Study: The purpose of this study was to identify specific strategies that schools employ to raise college application and attendance rates for low-income students. Research Design: This study investigated 18 College Board Inspiration Award winning or honorable mention high schools across the United States. Phone interviews with all 18 schools informed the selection of five case study high schools. Data collection included interviews and observations with high school educators, parents, students, and other community members. Findings: In this study, we describe evidence within and across the five case schools using a framework that was generated from the first phase of this study. These schools effectively improved college readiness by developing collaborative practices around: (1) Program Management, (2) External Partnerships, (3) Leadership, (4) College-focused Intervention Strategies, (5) Achievement-oriented School Culture, (6) Parental Outreach, (7) Systemic, Multileveled Intervention Strategies, (8) Use of Data, (9) Development and Implementation of Inclusive School Policies, and (10) Routinizing or Offloading Routine or Mundane Tasks. Conclusions/Implications: This study operationalizes what effective practices look like in high schools with low-income students. The findings move beyond normative models to be implemented across sites to illustrations of exemplar practices that can guide collaborative efforts to enact the specific tasks necessary to improve college readiness for students.

Multidisciplinary courses are being developed at a number of US colleges and universities to highlight the connections between the rise or fall of world civilizations and the sustainable or unsustainable uses of soil and water resources. The content presented in these courses is complex because it includes concepts from disciplines as varied as geology, soil science, politics, economics, history, and anthropology. The learning goals for the courses include developing skills in the critical analysis of complex "real-world" problems for which there is often no simple or correct solution. Didactic materials for such courses are limited. Field trips to sites around the world that present some of the issues covered in the course would be ideal, but are logistically challenging. We considered that a series of virtual field trips (VFTs) to sites around the world would allow us to present students with complicated real-world situations, with which to practice critical analysis skills. The VFTs envisaged are neither tutorials nor field/lab exercises. Rather, they are meant to be complex, multi-faceted representations of a past or current civilization and how it affects or is affected by its environment. We expect that the students will use the VFTs to explore the relationships between physical geography and culture and how the decisions or actions of a civilization impact natural resources and the environment and thus affect its fate. A goal of the VFTs is that through consideration of their experiences, students arrive at novel associations that lead to dynamic in-class dialogue about the material presented and a deeper understanding of the intricacies of the situation in the field. This article describes the process of assembling a VFT, and analyzes the technological and didactic choices the process requires. Our experience with a pilot VFT suggests that no single medium (i.e., video clips, interactive maps, animation sequences, etc.) is comprehensive enough to meet the course learning goals. Thus, a web-based, open architecture format was selected for the VFTs because of its simplicity, flexibility and extensibility. Each medium was selected for its ability to support the course learning goals. The learning process was mediated by the VFT text, questions for thought, and in-class discussions. Preliminary results with the pilot VFT are encouraging. (Contains 7 figures.)

In this article, the authors use their personal narratives and collaborative portraits as methods to shed light on the complexities of developing a research identity while journeying through a doctoral program. Using the metaphors of a wanderer, a chameleon, and a warrior, their narratives represent portraits of experiences faced by doctoral students at the peak of their epistemological and ontological growth. Borrowing from Lawrence-Lightfoot and Davis's alternative methodology of portraiture, the authors create portraits through personal narratives, which provide voice, reflexivity, and context to the stories told. Significant factors that fostered the students' research identity were present within the author's lived experiences and continued to evolve throughout the doctoral program. Inhibiting factors included the negotiation of a temporary loss of identity for full-time students, normative and analytical modes required by doctoral programs, and a lack of consideration for issues of diversity within the doctoral program. (Contains 3 notes.)