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The purpose of this chapter is to report on the findings of a writing survey with elementary classroom teachers (n=39) who attended graduate programs at two four-year colleges. In this study, the authors examine teachers' perceptions of their Professional Development (PD) in the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for writing and describe their PD needs. The chapter concludes with recommendations and suggestions about how literacy coaches can best implement multiple levels of support in writing instruction including school-wide and grade level PDs as well as coaching and in-class support.

This qualitative case study examined the influence of the use of VoiceThread technology on the feedback process for thesis writing in two online asynchronous graduate courses. The influence on instructor feedback process and graduate student writers’ perceptions of the use of VoiceThread were the foci of the study. Master’s-level students ( n = 18) in two different degree programs received and responded to multiple rounds of instructor feedback on their thesis paper via VoiceThread technology for one semester. Instructor and student comments on VoiceThread and an open-ended survey of students’ experiences using VoiceThread in the course were analyzed. Findings show that VoiceThread promoted a two-way dialogue between the instructors and the students during the revision process, students had a generally positive perception of the use of the technology, and that instructors’ feedback processes were impacted in different ways by the use of the technology.

The purpose of this study was to compare and contrast faculty and graduate students' perceptions of engaging online courses. This mixed-methods study occurred in a mid-sized state university in northeastern United States. Data from an online survey and semi-structured interviews indicated that graduate students and faculty perceived similar online course elements in the areas of social and teaching presence as engaging: interpersonal connections, structured learning environments, and variety in course activities and type of technology used. Both believed that poor organization was unengaging. Subtle differences in perception were illuminated by the qualitative analysis. The results have implications for online course pedagogy and research methodology.