In raising the standards for professional educators, higher educators must be prepared to provide the highest quality feedback on student performance and work products toward improved outcomes. This review of the literature examined the major findings of 70 quantitative, mixed methods, or qualitative studies found in higher education journals across a range of disciplines. Multiple recommendations and results for feedback emerged which fall into the categories described by Susan Brookhart. This review found research for each of Brookhart’s categories, with results indicating differences between the perceptions of adherence to sound feedback practices versus the reality of implementation, the potential for innovative tool use, and a disagreement about the effectiveness of peers for providing effective feedback. Indicators for quality within the research confirmed the importance of commonly accepted standards such as positivity, specificity, timeliness, and encouraging active student participation. Additionally, trends and themes indicated a need for the consistent implementation of the feedback exchange process and flexibility to account for student input/preferences. Greater consistency toward the application of these quality indicators should be undertaken when determining the quality of higher education feedback for preservice teachers prior to undertaking summative licensure assessments.

One foundational aspect within the essential skill of literacy is reading comprehension. While students can learn comprehension strategies in a variety of settings, students with disabilities have shown increased success in inclusive classrooms with instruction supported by both general education and special education staff. To address the needs to increase the reading comprehension outcomes for students with intellectual disability as well as increase the fidelity of use of evidence-based practices by school staff (general education teachers, special education teachers and paraprofessionals) within instruction, an interactive action research study was implemented in five schools in one school district in the United States. The study was designed to use action research to create a model of professional development with extensive coaching support surrounding evidence-based practices as well as the development of resources to support co-planning and adaptations within instruction in inclusive classrooms. Results indicated that both purposes were met within the study with several implications for practice as well as the development of a second iteration of the model using student outcomes and frequent educator feedback.

Thirty general education candidates from elementary education, middle/secondary education, and arts education in multiple sections of one course engaged in a series of discussion posts and lesson plans related to creating inclusive general education lessons. Using candidate posts, rubric scores, feedback on lesson plans, and course evaluation ratings, a mixed methods approach was used to understand candidate knowledge, perceptions, and applications of Universal Design for Learning. The results from our research have important implications for policy, practice, and research. Policy makers must be aware of the lack of UDL in general education programs and IHEs need to do more than the cursory coverage of these principles. Additional research is needed for the implementation of lessons designed using UDL by general education candidates.

As Christian schools offer inclusive education programs for students with significant cognitive disabilities, it is crucial that teachers have access to quality professional development (PD). The purpose of this study was to survey teachers at three inclusive Christian schools about their attitudes and beliefs toward inclusive education, as well as their reported PD needs through the framework of High Leverage Practices (HLPs). Findings suggest that teachers report the most PD needs in the HLP areas of teaching, behavior, scaffolding, resources, comprehension, and progress monitoring. Implications for practitioners and suggestions for future research are included.

Understanding student artificial intelligence (AI) literacy in the context of higher education is crucial as technology advances and AI use increases. The purpose of this study is to better understand how university students perceive, define, and apply AI literacy within their own educational experiences and from their own disciplinary lens. Collecting electronic survey responses from 130 graduate and undergraduate students across several disciplines including First-Year Writing, Communication Studies, and Education, this study attempts to elucidate how students articulate and perceive their own degree of AI literacy—Access, Understanding, Critical Thinking, Application, and Ethics—in the educational context. Overall, students reported infrequent use, using ChatGPT most often. Education students reported a lower understanding of AI than non-education students. Undergraduates reported higher rates within ethics than graduate students. No significant differences in AI literacy were found between students who were or were not first-generation students, students who did or did not receive financial aid, or by gender. Students reporting higher rates of use also reported higher rates of AI literacy. Crucially, this study provides key qualitative and quantitative insights exploring how students perceive their own AI literacy. Understanding the current state of students’ AI literacy is important to facilitating holistic student success in academic environments and career readiness as institutions of higher education adapt and prepare curricula, programs, and interventions addressing AI literacy across disciplines.