Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2014, Mathematics/Mathematics (Pure)

Mathematics teaching assistants (MTAs) play a critical role in the instruction of undergraduate mathematics students and may go on to become faculty members. Although the literature addressing teaching and learning of mathematics at the K-12 level is extensive, very little is known about MTAs' teaching practices, beliefs, challenges, and understandings of mathematics and teaching. The two major goals of this study were to better understand how MTAs, who were in their first year teaching expressed mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) and pedagogical successes and shortcomings in reflecting on their teaching practices. We coded and analyzed the weekly reflections of 21 participants for five distinct MKT categories and twenty-three pedagogical themes across the reflections. This study presents an initial investigation of mathematical knowledge for teaching at the collegiate level, has professional development implications, and suggestions for future research into this topic.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2022, Computer Science and Engineering

Past decades have witnessed the great success of modern Artificial Intelligence (AI) via learning incredible statistical correlations from large-scale data. However, a knowledge gap still exists between the statistical learning of AI and the human-like learning process. Unlike machines, humans can first accumulate enormous background knowledge about how the world works and then quickly adapt it to new environments by understanding the underlying concepts. For example, given the limited life experience with mammals, a child can quickly learn the new concept of a dog to infer knowledge, like a dog is a mammal, a mammal has a heart, and thus, a dog has a heart. Then the child can generalize the concept to new cases, such as a golden retriever, a beagle, or a chihuahua. However, an AI system trained on a large-scale mammal but not dog-focused dataset cannot do such learning and generalization. AI techniques will fundamentally influence our everyday lives, and bridging this knowledge gap to empower existing AI systems with more explicit human knowledge is both timely and necessary to make them more generalizable, robust, trustworthy, interpretable, and efficient. To close this gap, we seek inspiration from how humans learn, such as the ability to abstract knowledge from data, generalize knowledge to new tasks, and reason to solve complex problems. Inspired by the human learning process, in this dissertation, we present our research efforts to address the knowledge gap between AI and human learning with a systematic study of the full life cycle of how to incorporate more explicit human knowledge in intelligent systems. Specifically, we need first to extract high-quality knowledge from the real world (knowledge acquisition), such as raw data or model parameters. We then transform various types of knowledge into neural representations (knowledge representation). We can also transfer existing knowledge between neural systems (knowledge transfer) or perform human-like co (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, 2018, Theology

St. John of the Cross is presented as an authentic epistemologist with a comprehensive theory of mystical knowledge. He describes the nature and excellence of mystical knowledge and explains how it may be attained through an unyielding and total adherence to the human telos—union with God—and through the dark night, in which a kenosis of the sensory and intellectual faculties leads to a gradual transformation of our apprehensive capacity. Mystical knowledge has the characteristics of passivity, substantiality, supra-abundance, and ineffability; it is a dynamic loving communication between God and the soul capable of transforming the whole person. The radical demands of nada on the intellect, the will, and the memory placed by John's epistemology can be understood through a rationale of divine love. The necessary operation of faith in the dark night, which transcends reason through a loving trust of the Master amidst intellectual and affective suffering, is described. John's insight into divine love as the fountain of all knowledge and inspiration, his thorough analysis on the power of the theological virtues to elevate our intellectual faculties, and his wisdom about the relationship between human suffering and divine knowledge make him a unique epistemologist with much to contribute to our philosophical conversations today.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2004, Educational Studies: Hums, Science, Tech and Voc

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceived job change toward dimensions of knowledge work among frontline employees, middle managers, and senior managers in a large Korean bank. This study examined their perceived job change in terms of frequency, importance, and difficulty. The instrument used in this study was from the questionnaire of the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), which is an updated version of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) that has been employed for job analysis since the 1930s. From the 18,000 employees of the target population, 377 employees were randomly selected. Using an Internet survey, a total 359 of employees responded. Thus, the response rate of this study is 95 percent. The results of study showed that all four of the dimensions of knowledge work increased in terms of importance, frequency, and difficulty. Results from a series of paired t-tests indicated that all three job levels rated the four dimensions of knowledge work higher today than as performed three years ago. The results suggested that increasing aspects of knowledge work have been a prominent part of all three job levels. However, results from one-way ANOVA showed the degree to which each of the job levels experienced change toward knowledge work differed. In particular, frontline employees and middle managers have been subject to relatively more change toward knowledge work than senior managers. Findings supported that knowledge work is no longer the monopoly of senior managers. The conclusions of the study can be summarized as follows: (1)There were changes toward knowledge work across all three job levels.(2) Change toward knowledge work seemed to have differentially affected some job levels more than others.(3) Change toward knowledge work seemed to have affected frontline employees and middle managers more than senior managers.

PHD, Kent State University, 2013, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Lifespan Development and Educational Sciences

The purpose of this study is to determine the perceived technology capabilities of different levels of undergraduate students of Kent State University in the College of Education, Health, and Human Services teacher education programs; to determine if the perceived technology capabilities of students beginning the teacher education program differ from those nearing completion of the program; and, if the perceived technology capabilities of students change from the start to the end of the Educational Technology course. Examining student perceptions may provide insight on whether preservice teachers think they can prepare students for the 21st century once they become inservice teachers. To determine whether preservice teachers perceive that they are being prepared to teach 21st century skills by integrating technology into teaching and learning, three groups of students were surveyed: incoming students, junior-level students at the beginning and end of the Educational Technology course, and students nearing graduation. The TPACK survey for preservice teachers (Schmidt, Baran, Thompson, Mishra, Koehler & Shin, 2009) was used to examine preservice teachers’ perceptions of their technology capabilities as related to teaching. Teachers comprise an integral factor in the effective incorporation of technology into classroom activities, yet many current teachers remain unable or unwilling to employ technology fully or effectively. The findings from this study led to several conclusions, including that the students perceived themselves to have better technological abilities after completing the Educational Technology course and as seniors near the end of the teacher education program, and the results of this study should challenge teacher education faculty to consider how their beliefs, attitudes, and use of technology in teaching and learning are transmitted to their students.

PHD, Kent State University, 2023, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of History

Based on a critical reading of colonial archives and extensive use of oral sources, this dissertation argues that indigenous custodians of the landscape in semi-arid regions of the Zimbabwean Lowveld have a longstanding experience of harnessing their environmental literacy and detailed knowledge of nature to combat climate change. Starting with colonial encounters and contested boundaries of knowledge in Southern Rhodesia (present day Zimbabwe) since the early twentieth century, I demonstrate that oral traditions survived the onslaught of colonialism and offered new generations ways of responding to climate change. I use empirical examples to demonstrate that indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) have been obscured under the veneer of colonial historiography, hence, the importance of recovering African cultural achievements and indigenous agency to the historical record. This dissertation examines the adoption of various coping strategies and sustainable agricultural practices initiated by indigenous people to promote climate smart agriculture and identifies the factors that influence adoption of certain adaptive practices. Water has been a central and defining factor of Africa's development trajectory. A growing body of literature has demonstrated that agricultural yields have been declining in developing countries, including Zimbabwe, due to the impacts of climate change. Indigenous experiences, conceptions and perceptions have played a vital role in the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices. Indigenous farmers are at peace with modernity and modernization, but in the absence of modern technologies and state support, they have been going back to traditional forms of development. The interrelated objectives of climate change mitigation, adaptation and food security were simultaneously sustained through the hybrid integration of indigenous and modern farming practices in agricultural production and sustainable development planning. Indigenous knowledge sys (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Computing and Information Systems, Youngstown State University, 2008, Department of Computer Science and Information Systems

In this paper, we explore the concept of epistemic visualization in interrogative domains. Epistemic visualization is the process and result of developing visual models that capture the structure, content, justification and acquisition of knowledge obtained by a software agent in a knowledge-based system. The knowledge is the foundation in which the agent can respond to queries against a corpus containing questions and answers. The visualizations are therefore used to examine the quality of the software agent's knowledge. The visual models will include justification and commitment artifacts as well as knowledge acquisition flow. The visualization will demarcate the a priori and posteriori knowledge. The knowledge of the software agent is stored in epistemic structures which are knowledge representation schemes that supports the basic concepts of knowledge as defined by the tripartite analysis of knowledge. Epistemic visualization is used to analyze the quality of the knowledge of a software agent in an interrogative domain. For our purpose, interrogative domains are hearings, trials, interrogations, personality test or any document source in which the primary content is questions and answers pairs. In this paper, we introduce the Epistemic Structure Es that captures the agent's knowledge and the visualization of that epistemic structure using common visualization techniques.

Master of Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, 2008, Genetic Counseling Training Program

This descriptive study assessed 154 pregnant African American women's knowledge of and 11 health care providers' protocols for sickle cell disease carrier screening. The patient survey consisted of questions about sickle cell disease (SCD), incidence, inheritance and knowledge of trait status. Overall, participants were deficient in their knowledge of SCD as evidenced by scoring only approximately 33% on 11 knowledge questions. Factors found to be associated with increased knowledge about SCD included knowing someone with SCD, knowing one's trait status, and completing at least some college. Health care providers' protocols were to report carrier status for sickle cell trait (SCT) to patients who tested positive, but usually not to inform individuals who tested negative for trait. Based on these findings, the role of genetic counselors in educating patients on SCD should be pursued in order to better inform those at highest risk, to decrease unnecessary testing based on patient unawareness of trait status and to assist professionals providing care to this population.

MFIS, Kent State University, 2023, College of the Arts / School of Fashion

​ The fashion industry's overproduction, environmental impact, global sourcing, fast fashion business model, and labor exploitation make the current system unsustainable (Bick et al., 2018; EPA, 2023; WWF, 2023). The industry needs to shift toward supporting practices promoting environmental and social protection, to ameliorate these global problems. As competition for natural resources increases, executives will need the strategies of sustainability officers, experts, and research to guide the response toward ethical and equitable solutions. This study investigates how sustainable leaders in the fashion industry conceptualize and implement sustainable practices. Most research revolves around the importance of consumer perception, education, circular economy, and innovation toward advancing sustainable objectives. However, much of the current academic literature overlooks the sustainability leaders in the industry that set, communicate, and evaluate their companies' sustainability agendas. This disconnect suggests a research gap focused on how firm strategies and systems thinking support sustainability in the fashion sector. The research aims to identify how sustainable fashion leaders implement systems and best practices to achieve sustainable objectives through a knowledge discovery lens. A semi-structured qualitative interview method was used to explore the topic. The transcripts of the qualitative interviews were analyzed using NVivo software to facilitate the coding and analysis of data generated from the interviews. The targeted questions aim to identify Knowledge Discovery activities or strategies used to move sustainable objectives forward; the goals of this study are to explore: (1) What are the conceptualizations of sustainability in the fashion industry for sustainability leaders and their organizations? (2) How do those leaders and organizations discover the necessary knowledge to implement those conceptualizations? The findings suggest that sustainable (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Professional Studies (D.P.S.) in Instructional Design Leadership, Franklin University, 2022, International Institute for Innovative Instruction

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the interactions between two knowledge leadership behaviors as identified by Lakshman & Rai (2019) and four organizational cultural elements as identified as knowledge management enablers by Lee & Choi (2003), within the unique environment of a small- to medium-sized enterprise (SME). Knowledge management is a key driver in the financial success and long-term sustainability of a small business. The goal of this study was to understand if there is a relationship between the leadership behaviors and the knowledge management enablers to provide SME leaders with important evidence to support their efforts to adopt knowledge management practices within their company. Methodology This was a quantitative exploratory multi-variant study using a survey instrument that reused a combination of questions from two previous questionnaires. The questions were tested for content validity by a team of three experts and through the use of a pilot study to test for understandability and ease of use. The instrument was also tested for reliability using Cronbach's alpha. The reliability coefficients ranged from 0.79 to 0.84 confirming the internal consistency of the survey instrument. The data were analyzed using multiple linear regression with two independent variables and four dependent variables. The independent variables were the two leadership behaviors – role modeling (RM) and creating a climate that supports learning (CC). The four dependent variables were the organizational cultural traits known as knowledge management enablers – employee trust (T), collaboration (C), organizational learning (L), and IT support (IT). Findings The results of the analysis indicate that there is a statistically significant relationship between the leadership behavior of creating a climate that supports learning (CC) and employee trust (T), collaboration (C), organizational learning (L), and IT support (IT). There is also a statistically signi (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Business Administration, Case Western Reserve University, 2021, Weatherhead School of Management

A firm's performance depends on, among other factors, whether its staff is willing and able to share knowledge and learn from each other. These knowledge management activities have become crucial in today's business environment due to a high rate of technological and market change. At the same time, organizational knowledge exchange is rarely considered from the viewpoint of both the provider and the recipient and especially what prevents such processes. In this mixed-methods exploratory study, we address the following research questions: What types of knowledge exchange processes do organizational members engage in, and what prevents them from doing so? What leads to knowledge hiding, and what individual and organizational factors contribute to it? In the qualitative strand of the study, we explore personnel's knowledge-sharing experiences based on 29 in-depth interviews with knowledge workers sampled from the researcher's personal network. The responses indicate that both knowledge providers and receivers feel they have a well-established relationship with one another. The findings indicate that they enjoy sharing knowledge once they have built up trust. Our findings from the qualitative study indicate the factors that positively influence knowledge-sharing behavior, but they also show the significance and prevalence of knowledge hiding. To fill this gap, we conducted a survey in the quantitative strand of this study to identify the dimensionality of knowledge-hiding behaviors and detect antecedents of such behaviors. Our research question is as follows: What organizational and individual factors affect knowledge hiding? The research model was validated using 310 survey responses and showed that organizational support (as an organizational factor) and selfishness (as an individual factor) positively affect knowledge-hiding. Our study is one of the first to integrate both organizational identification theory and perceived organizational support into an individua (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Management, Case Western Reserve University, 2011, Weatherhead School of Management

This thesis examines the nature, utilization, evolution, and effects of knowledge sharing by comparing two industrial regional bioscience clusters at different stages of development. First, by focusing on the lived experience of each cluster's local agents, and second by empirically investigating the impact of potential and realized specialized and technical knowledge on firm performance in each cluster. Although regional industrial clusters have been widely researched, the nature of knowledge creation and dissemination as a driving force for industrial cluster competitiveness remains unclear. Our research reveals that contrary to extant research, foreign direct investment (FDI) by multinational companies (MNCs) can impact the development of local entrepreneurial ecosystem, and spatial structure is not a significant factor in the knowledge creation and dissemination process in the clusters. Firm-level knowledge absorption capabilities, social networks, and knowledge spillovers mechanisms, in contrast, significantly correlate to the increased formation of specialized bio-science knowledge in clusters.

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2018, Management

Learning through and from information technology/information systems (IT/IS) projects is key for organizations to execute on their strategic plans. Corporations utilize IT/IS projects to implement their strategic plans with the goal of increased revenue, enhanced competitive advantage, and increased operational efficiencies and to comply with governmental regulations. Projects and project teams can also serve as a medium to facilitate organizational learning. Learning is an essential characteristic of any project given project team members are tasked with developing new products and/or implementing new technical solutions to business problems. Studies have been performed to propose and test hypotheses related to frameworks for team learning in a variety of settings (e.g. construction, education, medical, manufacturing), but there are limited studies that present research on the antecedents for learning that occurs in the IT/IS project setting. Through this research, I seek to create the narrative of IT/IS projects as vehicles for learning within organizations. This study adopts a sequential exploratory mixed methods approach. In Study 1, I explored how project post-mortems contribute to organizational learning. My findings suggest that post-mortem practices can facilitate organizational learning, however, I found the lack of incentives to use the data, opportunities and weak mechanisms for sharing post-mortem knowledge are key barriers for using project- generated information for improved learning during post-mortems. In the second study, I sought to understand the antecedents to project team member learning during IT/IS projects. The results of the analysis show that risk management and project complexity have a direct positive impact on project team member learning, whereas the effect of innovativeness is fully mediated by autonomy. In the final study, I evaluated the effect of learning as part of an IT/IS project on the innovativeness of the organizati (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2017, Management

This dissertation explains leader effectiveness in the context of the senior information technology (IT) leader who plays a pivotal role in the execution and delivery of corporate IT services. Considered leaders of leaders, senior IT leaders typically report to the Chief Information Officer (CIO). Using a sequential three-phase mixed methods study the thesis makes four contributions; (1) through qualitative inquiry shows that effective senior IT leaders maintain a balance of domain knowledge and emotional and social aptitudes; (2) develops and validates a four-dimensional scale to measure the level of IT leader domain knowledge; (3) demonstrates nomological and predictive validity of the scale and evaluates the impact of IT leader domain knowledge in solving managerial problems and brokering knowledge to others; (4) the studies combine to a build cohesive argument that leadership credibility wherein technical domain knowledge forms the other component is a critical antecedent for leadership effectiveness. The validation is founded on a sample of 104 senior IT leaders and 490 IT leader subordinates within a global IT service firm. Overall, our findings suggest that the so far neglected effect of IT domain knowledge forms not only an important but vital component influencing overall senior IT leader effectiveness. This has consequences for both established theories of leader credibility and leader effectiveness in highly specialized technical domains. Practically the study underscores the importance of hiring and maintaining senior IT leaders with strong technical credentials.

Doctor of Education (EdD), Wright State University, 2016, Leadership Studies

The publication of the National Research Council's Framework for K-12 Science Education (2012) and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013) marked a turning point in science education characterized by a shift away from the idea that students should learn about a set of science facts and toward the idea that students should figure out core science ideas by solving problems and making sense of phenomena. To successfully realize the vision for science education that was articulated in the reform documents, teachers' science classroom practices will need to change, particularly at the elementary level. Science education research has suggested that teachers' science subject matter knowledge, topic specific professional knowledge, and beliefs about effective science instruction may impact teachers' implementation of classroom practices consistent with the reforms. The goal of this causal structural analysis using an ex post facto research design was to empirically test a proposed conceptual model for teachers' knowledge, beliefs, and practices and to examine the direct and indirect effects of science subject matter knowledge, topic specific professional knowledge, and beliefs about effective science instruction on teachers' implementation of science classroom practices consistent with the reforms. The sample for this study consisted of 731 elementary teachers who were surveyed as part of the 2012 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education. Structural equation modeling was used to test the overall model structure, the amount of variance in science classroom practices that could be explained by the model, and the direct and indirect effects of science subject matter knowledge, topic specific professional knowledge, and beliefs about effective science instruction on science classroom practices. Results from analyses supported the conclusion that science subject matter knowledge, topic specific professional knowledge, and beliefs abou (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Nursing Practice , Case Western Reserve University, 2014, School of Nursing

Abstract Genetic and genomic knowledge that may help with diagnosis and treatment of many diseases is currently emerging. Nurses must be able to incorporate an understanding of the influence of genetics and genomics into practice. This knowledge should be acquired during preparation for practice. The problem that was investigated by this study is that many nurses lack adequate genetic and genomic knowledge, and without that knowledge, essential genetic competencies cannot be appropriately integrated into practice. Using Everett Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation Theory as a framework, this descriptive comparative study was an attempt to determine a baseline level of genetic and genomic knowledge in Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) clinical and pre-clinical students; and to determine if there are differences in level of genetic and genomic knowledge between clinical and pre-clinical students. A convenience sample of 844 BSN students enrolled full-time in a four-year curriculum was solicited via email to complete a 31-item test of genetic and genomic knowledge. The response rate was 7.4% (N = 63). A statistically significant difference was noted in scores on the test of genetic knowledge with clinical students performing better than pre-clinical students. With a medium to large effect size (.73), alpha 0.05, beta .20, .80 power was achieved. Item analysis revealed potential weaknesses in the curriculum of one BSN program. Recommendations for future research were detailed.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Wright State University, 2012, Computer Science and Engineering PhD

I present a method for growing the amount of knowledge available on the Web using a hermeneutic method that involves background knowledge, Information Extraction techniques and validation through discourse and use of the extracted information. I present the metaphor of the "Circle of Knowledge on the Web". In this context, knowledge acquisition on the web is seen as analogous to the way scientific disciplines gradually increase the knowledge available in their field. Here, formal models of interest domains are created automatically or manually and then validated by implicit and explicit validation methods before the statements in the created models can be added to larger knowledge repositories, such as the Linked open Data cloud. This knowledge is then available for the next iteration of the knowledge acquisition cycle. I will both give a theoretical underpinning as well as practical methods for the acquisition of knowledge in collaborative systems. I will cover both the Knowledge Engineering angle as well as the Information Extraction angle of this problem. Unlike traditional approaches, however, this dissertation will show how Information Extraction can be incorporated into a mostly Knowledge Engineering based approach as well as how an Information Extraction-based approach can make use of engineered concept repositories. Validation is seen as an integral part of this systemic approach to knowledge acquisition. The centerpiece of the dissertation is a domain model extraction framework that implements the idea of the "Circle of Knowledge" to automatically create semantic models for domains of interest. It splits the involved Information Extraction tasks into that of Domain Definition, in which pertinent concepts are identified and categorized, and that of Domain Description, in which facts are extracted from free text that describe the extracted concepts. I then outline a social computing strategy for information validation in order to create knowledge from the (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2008, Human Factors and Industrial/Organizational Psychology MS

Current in-car navigation systems do not refer to environmental landmarks when providing directions to drivers. Instead, they provide guidance by presenting drivers with distance-to-turn information. Default displays use track-up map orientations. These display conditions do not facilitate the acquisition of spatial knowledge. As a consequence, drivers using these systems are unlikely to acquire spatial knowledge needed to judge the reasonableness of the directions they are receiving, leaving them susceptible to accepting directions that are grossly incorrect and dangerous (Forbes and Burnett, 2007). Landmarks have been shown to be critical sources of information when people acquire both route and configural spatial knowledge. By providing landmark information, route and configural knowledge acquisition could potentially be enhanced. Two experiments compared the use of specific landmarks versus generic landmarks. Measures of both configural and route knowledge were obtained. Landmarks were presented either generically or specifically in voice directions or as visual icons on the display. Both Hunt's distinctiveness theory (1993, 2003) and Paivio's dual-coding theory (1973, 2006) indicate that participants hearing specific voice directions while simultaneously viewing specific visual icons would perform better than those experiencing the other combinations. The two experiments produced conflicting results. Experiment 1 found large effects of both landmark specificity and map orientation. Participants acquired better configural spatial knowledge with specific than generic visual icons. Also, north-up maps led to better configural spatial knowledge than track-up maps. Experiment 2, which modified the procedure somewhat, found no reliable differences.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2010, Art Education

The purpose of this study was to identify how Visual Arts can play a pivotal role in the implementation of an integrated curriculum in elementary education. In order to increase my knowledge base I reviewed a body of theoretical and philosophical writings that revealed how the arts, especially Visual Arts, have been valued in the field of education. Next I use case study methodology to investigate how an exemplary Visual Arts educator/teacher has been putting theories to practice by providing state-of-the-art teaching and learning in, with, through and about Visual Arts, as well as how she has been using Visual Arts as anchor for and an engine to drive an integrated curriculum in an elementary school setting. I explained how the data was collected using a triangulation research design process. These included on site observations, reflective journaling, interviews, and artifacts and document analysis. I reported and analyzed the data to ascertain the knowledge, skills dispositions and commitments the Visual Arts teacher displayed that reflected theoretical and philosophical knowledge of best practices related to art education, general education and teacher education. After stating my findings, I made recommendations for how teachers in Jamaica can implement an integrated curriculum that is anchored and driven by the arts, especially Visual Arts.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2007, Educational Policy and Leadership

This investigation explores how in-service teachers conceptualize teaching, integrate the personal and the professional dimensions of their lives, and develop teacher identities. This instrumental case study of 10 teachers builds on the previous work regarding personalization of practical and professional educational knowledge. All teachers studied were teaching in a single urban charter school guided by an experiential philosophy. This qualitative investigation lasted for one school year and included extensive time observing and interviewing the teachers. This study found that major resources for these foundational processes are relational experiences, both informal and formal. A metaphor of a black box is used to describe an inner collection of influential and remembered events and is a place where the personal and professional meet. The black box emphasizes the relational aspects of teaching and is found to respond to two major influences: (a) biographical experiences, including K-12 experiences and personal qualities, and (b) the exploration of self as teacher, including developing perspectives of what it means to be a student. Other less defined qualities of the black box are passion and motivation, both linked to the main characteristic of the relational. This investigation reveals that teachers responding to a school's educational philosophy still conceptualize teaching through their own personal experiences. The study informs teacher educators that they must recognize how individuals develop their identities as teachers, rather than simply focusing on what teachers need to know to be teachers. The study found that preparation programs had limited impact on teacher development. Teachers emphasized a need for active learning that encourages taking the perspective of student and teacher. Further research on the personalization of teacher knowledge is needed to further develop the idea of the relational quality of teacher conceptualization and to identify how th (open full item for complete abstract)