Governors State University

Teachers consistently describe the development of expertise as central to their instructional success and long-term commitment to the profession. However, professional development and leadership structures often limit their ability to grow, influence colleagues, or shape schoolwide decisions. This mixed-methods study investigates the impact of current systems of professional learning and leadership on the empowerment of elementary teachers in suburban Chicago. Survey responses from twenty-six teachers and follow-up interviews with four participants reveal a central tension. Teachers are expected to differentiate instruction to meet the diverse needs of students, yet they often receive standardized professional development that disregards their experience, expertise, and classroom context. Teachers value learning that supports instructional improvement, but they report barriers that include limited implementation time, administrative demands, initiative fatigue, and the minimal relevance of externally delivered sessions. Using Bass and Riggio's transformational leadership framework, the analysis highlights how current systems fall short of individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation, and shared influence. Teachers propose differentiated professional development, teacher-led learning, protected collaboration time, and career pathways that enable advancement within the classroom. The study concludes that effective systems must recognize teachers as knowledgeable professionals and design professional learning and leadership structures that support autonomy, collaboration, and instructional impact.

The ideal Weyl "hydrogen-atom" semimetal exhibits only a single pair of Weyl nodes and no other trivial states at the Fermi energy. Such a material would be a panacea in the study of Weyl quasi-particles, allowing direct unambiguous observation of their topological properties. The alluaudite-like K2Mn3(AsO4)3 compound was recently proposed as such a material. Here, we use comprehensive experimental work and first-principle calculations to assess this prediction. We find K2Mn3(AsO4)3 crystallizes in the C2/c symmetry with a quasi-one-dimensional Mn sublattice, growing as small needle-like crystals. Bulk property measurements reveal magnetic transitions at approximate to 8 and approximate to 4 K, which neutron scattering experiments show correspond to two distinct magnetic orders, first a partially ordered ferrimagnetic k1 = (0, 0, 0) structure at 8 K and a second transition of k2 = (1, 0, 0) at 4 K to a fully ordered state. Below the second transition, both ordering vectors are necessary to describe the complex magnetic structure with modulated spin magnitudes. Both of the best-fit magnetic structures in this work are found to break the symmetry necessary for the generation of Weyl nodes, though one of the magnetic structures allowed by k1 does preserve this symmetry. However, the crystals are optically transparent and ellipsometry measurements reveal a large band gap, undermining expectations of semimetallic behavior. Density functional theory calculations predict an insulating antiferromagnetic ground state, in contrast to previous reports, and suggest potential frustration on the magnetic sublattice. Given the wide tunability of the alluaudite structure, we consider ways to push the system closer to a semimetallic state.

The study examines how generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) functioned as a coaching partner in three education preparation courses for future teachers and educational leaders. The courses included early childhood lesson planning, research writing in teacher preparation, and school improvement planning in educational leadership. A digital autoethnographic design guided the work, relying on student reflections, AI transcripts, and faculty reflections to understand how coaching interactions shaped thinking across programs. The design enabled instructors to examine their own positionalities while interpreting the digital records of student reasoning. Students reported gains in clarity, confidence, and alignment as they revised their work with AI supports. Several students noted that reflective questioning encouraged them to explain their decisions and refine their instructional or leadership plans. Others expressed caution when AI suggestions did not match their intentions or preferred frameworks. Faculty observed that the transcripts revealed misunderstandings and areas of growth that were not visible in traditional assignments. Recommendations for educator preparation emphasize the value of introducing AI coaching after students create their own drafts, requiring documentation of prompts, modeling reflective questioning, and preserving student agency. The study offers guidance for programs seeking to integrate GenAI as a reflective partner while supporting ethical engagement and professional judgment across the licensure spectrum.

Phosphorus (P) availability is often limited in subtropical acidic soils due to fixation by iron and aluminum oxides, constraining nutrient uptake and productivity in Camellia oleifera plantations. However, the mechanisms by which the effects of artificial nitrogen (N) application and natural N fixation via legume intercropping on soil P dynamics remain poorly understood. In this study, the independent effects of legume intercropping and N application on soil P fractions, soil biochemical properties and leaf nutrient content were investigated in C. oleifera plantations in subtropical China. Six treatments were applied: monoculture with weeding, monoculture without weeding, intercropping with Cassia tora or peanut, and monoculture with low or high N application (25 or 50 g urea per plant). Soil P fractions, soil organic carbon, total N, pH, ammonium (NH4+-N), nitrate (NO3--N), acid and alkaline phosphatase activities, and leaf C, N, and P contents were measured at the growth (July) and mature (September) stages. Results showed that both legume intercropping and low N application independently enhanced total and labile soil P, increased soil organic carbon, and improved leaf nutrient contents compared to the control. High N initially reduced labile P but partially recovered by maturity. Phosphatase activities declined at maturity but remained higher in intercropped and fertilized plots, indicating improved P cycling. Nitrate N concentrations increased from the growth stage to the mature stage. These results suggest that legume intercropping and N application, when applied independently, each promote soil P availability and plant nutrient uptake, highlighting practical strategies to enhance soil fertility and sustain C. oleifera production in subtropical acidic soils.

There is a great deal of inter-est in the synthesis and structural features of a newly emerged class of salt-inclusion solids (SISs), which are made of a hybrid framework exhibiting integrated covalent (metal oxides) and ionic (metal halides) structural units. In general, we explored the conditions under which desired phase formation occurs and, for this study, we selected one of the com-pounds in the series of salt-templated phosphates and arsenates, A 2 M 3(X 2O7)2·(salt) [where A = K, Rb, Cs; M = Mn, Cu; X = P, As] commonly known as CU-2 materials, which crystallize in two different space groups (I4/mcm and P4/nbm) due to the variation of the structural units. In our attempt to incorporate mixed Rb+/Na+ cations along with Cl- anions into the negatively charged framework, Cu3(P2O7)2 2-, the title com-pound, Rb9Na2Cu6(P2O7)4Cl7, nona-rubidium disodium hexa-copper(II) tetra-kis-(pyrophosphate) hepta-chloride, has been synthesized by employing a high-tem-per-a-ture RbCl/NaCl eutectic flux and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, revealing I4/mcm as the space group. In the title com-pound, the same negatively charged framework, Cu3(P2O7)2 2-, characteristic of the CU-2 materials, is retained, while the extended salt-like part of the structure, com-posed of mixed alkali metal chloride fragments, is different from the known CU-2 materials, and includes rarely seen corner-sharing {Na4Cl8} units.