Supporting and empowering special education teachers is essential for student success, as author Breauna C. Wall emphasizes with this guide. She advocates for reform in special education programs, including robust systems of support, mentoring, and ongoing professional learning for special education teachers. These efforts promote effective…

In response to national concerns a decade ago, driven by research that showed that higher education was making little impact on students' development of broad competencies and critical thinking, the provost and president of Purdue University, a research university, instituted a program whose goals were to build on the accumulated knowledge on…

By the end of this decade, the U.S. economy will annually create hundreds of thousands of new jobs requiring a bachelor's degree in STEM fields, particularly computer science. This increasing need for computer scientists, coupled with an inconsistent agenda for managing dramatic shifts in the demographic landscape of higher education, compromises…

A four-step process for effective equity practices in schools, with an array of professional development activities, leadership tips, and downloadable tools. Recent years have brought new calls to dismantle discriminatory policies and practices in U.S. schools. But adopting an equity focus doesn't guarantee the desired results. There's a risk that…

Faculty development is a cornerstone of institutional success in higher education. This paper explores the critical role that institutional leadership plays in fostering faculty growth, enhancing teaching effectiveness, and promoting research innovation. Drawing on empirical studies and theoretical frameworks, the research highlights the influence…

The primary purpose of this publication is to provide those involved in special education teacher preparation and professional development with a set of high-leverage practices (HLPs) that were identified through consensus among special educators. These HLPs may be used to design a cohesive set of practice based opportunities to support teacher…

Highly effective teachers and school leaders are of utmost importance to improve student achievement and ensure the success of the education system. Unfortunately, students in underserved schools are not provided equitable access to effective teachers and leaders. For this reason, many states and districts have implemented evidence-based talent…

Teachers cannot become great unless they are given the time, support, and tools to grow in their professional practice. Written for teachers, coaches, and educational leaders, this resource offers a paradigm-shifting approach to teacher development and evaluation. The authors share research-backed steps for improvement, outline the principles for…

How do you introduce the science of learning to your faculty? How do you leverage professional development to ensure that teachers continually apply that science within their classrooms? How can you maximize learning in your classroom through the use of researched and evidence-informed strategies? These are the questions Patrice Bain sets out to…

To meet the dynamic academic demands of twenty-first century digital learners, many institutions of higher learning are offering more online classes than ever before that are accessible to both traditional and non-traditional learners. As such, a growing demand for online courses implies that participating institutions provide faculty with…

Professional learning communities (PLCs) are an essential avenue for high-quality change and work. Maintaining unity among groups with differing opinions is challenging. This mixed-methods study aimed to assess elementary teachers' current perceptions of PLCs to determine their effectiveness by answering four research questions: What are the…

Declining academic performance, along with a growing apathy of students toward the value of education, demonstrates that students in the United States public education system do not recognize the value of a positive experience in middle schools. A plethora of research and writing has been done on elementary schools and secondary schools, but…

Meaningful growth in teacher practice comes when we invest in teacher-led, inquiry-based collaborative models where teachers get to roll up their sleeves and study what's really going on in classrooms. "Lab Class" introduces an observation-based professional learning design that helps teachers collaboratively plan, investigate, and…

The COVID-19 pandemic has created disruptions in the teacher workforce, including reductions-in-force due to budget cuts, hesitation from teachers to return in-person to the classroom, and relaxed standards for entering the profession. Even before the current pandemic, teacher hiring decisions were often late, rushed, and information-poor.…

This book combines theory and research from educational and organizational psychology to provide guidance on improving the teacher selection process and, subsequently, educational outcomes for all students. The book identifies the characteristics of effective teachers, analyzes research on selection practices, and examines new approaches to…