In each issue of "The Learning Professional," Joellen Killion explores a recent research study to help practitioners understand the impact of particular professional learning practices on student outcomes. In this issue, Killion explores the study presented in "The Effect of Teacher Coaching on Instruction and Achievement: A…

In recent decades, research and practice have shown that investing in a positive school-wide social culture is a key component of effective education. Evidence demonstrates that educators and students succeed when students are present, engaged, socially secure, and academically successful. Developed by 2M Research in conjunction with an expert…

At a time when more and more of what people learn both in formal courses and in everyday life is mediated by technology, "Learning Online" provides a much-needed guide to different forms and applications of online learning. This book describes how online learning is being used in both K-12 and higher education settings as well as in…

This article describes the successful stories of the Early Mathematics Education Project at Erikson Institute in Chicago. It intends to address three questions related to the project's work: What is the purpose and scope of the program? How does the program work to enhance the mathematical competence of early childhood teachers? What are the…

Animated pedagogical agents (APAs) have the potential to provide one-on-one, just-in-time instruction, guidance or mentoring in classrooms where such individualized human interactions may be infeasible. Much current APA research focuses on a wide range of design variables tested with small samples or in laboratory settings, while overlooking…

This paper offers a case history of one university academic department's experience with the pressure to create online scholarship opportunities for professional educators. As tertiary education transforms its course delivery to Web-based learning management platforms, instructors are challenged to transform career-long practice suddenly and…

The article describes the steps taken to develop and implement a learning-styles-based instructional approach in a 1300-student high school in Corsicana, Texas. Noted are positive effects on students, teachers, achievement, attitudes, and behavior. (DB)

In addition to describing the readers' workshop concept, this book provides practical suggestions and mini-lessons that will help teachers set up their own workshop and assess its effectiveness. The book notes that readers' workshop is a child-centered approach to teaching reading that brings the "real" world of reading into the…

This handbook introduces some fundamental ideas on designing, implementing, and facilitating a distance learning course. It offers specific strategies for topics ranging from choosing delivery technologies to encouraging collaboration among scattered distance-learning students to testing and other evaluation methodologies. The book is broken down…

This paper discusses research on cooperative learning, shows how it can help meet student needs in heterogeneous classes, addresses how to overcome potential problems, and offers implementation guidelines. It also provides a framework for initiating cooperative learning in ways that reduce or eliminate resistance. (Author/JDD)

After implementing changes in language arts instruction, the principal--who is in a key position to sustain or institutionalize the changes--faces several responsibilities. Factors involved in directing innovations to become "built in" to school programs include solving specific problems, sharing decision-making responsibilities, upgrading and…

The Utah Elementary Integration Model places students with severe disabilities in neighborhood schools that provide supported integration in age-appropriate grade-level homerooms, peer-referenced and community-referenced curriculum, a transdisciplinary team approach, and data-based training in natural settings. Twenty-seven participants achieved…

The monograph describes Project INTERFACE, a 2-year collaborative effort among the Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) of Nassau County (New York), Long Island University, and three local school districts. The project identified the "most effective" implementation strategies for integrating microcomputer instruction into…

The guide, developed by the Secondary Transition and Employment Project (STEP) in Idaho, provides an overview of its sequential vocational curriculum intended to help students with mild, moderate, and severe handicaps to: (1) identify their vocational preferences and aptitudes; (2) use community resources to find out about jobs; (3) observe and…

This literature review examined the effectiveness of seven training programs for parents of junior high school students with learning disabilities. Parent training usually resulted in an increase in desired behaviors both at home and at school; difficulties encountered in parent training programs included lack of cooperation from parents and a…