The Learner Experience Design (LXD) framework enables educators to create engaging and relevant learning experiences by considering students' backgrounds, motivations, challenges, frustrations, emotions, and needs, alongside their interactions with faculty, staff, and peers. The LXD methodology involves three steps: research, design, and…

With most K-12 students having transitioned back into the classroom after a period of distance learning prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, many educators are considering how to redefine traditional models of teaching and learning, including how they might strengthen school climate conditions so that all learners feel safe and supported. One…

For the past three academic years, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted learning and the relationships between teachers, students, families, and communities that are at the heart of education. Even as school buildings reopened to in-person instruction, periodic quarantines, social distancing, and canceled events had a profound impact on students'…

Data use is considered a key lever in school improvement processes, but the punitive pressure of high-stakes accountability can influence whether or not data use is enacted in ways which facilitate improvement. School leaders must learn to respond to high-stakes accountability in ways which lead teachers to feel safe, efficacious, and agentic with…

My study was to discover the perceptions of general secondary senior high school biology teachers about the application of curriculum 2013. Their further opinions of biology topics and the instructional practices in the class have supported the findings of this study. In addressing this study, general senior secondary school (GSSS) biology…

Evaluating major post-secondary education improvement projects involves multiple perspectives, including students' perceptions of their experiences. In the final year of a seven-year department-wide science education initiative, we asked students in 48 courses to rate the extent to which each of 39 teaching or learning strategies helped them learn…

This paper describes validity of quality improvement system (QIS) performance measures and longitudinal change over four years in Oklahoma 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) programs. In general, our findings indicate that the Oklahoma Afterschool Improvement Process is performing in accordance with its purposes: using accurate…

Here is what our work uniquely brings to policy and planning tables: (1) An expanded framework for school improvement--We highlight that moving from a two- to a three-component policy and practice framework is essential for closing the opportunity and achievement gaps. (That is, expanding from focusing primarily on instruction and…

Why school? The 48th Annual PDK Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools included questions about the purpose of schooling, standards, homework, school funding, and parents' relationships with their schools. The 2016 poll, which was conducted by Langer Research Associates, was based on a telephone poll of 1,221 adults during April…