In intervention studies, high rates of "implementation fidelity" are important markers of a study's success; however, the definition of implementation fidelity is both complex and dynamic. In this synthesis, we examined the dimensions of implementation fidelity measured and reported in 99 studies in which researchers utilized a…

Social-emotional learning has the power to change how educators deliver instruction across the country. For this article, social-emotional learning research and journal articles were reviewed for the purposes of identifying common themes among existing research. Multiple perspectives were considered in the review of literature and the findings…

Engagement behaviors are crucial for school success and are often targeted for improvement in school-based interventions. It may be helpful for both researchers and school-based practitioners to understand the likely impacts of interventions on engagement behaviors (e.g., to understand the extent to which engagement behaviors might change with…

Background: Schools need to implement universal student supports that prevent social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties; minimize associated risks; and promote social, emotional, and behavioral competencies. The purpose of this study is to examine the efficacy of the Helping Educational Leaders Mobilize Evidence (HELM) implementation strategy…

Interactive read-alouds are versatile in that teachers can teach an array of literacy skills through this instructional strategy. However, our observations of six primary grade teachers and prior research revealed that teachers' implementation of interactive read-alouds varies. Without the necessary planning and preparation for interactive…

Are our schools doing enough to create environments where learners are motivated to learn, and can problem solve and be autonomous in their learning? The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine a sample of schools in Indiana and determine to what extent they are utilizing research-based methods to ensure an environment where learners…

Starting in the 2019-2020 school year, NewSchools Venture Fund awarded a research grant to ACT to better understand factors related to social and emotional learning (SEL). SEL lessons were implemented in schools serving students who were 96% Latinx, 85% economically disadvantaged, and 38% English learners during the 2019-2020 school year. The…

Energy literacy is high on the agenda in the education sector, including in the contexts of primary and middle schools. It has the purpose of building awareness of wise energy use. A systematic review of various energy literacy studies in the period 2010-2021 was conducted to explore study trend, research methods, and adapted energy literacy…

Treatment integrity (TI) refers to the degree to which an intervention is implemented as intended. We analyzed 67 youth intervention studies published in "Professional School Counseling" from 1997 to 2018. More than half (55%) of the interventions were operationally defined and 16.4% of the studies monitored TI, but only 6%…

Although evidence suggests significant and positive relationships between School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) implementation and student outcomes, research is still needed to review and consolidate this existing literature base. The current study synthesized findings from 55 cases in order to better understand the…

"Literacy Design Collaborative" aims to help teachers improve their effectiveness in the classroom with a focus on supporting their literacy instruction. "Literacy Design Collaborative" provides professional development, coaching, and resources to support teachers to work collaboratively in their schools to create and use…

"Literacy Design Collaborative" aims to help teachers improve their effectiveness in the classroom with a focus on supporting their literacy instruction. "Literacy Design Collaborative" provides professional development, coaching, and resources to support teachers to work collaboratively in their schools to create and use…

This manuscript describes a major revision and update of the First Step to Success Early Intervention Program, now called First Step Next. The original First Step Program was published in 1997 and the revised, updated version was published in 2015 (Walker et al.). First Step Next is a collaborative, Tier II school- and family-supported early…

High-quality professional development is needed to prepare teachers to help students learn how to conduct online academic research and meet Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts. This study created and evaluated a Web-based professional development program with five instructional modules designed to prepare middle-school teachers…

Purpose: This paper is second of seven in this volume elaborating different approaches to quality improvement in education. It delineates a methodology called design-based implementation research (DBIR). The approach used in this paper is aimed at iteratively improving the quality of classroom teaching and learning practices in defined problem…