This study was designed to gather special education teachers' perceptions of the role and effectiveness of paraprofessionals who work with students with special needs. Participants were special education teachers who were members of an organization specifically dedicated to special education instruction, special education teachers, school…

Literacy is at the center of any teacher's preparation program in the United States. Students in K-12 schools need systematic and effective literacy instruction to acquire foundational knowledge crucial to their success in college and beyond. This paper discusses how teacher's preparation programs can support the preparation of pre-service…

Research shows that desirable difficulties as achieved with spaced repetition, interleaving, and retrieval (SIR) have positive long-term impacts on student learning, because the learning sticks. This book guides you through these three techniques for a more brain-compatible classroom geared toward student success. Combing through research for…

There is a contradiction in the literature about the effect of REACT strategy on science achievement. This study aims to resolve this contradiction by determining the effect of REACT strategy on student science achievement and the factors affecting this strategy by integrating findings obtained from both qualitative and quantitative studies. The…

Nevada has recently taken considerable steps to reform English learner (EL) education across the state with teacher development as a primary focus. Educational reform agendas necessitate that teachers not only rethink their practices but teach in novel ways. It has been argued that teacher development through graduate education and other…

California's Statewide Prevention and Early Intervention (PEI) activities funded by the California Mental Health Services Authority (CalMHSA) under Proposition 63 included PEI training in mental health for staff from K-12 schools in California. RAND evaluated a subset of these PEI trainings using an anonymous survey that asked participants to…

The purpose of this study was to provide insight into contextual factors predicting the extent of principals' sense of self-efficacy, or capacity, for instructional leadership, school management, and parent engagement in public schools in the city of Bishkek following Kyrgyzstan's decentralization reforms post-independence. Findings indicate three…

In addition to teaching the subject matter, online teachers are tasked with supporting students' understanding of the online environment as well as students' progress, engagement, and interactions within the course. Yet only four states and the District of Columbia require teachers to receive training in online instruction prior to teaching a K-12…

Background and Context: Vygotsky's sociocultural theory emphasises the importance of language, mediation, and the transfer of skills and knowledge from the social into the cognitive plane. This perspective has influenced the development of PRIMM (Predict, Run, Investigate, Modify, Make), a structured approach to teaching programming. Objective:…

In this meta-analysis of 45 studies involving students in grades 2-12, the authors present evidence on the effects of text structure instruction on the expository reading comprehension of students. The meta-analysis was deigned to answer two sets of questions. The first set of questions examined the effectiveness of text structure instruction on…

In this meta-analysis of 45 studies involving students in Grades 2-12, the authors present evidence on the effects of text structure instruction on the expository reading comprehension of students. The meta-analysis was deigned to answer 2 sets of questions. The first set of questions examined the effectiveness of text structure instruction on…

Using data from the 2003-04 Schools and Staffing Survey, the authors studied how various aspects of teacher preparation affect the retention of new teachers--specifically mathematics and science teachers. They found that the preparation of new mathematics and science teachers differs from that of other new teachers in various respects, but factors…

The rapid turnover of novice teachers is a stubborn challenge plaguing schools across the country. The field has come to some consensus about key elements of effective novice teacher support that have potential to ameliorate this problem, although this knowledge has been applied in an inconsistent fashion. Beginning teacher support is a complex…

This report is the second in a series from a collaboration of nine leading organizations working to advance teaching and elevate the profession. For years, education leaders have sought to pinpoint how teachers become effective in order to better leverage teachers' impact on student learning and improve student outcomes. Teacher leadership is…

The Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) is increasingly used as an instructional framework to help elementary and secondary teachers support English language learners (ELLs). This useful tool has helped teachers gain the knowledge, skills, and dispositions they need to support ELLs learn subject-area content and skills while learning…