It can be difficult to navigate the tasks of repertoire selection and part assignments in a way that produces a successful performance product while also being educationally beneficial to all students. However, researchers have explored methods of ensuring these goals through repertoire selection. In this article, I present ideas for how educators…

Odyssey of the Mind is an international creative problem-solving program that allows participants to engage in spontaneous thinking and long-term analytical activities. This program has been in existence for 40 years and involved thousands of participants from around the globe. In September 2018, coaches and judges from a region in a Southern…

Students' ability to apply mathematical knowledge to various situations has been one of the major concerns in mathematics education research. However, little is known about the assessment strategies that have a substantial contribution to the development of mathematical problem-solving skills in kindergarten children through to upper secondary…

Bogotch (2002) proposed that educational leadership cannot be separated from social justice, and this is a sentiment that is taken to heart at an urban Title-1 school district in Houston, Texas. To intentionally address the need for such alignment between mission and practice, the district implemented a recruitment and talent development…

Many principal supervisors in the United States work in relative isolation and experience no professional development designed to support them. Over the past four years, the role of principal supervisor in Long Beach Unified School District in California has shifted from compliance and at-a-distance supervision practices to a deeply rooted…

After nearly two decades of federal and state accountability requirements relying on conventional standardized assessments, Virginia and several other states are moving to create more balanced approaches to statewide assessment systems that include the use of performance assessments. But Palm (2008) states, "Performance assessment can mean…

Historically, deep learning opportunities have occurred in schools attended by this country's most advantaged students, and there have been few successful efforts to systemically create the structures and policies necessary to ensure every student has access to this type of learning. The New Tech Network, a network of more than 200 elementary,…

For more than 30 years, Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) has partnered with states, districts and schools to identify and implement strategies that empower young people to connect what they learn in the classroom with the world of work. Their efforts began in 1987 with High Schools That Work, SREB's premier school improvement process. This…

Problem solving is considered a fundamental human skill. However, large-scale assessment of problem solving in K-12 education remains a challenging task. Researchers have argued for the development of an enhanced assessment approach through joint effort from multiple disciplines. In this study, a three-stage approach based on an evidence-centered…

Principals' wheelbarrows are full of initiatives: closing learning gaps, preparing for the Common Core State Standards, differentiating instruction, and improving college and career readiness, to name a few. Meanwhile, principals have too few assets in their toolboxes to meet all the hefty demands. Taking the long view, it becomes clear that true…

Large-scale numeracy assessments are intended to facilitate the improvement of educational outcomes; however, it is not clear exactly how this is to be achieved. To move towards the goal of numeracy for all, it is necessary to systematically address issues that are known to be difficult, pervasive and persistent. This paper includes an analysis of…

The Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) framework, which uses a systems approach to promote school improvement and support all students in improving academics and behavior using data-based problem-solving, is a key part of the Wake County Public Schools System (WCPSS) Strategic Plan. As of 2017-18, MTSS schools were at the initial stages of MTSS…

In looking at successful inquiry activities, patterns in pedagogical approach emerge (Meyer et al. 2011). This article discusses one such approach--the design challenge. A design challenge can be defined as an activity in which students are given an explicit task to create a product that meets a defined goal. However, simply asking students to…

Disciplines and professions each have their own methods of inquiry. This article outlines the commonalities as well as the differences and describes the relationship between the disciplines and the professions. The emphasis is on consulting because this is the profession with which we are concerned. There are three different approaches in…

To meet the growing demand for teacher learning opportunities, the educational community must create scalable professional development models and study their effectiveness. In this chapter, we argue that design-based implementation research (DBIR) is ideally suited to these efforts, and we use two research projects as illustrative cases: CSR…