The Primary Education Thinking Skills program (PETS) was implemented in three third grade classes and two kindergarten classes in a Title I school. The PETS program is a Talent Development program designed to teach students critical thinking skills and other gifted behaviors with the expressed goal of the program's creators that the regular…

Much research on educational innovations treats them as purposeful endeavours, initiated with a clear goal for improvement of practice and eventually evaluating the fidelity of their implementation as well as effectiveness. However, innovative practices in schools can have many sources and their implementation often takes a surprising and…

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) and the Professional Educator Preparation and Standards Commission (PEPSC) of the State Board of Education are working on a new teacher licensure pathways proposal, Pathways to Excellence for Teaching Professionals (Model). This proposal, if enacted, would restructure the state's system…

Many schools identified by states as needing improvement through their Elementary and Secondary Education Act waivers have selected Response to Intervention (RTI), a three-tiered instruction program sometimes referred to as tiered levels of instruction, as one of their main strategies for improving school performance and closing achievement gaps.…

Regional Educational Laboratory Midwest assisted Milwaukee Public Schools in developing a fidelity monitoring system for measuring schools' progress in implementing Response to Intervention (RTI). The study examined the ratings produced by that system to determine the system's reliability, schools' progress in implementing RTI, and whether ratings…

This article investigates an innovative approach that has as its aim to ensure that more students complete secondary education. The national program, called "Competence for Diversity," puts emphasis on children with minority language background, that is, children with another first language(s) than the Norwegian national languages. In…

Teaching science to diverse learners can be a demanding and challenging task. Teachers may be underprepared and thus unsure of how to best address the needs of their students in their classroom. One approach to helping teachers is through professional development. Yet, programs that focus mainly on science or special education can fail to fully…

In this volume, highly regarded authors in the field of reading research share what they know about today's hottest topic in education--Response to Intervention (RTI), the key to helping struggling students "before they fall behind." More than 30 expert contributors reveal what the latest research says about RTI's Three-Tier Approach:…

Rates of childhood overweight have reached epidemic proportions (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2001), and schools have been called on to play a role in the prevention of this medical condition. This article describes a multiyear health promotion effort--the Athletes in Service fruit and vegetable (F&V) promotion program--which…