How would instruction and student learning improve if educators made the time to really understand and practice a new curriculum before implementing it in classrooms with students? In Orange County, California, educators are finding out by testing an approach of preimplementation professional learning for a full year before applying a new…

Project With is an innovative, literary-based curriculum designed for justice-involved youth. The curriculum has 12 lessons in which youth read a literary selection, such as a short story or poem; discuss the literary work with their peers and a facilitator; and participate in an activity aligned with the lesson's main idea. Project With can be…

Focusing on a large study of the implementation of secondary English Language Arts curriculum in California and Washington, we assess how teachers use learning goals to support students developing expert learning practices. Highlighting the value of goal setting to support students' agency in learning to write, we describe teachers' reasons for…

The focus of this qualitative descriptive study was on what undergraduate faculty at 4-year Christian universities or colleges in California have experienced and what recommendations they have pertaining to the use of scripted syllabi in teaching online courses. Ted Aoki's theory on curriculum implementation as a situational praxis was used as the…

In fall 2013, The Teagle Foundation issued an RFP inviting selected institutions and organizations to apply for grants that addressed the following question: "How can faculty work together to create a more coherent and intentional curriculum whose goals, pathways, and outcomes are clear to students and other constituencies with a stake in the…

More than fifteen years ago, the Hewlett Foundation commissioned the researchers at SRI International to create the first comprehensive, statewide study of arts education in California. The resulting report, 2007's "An Unfinished Canvas," revealed the degree to which California was failing to provide standards-based courses in arts…

This paper is part of the special issue on Teacher Learning and Practice within Organizational Contexts. Shifting instructional practices in elementary schools to include more equitable, reform-based pedagogies is imperative for supporting students' development as science learners. Teachers need high quality professional development (PD) to learn…

This qualitative study examined the experiences and perspectives of five high school teachers in a suburban area in Northern California. It investigated how each mainstream content teacher adapted their curriculum for their Newcomer Emergent Bilingual students. A Newcomer Emergent Bilingual student is one who has recently immigrated to the United…

This report presents the findings from an independent evaluation conducted by WestEd on the Expository Reading and Writing Curriculum (ERWC). Funded by an Investing in Innovation (i3) Validation grant, the ERWC is a grade 11 and grade 12 English language arts (ELA) curriculum developed by the California State University. The independent evaluation…

The purpose of this report is to provide findings from the Abt Global independent evaluation of the PreK-12 STEM Pathway program. The Community Training and Assistance Center (CTAC), a nonprofit organization focused on supporting educational innovation and community change, received an Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Early Phase grant from…

In October 2021, California passed Assembly Bill No. 101, making it the first state in the nation to add ethnic studies as a high school graduation requirement. Ethnic studies programs provide students with a comprehensive understanding of diverse cultures, histories, and perspectives, while fostering inclusive learning environments and empowering…

If a "curriculum" -- a set of instructional materials intended as a comprehensive course of study for a particular subject and grade level -- is well-aligned with state standards, it can help teachers deliver instruction that leads to students' mastery of those standards. However, most research suggests that curricula, in themselves, are…

In this study, we reflected on the process of designing and implementing a civics curriculum model focused on increasing upper-grade secondary students' involvement in local civic activity. We prioritized examining the challenges and possibilities of institutionalizing partnerships between teachers, students, community leaders, and local…

This study is a hermeneutic phenomenological investigation into the lived experiences of teachers implementing the National Core Art Standards alongside the California Visual Art Standards, with a specific lens on culturally responsive teaching practices. Utilizing Geneva Gay's theoretical framework for culturally responsive teaching, this study…

Rural students often face challenges in receiving high-quality education in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Yet without meaningful STEM educational opportunities, rural students might not develop the knowledge and skills needed to compete in a technology-driven workforce. The Learning by Making program (LbyM), an innovative…