The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on university faculty, unduly those from underrepresented groups, causing many faculty to disengage. Writing communities represent a promising tool to (re-)engage faculty and build an inclusive climate. As part of U See I Write, a faculty development initiative at the University of California, Irvine, we…

The problem of practice addressed in this mixed-methods research study is assessing whether participating in professional development workshops helped community college instructors improve their pedagogical practices, leading to improved student success and achievement rates. In this study, I explore the effects of an intervention I designed to…

Although interest in blended learning for students has grown within elementary and secondary school contexts, limited research exists on the implementation of blended professional development (PD) for teachers. The current mixed-method action research study examined teacher participation in blended learning PD in a large California district,…

Today's college and career-ready standards emphasize developing students' ability to interpret and analyze complex texts and to assert and defend claims relating to those texts in extended pieces of writing. By providing secondary English language arts teachers with professional development and instructional materials, the UC Irvine Writing…

The paper evaluates math performance at four high-need middle schools during a four-year intervention, which was designed to help math teachers diagnose students' areas of need and to design lesson plans responsive to those needs. Before the intervention began, the researchers pre-selected four comparison schools by matching based on achievement…

Lesson study, especially when conducted with support from targeted resources, is often identified as a potentially effective means to support teacher learning. In this study, 80 school-based teams of educators, representing 80 classrooms of third- or fourth-grade students in the US, were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: lesson study…

Nation-wide, the number of English Language Learners (ELL) in our classrooms continues to increase. Twenty percent of students enrolled in California public schools are ELLs, the highest percentage in the nation. With the continuously growing number of ELLs in our classrooms, our mainstream teachers must be prepared to teach content and meet the…

This study reports on the effects of professional development (PD) training programs on faculty's perceptions and uses of technology for teaching and learning using mixed methods. Collected data include survey questionnaires to faculty at a school of education (N = 47) and focus group interviews on nine participants. The qualitative findings…

Classroom Pivotal Response Teaching (CPRT) is a community-partnered adaptation of a naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention identified as an evidence-based practice for autistic children. The current study evaluated student outcomes in a randomized, wait-list controlled implementation trial across classrooms. Participants included…

The systemic oppression in the United States can be found when educational institutions expand the divide between the "haves" and the "have-nots." There is a historical pattern of schools serving the most marginalized communities receiving novice teachers and experiencing high teacher turnover, a pattern that has to be…

This article explores the parallels between improvisational theater, commonly known as improv, and active teaching. Specifically, it focuses in the impact of improv techniques on instructor and teaching assistant professional development. The implementation of an active teaching seminar is analyzed, where improv techniques were used in developing…

The University of California, Irvine Writing Project's (UCI Writing Project's) Pathway to Academic Success project (Pathway) aims to improve students' academic writing through professional development for secondary English language arts (ELA) and advanced English language development (ELD) teachers. Based on evidence of Pathway's previous success…

Since professional learning is about shifting adult mindsets and behavior, it is work that frequently challenges assumptions, expectations, beliefs, instructional practices, and long-standing habits. To have meaningful and productive conversations about evaluation and data, educators must be equipped with effective practices and tools that allow…

Most teachers report wanting more training and support to teach autistic students. Individual, autism-focused coaching is a promising approach for improving teacher self-efficacy and autistic student outcomes. Given the high workload demands of coaching, it must be feasible and acceptable. This study considers coaches', teachers', and autistic…

As Artificial Intelligence within education becomes increasingly important, Digital Promise reviewed the guidance documents released by seven states--California, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Virginia, Washington state, and West Virginia--on how to approach artificial intelligence (AI) in education. Throughout this report the authors summarize the…