Understanding the difference between summative and formative assessments is still unclear for many teachers and principals as well as the effects formative assessments have on student learning outcomes. This quantitative study was conducted to explicitly explore formative assessments as a means to improve student learning outcomes, while examining…

High-impact educational practices can promote student involvement and learning outcomes, but are rarely tested in the community college setting--where involvement is a typical challenge to student success. For Family Child Care (FCC) providers, who tend to be older and overworked, higher-education training can be especially difficult. The present…

From the cutting edge of innovations in online education comes the MOOC (Massive Open Online Course), a potentially disruptive and transformational mechanism for large-scale learning. What's the role of librarians in a MOOC? What can librarians learn from participating in a large-scale professional development opportunity delivered in an open…

This brief documents the expansion of instructional specialist staffing in U.S. public school districts. We use data from the National Center of Education Statistics' annual Common Core of Data to chart staffing trends in public school districts between 1997-98 and 2012-13. The number of instructional specialists per 1,000 U.S students doubled…

This brief documents the expansion of instructional specialist staffing in U.S. public school districts. We use data from the National Center of Education Statistics' annual Common Core of Data to chart staffing trends in public school districts between 1997-1998 and 2012-2013. The number of instructional specialists per 1,000 U.S students doubled…

The Professional Development Portfolio (PDP) in family and consumer sciences nutrition and dietetics programs is a tool that can help students in their transition to professionals. Significant issues in the portfolio development process are: content selection, decision to create paper or online formatting, determination of proper timing to begin…

Every Classroom, Every Day (ECED) is a set of instructional improvement interventions designed to increase student achievement in math and English/language arts (ELA). ECED includes three primary components: (a) systematic classroom observations by school leaders, (b) intensive professional development and support for math teachers and…

Pedagogical competence and teaching efficacy significantly influence the quality of classroom science learning. Without applying pedagogical learning in realistic classroom environments, there is slight possibility that prospective teachers will increase their teaching confidence or develop understanding of how learners acquire and construct…

The purpose of this study is to examine the professional standards and competencies that California community college student government advisors perceive as important, their confidence level in those professional standards and competencies and the role that they believe professional organizations can play in developing those skills. This study…

This study examined how science teachers' knowledge of research methods, neuroscience and drug addiction changed through their participation in a 5-day summer science institute. The data for this study evolved from a four-year NIH funded science education project called Addiction Research and Investigation for Science Educators (ARISE). Findings…

In response to budgetary constraints, a new staffing structure, the Pilot Leadership Plan, was proposed for California's 4-H Youth Development Program. County clusters were formed, each led by a coordinator. The plan was piloted for 2 years to provide insight into how county clustering could support Extension staff to increase and enhance program…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the knowledge, skills, abilities and traits environmental engineers need. Two questions were asked: what skills are considered important, and where are they learned? Dreyfus and Dreyfus' novice-to-expert model, which describes a progressive, five-step process of skill development that occurs over time…

This research study investigated the leadership behaviors and organizational frames utilized by two veteran superintendents of medium sized school districts in California to address issues of academic performance in their respective districts as perceived by the superintendents and their respective board members and principals. Current…

"Literacy Express" is a comprehensive preschool curriculum designed for three- to five-year-old children. It is structured around units on oral language, emergent literacy, basic math, science, general knowledge, and socio-emotional development. It can be used in half- or full-day programs with typically developing children and children…

Research findings demonstrate that PDSs effectively prepare general education teachers and lead to increased student academic outcomes. Previous studies within the extant literature have investigated the application of the PDS model with traditional credential candidates. Acute teacher shortages and the implementation of alternative credential…