Learning Management System (LMS) implementations have become more complex: as new features and capabilities become available, as transitioning between LMSs occurs, and as implementation strategy needs have transformed. The problem explored was the suspected use of outdated frameworks in LMS implementations that may result in user perceptions that…

The authors present this interview with Eric Chiang, Associate Professor of Economics, Director of Instructional Technology, and Technology Director for the Online MBA Program at Florida Atlantic University. He has authored 26 peer-reviewed research publications and is the author of "CoreEconomics," an economic principles textbook now in…

Teaching assistants (TAs) that lead reformed recitations and labs must understand and buy into the design of the course and the research-based instructional strategies that the course requires in order to create high-fidelity implementations. We present a model that outlines possible influences on TAs' buy-in and their in-class actions coupled…

The Center for Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) conducted a multiyear, multimethod effort to learn how school districts, charter schools, and regional partners can support the successful implementation, expansion, and sustainability of personalized learning (PL) in schools. The vision for PL is to tailor instruction to individual students'…

Due to the growing importance of the professional role of teachers, effective evaluation practices are essential to ensuring highly qualified educators. The problem addressed was how Volusia County School teachers in the state of Florida experienced the teacher evaluation process and how that impacted the effectiveness of instructional practices…

School districts are required to provide special education students with the same education benefits available to other students at their grade level, but meeting the needs of special education students continues to be challenging as most programs provide only one teacher rather than seeking the expertise of content area specialists. Co-teaching…

To improve the U.S. education system through more-effective classroom teaching, in school year 2009-2010, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced four Intensive Partnership for Effective Teaching sites. The Intensive Partnerships Initiative is based on the premise that efforts to improve instruction can benefit from high-quality measures…

Can districts and charter management organizations (CMOs) use contemporary ideas about teacher evaluation, management, and support to spark big improvements in student outcomes? To answer this question, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched the Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching initiative with seven sites across the country…

This document provides the final two appendixes for "Improving Teaching Effectiveness: Implementation. The Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching through 2013-2014" (ED580306). Appendix D provides detailed discussions of lever implementation for each site along with the detailed coded lever tables. Appendix E summarizes the…

The incredible growth rates and increased enrollments in virtual physical education (VPE), otherwise known as K-12 online physical education, continue to rise. VPE has the potential to service K-12 student learning in independent and self-paced curriculum. However, VPE brings a healthy skepticism among the profession. To this point, it is…

This study reviews the state of professional development (PD) for teachers of beginning readers in Florida's rural schools. Teachers of beginning readers need to have a deep understanding of language, of how the reading process develops, and of effective pedagogy in early literacy. Few teachers begin their careers with sufficient knowledge and…

Message boards provide an opportunity for students, teachers, and parents to write (or draw) about a story from their lives on a large or small chalkboard. Oral language is then used to describe the written message during a structured circle time. (It is a variation of the traditional show-and-tell except that the focus is on the communication of…

State-funded voluntary prekindergarten programs have grown steadily over the past decade and now enroll more than one million children. While the overall trend has been one of increasing participation in publicly funded preschool education, access in most states is limited to select groups of disadvantaged or otherwise-at-risk 4-year-olds.…

Authentic discussions are dialogically oriented classroom interactions where participants present and consider multiple perspectives and often use others' input in constructing their contributions. Despite their instructional effectiveness, authentic discussions are reportedly rare in classrooms. This qualitative case study examines the features…

This article outlines the results of an issues-based study conducted over a 12-month period that investigated how the systematic inclusion of teachers within the design, operationalization and implementation of an online curriculum development project in Florida led simultaneously to teachers' own professionalizing in areas of education they were…