Educators have seen an increase in school-based programs focusing on students' social and emotional well-being. Research indicates that students who participate in such programs improve academically compared to their peers. This article focuses on the Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) programs that was designed with a dual focus on artistic and…

In the 21st century, what does a defensible, equitable model of gifted and talented student identification look like? For too long, gifted education's reason for being has been unclear, and the students it has served have been from too narrow a segment of the student population. With renewed attention to equity and personalized learning, gifted…

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global, collective, traumatic experience. Trauma-aware museum educators can play a therapeutic role in helping visitors reengage with life as the world reopens. This article explores the dynamics of what a trauma-aware approach to engaging with art may be, specifically detailing methods that can create new cognitive,…

Building on more than a decade of experience working with a diverse array of school systems, our extensive collection of district data, and published research on what works best for students, Education Resource Strategies (ERS) has developed a diagnostic that can guide district leaders from assessment to strategic planning. The Strategic System…

Classroom assessment and large-scale assessment have, for the most part, existed in mutual isolation. Some experts have felt this is for the best and others have been concerned that the schism limits the potential contribution of both forms of assessment. Margaret Heritage has long been a champion of best practices in classroom assessment. Neal…

Rigorous scholarship is essential to the continued growth of group work, yet the unique nature of this counseling specialty poses challenges for quantitative researchers. The purpose of this proposal is to overview unique challenges to quantitative research with groups in the counseling field, including difficulty in obtaining large sample sizes…

This article explores the efficacy of specifications grading in undergraduate political science classes. Specifications grading organizes instruction around a set of learning objectives and evaluates student success based on the achievement of carefully articulated specifications for each assessment. Assessments are considered satisfactory or…

Providing students with opportunities for peer interaction is considered best practice in classroom teaching. However, facilitating peer interaction as part of distance education represents a new challenge for some teachers. The present article raises eleven questions for teachers to consider when infusing cooperative learning (thoughtfully…

This paper presents best practices for conducting survey research using Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Readers will learn the benefits, limitations, and trade-offs of using MTurk as compared to other recruitment services, including SurveyMonkey and Qualtrics. A synthesis of survey design guidelines along with a sample survey are presented to help…

The purpose of this paper is to describe best practices in designing and implementing strong quasi-experimental designs (QED) when assessing the effectiveness of policies, programs or practices. The paper first discusses the issues researchers face when choosing to conduct a QED, as opposed to a more rigorous randomized controlled trial design.…

This article discusses the tension between quality assurance and quality enhancement in engineering education at a programme level. It acknowledges that accreditation has evolved for many years, but does not agilely support innovation or implement changes in educational programmes. Existing quality assurance systems, institutional collaboration…

Education reform is increasingly portrayed as a means to improve a nation's global competitiveness as measured by its performance in international league tables of pupil achievement. This has created a demand for comparative research which identifies "what works" in high-performing school systems. A diverse array of consultancies, thinks…

In this article, the "Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)" presents Standards for Evidence-Based Practices in Special Education. The statement presents an approach for categorizing the evidence base of practices in special education. The quality indicators and the criteria for categorizing the evidence base of special education…

Calls for changing educational leadership preparation have led many state policy makers to initiate program redesign efforts; the governor of Alabama constituted a working group to examine the situation and develop recommendations. This article details the school leadership preparation program redesign process in Alabama from the perspective of…

Introductory biology courses are supposed to serve as gateways for many majors, but too often they serve instead as gatekeepers. Reliance on lectures, large classes, and multiple-choice tests results in high drop and failure rates. Critiques of undergraduate science education are clear about the problems with conventional introductory science…