Crisis intervention programs have been developed to help educators be better prepared to prevent and respond to students in crisis. Schools spend millions of dollars for the use of these commercial programs, many of which are based on the principles of the Cycle of Acting Out Behavior (Colvin & Scott, 2015), which is considered the "gold…

Teacher induction and mentoring programs are increasingly promoted as an effective mechanism for improving new teacher quality, new teacher retention, and student outcomes. This Study Snapshot highlights key findings from a larger study that examined teacher survey and staffing data to describe new teachers' participation in a large urban…

The current body of research on classroom environments identifies key proactive instructional strategies that when implemented effectively can reduce the likelihood of problematic behavioral incidents by students. One strategy known as active supervision has demonstrated positive outcomes across school settings, including classrooms, hallways,…

Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) play an essential role in the teaching of introductory chemistry courses at many higher education institutions. On the basis of best practices suggested by the literature, we developed our GTA training course to focus on modeling best practices in the classroom, providing opportunities for incoming GTAs to try…

This appendix augments a report that updates 2013 guidance to school district leaders and their partners across the country who are interested in launching summer learning programs or improving established ones. In that report, the authors present recommendations based on evaluations, conducted between 2011 and 2016, of summer programs in five…

This article describes the actions taken by the members of the school leadership team at McWhirter Elementary Professional Development Laboratory School in Webster, Texas, when the results of the state reading assessment in spring 2010, had taken a sudden and dramatic drop from the previous year. The team designed an action research study to…

In a regional gathering called the Youth Water Summit, high school students present projects that respond to the driving question behind their science curriculum: "How can you address a significant water resource challenge in your community's watershed?" Students exhibit scientific posters, interactive presentations, films, art projects,…

Over the course of six years, a diverse group of school districts and charter management organizations in California ran a substantial experiment in implementing the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in elementary and middle grades. WestEd led an extensive evaluation of that effort, the California K-8 NGSS Early Implementers Initiative,…

Assessment is both essential and a potentially powerful positive force. Music teachers need to provide assessment evidence to survive in today's data-driven school environment. However, the more important reasons they must assess are to improve their professional effectiveness as teachers, to improve student learning, and to help them advocate for…

In this chapter, we provide an overview of the characteristics, content, procedures, processes, and outcomes of effective educator preparation programs for teachers of students with behavioral disorders (BD). We emphasize the need for teachers of students with BD to be fluent with the identification and application of evidence-based practices and…

Classroom management is often noted as one of the most influential factors in determining success for first-year teachers and as the most influential factor in students' academic success (Marzano & Marzano, 2003). However, according to Haycock (2006), nearly half of this country's new teachers leave the classroom within their first five years,…

During the 2009-2010 school year, Marzano Research Laboratory (MRL) was commissioned by Promethean Ltd. to conduct a second year evaluation study of the effects of Promethean ActivClassroom on student academic achievement. This executive summary highlights the key findings. [For "A Second Year Evaluation Study of Promethean ActivClassroom. Final…

States and districts can use this tool to create their own plans for continual improvement of an observation system, no matter where they are in their implementation. Included are action steps to improve observation rubrics, observer training, observer assessment, and monitoring. A planning process is described to assess current status, determine…

Children's places need ordered time and space that furthers the program goals while making the program a pleasant place to live and work for all those (large and small) who inhabit the program. The order provides a comforting framework that does not harshly interrupt the activities of children, instead the order allows for more experiences and for…

This article describes a school-university partnership that focuses on the development of classroom management skills for preservice teachers in an urban setting, through collaboration between mentors, principals, and a university supervisor. To prepare preservice teachers for the unique challenges of urban schools, three key elements were…