The school-age population of students is becoming increasingly more culturally and linguistically diverse. There is mounting recognition that English Learners (EL) represent a unique group of students who have special educational and linguistic needs. This article considered the needs of learners with diverse special needs such as (a) learning and…

In the context of national collaborative efforts to increase the prevalence of active learning strategies in undergraduate precalculus and calculus classrooms, we discuss the context, strategy, and processes used at one university to create change within a mathematics department. We highlight the use of a unified active learning approach and the…

San Diego State University recently embarked on a major initiative to revitalize the Precalculus, Calculus 1, and Calculus 2 sequences. In addition to program features such as course coordination, a new active learning component led by graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) was added to each of the Precalculus, Calculus 1, and Calculus 2 courses, and…

Teacher professional learning is often disjointed and not aligned with the curricula teachers use in daily instruction. This lack of preparation has led to fragmented approaches to teaching young students to read, in part because initiatives lose momentum, teachers modify the instruction beyond recognition, and programs are soon eclipsed by newer…

During the COVID pandemic, faculty and staff working within educator preparation programs faced the challenge of having to get future educators the tools they needed to be successful in a "normal" setting while working to set up and create their own virtual environments. This article looks at the practice of structuring course…

This paper describes the design and effectiveness of a 360° (identified as 360) virtual laboratory tour which was implemented in a second-year undergraduate chemistry subject to familiarize the students with the research laboratory environment, equipment, and skills needed to undertake the subject and first laboratory session. We include step by…

Structured relationship-building teacher home visits have emerged as a promising method to increase parent engagement and improve student outcomes, but there is limited evidence on their effectiveness. The District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) partnered with the Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic to rigorously evaluate the impacts…

The Australian Council for Educational Research's submission to the Australian Government Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training's Public Enquiry into Adult literacy and its importance highlights the importance of these skills to Australia's well-being and economy, and calls on the government to continue participation in an…

Community colleges are not immune to the challenges faced by the education sector as they try to continue providing quality learning experiences during the ongoing pandemic. Some might argue that COVID-19 exposed vulnerabilities that have long needed attention, such as the 16-week semester model, a heavy reliance on in-person learning, a lack of…

This brief examines the findings of a study conducted by researchers at the University of Southern California examining a project-based approach to Advanced Placement courses. The randomized study found the proportion of students earning a credit-qualifying score on the AP test was 8 percentage points higher in the project-based version of the…

Short-term or "one shot" professional development experiences are sometimes deemed less effective because they lack mechanisms for deep and ongoing engagement. Using the music conference as an example, I outline a simple framework on how music teachers might nevertheless use short-term professional development experiences as an impetus…

The SPECTRA program was introduced to Pennant Hills Public School as an extracurricular activity to help support the science and technology discipline, and more broadly STEM connections, for students in Stage 3. There are currently 35 students of mixed ability completing the program. Throughout their involvement in the SPECTRA program, these…

Although embedded in a traditional middle school, STREAM takes a nontraditional approach by connecting students to the outdoors through project-based learning.

The National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Schools (NSBECS) are a national articulation of defining characteristics and performance benchmarks that guide Catholic schools in assessing, strengthening, and sustaining their operations in four Domains: Mission and Catholic Identity, Governance and Leadership, Academic Excellence, and…

This paper points to teaching policy issues that need to be addressed if micro-credentials are going to spur the transformation of professional learning that researchers call for and teachers seek. The paper also documents what a growing number of states and districts, as well as the nation's largest teachers' union, are doing with…