In recent years, educators, administrators, policymakers, and measurement experts have called for assessments that support educators in making better instructional decisions. One promising approach to measurement to support instructional decision-making is diagnostic classification models (DCMs). DCMs are flexible psychometric models that…

To base teaching on student thinking requires analyzing and interpreting students' thinking, key components of the construct of professional noticing (e.g., Jacobs et al., 2010). Although substantial research has been conducted using this construct, less attention has been paid to teachers' evaluations of student work based on these analyses and…

Play, which is both a context and process for children's learning, has become a pivotal pedagogical component in global early childhood education. The uptake of intentional teaching has contributed to the shift in understandings of play, from viewing play as a means of recreation and entertainment to a more socio-cultural perspective that…

Decisions about assessment are often built on myths about teacher professional judgment and subjectivity that prioritize standardized assessment over classroom assessment. Ken O'Connor and Matt Townsley discuss some of the most common myths and explain how to dispel them by developing clear guidelines in which teachers can exercise their judgment,…

This paper argues for three aspects of tolerance with respect to QCA research: tolerance with respect to different approaches to QCA; producing QCA research with tolerance (work that is resistant to criticism); and for QCA researchers to be clear about the tolerance of the solutions they present -- especially in terms of calibration and truth…

CIPP, which stands for Context, Input, Process and Product, an evaluation model, is one of the most widely applied curriculum evaluation models in education. This document-based study sought to determine the historical development of CIPP as a curriculum evaluation model. Here, the reasons why the CIPP evaluation model was conceptualised are…

Building on the original work of Bunker and Thorpe and their Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) approach to physical education, there is now a proliferation of Game Based Approaches (GBA) in the research literature (Bunker & Thorpe, 1982, A model for the teaching of games in secondary schools. "Bulletin of Physical Education,"…

The first part of this article describes in brief the Six Steps methodology for designing educational environments--be they K-12 schools, tertiary institutions, community centers, youth movements, or the like-- as set forth in my book "Educational Design in Six Steps: A Strategic and Practical Scaffold" (Routledge 2020). The second part…

By assessing student engagement with learning tasks along with students' understanding of subject matter before and during teaching, teachers are able to shift their teaching approaches through improvisational pedagogical reasoning in real time. However, if a teacher does not know how to respond to students' cues, their capacity to effectively…

The evidence-based decision-making movement often assumes that once evidence is available (e.g., via the What Works Clearinghouse), decision-makers will integrate it into their practice. Research-practice partnership studies have shown this is not always true. In this paper, we argue that instead of assuming research will be useful and used, we…

This article reviews stock-trading simulations as a resource for use in management courses. Stock-trading simulations have three highly desirable qualities for educators: (1) they cost nothing to use--instructors can choose from various free simulators that all have the same general functionality, (2) they provide real and continuously updating…

This article introduces work originating from the area of Networked Learning that seeks to problematise and critically discuss notions such as 'collaboration', 'community', and 'participation'. It argues that there is a dark and shadowy side to these ideals, which we need to attend to in a reflexive manner. To this end, it introduces ideas of…

Assessment instruments are critical to assist in the selection and development of strong, effective leaders. Developing a strong understanding of what makes a tool empirically sound, based on solid scientific concepts, can mean the difference between choosing an assessment that provides targeted, actionable, and accurate information versus an…

Educating students for democratic life requires teachers to make difficult judgment calls about whether controversial issues are appropriate for "directive teaching" (i.e., teaching that attempts to persuade students to adopt a particular view about the thing being taught). To help educators make these decisions, theorists have proposed…

Mindfulness has all but become a mainstay in modern education. Yet despite the incredible enthusiasm and increased application in schools, there remains significant divergence between advocates and critics. Advocates assert that mindfulness practice promotes individual and societal health and well-being. Meanwhile, critics question the intention…