Planning lessons and in-the-moment improvising during enactment of the plan are two central activities inherent to the practice of teaching. To what extent are these pursuits conflicting or inconsistent? What are the characteristics of improvisation during teaching and what are teachers' possible stances on it? We discuss these questions based on…

The Innovation Schools Act of 2008, § 22-32.5-102, et seq. C.R.S., was designed to provide a pathway for schools and districts to develop and implement innovative practices in a wide variety of areas and contexts to improve student outcomes. Innovation schools are required to articulate a vision around the autonomies they are seeking, as well as…

In 2021, California committed to providing universal prekindergarten (UPK) for all 4-year-olds and income-eligible 3-year-olds by 2025-26. UPK includes several early learning programs, including transitional kindergarten (TK), the California State Preschool Program (CSPP), Head Start, and expanded learning opportunities to provide full-day early…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the reform initiatives that began with a focus towards change in the teaching and learning in Singapore classrooms with technology integration. Design/methodology/approach: The methodology used in this study is review and descriptive narrative of educational technology polices, initiatives and…

This article is a follow-up to a recent ROPS [Research & Occasional Paper Series] article on strategic budgeting at colleges and universities. In recent years, several colleges and universities have explored alternative strategies for developing operating budgets. In part, this exploration was driven by the desire for transparency among…

When a researcher tests an educational program, product, or policy in a randomized controlled trial and detects a significant effect on an outcome, the intervention is usually classified as something that "works." When expected effects are not found, there is seldom an orderly and transparent analysis of plausible reasons why.…

The education enterprise struggles to get evidence-supported practices and programs operating in schools and classrooms. Three factors are contributing to this reality: (1) a limited understanding of evidence-supported practices at the practitioner level; (2) the centralized selection of (sometimes evidence-weak) improvement strategies; and (3)…

Increasing instructional quality in higher education is a key goal of educational development (ED) work, yet demonstrating complex outcomes remains challenging and lacks practical guidance. Evaluating ED services often relies on a reductionist approach characterized by linear assumptions of causal pathways to measure the extent to which…

In 2015, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) announced the AACC Pathways Project, a national initiative designed to support a cohort of community colleges to implement and scale whole-college guided pathways reforms. Thirty community colleges from 17 states were selected for the project and embraced the challenge of redesigning…

Three years after the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Patrick McGuinn reviews how the U.S. Department of Education has managed the approval process for state accountability plans, how state plans are shaping up as a result of their newfound flexibility, and what implementation challenges have emerged. States have required…

Over the last several years, the guided pathways approach to whole-college redesign has become a national movement in community colleges. Approximately 300 colleges are implementing guided pathways reforms as part of formal state or national initiatives, and many more are doing so on their own. Some of the earliest colleges to implement guided…

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are the foundation for discovery and innovation. STEM skills are increasingly important for all Americans to succeed in the workplace and in their everyday lives. To develop these skills, the Nation must engage in a collaborative effort to ensure that all Americans have access to…

While community colleges excel at expanding postsecondary enrollments, these institutions often struggle to help students succeed. A chorus of school leaders and policymakers increasingly agree that broad-based, comprehensive organizational change is needed to drastically improve community college student success and equity. The Guided Pathways…

This paper argues that, as Canadian Higher Education campuses embark on large scale Universal Design for Learning (UDL) implementation, it is essential for them to take the time to strategically consider inherent institutional challenges before pushing ahead. As a result, it is argued that ecological theory will represent a unique and powerful…

Delve into the transformative journey of teachers and administrators from a rural school district as they bring "Principles to Actions" to life. Pawnee City Public Schools believes effective teaching affects student learning and implemented a successful district-wide plan to improve student learning through the eight Mathematics Teaching…