High-stakes statewide testing, low levels of knowledge surrounding the benefits of arts integration, and fiscal challenges have led to schools cutting arts programs in servitude toward higher test scores. This phenomenon has affected the existence and level of arts integration present in non-arts courses. The purpose of this dissertation was to…

Reading Apprenticeship is a model of academic literacy instruction designed by the Strategic Literacy Initiative (SLI) at WestEd to improve student literacy skills and academic achievement. Based on understandings of the close relationship between curricular reform and professional development, Reading Apprenticeship includes an instructional…

Reading Apprenticeship is a research-based professional learning model and instructional framework designed by the Strategic Literacy Initiative (SLI) at WestEd to improve student literacy and learning. Based on understandings of the close relationship between curricular reform and professional development (Heller & Greenleaf, 2007), Reading…

To support proactive leadership, the Aspen Institute Education & Society Program proposes five potential strategies system leaders can use to implement the ideas proposed in the "Call to Action" and, ultimately, to pursue social, emotional, and academic development (SEAD) through a racial equity lens. The strategies discussed in this…

The study examines students' perspectives on learning in a co-curricular language-based program at a large public university in northeastern United States. Specifically, I analyze students' motivations to enroll in the program and their perceptions of learning outcomes. The study uses the interdisciplinary construct of identity as a theoretical…

Wide and persistent gaps in math achievement separate English learners from their English-proficient peers. The consequences of these gaps are severe and long lasting. Without a solid foundation in math, students are less likely to access and excel in college preparatory math and science classes in high school. Without high-level math classes in…

What would it actually look like for district or state leaders to prioritize equity for English learners in standards implementation? Because the science and English Language Development (ELD) standards are relatively new--and the idea of coordinated implementation even more so--the authors turned to the data. The first goal was to see what data…

Education is expanding to include a stronger focus on the practical application of classroom lessons in an effort to prepare the next generation of scholars for a changing world economy centered on collaborative and problem-solving skills for the digital age. "The Handbook of Research on Technology Tools for Real-World Skill Development"…

The purpose of this evaluation study was to determine whether career and technical education teachers were using the integration strategies that were presented to them in a professional development course. The integration strategies are strategies that teachers can use to integrate reading, writing and mathematics into their technical curricula.…

School improvement demands focus. Staff members at James Cashman Middle School in Las Vegas, Nevada, believe that student achievement comes from challenging every student and ensuring that no student is overlooked. Adopting this belief could not have come at a better time for the school. Cashman's students were struggling. The school was in the…

This article describes the National Urban Alliance for Effective Education (NUA), a nonprofit advocacy organization that engages with school communities through professional development to build relationships with educators, students, parents, and community stakeholders. NUA consultants are former and current university professors, former…

Over the last 10 to 15 years, a variety of efforts to transform American high schools have gained both public and private support. Significant among these are initiatives to implement Small Learning Communities (SLCs), part of a larger school reform and restructuring effort designed to address a variety of goals, including "downsizing large…

This publication focuses on curriculum integration. Integrative curriculum focuses on a theme or themes upon which two or more disciplines is organized. Curriculum integration has been proposed as a way of organizing the life skills, or "common learnings," considered essential for citizens in a democracy. The curriculum is organized…

The public is deeply concerned that students in urban settings are not achieving at high levels. Over the past twenty years, large urban districts have attempted to restructure massive school systems using educational policymaking processes that have focused on school structures, standards-driven curriculum, and test-based accountability measures.…

Since 1992, teachers in the Rosemead (California) school district, an urban district east of downtown Los Angeles, have been implementing "Different Ways of Knowing" (DWoK), an integrated interdisciplinary curriculum and teacher development program created by the Galef Institute of Los Angeles. DWoK has been implemented in the Rosemead school…