Today's educators are buried under old practices, new ideas, and recommended initiatives. The problem? With such an abundance of strategies, it's hard to recognize what, if anything, is working. Before you're tempted to add just one more idea to the pile, take a step back--and an objective look--so that you, central office leaders, building…

The purpose of the study was to report on music educators' perceptions of their involvement in the implementation processes of Individualized Education Programs. This included information about and participation in the IEP meetings and subsequent reception of communication of IEP documentation for the purpose of making appropriate adaptations for…

Background: Substantial research on reform implementation highlights numerous challenges to implementing innovations at scale with depth and sustainability, yet new reforms continue to encounter many of the same challenges. This has led to calls for researchers to work in partnership with practitioners to design, implement, and scale educational…

Learning design is a research field which studies how to best support teachers as designers of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) situations. Although substantial work has been done in the articulation of the learning design process, little is known about how learning designs are experienced by students and teachers, especially in the context of…

The educational system is in a continual state of refinement in an effort to improve effectiveness. Many decisions are made regarding policy and procedure at the individual school level ascending to the federal level. The majority workforce carrying out these reform efforts is comprised of classroom teachers. Teachers have the most direct…

This report investigates factors that drive teachers to embrace or challenge the use of products and services designed to support improvements in practice. Key elements of the study include: (1) Technology-based resources studied include those designed for video observations, peer feedback and collaboration, online professional learning, and…

This article examines changes in teachers' beliefs and practices over the course of a professional development (PD) program concerned with the implementation of a constructivist-oriented pedagogy in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. Grounded in situative theories of learning and development, the School-based Support Program places…

This article reports on Nevada's Reading First program and positions it as a source of reflection for future worldwide literacy reform efforts. Qualitative methodology was used for this analysis. Students' literacy achievement improved throughout the program until the last year of implementation. Students who remained at a Reading First school…

Recent federal education legislation has recognized the over-identification and overrepresentation of students in special education and mandated that schools use evidence-based teaching strategies and instructional interventions within the general education classroom before initiating a special education referral. Legislation also put greater…

Professional Learning Communities (PLC's) are designed to help schools improve student achievement; all decisions are based on the needs of students. PLC's are an effective way to receive professional development (PD), allow for collaboration with fellow teachers, and offer timely intervention to all students. In a district known for PLC…

This study investigates the influence of a school's pre-existing social resources on the implementation of a comprehensive literacy-coaching program (Content-Focused Coaching [CFC]). Elementary schools were randomly assigned to receive a CFC-trained coach (n = 15 schools) or to continue with the literacy coaching resources that are standard for…

Many educators agree that we already know how to foster student success, so what is keeping common sense from becoming common practice? The author provides step-by-step guidance for overcoming the barriers to adopting the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and achieving equity and excellence for all students. As an experienced teacher and…

A sample of curriculum projects representing the first generation of new curricula in Israel was analyzed, using an instrument developed to determine the implicit or explicit message regarding the teacher's role in curriculum development and use. Curriculum development in Israel is moving from a centralized approach to greater involvement of…

This manual consists of guidelines, resources, and instructional materials for use in developing and implementing an early career awareness program for kindergarten through sixth grade students. The guide, which is based on an early career awareness program that was implemented at Nantucket Elementary School in Massachusetts, deals with the…

School-to-work programs (STW) at 10 sites throughout Washington (Bethel, Camas, Central Valley, Columbia River, Goldendale, Grand Coulee Dam, Issaquah, Metlow Valley, Sumner, and Wenatchee) were examined through the following activities: reviewing background documents, interviewing key educators, observing academic and technical classes,…