Students' ability to read complex texts is emphasized in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts and Literacy. The standards propose a three-part model for measuring text complexity. Although the model presents a robust means for determining text complexity based on a variety of features inherent to a text as well as…

Because pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) includes teachers' understanding of how students learn, or fail to learn, specific subject matter, the development of PCK is an important goal to focus on in professional development programs. The research literature clearly indicates the complex nature of PCK as a form of teachers' professional…

For over a decade, professional learning communities (PLCs) have been touted as an effective way to build upon the knowledge and skills of experienced teachers, yet much of the evidence base is derived from self-reports by practitioners. Although several generations of school reform (the standards movement, No Child Left Behind, and now the Common…

Data-driven decision making has become increasingly important in education. Policymakers require educators to use data to inform practice. Although the policy emphasis is growing, what has not increased is attention to building human capacity around data use. Educators need to gain data literacy skills to inform practice. Although some…

Explores the possibility of building a useful knowledge base for teaching by beginning with practitioners' knowledge, outlining key features of this knowledge and identifying requirements for this knowledge to be transformed into a professional knowledge base for teaching. Reviews educational history, offering an incomplete explanation for why the…

Critiques an article about problems with underqualified secondary teachers and out-of-field teaching. Discusses the influence of subject knowledge on student learning, noting that literature suggests its impact is of little consequence. While research does not blame out-of-field teaching for students' inferior international assessment performance,…

Discusses the phenomenon of out-of-field teaching assignments, suggesting that this important, but long unrecognized, problem in schools remains largely misunderstood. The paper attempts to clarify two relevant issues: whether teachers' qualifications really matter and what measures of out-of-field teaching really measure. (SM)

Explores the role of research in the educational reform process by examining two research-informed professional development programs focusing on changing teachers' beliefs and practices. The Cognitively Guided Instruction program and the Integrating Mathematics Assessment projects provide contexts for examining the influence of teachers' knowledge…

Curriculum materials for Grades K-12 that are intended to promote teacher learning in addition to student learning have come to be called "educative curriculum materials." How can K-12 curriculum materials be designed to best promote teacher learning? What might teacher learning with educative curriculum materials look like? The authors…

Argues for a reconceptualization of teaching expertise based on psychological similarities of expert teachers to one another. The authors offer a prototype-based categorization model, drawn from psychological research, on which the family resemblance among expert teachers may be founded. The authors discuss several implications of the prototype…