Diversity, equity, and inclusion training often falls into one of three categories: Equity PD that works, equity PD that doesn't work, and equity PD that looks like it works but doesn't. The third category is the most dangerous, says Nicole Tucker-Smith. How can we make sure our professional learning isn't falling into that trap?

Many instructional coaching and teacher training sessions center around myths that can actually hinder teacher and student growth. Authors Rashaida Melvin and Lauren Vargas discuss four of these myths and offer new practices to increase teacher efficacy and equity in the classroom.

The education field, these authors assert, often alternatively ignores, belittles, or "weaponizes" scientific findings and evidence relevant to education. They show examples of how education does a worse job than other fields at either rushing to apply approaches without enough evidence of effectiveness or…

Teachers spend tremendous amounts of time giving students feedback and grades. Their efforts fill weekends, late nights, and planning periods. The time they spend correcting student misconceptions, engaging with their thoughts, and coaching them toward deeper intellectual work is often deeply intertwined with their identity as educators. In their…

One experienced school administrator shares two common misconceptions about teaching and learning that he once thought were the gold standards, then reflects on how adaptive leaders must continuously learn themselves, shifting their practices when and where it is necessary to provide the best education for students.

Some bad ideas never seem to die, despite research showing they do not actually work. It can be hard to spot them at first. Those dispelled education theories that research shot down long ago. They creep up in studies, shuffling around mumbling in the reference lists, or moan loudly in blog posts. The author often stumbles across these…

"There are no shortcuts for true equity," says authors and consultants Shane Safir and Jamila Dugan. Equity work is hard, on-going work--and it means not falling into ineffective traps and tropes. Find out what these traps are and how to avoid them.

On the surface, learning a second language may seem to be a simple one- to two-year undertaking. Research shows, however, that it's a far more complex endeavor. This article considers the depth of learning required to become academically proficient in a second language. For instance, language learners learn the basics of reading in a second…

Two challenges science teachers face are identifying misconceptions students have about how the world operates and getting past those misconceptions. Students' prior conceptions often conflict with the content educators are trying to teach. The gateway to revealing and changing such misconceptions, Fouché says, is predictive questioning. As they…

"Improving Schools: What Works?" is the theme chosen for this issue of "Educational Leadership (EL)," and this theme should help dispel just one of the myths that have grown up about school reform: that educators are stuck in the status quo and don't care to implement change. This and some other myths about school…

Teachers struggle with using consequences for misbehavior--because using consequences well requires a nuanced view of disciplinary situations. Anderson explores six factors that complicate the use of consequence: Confusion over what consequences means; confusion over what it means for a punishment to "work;" the fact that teachers'…

This theme issue of "Educational Leadership" arose after asking a group of educators about their current challenges and they mentioned the intricacies of co-teaching. The topic was broadened to look at not only co-teaching with specialists--particularly, special needs educators and ELL educators--but all team teaching across content…

Fifty years ago, Robert Glaser introduced the concept of criterion-referenced measurement in an article in American Psychologist. Its early proponents predicted that this measurement strategy would revolutionize education. But has it lived up to its promise? W. James Popham explores this question by looking at the history of criterion-referenced…

The image of the student with ADHD as Dennis the Menace is an outdated stereotype. Some students with ADHD are restless and disruptive, notes the author, but many others who suffer from this disorder are quieter, more distracted and more passive, and not productive or consistent in their work. Thomas E. Brown, a well-known expert on ADHD, shares a…

Beninghof challenges a common misconception--that in a good co-teaching classroom, no one should be able to tell which one is the special education teacher and which is the regular classroom teacher. Co-teaching is a partnership of two teachers with different areas of expertise. Instead of just lending an extra pair of helping hands, the…