Professional learning communities (PLCs)--teams of educators who get together regularly to exchange ideas--have sprung up to meet school districts' growing interest in promoting professional development that engages teachers and administrators. PLCs meet to develop lesson plans, monitor student progress, assess instructional effectiveness, and…

The intention of this qualitative study was to explore the effects that instructional data systems have on a building level leader's capacity to evaluate student growth and inform principal practice. Principal leadership practices were examined through the lens of Kouzes and Postners' five practices of exemplary leadership (Kouzes & Posner,…

In education randomized control trials (RCTs), the misreporting of student outcome data could lead to biased estimates of average treatment effects (ATEs) and their standard errors. This article discusses a statistical model that adjusts for misreported binary outcomes for two-level, school-based RCTs, where it is assumed that misreporting could…

In "Toward a More Comprehensive Model of Teacher Pay"--a paper presented at the February 2008 National Center on Performance Incentives research to policy conference--Julia Koppich examines recent policy initiatives implementing new approaches to teacher pay. Her discussion focuses on four current initiatives: ProComp in Denver, Toledo…

This study describes the Restorative Healing Model used at the Woodbourne Center (Baltimore) to improve socially adaptive functioning and behaviors among youth residing in a residential treatment center. This treatment model requires collaborative work with youth, their families, staff members, and community members. Unlike program models built on…

This article outlines an approach to class advising which draws on research-based techniques to elicit feedback and discussion from students. The purpose of using this method is to enhance communication, increase student engagement, and improve the relationship between the faculty and the class of students.

The three-tiered reading model is a widely practiced instructional scheme that moves students in and out of reading intervention groups during the school year. Though designed to treat students who need extra help learning to read, this interruption of reading interventions may hinder some students' progress. The purpose of this study was to…

This study explores the cost-effectiveness ratios associated with individual tutoring, intensive reading/language arts instruction, and a focus on core subject areas. Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K) database, this study analyzes these programs using a three-level hierarchical linear model (HLM) with a nationally…

A central purpose of this book is to question the claims commonly made about the educational benefits of study abroad. Traditional metrics of enrollment increases and student self-report, and practices of structural immersion, are being questioned as educators voice growing uncertainty about what students are or are not in fact learning abroad.…

Researchers in career and technical education often ignore more effective ways of reporting and treating missing data and instead implement traditional, but ineffective, missing data methods (Gemici, Rojewski, & Lee, 2012). The recent methodological, and even the non-methodological, literature has increasingly emphasized the importance of…

Restless Development's youth-led model places trained Volunteer Peer Educators (VPEs), aged 18-25 years, in schools to teach HIV prevention and reproductive health (RH). VPEs also run youth centers, extracurricular and community-based activities. This evaluation assesses (i) program effects on students' HIV/RH knowledge, attitudes and behaviors…

Purpose: Doctoral candidates are now located within a research context of performativity where the push to successfully complete in a timely manner is central. The purpose of this paper is to develop a model of completion mindset within a completion context to assist research students and supervisors. Design/methodology/approach: The research was…

The emergence of the standards-based reform movement has raised a number of issues related to the design of educational programs for students with severe disabilities, and a debate has arisen that presents an "either/or" choice between the general education curriculum and an ecological curricular framework that has traditionally guided…

The Mariner Model provides a step-by-step systems-building process and tool by which schools, school districts, and communities can develop capacity and create an infrastructure that supports continuous improvement in health-promoting environments for children. The Mariner Model follows a public health program planning development model that is…

Building Educated Leaders for Life (BELL) is a national not-for-profit organization whose mission is to increase the educational achievements, self-esteem, and life opportunities of elementary school children living in low-income urban communities. BELL has been engaged in formal evaluation, internally and externally, for more than five years and…