Interactive read-alouds are versatile in that teachers can teach an array of literacy skills through this instructional strategy. However, our observations of six primary grade teachers and prior research revealed that teachers' implementation of interactive read-alouds varies. Without the necessary planning and preparation for interactive…

Teacher mentorship programs, where new teachers are paired with veterans, are a research-based practice, but they often lack clarity and can turn into more of a "buddy system" than a true learning opportunity. In this new report, Why New Teacher Mentoring Falls Short, and How to Fix It, NIET shares research and experience that point to…

Regardless of sector, implementation science and improvement science are used to support and improve the implementation and scale-up of evidence-based programs and practices. This brief highlights similarities and differences between implementation science and improvement science, as well as how they can be used together to support programs and…

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the country's largest food assistance program, providing more than $6.2 billion in supplemental benefits to over 42 million people with low incomes to purchase groceries each month. The SNAP Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Services grant program (SNAP-Ed) equips people eligible for…

(1) Background: Programmatic assessment optimizes the coaching, learning, and decision-making functions of assessment. It utilizes multiple data points, fit for purpose, which on their own guide learning, but taken together form the basis of holistic decision making. While they are agreed on principles, implementation varies according to context.…

The purpose of this study was to develop a Framework that can be used to implement an online Competency-based education (CBE) program using a Learning Management system such as Moodle. CBE refers to a system of instruction, assessment, grading, and academic reporting that is based on students demonstrating that they have the knowledge and skills…

This article describes the process of ecological school consultation within a university's place-based community engagement initiative. Within higher education, place-based initiatives are geographically specific partnerships between community organizations and a university. First, this article explains the collaboration between a middle school…

This design case will discuss how design strategies evolved through the development and implementation of two e-service-learning project cohorts. The article provides a detailed account for how Designers for Learning launched its first e-service-learning instructional design project to address adult basic education needs. Information and design…

Mentoring is crucial for the development of competent coaches (Jones, Harris, & Miles, 2009), and athletic departments and sport organizations are encouraged to use this process that links an inexperienced coach with a veteran mentor coach (Megginson & Clutterbuck, 1995). Mentored coaches benefit from gaining insight and wisdom into their…

Over the last several years, a growing number of cities have invested in early care and education for 3- and 4-year-old children, known as "preschool." This paper aims to aid cities in planning preschool programs by outlining a range of factors to consider. We largely do not make recommendations, but rather try to identify a range of…

Challenges inherent to increasing student literacy are well-documented particularly in under performing schools. Those challenges increase in schools experiencing high staff turnover, high populations of English language learners, and greater poverty. In order to improve student learning in these communities there needs to be a comprehensive…

This chapter describes the challenges and practical barriers community colleges face when implementing comprehensive reform, exploring how reforms are leading to some improvements but not often scaled improvements.

The SSIP [State Systemic Improvement Plan] Phase II Process Guide describes the steps needed to accomplish the work of the three components of Phase II. Thus, the SSIP Phase II Process Guide is organized according to the following sequential phases of work to be done, rather than by the three components: (1) Kicking off Phase II; (2) Developing…

The articles in this special issue discuss efforts to improve academic reading outcomes for students and ways to achieve high implementation fidelity of promising strategies. At times the authors discuss if--and how--strong fidelity is associated with strong outcomes and potentially even impacts (the difference between program and control group…

The Michigan State University (MSU) Libraries' Website has a case of TMI: too much information organized by librarians for librarians. Finding relevant information about various library services, including the 24/7 Distance Learning Support Line, and access points to scholarly resources is often cumbersome, and given the limited time and staffing…