One of the more demanding tasks faced by teacher educators and mentors is providing high-quality feedback for preservice students during their professional learning. The limited formative assessment currently available impacts on their professional learning. This paper reports on research into how iPhones® have been used by preservice students,…

This article contributes to research on evaluation by examining the capacity and contribution of developmental evaluation for innovating. This case study describes the "preformative development" of an educational program (from conceptualization to pilot implementation) and analyzes the processes of innovation within a developmental…

Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) are frameworks used to assess individual needs of students and the supports needed to meet those needs. An MTSS is complex with components which impact core instruction, curriculum, formative assessment, interventions, summative assessment, and problem solving. All of these components are a part of a school's…

With support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, researchers and experts in mathematics education developed the Mathematics Design Collaborative (MDC) as a strategy to support the transition to Common Core State Standards in math. MDC provides short formative assessment lessons known as Classroom Challenges for use in middle and high…

By 2013, all 50 states and the District of Columbia had adopted college- and career-ready standards in English language arts and mathematics, placing a greater emphasis on argument writing to prepare students for life after high school. Solving the specific problem of how to help teachers teach to new standards for argument writing as well as the…

Teacher quality is one of the most important school related variables associated with student achievement. Therefore, raising the quality of the U.S. public education teaching force is essential to ensure that every child has the opportunity to achieve academic success. In order to accomplish this, significant analytical inspection of teachers is…

Families in rural or remote areas have limited access to evidence-based intervention for their children with autism. Using web-based training and telemedicine technology, the current study investigated the feasibility of training seven parents to implement Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) strategies with their children with autism. In this…

This dissertation responds to critical gaps in current research on formative assessment practice which could limit successful implementation of this practice within the K-12 classroom context. The study applies a socio cultural perspective of learning to interpret a cross-case analysis of formative assessment practice occurring during one…

The focus of this Executive Position Paper (EPP) is school improvement through the development and implementation a comprehensive, research-based, intervention plan for Millsboro Middle School (MMS) in the Indian River School District (IRSD). Studies conducted for this EPP began with an informal investigation of MMS data that included the Delaware…

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) have become increasingly popular in schools. PLCs are groups of teachers, administrators, parents, and students who collaborate to improve their practices and focus on results (DuFour, 2004). Grade-level and department teachers participate in regularly scheduled collaborative team meetings; however, many…

This paper reports findings from a multi-year study of the scale-up of Reading Apprenticeship (RA), an approach to improve academic literacy by helping teachers provide the support students need to be successful readers in the content areas. WestEd's Strategic Literacy Initiative (SLI), began developing the program in 1995 and has since reached…

This study describes the link between level of implementation and outcomes from an intervention to increase afterschool programs' (ASPs) achievement of healthy eating and physical activity (HE-PA) Standards. Ten intervention ASPs implemented the Strategies-To-Enhance-Practice (STEPs), a multi-component, adaptive intervention framework identifying…

This study was conducted to investigate which pitfalls users of personal development plans (PDPs) perceive in business and governmental organisations with mandatory PDP use. Hundred and thirty-one written statements of PDP users across three Dutch organisations were analysed and categorised into nine pitfalls. Next to an overall lack of use and…

The importance of using systematic formative assessment to guide students toward meaningful learning has gained more recognition in the education community in recent years. This form of assessment is characterized by task-oriented feedback in a low-risk environment, which is believed to promote mastery goal orientation and self-regulated learning.…

Math in Common® (MiC) is a five-year initiative that supports a formal network of 10 California school districts as they implement the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics (CCSS-M) across grades K-8. This research brief explores how best to select or develop and use classroom observation systems in order to document instructional shifts and…