Baltimore County Public Schools is in the midst of a transformation of teaching and learning; the goal being the creation of student-centered classrooms supported by a one-to-one computer for every student. This transformation, known as Students and Teachers Accessing Tomorrow, began in 2014 and is now in its third academic year. We present this…

Malaysian teachers are constantly challenged with many new technologies that are believed to enable them to perform their job better. In 2013, they have been given access to an online learning space known as the FROG VLE. However, initial evidence has shown poor adoption of the e-learning. As schools are becoming increasingly disconnected from…

This paper presents a tool, LABEL, oriented to the teaching of parallel robotics. The application, organized as a set of tools developed using Easy Java Simulations, enables the study of the kinematics of parallel robotics. A set of classical parallel structures was implemented such that LABEL can solve the inverse and direct kinematic problem of…

In this paper we analyze the evolution of the teacher assessment policy and the origins of school-based management initiatives in the Mexican education context from the late 1980s until the last 2012-2013 Education Reform (RE2012-2013). Mexico joined the Global Education Reform Movement during the 1990s through the National Agreement for the…

K-12 education in the United States and across the world is at a turning point. The steady march towards equality and justice within the country has changed the context for the education system. At the same time, rapid and unpredictable changes in society and culture have created new expectations for education, changing what is needed for…

Principal leadership is the key to successful implementation of mandated, high-accountability, teacher evaluation systems. Given the magnitude and complexity of change at the school level, understanding principals' perceptions, responses, and concerns is essential for effective change and support during implementation. Thus, research that…

Policy makers at the federal level have embraced an educator effectiveness agenda, which in turn has driven many states across the country to rapidly develop and implement new and more complex teacher evaluation systems. It is increasingly clear that the success of these nascent teacher evaluation systems partly depends on the will, skill and…

Student debt is a major barrier to adult student reengagement and degree completion. Institutional debt forgiveness is one approach to addressing the affordability barrier for returning students. This guidebook features an interview with leaders at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, who share details about the innovative debt-forgiveness…

Started in 2008, the new Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) paradigm has brought challenges and innovation at all levels of education, aiming to respond to the most pressing learning needs, generated by the new development policies and the rapid evolution of technology. This paper reports on a project proposed by a group of universities and…

Successful implementation of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSS-M) should result in noticeable differences in primary and middle school math classrooms across the United States. "Common Core Math in the K-8 Classroom: Results from a National Teacher Survey" takes a close look at how educators are implementing the…

Evaluating initiatives implemented across multiple settings can elucidate how various contextual factors may influence both implementation and outcomes. Understanding context is especially critical when the same program has varying levels of success across settings. We present a framework for evaluating contextual factors affecting an initiative…

Much has been written about the promise and peril of technology in education. This paper presents an empirical study that explores how technology can play a pivotal role in student learning and how teaching staff can adopt innovative technology-based approaches in the creation of interactive online problem-based learning (PBL) resources, allowing…

The aim of this study was to provide insight into the current practice of writing instruction in Dutch primary education, as a stepping stone for designing and implementing sustainable innovations that could satisfy both practitioners and policymakers. We investigated the extent to which three domain-specific approaches--communicative writing,…

The Center for Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) conducted a multiyear, multimethod effort to learn how school districts, charter schools, and regional partners can support the successful implementation, expansion, and sustainability of personalized learning (PL) in schools. The vision for PL is to tailor instruction to individual students'…

Across the United States, a movement to create a new kind of public school--"autonomous district schools"--is giving districts the freedoms charter schools receive. Like charter schools, autonomous district schools are freed from innovation-inhibiting state and district policies, allowing talented educators to make academic and…