Background: There is a growing body of evidence showing the benefits to coaches and players in adopting a game-based pedagogical approach. Whilst the evidence in support of a game-based pedagogy continues to rise it is acknowledged that the complex art form of coaching is a uniquely personal one, where the coach may draw on previous first-hand…

Research across multiple fields finds that adult-youth relationships are key influencers of development; however, professional learning about relational practice is limited. This suggests the need for targeted, efficient ways to help adults improve relational practice. We present a randomized controlled trial of Simple Interactions, a…

Teacher professional development (TPD) programs are increasingly using video recordings of teaching practice to develop teacher capacity and foster student learning. However, consensus has yet to be reached about how to utilize video recordings in TPD for physical education (PE) teachers. We used semi-structured interviews and evaluations of PE…

Since the 1990s, there have been repeated calls for the systematic use of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to inform educational decision-making. The advent of the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) -- described as England's What Works Centre for Education -- in 2011 has made this a reality in England: by 2020, over a third of English schools…

As the number of publicly funded early childhood education (ECE) programs increases, policymakers will need empirical evidence to justify the taxpayer investment. Such justification will require a stronger understanding of the essential components of an ECE program's design, as well as solid evidence on which components, or constellations of…

Teacher coaching is a powerful form of professional learning that improves teaching practices and student achievement, yet little is known about the specific aspects of coaching programs that are more effective. Researchers used a blocked randomized experiment to study the effects of one-to-one coaching on teacher practice. When pooled across all…

Introduction: Mentors can help college graduates with visual impairments (that is, those with blindness or low vision) prepare for and seek employment in their chosen fields by serving as role models and sharing their experiences with mentees. Identifying mentoring activities and discussions most valued by mentees with visual impairments will…

The Math for All (MFA) qualitative research team approached the randomized control trial (RCT) mixed methods investigation from a "pragmatic" perspective (Cresswell and Plano-Clark, 2011), that is, the belief that multiple realities can exist and that neither a qualitative nor quantitative approach is valued over the other. Further, the…

The purposes of this study were to (a) examine the degree to which teachers used linguistically responsive practices to support the language and literacy development of Spanish-speaking Dual Language Learners (DLL) and (b) to investigate the associations between these practices and select teacher-level factors. The sample consisted of 72 preschool…

Every Classroom, Every Day (ECED) is a set of instructional improvement interventions designed to increase student achievement in math and English/language arts (ELA). ECED includes three primary components: (a) systematic classroom observations by school leaders, (b) intensive professional development and support for math teachers and…

The purposes of this study were to (a) examine the degree to which teachers used linguistically responsive practices to support the language and literacy development of Spanish-speaking Dual Language Learners (DLL) and (b) to investigate the associations between these practices and select teacher-level factors. The sample consisted of 72 preschool…

A wealth of research, primarily in high income countries, has accumulated in recent years evaluating teacher effectiveness and the processes through which teachers' performance and job satisfaction can be improved (e.g., Pianta, Mashburn, Downer, Hamre & Justice, 2008; Ross, 1992; 1995). Much less is known about how these processes operate for…

Growing interest in teaching quality and accountability has focused attention on the need for rigorous studies and evaluations of professional development (PD) programs. However, the study of PD has been hampered by a lack of suitable instruments. The authors present data from the Teacher Knowledge Assessment System (TKAS), which was designed to…

Writing is an essential skill for participating in modern American society. Although it is crucial to careers and civic engagement, student writing falls far short of national expectations (College Board, 2004; NCES, 2012; Persky, Daane, & Jin, 2003). The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) seek to increase the rigor of writing instruction…

In this study we examine the interplay between curriculum-embedded formative assessment--a well-known teaching practice--and general features of classroom process quality (i.e., cognitive activation, supportive climate, classroom management) and their combined effect on elementary school students' understanding of the scientific concepts of…