An instrumental case study explored teachers' perceptions of students' receptivity to social and emotional learning at the secondary level. Interviews were conducted with 13 secondary teachers in the state of Colorado. Deductive data analysis strategies resulted in two themes: (1) a genuine commitment to SEL practices is key, and (2) student…

Program evaluation frameworks that assess organizations as complex adaptive systems can open our eyes to new approaches and understandings. The proposed iterative and adaptive developmental program evaluation framework interrelates developmental evaluation principles with adaptive action approaches. We explain and demonstrate the framework with a…

Purpose: This study evaluated the impact of 1-day workshops on teachers' knowledge, practices, and dispositions using known characteristics of quality professional development and Guskey's five levels of professional development evaluation. Method: Eight workshops were evaluated over a 2-year period using pre/post surveys, end-of-workshop surveys,…

Although research provides ample evidence of teaching methods that facilitate students' learning of specific word meanings, the potential of instruction to impact students' general vocabulary knowledge has remained an unanswered question. This article reports on a three-year formative experiment that developed, implemented, and tested a long-term,…

The purpose of the Teacher Prep Review is to guarantee teachers have expertise in reading instruction (as well as other essential areas NCTQ assesses) before being trusted to teach children to read. By regularly reviewing the reading coursework provided by nearly 700 elementary teacher preparation programs, the National Council on Teacher Quality…

In 2010, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology recommended that eight hundred new STEM focused elementary and middle schools be established. Unfortunately, districts may be slow to implement STEM at the elementary level because they do not understand how to do so effectively (Zimny, 2017). School administrators need a…

In 2010, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology recommended that eight hundred new STEM focused elementary and middle schools be established. Unfortunately, districts may be slow to implement STEM at the elementary level because they do not understand how to do so effectively (Zimny, 2017). School administrators need a…

In 2010, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology recommended that eight hundred new STEM-focused elementary and middle schools be established. Unfortunately, districts have been slow to implement STEM at the elementary level because they do not understand how to do so effectively (Zimny, 2017). School administrators need a…

Colorado has a significant shortage of special education teachers, particularly within rural areas. This article will compare two grant-funded recruitment and training projects drawing connections from the current research base in training and retention. High-Leverage Practices were infused into these projects to support authentic assistive…

What matters most when it comes to increasing achievement and student success in the developmental classroom? Recent reform efforts in developmental education have brought sweeping changes in some states. New curricular pathways, redesigned courses, and a handful of new instructional delivery methodologies have been the result. Although these are…

This participatory action research involved Belizean and American educators engaged in professional development work that became increasingly collaborative. First, we describe early focus on resources and teaching strategies. Next, we discuss shifting to a more participatory, dialogic approach. We then explain how intentional engagement in…

Jean Kirshner holds a Ph.D. in Education and Human Resource Development from Colorado State University and specializes in literacy and teacher education. Jean started her career as the Early Childhood Director at Saint Ignatius Grammar School, Chicago in 1988. After two years she joined the Child Opportunity Program in Denver as a Head Start…

While the scholarship of interdisciplinarity has grown prolifically in the last thirty years, the discourse primarily frames interdisciplinarity as an instrumental research construct. In this article, I will argue that this framework should be expanded to consider how interdisciplinary engagement can support education for democracy. The article…

University educators (UEs) have a long history of teaching physics not only in formal classroom settings but also in informal outreach environments. The pedagogical practices of UEs in informal physics teaching have not been widely studied, and they may provide insight into formal practices and preparation. We investigate the interactions between…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the relationship of pre-service teachers with action research. Faculty researchers wanted to find out if pre-service teachers could learn and apply the principles of action research in their teaching and to investigate how action research could be used to promote or encourage reflective teaching…