To help faculty connect programmatic assessment with the advancement of their own scholarly agenda, a professional development series was created that introduces faculty to the mutual benefits of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) and academic program assessment. An additional benefit to faculty for participating in assessment…

Improvement science is a framework which groups can use to identify problems within their sphere of influence, test agreed-upon solutions to those problems, and measure the degree to which those solutions have addressed the problems they intended to change. The pathway groups use to do this work is called Plan-Do-Study-Act Cycles, or PDSA. Much…

Professional development is a critical part of implementing new instructional strategies. Despite its importance, little information is available explaining if and how professional development motivates teachers' instruction. This qualitative descriptive study examined what influences teachers' motivation to implement STEM instructional…

The Doctor of Education (EdD) in Educational Leadership at East Carolina University incorporated advising into the admissions process through the first two semesters of the program. This study examined how, through the first year of implementation of this process, student knowledge of the role of the scholarly practitioner evolved from…

Even under ideal conditions, teaching is tough work. Facing unrelenting pressure from administrators and parents and caught in a race against time to improve student outcomes, educators can easily become discouraged (or worse, burn out completely) without a robust coaching system in place to support them. For more than 20 years, perfecting such a…

Delve into the transformative journey of teachers and administrators from a rural school district as they bring "Principles to Actions" to life. Pawnee City Public Schools believes effective teaching affects student learning and implemented a successful district-wide plan to improve student learning through the eight Mathematics Teaching…

In partnership with the Consortium for Policy Research in Education, RFA has been studying Philadelphia schools' take-up of an instructional reform that has demonstrated positive impacts on teacher knowledge and student learning in math. The Ongoing Assessment Project (OGAP) is designed to deepen teachers' understanding of foundational concepts in…

Purpose: A growing number of schools are now implementing quality management systems (QMS). As a result, studies are being conducted to assess the educational benefits of these systems and their capacity to identify areas for improvement in school processes and performance. The purpose the present study is to assess the impact of ISO:9001…

The purpose of this study was to examine the current shortage of certified dual-language and bilingual teachers at dual-language programs. Currently, there exist problems surrounding the wider implementation of dual-language education programs as a result of the widespread teacher shortages, which has been shown in the literature to drastically…

The Common Core State Standards in Mathematics (CCSS-M) were released in 2010 with a goal to improve critical thinking skills and prepare all students to thrive in college, careers, and as informed citizens. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) followed in 2013. Using districtwide surveys of students in grades 6-8, conducted annually from…

Just because a school has adopted a social and emotional learning (SEL) program does not mean it will work. This book explores the conditions needed to implement, strengthen, and sustain effective SEL, and identifies paths that schools, districts, and states have taken to create those conditions. Major themes include equity of access to…

Project/problem-based learning (PBL) can provide an effective model for school reform when implemented with fidelity. In the report, "Rising Above the Gathering Storm," it was recommended that if the U.S. is to remain competitive in the 21st-century economy, there must be a serious effort to "enlarge the pipeline of students who are…

The Bologna Process affects the academic community, particularly faculty members who have to implement the process. This study is an initiative by a group of lecturers to evaluate the perception of faculty members in the implementation of the Bologna Process. The aim was to assess the evolution of their opinion on the process since a 2011 survey,…

Globally, universities are currently facing increased external demands to strengthen and develop their learning environments. The article examines how a sample of Norwegian universities responds to governmental demands concerning establishing good learning environments. Based on document analysis and interviews, the article demonstrates that the…

RFA's three-year mixed methods evaluation of Children's Literacy Initiative's language and literacy supports found positive impacts despite higher-than-typical teacher turnover. In pre-K centers receiving CLI supports, teachers were more able to implement effective instructional practices and created richer classroom literacy environments, and…