This dissertation takes a close look at how district-level instructional coaches support teachers in learning to shifting their instructional practice, related to the Next Generation Science Standards. This dissertation aims to address how re-structuring professional development to a job-embedded coaching model supports individual teacher learning…

One central component of a great school system is a clear set of rigorous, comprehensive standards so educators help all students achieve high goals. In Iowa, that effort is known as the Iowa Core. The Iowa Core represents the statewide academic standards, which describe what students should know and be able to do in mathematics, science, English…

Traditional and digital storytelling is a powerful literacy tool which engage students in making connections between pedagogy and academic content. Definitions of traditional and digital storytelling, pedagogical methods aligned with curriculum standards, and examples of literacy centers associated with storytelling in early childhood classrooms…

Lab activities have been innovated and progressed to fulfill the purpose that students need to experience physics concepts through hands-on and minds-on interactions. However, student-centered and conceptual activities in physics labs are challenged with time and material constraints that degrades the merits of the learning environment. This study…

Instructional research in German-speaking countries has conceptualized teaching quality recently according to three generic dimensions, namely, classroom management, student support and cognitive activation. However, as these dimensions are mainly regarded as generic, subject-specific aspects of mathematics instruction, e.g., the mathematical…

This article presents a case study exploring how national guidance for kindergartens in Kazakhstan was interpreted in practice. Document analysis of the "State Education Standards of Preschool Upbringing and Education," together with stakeholder interviews and observations of six Astana kindergarten settings, illustrates how competing…

This article examines how elementary public school teachers in South Texas are implementing a balanced literacy approach in light of the expectations of accountability for student performance. For more than three decades, Texas schools have felt, and continue to feel, the pressure of accountability. Therefore, it becomes essential to investigate…

The Jewish ultra-orthodox (Haredi) Talmud Torah schools have been consistently resistant to the process of standardization in content, measurement, and evaluation, in contrast to the Israeli state education system which has progressed steadily in these areas. Talmud Torah schools are private elementary schools for ultra-orthodox boys. Studies are…

In this paper, the authors present qualitative data -- vignettes -- that describe how the professional learning systems and structures have changed for some of California's educators in recent years: organization of teachers within schools as professional learning hubs, management by school principals of the instructional mission, navigation by…

This analysis is aimed at evaluating the current English learning material used in Ibn Siena Integrated School Foundation. Since textbook evaluation has become an important tool in searching for an effective learning material, this paper sets the goal of providing answers to the presented research objectives such that it highlights the use of the…

The scholarship on foreign language (FL) learning and teaching shows various ways Web 2.0 technologies are used to promote and ease communication and gives access to and cultural exchange of information, which are the main purposes of language learning. Despite prolific examination of strategies and impact of Web 2.0 to enhance language learning,…

Henry Fortier began his new role as Superintendent for the Diocese of Orlando Florida in the same school year (2011-2012) as the publication of the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools (NSBECS). Fortier gave himself a six-month window to immerse himself in the diocese and learn the culture of…

A chain of interconnected events has occurred over the past four decades that can transform the lives of students with disabilities and their families. These events include the national policy shift to standards-based reform, legislative action that is reflected in reauthorizations of federal educational laws and regulations, and sustained state…

Is the Common Core really "dead"? Though no longer called the Common Core in our three study states, the "new" college-and-career readiness standards still guide much of education policy in Texas, Ohio, and Kentucky. In our new feature article in "Educational Researcher," lead author Dr. Laura Desimone, along with…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) began to take form when dozens of educators from across the country were led by governors and chief state school officers in gathering and reviewing the academic standards of states that had the best outcomes. Their goal was to determine what the current best academic standards were in the country and then…