This brief provides a basic review of process evaluations, also known as formative or implementation evaluations. It describes what a process evaluation is, why process evaluations are important, when they should be used, and how they can be a useful tool for out-of-school time program practitioners. The brief also focuses on guidelines,…

This is an experimental study on the relative effects of Van Patten's Processing Instruction (PI) (1996, 2002), a "psycholinguistically-motivated" intervention in teaching second-language (L2) grammar, on young-adult Filipino learners of English. A growing body of research on this methodological alternative, which establishes…

Openers, or brief activities that initiate a class, routinely take up classroom time each day yet little is known about how to design these activities so they contribute to student learning. This study uses technology-enhanced learning environments to explore new opportunities to transform Openers from potentially busy work to knowledge generating…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of importance that DuFour's nine characteristics of highly effective schools have on closing the academic achievement gap on the California High School Exit Exam, as perceived by high school principals. The study also examined the strategies believed to be most important in developing…

Constructivism maintains that instruction is more meaningful when it is relevant, social and interactive. Formative assessment has been empirically demonstrated as being an effective form of instruction and assessment for learners (Black & Wiliam, 1998a, 1998b). Since assessment orients instruction and learning, combining student culture with…

In 2006, Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) launched a major initiative, the Top 25 Project, to embed inquiry-guided learning (IGL) into its largest-enrollment courses across the university. These are generally entry-level classes and thus affect many students: 75 percent of incoming students on its main campus in 2010 were in at least one Top 25…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the Florida Master Teacher Initiative (FMTI)--an i3-funded early learning program aimed at improving the quality of teaching and student outcomes in grades PreK through third grade in high need schools. The FMTI schools participated in four program components: (1) a job-embedded graduate…

Mentoring and induction programs have moved to the forefront as a strategy for helping novice teachers adjust to the challenges of teaching and develop as effective educators. Induction and mentoring efforts may begin with helping new teachers become acclimated to the classroom and cope with immediate problems, but programs must also assist the…

Educators know that standardized tests are a fact of life. They can produce useful information, but the results often are too late, too shallow or not what they needed to find out. Research shows that administering more and more of these types of tests does nothing to raise student achievement. Instead, if educators want to see real gains in…

It is well established that teacher quality makes a difference in student learning. Since the implementation of No Child Left Behind in 2002, staffing every classroom with a high-quality teacher has been an official national priority. That goal entails an implicit requirement to assess teacher and teaching quality more rigorously than has been the…

Focusing on just three things--evidence of student learning, feedback on teacher and principal decisions, and depth of implementation--renowned author and thinker Douglas B. Reeves provides you with a blueprint for how to ensure professional development improves student learning. Find out: (1) Which ineffective professional development practices…

Although Response to Intervention (RTI) is a necessity for all schools, the truth is that supplemental instruction can never compensate for inadequate core instruction. That's why you need this book's improved approach to RTI. Authors Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey introduce you to a strengthened model of RTI that emphasizes formative assessment…

Students working on a highly collaborative project used social networking technology for community building activities as well as basic project-related communication. Requiring students to work on cross-program projects gives them real-world experience working in diverse, geographically dispersed groups. An application used at Appalachian State…

Teacher educators require reflective assignments to develop the educational thinking of prospective and experience teachers. Reflective rubrics describe the quality of thinking and provide insight into teacher development. Larrivee (2008) developed a rubric compiled using input from teacher educators. Pre-service teachers' reflections with…

Everyone wants to use programs that have been proven effective. But when programs are used by large numbers of schools, the effects are often inconsistent. A three-year study by the Consortium for Policy Research in Education at the University of Pennsylvania examined how programs are adapted by schools. The researchers found that the…