This entry in the James H. Stronge Research-to-Practice Series focuses on specific strategies teachers can use to improve the quality of their instruction. Studies have shown teacher quality to be the top indicator of student achievement, with the effects of good teachers apparent even as students move on to successive grades. In this book, Grant,…

In November, 2009 The Consortium of School Networking (CoSN) led a United States (US) "Senior Delegation" to the Netherlands and Scotland as part of its ongoing efforts to facilitate a global conversation on the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) in education. Building upon the experiences of three previous…

A Spring 2010 survey of Austin Independent School District teachers and campus administrators showed that staff most often requested additional training in integrating technology into instruction, rigor in the curriculum, and differentiated instruction.

Three Nordic countries, Denmark, Finland and Norway, participated in the IEA SITES 2006 study. All the three countries have launched huge policy and investment programmes to promote digital literacy and readiness for the information age. In relation to the remarkable Finnish Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results, it is…

Access to appropriate technological resources in schools has become an issue, commonly labeled the "digital divide." While the debate ensues in regards to an explicit definition for this phenomenon, research overwhelmingly demonstrates that students of marginalized populations remain on the lower end of access to and innovative use of…

Four pre-service teachers participated in a school-based collaborative initiative where they were supported by 2 university faculty members, a school board technology consultant and a Masters student to integrate technology into teaching practice. Pre-service teachers planned and taught technology-enhanced lessons during a 7-week practice-teaching…

Many current ICT-supported reform efforts demand teachers to assume the role of epistemic facilitator of knowledge construction supported by technology. It is thus important for teacher educators to understand teachers' epistemic beliefs. This qualitative study investigated seven Singaporean in-service teachers' epistemic beliefs and their…

Based on publicly available data, the study examined the relationship between adequate yearly progress status and teachers' perceptions of the quality of their professional development. The sample included responses of 5,558 teachers who completed the questionnaire in the 2005-2006 school year. Results of the statistical analysis show a…

The integration of technology into preservice teacher education continues to be emphasized as important. The hope is that if future teachers obtain technology skills they will design meaningful technology-mediated learning experiences for their students. However, gaining technology skills alone does not ensure the ability to envision and employ…

As Web 2.0 emerging technologies are gaining momentum in higher education, educators as well as students are finding new ways to integrate them for teaching and learning. Technologies such as blogs, wikis and multimedia-sharing utilities have been used to teach various subject matters. This trend not only creates new opportunities for us to afford…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the level of technology integration fidelity (high, moderate or low) by higher education faculty in Schools Colleges and Department of Education (SCDE), and a) access to technological infrastructure, b) support from human infrastructure, and c) personal attitude toward computer…

Traditionally, at least according to popular wisdom, learning took place in venues that were custom-designed for the purpose. The purpose, given the evidence of the artefacts with which we are confronted, seems to have been the educational equivalent of the production line that so succinctly characterised the industrialisation of society. One…

The author argues that to examine the relationship between technology use and student outcomes, the quality of technology use--how, and what, technology is used--is a more significant factor than the quantity of technology use--how much technology is used. This argument was exemplified by an empirical study that used both angles to examine the…

Opportunities for children with disabilities to participate in school on equal conditions as others are often stressed, while reality shows that many children with disabilities are still segregated. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been highlighted as a tool for communication and inclusion for children with disabilities but from…

Data from ten teacher candidates studying teaching methods were analyzed to determine perceptions toward digital simulation games in the area of social studies. This research can be used as a conceptual model of how current teacher candidates react to new methods of instruction and determine how education programs might change existing curricula…