The authors present three studies (two randomized controlled experiments and one embedded quasi-experiment) designed to evaluate the impact of replacement units targeting student learning of advanced middle school mathematics. The studies evaluated the SimCalc approach, which integrates an interactive representational technology, paper curriculum,…

Physical education programs throughout the country are feeling the negative effects of what is proving to be the longest and most severe financial crisis in this country since the Great Depression. Potentially negative issues in physical education programs resulting from the current recession include: (a) low workplace morale, (b) the elimination…

During the last 20 years, faculty have faced rising workloads, increasing amounts of top-down accountability and oversight, mounting publication demands, decreasing numbers of tenure-track positions, and an increasingly dismal job market. The current recession has exacerbated the pressure by requiring departmental budget cuts, faculty layoffs,…

Information technology is influencing continuing education for K-12 administrators and in-service teachers, especially with regard to asynchronous education for professional development. Implementation of instructional technology applications has required a major restructuring of the learning environment. The restructuring has included the use of…

Objective: To evaluate how a motivational interviewing (MI) training course for child healthcare nurses in Sweden affected their work with children's weight issues and their attitudes to MI. Design: Cross-sectional survey, descriptive design. Setting: Nurses were recruited from 33 different child healthcare centres in Ostergotland, Sweden. Method:…

Too often the professional development provided for teachers of mathematics is a short-term, one-shot effort. Today's shrinking budgets, increasing class sizes, and growing demands on teachers' time present further challenges. For the past six years, staff development efforts in the author's district have focused on language arts with little…

Through its engagement with grantees on initiatives to improve school leadership, The Wallace Foundation came to recognize the important role that state organizations play in advancing effective leadership in districts and schools as well as the importance of coordination among state- and district-level policies. The authors have recently…

One way to approach the improvement of instruction is for educators to learn from student interactions in cultural events that fully engage students' motivation and curiosity. In such a context, educators get to know students in new ways and to connect student strengths to classroom instruction. This can be especially powerful when the learning…

Consistent, excellent teaching is the single greatest factor in improving student achievement over time. School leadership is the second. Excellent teaching and strong leadership require deliberate, ongoing professional learning. In working with high-poverty school systems over time, the following basics emerge: (1) time; (2) content; (3)…

This article presents the author's response to "An Experiment in Method" by J.L.J. Wilson. In 1960-61 Wilson was invited to give lectures on "modern techniques in adult education" as part of a training school for those involved in the work of developing "Co-operatives for Aborigines" which were sponsored by the…

Although the professional development of graduate students in foreign language (FL) departments is of critical importance, discussion of its significance and evolution was all but absent in the 2007 Modern Language Association report "Foreign Languages and Higher Education: New Structures for a Changed World," a document advocating curricular and…

When low test scores demanded a hard look at the curriculum, literacy became a focus for improvement at Brockton (MA) High School. Schoolwide training for teachers and a rolling implementation model ensured consistency and reinforcement of the skills. Results came in improved scores and national recognitions, including selection as a National…

Purpose: This study examined speech-language pathologists' (SLPs') perceptions of their (a) educational and clinical training in evaluating and treating written language disorders, (b) knowledge bases in this area, (c) sources of knowledge about written language disorders, (d) confidence levels, and (e) predictors of confidence in working with…

Research on implementing task-based language-teaching (TBLT) shows that adapting TBLT in ways that are inconsistent with its principles is common among nonnative-speaker English-as-a-foreign-language teachers. Our study of Canadian native-speaker English-as-a-second language teachers reveals how they also adapt TBLT in ways that are incongruent…

A great deal has been learned about how standards, assessment, and resources can be used in combination to make a difference for students, teachers, and schools. It is in this context that the authors make the case for a set of interrelated, research-based policy principles to support schools in improving students' literacy achievement through…