Previous research indicates that the principal is second to the teacher in their impact on student learning. However, oftentimes principals enter their position lacking the skills and knowledge of an effective instructional leader. Moreover, districts may lack the internal capacity to support principal's professional development and learning. If…

The characteristics of the emerging and existing teaching force are explored in relation to supervision Key trends that exacerbate teacher shortages include out-of-field teaching, increases in student population, critical subject-area shortages, attrition, and retirement. This paper calls for a high-stakes form of supervision as a long-term…

The purpose of this article is to report the process outcomes of a coaching methodology used in a study designed to increase fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity in families. Eighty-eight families with second graders were recruited from a rural, biethnic community in Colorado and randomized to intervention and delayed intervention…

The main objective of the overall Targeted Reading Intervention (TRI) was to help the classroom teacher acquire the key reading diagnostic strategies (e.g., Cooter, 2003; Desimone, 2009; Garet et al., 2001; Timperley & Phillips, 2003) relevant to K-1 struggling readers (e.g., Desimone, 2009; Garet et al., 2001; Guskey, 2002; Joyce &…

A year-long collaborative action research project used networked technologies to connect researchers at a university-based online professional development program and a group of practitioner researchers based in a range of schools and educational agencies in several countries. They studied the process and effects of online professional development…

In 2006, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched the Early Learning Initiative (ELI) to improve the school readiness of Washington State's children through three main strategies: (1) development of high-quality, community-wide early learning initiatives in two communities; (2) enhancement of statewide systems that support early…

The escalating success of personal coaching and the significant potential it holds as a vehicle for effective learning, appear to have had little impact within educational contexts to date. In response, this paper therefore presents an introduction to personal coaching practice and its outcomes and examines its processes through a discussion of…

Here's a book that explains how proven coaching strategies can help you inspire students and boost their performance in any subject and grade level. Discover why a coaching environment creates more student motivation and higher engagement, and learn the strategies and techniques that winning coaches use to help groups and individuals work more…

The professional development of a facilitator is a neglected area in the action learning literature. This article presents one example of such development. It is divided into three sections: firstly it describes the author's experience of being a set member on a newly-introduced Masters programme at a British university; secondly, it describes…

What are states doing to improve graduation rates? A requester asked a state scan matrix of Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) states or other states with similar student demographics, and other states with exemplary programs with great successes. This paper responds to this request.

The education of direct care workers (DCWs) is key to improving job quality and the quality of care in long-term care (LTC). This paper describes the successful integration of a supervisory training program into a continuing education intervention (WIN A STEP UP) for DCWs, identifies the factors that appear to influence the integration of the…

When Palmdale School District and Pivot Learning Partners entered into their first contract in 2006, neither organization foresaw the magnitude and complexity the relationship would take over time. Pivot Learning Partners (formerly known as Springboard Schools) is a non-profit service provider that first entered the Palmdale School District…

Although literacy skills needed to engage in the economy and public life have grown, the literacy skills of many adolescents remain low. One popular approach to improving student literacy is using school-based reading coaches; however, there is little empirical evidence regarding the nature of coaching and its effectiveness in changing teacher…

Despite recent progress in reading achievement among children in primary grades, many children are not moving beyond basic decoding skills to fluency and comprehension as they go on to higher grades. To address this problem, many policymakers suggest that reading coaches -- master teachers who offer ongoing on-site instructional support for…

Two major obstacles to using problem-based learning methods with writing in elementary school classrooms are the time it takes to design the learning environment and the time required for students to interact at their own pace with ill-structured problems used to spur student writing. This study examined whether game elements could be used along…