Effective classroom management plans are essential for creating environments that foster appropriate social interactions and engaged learning for students in K-12 settings. New and early-career teachers often face difficulties addressing student discipline, upholding classroom rules and procedures, and establishing positive teacher-student…

School principals are agents of change in the implementation of education policies as they oversee accountability actions that serve to monitor and evaluate student achievement and identify the measures required. In Québec, where "results-based management" (RBM) is encouraged, the "professional learning community" (PLC)…

Nathaniel Stone, the principal of Lakeshore Community High School, was summoned to a meeting in the city. The gathering included more than a dozen influential leaders. The conversation that unfolded was, literally, unreal. Mr. Smith, a government official of sorts, called for the destruction of a social movement that was having a positive effect…

In their second collaboration, Wilcox and Angelis tell the stories of high school educators who embody best practices in their day-to-day activities--practices that consistently lead to higher student academic achievement across the core subjects for "all" students. This book shares results of a multi-case study of how some high schools…

The authors extend the literature on multicultural democratic citizenship education (Marri, 2005) with a case study about how a highly esteemed high school teacher involved a heterogeneous group of students in a rigorous, engaging, critical study of U.S. History. Mr. Scott's teaching was noteworthy in its community building, thorough disciplinary…

In this paper, we examine the NCLB definition of a "highly qualified" teacher, the combined nature of federal and state highly qualified mandates, and how science teachers and their principals in one large, urban district have responded. In particular, we report on the kinds of licenses that teachers of science hold; the relationship…

Early career science teachers are often assigned to classrooms with high numbers of English language learners (ELLs). For the underprepared early career science teacher, these circumstances are challenging. This study examines the changes in beliefs and practices of an early career science teacher who taught high numbers of ELLs in an urban…

The Study of School Turnaround examines the improvement process in a purposive sample of 35 case study schools receiving federal funds through the School Improvement Grants (SIG) program over a three-year period (2010-11 to 2012-13 school years). This evaluation brief focuses on 11 of these SIG schools with high proportions of English Language…

Are teachers unions and collective bargaining agreements barriers to high school reform and redesign efforts in Washington, California, and Ohio? The short answer: sometimes, but not as often as many educators seem to think. Rather than wade into the pro- versus anti-union debate, this report instead aims to offer guidance for educators, unions,…

Based on the assumption that project based learning (PBL) in 12th grade social studies classrooms contributes to the development of life skills for high school seniors in this advanced and globalized time, this research will investigate student experiences with PBL methods for helping them acquire skills along with a case study of a successful PBL…

This case study examines a U.S. History class where a veteran teacher uses challenging primary source documents and a debate to encourage his students to think critically about history. The teacher is knowledgeable about the subject matter and articulates a clear purpose for teaching. Surprisingly, the author finds that the teacher's methods,…

Research demonstrates that authentic instruction is an effective form of teaching and raising student achievement. The purpose of this study was to examine high school math or science teachers who had a high interest in using authentic instruction in three different school settings--an alternative school, a charter school, and a traditional…

Case studies of Authentic Intellectual Work (AIW) in the Iowa project included four high schools that have been practicing this professional development model for the last five years. The schools, AHST Secondary School, Cedar Falls High School, Spencer High and Middle Schools and Valley High School were visited in April, 2011. The visits included…

Non-attendance to meaning by students is a prevalent phenomenon in school mathematics. Our goal is to investigate features of instruction that might account for this phenomenon. Drawing on a case study of two high school algebra teachers, we cite episodes from the classroom to illustrate particular teaching actions that de-emphasize meaning. We…

This case study explains the functional or practical difficulties that many organizations face when they change their leaders. By describing the experiences of the two principals, two distinct styles of leadership are displayed, each of which provides the reader with the opportunity to understand some aspects of frames in organizations:…