This book introduces the Cycle of Responsibility (COR) model--the next step in the evolution of the Gradual Release of Responsibility model, which has been a conceptual mainstay of literacy education for decades. This new model shifts the current linear model to a cyclical process of multifaceted interactions that better reflect the complexities…

Jean Kirshner holds a Ph.D. in Education and Human Resource Development from Colorado State University and specializes in literacy and teacher education. Jean started her career as the Early Childhood Director at Saint Ignatius Grammar School, Chicago in 1988. After two years she joined the Child Opportunity Program in Denver as a Head Start…

Schools have been increasingly paying attention to the rapid diffusion of new technologies as a means to improve the pupils' learning experience. Research suggests that use of tablets in school are a particularly versatile technology, since they allow students to learn to manage the amount of information that they face nowadays. The iPad is one of…

The adaptation of the child in the first grade, namely the cooperation and of the school with the parents in this regard is one of the most discussed issues today. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of teachers and parents on the adaptation of first graders during the transition from preschool to first grade. Specifically, to…

This study examines the experiences of six K-5 elementary school teachers in professional learning spaces for antiracism. Teachers from two elementary schools established school-university partnerships to begin antiracist work: one on a whole-school level, the other a group of teachers meeting voluntarily with university faculty. Given the paucity…

This article reports on collaborative action research in twelve northern rural and Indigenous communities in four Canadian provinces. Pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, grade one, and Aboriginal Head Start teachers worked with university researchers in three universities to create action research projects with the aim of supporting children's oral…

This report shares the results of a project designed to help build the collective capacity and increase the impact of the external support providers working to improve K-3 reading outcomes in New York City public elementary schools. In the first phase of the project, we identified all the programs in what we call the K-3 reading improvement sector…

This brief provides a summary of the results of a project designed to help build the collective capacity and increase the impact of programs working to improve K-3 reading outcomes in New York City public elementary schools (the "K-3 reading improvement sector"). The first phase of this project identified all of the programs working in…

The City of Philadelphia has identified improving early literacy as a key civic priority. The goal is to support children's literacy development in school, at home, and in the community--regardless of where students live or attend school in Philadelphia. For this reason, civic efforts have sought to engage families, communities, and the city's…

As a result of a dramatic shift over the last 10 years in how educators and administrators are supported in their professional learning, teachers are no longer working in isolation behind closed doors. Instead, professional learning has moved to the school and the classroom, and teachers are encouraged to share their work and their students' work.…

Teacher candidates in one Professional Development School did make a difference in children's academic growth. This paper describes a mixed-methods study that investigated student achievement of elementary children after receiving interventions from teacher candidates and identified the perceived benefits and challenges of a new Professional…

While the United States' National Research Council (NRC 2012) and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS 2013) advocate children's engagement in active science learning, elementary school teachers in the US indicate lack of time to teach science regularly because of (1) school and district pressure to focus on English language arts and…

Preparing teachers to implement a new curriculum presents a significant but important challenge. While formal professional development programs can assist in this preparation, finding prescribed experiences that meet the needs of all teachers can be formidable and indeed may not always be the best option for promoting change in practice. Decisions…

Many major urban districts have committed large investments to school-based professional development anchored in the work of literacy coaches. At base is a shared belief that instructional coaches are key levers for improvement. Yet, clinical accounts of the role of an instructional coach suggest that this is a complex practice to implement well.…

This self-study emerged within the context of a school-based professional development project that established collaboration between two teacher educators and a group of elementary public school teachers. We launched the Book in a Bag project as a way to promote curriculum integration in classrooms and at the same time to provide a venue for…