This study was based on convergence of two educational theories: 1) that professional development improves teacher quality and instructional practices and therefore positively affects student achievement and 2) allocation of school resources positively affects student achievement. It is a common educational belief that professional development…

Post-secondary experiences for students still in high school have been promoted as a means to increase academic rigor and create a better-trained workforce. Yet little is known regarding supports needed to significantly increase such options. This study obtained input from 411 stakeholders in one Midwestern state, including 201 district…

This study examined instructor qualifications for teaching dual enrollment students, college-level work. This research focused on Maryland dual enrollment programs that offered both high school and college credit to high school students for each college Associate of Arts and Associate of Science transfer course taken. One significant goal of dual…

Greybull is a small high school nestled among the graybrown buttes of northwestern Wyoming. As in five other states, juniors take the ACT test, not for college entry but to see how they perform and how curriculum might be improved. Principal Mark Fritz said that they do watch the scores and do make changes in the curriculum and that Wyoming has…

This workshop will model for classroom teachers, one way to plan, teach, resource and assess inquiry-based learning which encompasses the guiding principles of a newly gazetted curriculum. The vision of the New Zealand curriculum is to produce "...young people who will be confident, connected, actively involved lifelong learners" (p. 8).…

The literacy team at Brentwood (NY) High School, a large urban high school, focused its efforts on building content-area teachers' literacy instruction skills. The team is made up of teachers from the various content areas, including physical education and art, as well as supportive administrators. The team developed a pacing guide, a monthly…

"Research Messages 2014" is a collection of summaries of research published by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) in 2014 in the context of changing economic, industrial, social and education conditions, organised under the following broad categories: (1) Productivity: to sustain and build Australia's human…

We are delighted to welcome you to the International Psychological Applications Conference and Trends (InPACT) 2015, taking place in Ljubljana, Slovenia, from 2 to 4 of May. Psychology, nowadays, offers a large range of scientific fields where it can be applied. The goal of understanding individuals and groups (mental functions and behavioral…

Although coteaching has become a widespread instructional option for students with disabilities, there are concerns regarding its effectiveness on student achievement especially at the secondary level. The authors examined whether ninth grade students with learning disabilities (LD) who received instruction in a resource classroom achieved at a…

School administrators have some tough hiring decisions to make, and an interview to select the most highly qualified applicants is critically important. Even before the mandates of No Child Left Behind, school administrators strove to hire the best new teachers. Competent, caring, qualified teachers are the keys to enhanced student achievement.…

This study was designed to (a) gather band directors' opinions of skills and characteristics important to teaching and (b) examine the relative effectiveness of electronic versus paper survey methods. Survey respondents ranked lists of music, teaching, and personal skills or characteristics in order of importance and answered open-ended items…

This qualitative case study was designed to explore how master teachers in transfer high schools learn the competencies they perceive are required to engage at-risk students so that they persist and graduate. The study is based on the following assumptions: (1) The requisite teacher competencies can be defined and identified and, in fact,…

The importance of teachers' content knowledge for effective teaching of mathematics has long been recognised. Recent national testing regimes in Australia (National Assessment Program-Literacy and Numeracy [NAPLAN]) have raised questions of the adequacy of teachers' content knowledge. This, in turn has focused attention upon the quality of teacher…

The purpose of this paper is to describe and present results from the fourth year of a five-year collaborative research project between an interactive science center and a local college. The purpose of the project is not only to recruit and train approximately 50 highly qualified science teachers who will teach in New York City public schools, but…

Teachers are a combination of who they are and what they've learned--with a bit more emphasis on what they've learned. It helps to be a born comedian or a motivational speaker, but it isn't necessary. What is necessary is a great desire to teach children and knowledge of how to manage student behavior to keep students engaged academically and…