Background and purpose: The purpose of this research was to understand the experiences of pre-service teachers in a service-learning program. The research questions that guided this research were: (1) How does an after-school service-learning program that utilizes pre-service teachers develop students' pedagogy? (2) What are the experiences of…

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed-methods case study was twofold: first, to explore the 6 exceptional systems of a culture of college readiness supported within 2 No Excuses University elementary schools and identify any patterns or trends that may exist across 4th- and 6th-grade levels, and second, to examine the relationship between these…

To learn mathematical practices, students need opportunities to engage in them. But simply providing such opportunities may not be sufficient to support all students. Simultaneously, explicitly teaching mathematical practices could be problematic if instruction becomes prescriptive. This study investigated how teachers might make mathematical…

How do teacher candidates develop their knowledge in second language literacy to support their students in a Professional Development School (PDS)? This article reports preliminary findings of a qualitative study that investigates the learning process of single-subject credential candidates in a pilot urban PDS site where they co-taught and…

Although researchers call for inquiry learning in science, science assessments rarely capture the impact of inquiry instruction. This paper reports on the development and validation of assessments designed to measure middle-school students' progress in gaining integrated understanding of energy while studying an inquiry-oriented curriculum. The…

English language learner (ELL) mathematics students at a California middle school did not meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) toward state standards in 2010. The purpose of this project study was to examine 6th and 7th grade mathematics teachers' perceptions regarding differentiated instruction for ELL students' specific academic needs and to…

With passage of The No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, the nation's schools have been under pressure to bring all students to a proficient level as defined by their state. The State of California currently uses a status model accountability system to measure whether a student, school, or district is proficient. Other states such as Arizona,…

The need for U.S. teachers to better understand School Violence Prevention is growing. Evidence suggests however, that 10 years and 10 billion dollars after the Columbine High School massacre, our public schools are not safer (www.community-matters.org). There has been an "after the fact" approach to the problem of school violence. After…

This article examines the use of Critical Race Pedagogy in two service-learning initiatives that prepare pre-service teachers for working with an increasing immigrant student population in California and Texas. It is not uncommon for teachers to participate in the "Othering" dominant discourse that tends to see those who are of a lower…

In 2000, California introduced science content standards as part of an across the curriculum reform. This presented a special challenge for elementary teachers due to an increased emphasis on math and language arts, and limited science background and resources. This two year qualitative study looks at a professional development program that…

The purpose of this publication is to share models and case examples of the process of inclusive arts curriculum design and evaluation. The first section explains the conceptual and curriculum frameworks that were used in the analysis and generation of the featured case studies (i.e. Understanding by Design, Differentiated Instruction, and…

In this study I rely on sociocultural views of learning and teaching to describe how fifth- sixth-grade students in a Fostering a Community of Learners (FCL) classroom gradually adopted scientific ideas and language in a socially complex classroom. Students practiced talking science together, using everyday, scientific, and hybrid discourses as…

When a child has an extensive knowledge of vocabulary, it is most likely from extensive reading, regardless of whether the reading is from comic books, magazines, or a recommended reading literature list. Teachers who are always trying to find the best strategies for teaching literacy skills such as reading comprehension, vocabulary development,…

This appendix accompanies "Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Why Some Schools Do Better. A Large-Scale Study of Middle Grades Practices and Student Outcomes. Initial Research Report." This appendix focuses on the findings and domain comparisons of the study. This appendix contains the following: (1) Decision Rules; (2) Full Set of…