The paper evaluates math performance at four high-need middle schools during a four-year intervention, which was designed to help math teachers diagnose students' areas of need and to design lesson plans responsive to those needs. Before the intervention began, the researchers pre-selected four comparison schools by matching based on achievement…

The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a new era of technological tools that were used by language teachers to develop their students' English language skills. As a result of the sudden shift to online instruction, teachers at the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics Academy middle school had little time to prepare and had limited…

This study examined the application of Lesson Study for professional development (PD) for a domain approach to moral education. A comparison was drawn between the effects of Lesson Study with 17 teachers and 144 students representing middle schools in the same district as a prior study employing intensive traditional PD. In Lesson Study, groups of…

The Japanese lesson study (JLS) model for curriculum development has seen limited application to middle school science classrooms. The JLS model was used to develop and refine three hands-on activities focused on four major eighth grade science topics from the California curriculum. Prior assessments of these topics showed limited understanding by…

Although mathematics standards have changed dramatically in recent years, teaching mathematics is as complex as it has always been. Some would argue that mathematics teaching has become even more complex, with the implementation of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSS-M) (NGA Center & CCSSO, 2010), as teachers are being asked…

Over the course of six years, a diverse group of school districts and charter management organizations in California ran a substantial experiment in implementing the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in elementary and middle grades. WestEd led an extensive evaluation of that effort, the California K-8 NGSS Early Implementers Initiative,…

This 13th report in WestEd's evaluation of the K-8 Early Implementers Initiative for the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) provides an extensive response to the following question: What does NGSS science teaching look like in the classroom? The report first discusses Initiative teachers' experiences with four instructional practices that…

This study looks deeply inside 17 schools that stand at the vanguard of the current revolution in teaching. This new National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL) report reveals the substantive ways in which these schools are providing their teachers with more time to reflect on, develop, and hone their craft, by very explicitly leveraging an…

After a significant policy change led to the admittance of students with moderate disabilities, St. Agnes School (SAS; pseudonym)--a Catholic PK-8 school in Southern California--implemented an 18-month professional development (PD) program to improve teachers' inclusive classroom practices. Grounded in the theoretical framework of Universal Design…

NGSS Early Implementers is a four-year initiative created to help eight California school districts and two charter management organizations, supported by WestEd's K-12 Alliance, implement the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Designed for professional developers and administrators, this report describes 10 tools and processes that are…

A common theme has been consistently woven through the literature on teacher professional development: that practice-based designs and collaboration are two components of effective teacher learning models. In addition to collaboration and practice-based designs, inquiry cycles have been long recognized as catalysts for teacher professional…

This study approaches the problem of African American mathematics achievement from a strength-based perspective, identifying practices implemented by middle school principals successful in increasing and sustaining the mathematics achievement of African American students. The study was designed to answer questions regarding both school-wide…

This article reports on two studies using "Language Muse[superscript SM]" (LM), a web-based, teacher professional development (TPD) application designed to enhance teachers' linguistic awareness and to support teachers in the development of language-based instructional scaffolding for English language learners (ELL). In Study 1,…

This study contributes knowledge about how a digital badge system integrated into an online, subject-matter-specific, and competency-based professional development (PD) program affected teachers' experiences with and perceptions of the program activities. The report presents findings from a one-year exploratory study of an online PD program, and…

The teacher who understands the importance of energy is often faced with the challenge of incorporating it into an already crowded curriculum. This compendium provides a resource for quality lesson plans and support materials at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. The materials were evaluated for their ability to meet the educational…