The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of in-situational coaching on the reading success of English Language Learners. This study was conducted using a quantitative research design to analyze summative assessment data related to the reading success of English Language Learners in a sample from an identified population.…

Virtually everyone agrees that teacher evaluation in the United States needs an overhaul. Existing systems rarely help teachers improve or clearly distinguish those who are succeeding from those who are struggling. The tools that are used do not always represent the important features of good teaching. Criteria and methods for evaluating teachers…

Leadership coaching is now seen as a valuable tool to assist school leaders. Through a survey of school principals, this study identified specific coaching competencies used by leadership coaches that were perceived by principals to influence key best practices for schools. These best practices have in turn been correlated to increased student…

For over a decade, the nursing profession has increased enrollments and established new education programs in response to the national nursing shortage. The profession has focused on increasing the numbers of new graduate nurses prepared to replace the nation's aging nursing workforce. Considering the expense of this educational process with close…

Teachers in a Southern California, high-needs, low-achieving elementary school participated in a three-year period of action research beginning in the 2009-2010 academic year. As part of the action research, teachers received 40 hours of in-person professional development, classroom coaching, and online support to improve their understanding and…

As a first generation immigrant born in Mexico City, academic coaching is one of the keys to success for Juan Arias, a 24-year-old junior at Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, California. The community college transfer student was provided with his own personal coach during orientation who provided weekly visits or calls to guide him…

The study reported in this paper examined the effects of "First Step to Success (First Step)," a school- and home-based program intended to improve outcomes for students with moderate to severe behavior problems who may be at risk for academic failure. The study took place in six locations across five states: San Jose, California; Tampa,…

The Schools to Watch: School Transformation Network Project is a whole school reform model designed to improve the educational practices, experiences, and outcomes of low-performing middle-grades schools. Developed by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform, the four-year project was funded in 2010 by a U.S. Department of Education…

In this article, I critique a component of the highly structured Open Court Reading curriculum designed to teach elementary children "inquiry and higher-order thinking" skills. The intended outcome of this component is, I argue, the production of critically literate and informed consumers of information. However, both the critical…

The aim of this study is to report employment and independent living outcomes of 125 graduates from the Taft College Transition to Independent Living (TIL) program. The TIL program has served students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including autism spectrum disorder, since 1995. The TIL program follows graduates from the time of…

Establishing school-based professional learning appears so simple and straightforward during inspiring presentations at summer workshops, but keeping collaborative work focused on teaching and learning in such a way that it produces consistent results is a highly underestimated task. Investigations and experience from a group of researchers at the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the value of mentoring techniques as perceived by beginning teachers. One specific school district in Southern California using the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) program was the focus of this study. There were 12 beginning teachers involved in their second year of the BTSA program. The…

This paper examines the impact of two approaches to teacher professional development in arts integration--a summer institute model and a model combining the summer institute with instructional coaching. In an experimental design, the intervention trained third and fourth grade teachers to integrate visual arts and theater into reading curriculum.…

The purpose of this article is to examine the nature of the Blackboard and Skype-based electronic mentoring system for beginning teachers. The Quality Teachers for Quality Students project developed an electronic mentoring system between beginning teachers and experienced teachers to support beginning teachers' instructional and classroom…

At Hoover High School in San Diego, California, the hard work of learning and refining teaching practices began and continues through professional learning communities (PLCs). The teachers and administrators see PLCs not simply as another reason to attend meetings, but as a means of engaging with their colleagues about the implementation of a…