This study utilized a quantitative research approach with a survey design to determine whether a sample of K-8 principals in the state of Illinois, that rated teachers in a set of classroom instructional videos, exhibited inter-rater reliability since they all received the Illinois state-approved training and certification for teacher evaluators.…

The Common Planning Time Project of the Middle Level Education Research Special Interest Group (MLER SIG) of the American Educational Research Association provided an avenue through which researchers from throughout the United States could investigate numerous aspects of common planning time in schools. Although several studies have investigated…

Reading Apprenticeship is a research-based professional learning model and instructional framework designed by the Strategic Literacy Initiative (SLI) at WestEd to improve student literacy and learning. Based on understandings of the close relationship between curricular reform and professional development (Heller & Greenleaf, 2007), Reading…

Teacher candidates benefit from dynamic clinical practices embedded in teacher preparation programs. In this article, we discuss Clinical Urban Plunge (CUP), a clinically-based approach to integrating social justice and equity education in our Middle Level Teaching and Learning Program at Northern Illinois University. More specifically, we explain…

The article provides an overview of the quantitative analysis of teachers' metacognitive awareness. The purpose of the overview is to express the need for encompassing measures of metacognition for improving metacognitive awareness in the field of technology and engineering education. The data presented come from using the Metacognitive Awareness…

The purpose of this mixed-method study was to examine elementary teacher perceptions of mandated curriculum change. In the spring and fall of 2015, Illinois elementary school teachers in a north suburban school district participated in a focus group, an online survey, and follow-up interviews to gather data about teachers' perceptions of the…

While there is considerable research concerning co-teaching among special educators and regular classroom teachers, little work has been published regarding co-teaching that involves teacher candidates and their cooperating teachers. During the last three years, two middle level education faculty members involved in their University's Professional…

This study explored the significance of technology integration familiarization and the subsequent PD provided to rural middle school teachers with several opportunities to gain technological skills for technology use in rural middle school math and science classrooms. In order to explore the use of technology in rural schools, this study surveyed…

Students with disabilities lag behind peers without disabilities in most postsecondary outcome areas such as employment, postsecondary education, and independent living. Numerous initiatives aimed at supporting students as they transition from school to adult life have received attention over the last few decades. These initiatives include those…

Professional learning and professional development are the essential tools employed in schools, districts, and universities in order to increase teachers' knowledge and skills. To gain the most from professional development in middle schools, the experiences and activities must be based on standards. Few researchers explore how teachers think…

Background: This study fills a gap in the literature by examining how school staff members view bullying and sexual harassment and their role in preventing both. Given recent legislation, increasingly more attention is paid to bully prevention; however, student-on-student sexual harassment is less addressed. Methods: Four focus groups were…

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…

The purpose of this study was threefold: Examine middle school teachers' familiarity with, interest in, conceptual knowledge of and performance on light; Examine their ability to identify misconceptions on light and their suggested pedagogical ideas to address the identified misconceptions; and Establish the relationship between the middle school…

The Global Writes (GW) model is a well-designed performing arts integrated literacy program that builds local and global support among students, teachers, and arts partners through the use of innovative technologies. Through local partnerships between schools and arts organizations forged by GW, classroom teachers and local teaching artists build…

In this article, the authors trace teachers' experiences while participating in an educational technology development and research project focused on the creation and use of an online writing and peer review environment. They follow teachers from their initial expectations of the program, to their response to professional development training…