In Japanese secondary schools, speaking assessment in English classrooms is designed, conducted, and scored by teachers. Although the assessment is intended to be used for summative and formative purposes, it is not regularly or adequately practiced. This paper reports the problems (i.e., lack of continuous speaking assessment, limited speaking…

Information and communication technology (ICT) has become an important tool for school systems as they seek to enhance education and make it more efficient. This has become all the more apparent and urgent with the COVID-19 pandemic. But what degree of access do students from different socio-economic backgrounds have to ICT-based quality…

Current reading assessments put emphasis in the five components of reading competency, neglecting the self-efficacy needs of students. When students struggle with one of or all five components of reading competency, they could have negative feelings about themselves as a reader. This article offers teachers and effective user friendly assessment…

When the members of a team of educators are confident they have the ability to make a difference in a school, it can have a significant impact on school culture and achievement. In this article, the authors discuss the ways that collective efficacy (or its absence) manifests in a school and offer suggestions for leaders on how to develop it. Key…

This paper provides a novel instructional methodology that is designed to conceptually address the four main challenges faced by 21st century students, who must learn in a multitude of educational settings (face to face, hybrid and online). The online learning neuroscience supported instructional methodology detailed in this article also provides…

Adult learners with low literacy skills compose a highly heterogeneous population in terms of demographic variables, educational backgrounds, knowledge and skills in reading, self-efficacy, motivation etc. They also face various difficulties in consistently attending offline literacy programs, such as unstable worktime, transportation…

This chapter describes the role of two types of self-efficacy--leader self-efficacy and leader developmental efficacy--for enhancing leadership development. Practical implications for designing and developing leadership programs that take into account these two types of self-efficacy are discussed.

In this article, the author shares the Menu Writing project, designed to promote a meaningful, real-world connection to mathematics with the lives of students. The rationale for developing this project was two-fold: (1) to connect school mathematics to students' lived experiences to encourage and sustain students' interest, motivation, and…

Research is an integral component of social work education, yet social work students often experience considerable fear and anxiety when faced with the prospect of engaging in research and research-related activities. Student reluctance towards research can cause significant challenges for social work educators. Literature suggests that certain…

Support of students' social and emotional learning plays an important role in a Multi-tiered System of Support (MTSS). The study by Schumacher (2014) summarized in this research to practice brief, "Talking Circles for Adolescent Girls in an Urban High School: A Restorative Practices Program for Building Friendships and Developing Emotional…

This piece documents the collaboration between a team of four University of Pennsylvania students and seven youth partners from across the Greater Philadelphia area who came together to discuss, understand, and take action toward civic issues impacting their communities. As youth arrived at the Civic Engagement Summer Program, a joint Philadelphia…

What makes a powerful and results-driven Professional Learning Community (PLC)? The answer is collaborative work that expands the emphasis on student learning and leverages individual teacher efficacy into collective teacher efficacy. "PLC+: Better Decisions and Greater Impact by Design" calls for strong and effective PLCs…

Albert Bandura's theory of self-efficacy is a commonly known social-emotional learning theory that states that learners can only achieve that which they believe they can achieve. Strong self-efficacy, associated with confidence and a willingness to take risks in learning, has been positively correlated with strong student achievement. While some…

At the root of problem solving, Tishman and Clapp assert, is a sense of agency. The impetus to engage with a problem starts with a sense that it's possible to reshape something by directing one's actions purposefully. The authors--who participated in a long-term project observing how the "maker movement" is being implemented in…

The global crisis of human trafficking involves the exploitation of people for personal gain and affects millions. Survivors often present with symptoms that are not identifiable to untrained clinicians. In this article, we discuss the importance for counselor training, as well as counselor self-efficacy and competency in addressing the needs of…