Student engagement is associated with many positive outcomes, including academic achievement, school persistence, and social-emotional well-being. The present study examined whether the Freedom Writers Institute, a professional development program designed to improve teachers' skills in creating personalized learning environments, can increase…

This paper recounts the author's experience with giving a Needs Assessment for improvement by university teachers. Subjects were from the University of Lethbridge and the 2008 Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE) conference session. Teachers at the University (n = 77) indicated they could spend 5-15 hours in teaching…

Presents a scale of key teaching attributes that can be used to examine general classroom teachers' perceptions of knowledge and skills for providing effective instruction to students with disabilities, to assist in the development and implementation of more effective inclusionary practices, and to provide administrators with the indicators that…

Guidelines and course materials for teaching an inservice course for regular and special education teachers are presented which are designed to accompany the text entitled "Minority Issues in the Education of Handicapped Children." The instructor's manual contains information concerning the course materials, instructor options and requirements,…

An observational instrument was developed to facilitate the peer coaching process by special education consulting teachers with regular class teacher colleagues. Use of the instrument was piloted by a special education consulting teacher with three middle school teachers whose classes included special education and at-risk students. The instrument…

A needs assessment instrument was developed to aid rural (upstate New York) school officials in implementing staff development programs and determining special staff development needs for serving handicapped students in the mainstream. Survey responses were gathered from 85 elementary and secondary teachers in 3 school districts over 2 counties.…

The long-range goal of Louisiana's teacher professional accountability programs is to enhance student learning by providing opportunities for teachers to strengthen skill areas and by identifying those aspects of teaching performance that may need improvement. "Strategies for Effective Teaching in the 21st Century" is intended to be used…

A practicum project was developed and implemented to encourage teachers' use of inclusion teaching. The objectives of the practicum were to increase targeted teachers' knowledge and understanding of inclusion programs by 20 percent, increase their knowledge of co-teaching 20 percent, and demonstrate their knowledge of adapting the curriculum for…