This study examined whether there were gendered patterns in STEM endorsement choice in the Houston Independent School District (HISD) and how those patterns changed over time, in the wake of a policy change to guidance counseling. The first students required to choose high school endorsements were freshmen in 2014-2015 and graduated high school in…

The changing nature of education has forced educators to rethink the role of classrooms in student learning. Prior research has shown that the environmental and structural design of education centers impact student learning. With a dozen variables to deal with, classroom designers are faced with the daunting task of selecting one plan from the…

The success of school communities and their stakeholders is determined by the leadership at the helm of the organization, as the arc of decision-making lies within their hands. Therefore, an analysis of principals' decision-making processes and their potential impact is of great significance. In the realm of decision-making, "systems thinking…

Mathematics teachers are vital components in determining what mathematics students have the opportunity to learn. There are a vast number of factors and reasons that influence a teacher's instructional decisions. As such, teachers rely heavily on their curricular reasoning (CR) to make decisions about what content to teach, how that content is…

Middle school is a place where many students are first introduced to more complex novels. Novel instruction in middle school English language arts classrooms is potentially influenced by the elementary focus on reading strategies and/or the secondary focus on literary analysis. Using a qualitative methodological approach, six middle school…

Over the past few decades, organizations, researchers, and professional developers have noted the potential for using classroom discussions to improve student learning in mathematics classrooms. Yet, for teachers, managing the often-competing demands that arise while attempting to plan for and enact these discussions can be challenging. To better…

This article presents a formative intervention study, called "Learning Lab" that facilitated the collective design of a culturally responsive behavioral support system at an urban middle school in the United States. Learning Lab united parents, teachers, support staff, education leaders, and researchers, specifically those who have been…

The schools in the United States undergo reforms that involve the integration of data-intensive improvement process known as strategic improvement plans (SIPs). This process requires digital systems to set goals, create interventions, use and analyse student data, monitor and report SIPs. A challenge with digital systems is the integration of a…

The incidence of writing disorder is as common as reading disorder, but it is frequently under-identified and rarely targeted for intervention. Increasing clinical understanding on various subtypes of writing disorder through assessment guided by data-driven decision making may alleviate this disparity for students with writing disorders. The…

Papay (2011) noticed that teacher value-added measures (VAMs) from a statistical model using the most common pre/post testing timeframe--current-year spring relative to previous spring (SS)--are essentially unrelated to those same teachers' VAMs when instead using next-fall relative to current-fall (FF). This is concerning since this choice--made…

This case provides principal licensure candidates a strategic perspective on leading and managing educational technology initiatives. It presents issues related to vision setting, planning, implementation, organizational structure, and decision making. The case narrative is presented from the perspective of a principal, but it can also be used to…

Those closest to students have the greatest impact on their success. Given this belief, Louisiana has focused its efforts to support and empower principals in their role as school leaders. Successful principals reflect and plan, using data throughout the year to set goals and improve instruction. The Department helps principals develop their…

When Principal Natasha Moore saw the application for Community School funding from Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) during her first year as principal at REACH Academy, she jumped on the opportunity to apply. East Oakland's REACH Academy serves a student body of just under 400, and is co-located with Cox Academy, a charter school.…

Background/Context: School districts are increasingly expected to support students in meeting ambitious mathematical learning goals. Many schools and districts are investing significant resources in the provision of time for teacher collaboration in the hope that this will help teachers improve their instruction in ways that support students in…

Teachers are expected to improve their planning, instruction, and assessment as they progress through their career. An important component to teachers knowing what to modify in their teaching style is being able to solicit meaningful feedback from students. This mixed-methods study was conducted to provide teachers with a quantitative method to…