Leaders, policymakers, and researchers have called attention to the need to improve critical aspects of physics programs, from teaching and pedagogy to making physics more diverse and equitable. As such programmatic changes are challenging and require a second-order change to be effective, many physics faculty responsible for carrying them out are…

Supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is an explicitly stated goal of many mathematics departments across the country, and addressing ongoing disparities in outcomes and experiences within undergraduate mathematics is a shared responsibility among undergraduate mathematics community members. Despite the prevalence of ideological,…

This study investigated how open and distance learning (ODL) reform was managed within the Institute of Extramural Studies (IEMS), at the National University of Lesotho (NUL). The reform was introduced during the 2017/18 academic year with first-year programmes in three departments: (a) Adult Education; (b) Business and Management Development; and…

At the University of Hartford we transformed our approach to Calculus I--moving it away from a lecture-dominant format to one that focuses squarely on students solving problems and discussing and presenting their mathematical ideas for the majority of class time. In this article, we discuss our Flipping Calculus project and how a departmental…

Change in higher education is inevitable (Wergin, 2007). One prominent change is related to faculty composition. Studies have shown increased hiring of full-time non-tenure-track faculty compared to tenure-track faculty (AAUP, 2018; National Center on Educational Statistics, 2018). The department chair plays a critical role in the lives of…

In July 2018, the Congress passed and President Trump signed into law the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (PL 115-224), a measure to reauthorize the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (the Perkins Act). The reauthorized statute, known as "Perkins V," gives states added…

In May and June 2018, the Center on School Turnaround at WestEd hosted two online Thought Leadership Forums for state education agency officials who are members of the Leadership Council of the Network of State Turnaround and Improvement Leaders. The monthly forums are intended to build the capacity of SEAs and regional comprehensive centers to…

Research about organizational improvement has come from several disciplines--business management, organizational sociology, communications, and education. Across these fields, much of the research involves case studies of effective organizations (e.g., Collins, 2001; Johnson, 1996). Review of these case studies suggests several commonalities among…

This paper examines the role played by a student-organized research conference in the age of research-led teaching and active learning. Drawing on our experiences of organizing two departmental conferences in Geography in March 2016 and March 2017, we begin to outline how institutional support and funding for student-led "Changemakers"…

Schools can work toward achieving safe, positive environments by integrating a behavioral support framework for students with a systematic approach to identifying students in need of mental health services. This study of the U.S. Department of Education's School Climate Transformation Grant (SCTG) program examined how participating states and…

The Now is the Time initiative, introduced following the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012, includes among its goals making schools safer and increasing access to mental health services. To address these aims, the U.S. Department of Education launched its School Climate Transformation Grant (SCTG) program, which aims to promote more…

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) has yet to fully enter the mainstream of life in higher education. In this case study, we consider a specific network focused on the reform of engineering education. The network involves global collaboration within the discipline of Engineering and is based around curricular activity that affects…

The purpose of the Common Core State Standards is to prepare students to succeed in college and career pursuits. To that end, the Common Core calls on teachers to focus on deepening students' understanding of what they're learning, enhancing their problem-solving skills, and improving their ability to communicate ideas. At the same time, states…

Over the last two decades, state education agencies (SEAs) have been given considerable responsibilities for improving low-performing schools and for adopting research-based practices in doing so. Yet we know little about how and where these organizations search for, select, and use research and other kinds of evidence. We examined these questions…

Disciplines codify related knowledge and have developed powerful approaches that enable both solutions to a wide variety of problems and efficient further extension of knowledge. Individual disciplines have translated into individual departments within universities. Academic departments tend to turn inward, deepening the knowledge within the…