No one stakeholder group can realize lasting change on their own; nor can any reform initiative focusing on just one type of strategy create the workplace conditions needed to truly build capacity within the education profession. Rather, stakeholders must focus on collaborating, reaching common understanding, and prioritizing for ultimate impact…

Research has shown that there is no greater influence on a student's success than the quality of his or her teacher. This book presents the research findings which demonstrate the connection between teacher effectiveness and student achievement. We've always known, at least intuitively, that teachers matter, but this book proves that teachers are…

In order to move forward with State and local reforms designed to improve academic achievement and increase the quality of instruction for all students in a manner that was not originally contemplated by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), a State educational agency (SEA) may request flexibility, on its own behalf and on behalf of its…

There is widespread acknowledgement that the production of effective teaching and teachers is perhaps the critical component of education reform and innovation for improvement of student learning. This aim requires a serious investment of time, rigor, and evaluation to produce professional-development programs that actually work. This report…

This qualitative study explores the experience of specialist teachers specific to their individual roles within the coaching model (CM). Reasons for in-depth study include (a) Rochester's struggle to meet federal and state student achievement benchmarks, (b) practitioner frustrations from site-level resistance or CM use, and (c) shifting role…

In 1998, Washington State had 51,512 classroom teachers, but only 29 of them were National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs). By 2009, the number of NBCTs in Washington had grown to 3,975--5th in the nation in total numbers, and 2nd in the nation in new teachers certifying that year. The state's successful strategy for increasing the number of…

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of in-service courses conducted by the Ministry of National Education in order to inform teachers about the changes introduced by the new primary and secondary school curricula. The study also aims to reveal whether these changes have entered the classrooms based on the teachers' views of the INSET…

The action research project Sustainable Change in a Critical Learning Community was conducted in the Netherlands (2007-08) to improve quality in early childhood by enhancement of critical reflection at all levels in early childhood organisations: educators individually and collectively, pedagogical leaders and coaches, and (middle) management. The…

This report summarizes main results from a national study of how leaders in urban school district central offices fundamentally transformed their work and relationships with schools to support districtwide teaching and learning improvement. All three study districts had been posting gains in student achievement and credited their progress, in…

More than 10 years ago, the author wrote her first version of "The Power of One" for the "Journal of Staff Development." She described her personal journey of discovering how one person could make a huge difference in the face of what appeared as insurmountable challenges. She described ways in which she had made such a difference and told,…

The Arkansas Department of Education Co-teaching Project was designed to assist Arkansas schools in the implementation of more inclusive service delivery models for students with disabilities. The project began due to a need to increase the number of students being served in less restrictive environments, but evolved into a systematic statewide…

The lack of diversity in the teaching force is troubling for several reasons. Fewer minority teachers may indicate that few minorities are interested in pursuing a career in teaching. The low number of minority teachers also may indicate that there are fewer minority candidates with the skills and qualifications to enter the field. The inability…

In its final report, Pre-K Now laid out a strategy to transform public education by moving from the current K-12 model to a more effective, evidence-based pre-K-12 system, based upon the vital learning that happens in children's earliest years. This pre-K-12 vision is grounded in rigorous research and reflects work by leading scholars and…

In science education, inquiry-based approaches to teaching and learning provide a framework for students to building critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Teacher professional development has been an ongoing focus for promoting such educational reforms. However, despite a strong consensus regarding best practices for professional…

The Texas statewide assessment of academic skills in 1997 indicated that >55 % of the student population failed to master the mathematics objectives set by the test criteria and 42 % of the mathematics teachers at the secondary level in the East Texas region were categorized as underqualified to teach mathematics at that level. The issue of…