Unfortunately, too many low-income students enter college academically under-prepared, and too few find the support they need to succeed in college. As a result, their rates of completing four-year degrees continue to lag behind those of more-affluent students. The gap has not diminished in recent years--indeed it may have increased somewhat over…

This action research project was aimed to improve geometry students' achievement and the retention in a suburban public high school over a one-year implementation cycle. The curricular design was influenced by Dweck's (2006) theories of growth mindset, educational standards, and directives outlined by the National Council of Teachers of…

Democratic professional development is of the teachers, by the teachers, for the teachers. It differs from managerial models, which often have preset agendas and provide what "experts" think teachers need. Managerial models tend to be leader-centered, making some teachers feel treated like "tall children" rather than…

Hiring new teachers and continuing their professional growth so that they remain in the profession and become effective teachers have been a challenge for decades. Research suggests that induction programs can achieve these outcomes if they are highly structured, include mentoring, focus on professional learning, and emphasize collaboration that…

In Fall 2009 and Spring 2010, 30 teaching residency programs received funding through one of 28 Teacher Quality partnership grants awarded to establish or expand residency programs. These programs follow a model of teacher preparation in which prospective teachers complete graduate-level coursework alongside a year-long fieldwork experience in the…

In Fall 2009 and Spring 2010, 30 teaching residency programs received funding through one of 28 Teacher Quality partnership grants awarded to establish or expand residency programs. These programs follow a model of teacher preparation in which prospective teachers complete graduate-level coursework alongside a year-long fieldwork experience in the…

This paper presents the results of a collaborative project between the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney, Australia, and the School of Education at Can Tho University, Vietnam. The project aimed to develop a model for the professional development of teacher educators in the context of educational innovations in…

This case study offers an in-depth look at how one school achieved change in its culture and in its approach to curriculum and instruction. The unit of analysis for this single case study is South Loop Elementary School (SLES) and the time period is from August 2002 to June of 2007, during which SLES students demonstrated sharply improved…

While it is generally acknowledged that the first years of teaching are the most difficult, little is known about the development of subject matter specialists during this period. In order to add to the knowledge in this area, the present study explores the first year of 114 secondary science teachers as they participate in one of four different…

The standards of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education require that teacher education programs document teacher candidates' effectiveness across different domains. Most challenging for our program is the directive to document the impact that candidates have on preK-12 student learning. To gather information on the effects…

This study documents the implementation of research-based strategies to minimize the occurrence of reading difficulties in a first-grade population. Three strategies were implemented: (a) A system of progress monitoring was used to assess student progress and skill acquisition; (b) instruction was characterized by high intensity through the use of…

Exemplary Middle Grades Research: Evidence-Based Studies Linking Theory to Practice features research published throughout 2009 in MGRJ that has been identified by the Information Age Publishing's review board as the most useful in terms of assisting educators with making practical applications from evidence-based studies to classroom and school…

In 2004, the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences contracted with Mathematica Policy Research to conduct a large-scale evaluation of comprehensive teacher induction. The purpose of the study was to determine whether augmenting the set of services districts usually provide to support beginning teachers with a more…

Formative assessment has been receiving increasing attention in education. But from a classroom teacher's perspective, changing assessment practices is not always an easy, straightforward process. This article describes the experiences of five middle schools science teachers who met together weekly to exchange ideas about integrating formative…

Teacher turnover is significantly higher in hard-to-staff schools, and it is costly. Not only are billions of dollars spent annually to recruit and train new teachers, but students who are denied the best education possible often enter the workforce at a disadvantage. The problem demands strategies that work. This report identifies examples and…