For well over a decade, teachers have been recognized as the single most important school-level factor influencing student achievement (Darling-Hammond, 2000; McCaffrey, Lockwood, Koretz, & Hamilton, 2003; Rivkin, Hanushek, & Kain, 2000; Rowan, Correnti & Miller, 2002; Wright, Horn, & Sanders, 1997). Tremendous public resources…

In the report "From Good to Great: Exemplary Teachers Share Perspectives on Increasing Teacher Effectiveness across the Career Continuum," (See full report in ERIC at ED555657) National and State Teachers of the Year shared their views on what helped them become great teachers. This accompanying "Discussion Starter Tool" builds…

This glossary was developed from existing research and feedback from faculty and researchers from the California community colleges in response to Resolution S08 2.02 that asked the Academic Senate for California Community College to address the confusion in the field by researching and developing a glossary of common terms for student learning…

In this powerful collection of personal accounts, successful and respected teachers from across the country reveal how recent education policies have played out in their schools and classrooms in negative and counterproductive ways, and offer teacher-led alternatives for providing equitable, engaging, and empowering education. Framed by critical…

This address provides a historical perspective on the concept of school effectivenss and argues for an enlightened synthesis of normative and empirical values. The first part, "Early Images of Effective Schooling," reviews the evolution of discourse on school effectiveness since the turn of the century. Although the early discussions…

The Catalyst project at Indiana University sought to increase awareness of research ethics questions among the faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates, and to develop and disseminate instructional materials. The participating departments were biology, history, and psychology, representing, respectively, the natural sciences, the humanities,…

This study explored whether classroom teachers were involved in research, what role teachers should play in educational research, and what educational issues teachers think should be addressed in a newly restructured educational research infrastructure. The project included more than 6,000 educators nationwide with the majority in the Midwest.…

This report analyzes the relationship between educational policymaking and educational practice in schools and classrooms by drawing lessons from recent attempts to reform schools with policy. Educational reform operates on the following loosely connected levels: (1) policy; (2) administration; and (3) practice. Policy can set the conditions for…