This article shares the results from a quasi-experimental mixed-methods study of a promising transition-focused professional development approach. The 12-week team-based intervention resulted in positive outcomes among intervention group participants' knowledge and capacities. The intervention group exhibited statistically significant changes in…

We surveyed early childhood personnel in the U.S. state of Colorado to explore reported practices during the initial evaluation of young children for early intervention or preschool special education. One hundred early childhood personnel participated. Overall, reported evaluation practices and processes matched recommended practices and met legal…

Teacher evaluation reform has been among the most controversial education reforms in recent years. It also is one of the costliest in terms of the time teachers and principals must spend on classroom observations. We conducted a randomized field trial at four sites to evaluate whether substituting teacher-collected videos for in-person…

The COVID-19 pandemic illuminated challenges with assessment, especially in online environments that threaten academic integrity. In the wake of the pandemic, faculty in higher education were seeking alternative assessments that meet the assessment goal(s) of their classroom. Even though the COVID-based disruptions are diminishing, higher…

This document introduces a research study that aimed to gain insight into the perspectives of newly qualified teachers, mentor teachers, and administrators during their participation in a technology-enhanced teacher induction program while assigned within a rural school district in southeastern Colorado. The qualitative case study took a deeper…

In order to design professional learning that supports rural science teachers to effectively implement standards-based "five-dimensional" (5D) instructional and assessment practices, a critical first step is to elicit their perspectives, prior experiences, concerns, and interests. Based on survey data from 87 rural science teachers in…

This Innovative Practices piece details the design of a scaffolded project in a public health course that paired a narrative inquiry assignment with an empirical health literature review assignment to highlight both the positivist and constructivist epistemologies of critical health research in public health. The authors discuss and reflect on the…

This article is a report of a study that used data from multiple sources to explore the hypothesis that systemic barriers inherent in Colorado's teacher evaluation policies often contribute to ineffective teacher evaluations across the state. Data were collected from extant studies, focus groups, and surveys of teachers, site administrators/head…

States, programs, and schools have long focused on the inputs of teacher preparation--the rules for candidates and the preparation programs they attend--because inputs were thought to predict teacher effectiveness, and because they were often the best option available. But in the early 2000s, policymakers began trying to evaluate preparation…

Research data management is a prominent and evolving consideration for the academic community, especially in scientific disciplines. This research study surveyed 131 graduate students and 79 faculty members in the sciences at two public doctoral universities to determine the importance, knowledge, and interest levels around research data…

In this study, we examined the enactment of formative assessment by administrator-selected master teachers in large, urban, public school districts in three regions of the United States. Furthermore, this study also included an investigation of the perceptions and frequency of use for all teachers within the same districts to gather a snapshot of…

Through the Innovative Professional Development (iPD) Challenge, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has invested in helping school districts and networks redesign their professional development systems to serve educators better and improve student performance. MDRC's evaluation of the iPD Challenge involves case studies and multiple rounds of…

We present a newly validated and refined framework, TA-PIVOT (TA Practices In and Views Of Teaching), for examining how physics TAs talk about and how they engage in physics teaching. This work builds upon and extends prior efforts to characterize instructors' beliefs and practices by examining both domains in parallel. We present the…

Physics lab instruction is evolving in response to changing technology, a desire to better prepare students for diverse careers, and renewed focus from physics education researchers. To prepare researchers to evaluate progress in instructional labs in the future, this study set out to understand the current state of instructional physics labs in…

According to the "2014-2015 State of the States in Gifted Education", Colorado is the only state in the United States where a series of on-site, customized twice-exceptional professional development (2E PD) opportunities have been implemented. The purpose of this case study evaluation was to understand the implementation of 2E PD during…