The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to describe how teachers perceive the value of professional in-service training and whether this training improved their self-efficacy when teaching ELL students in elementary schools in the Eastern School District in New York State. Utilization of Bandura's social cognitive theory occurred in…

School reform efforts are reflected in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and increasingly impact potential for differentiation of instruction, which is critical in effectively educating students with varying achievement and learning needs. Although CCSS were developed to establish a ubiquitous foundation of educational expectations by grade…

Teaching basic reading, writing, and critical thinking skills is immensely gratifying and vitally important work, requiring intelligence, optimism, and humanity. To be able to gain some sliver of understanding with regard to students' attitudes, behaviors, skills, and abilities; to recognize that there exists a multiplicity of possible…

The authors of this article are two teacher educators who worked collaboratively to co-teach an interdisciplinary English and US history class to eleventh-grade students in an urban high school. They wanted to ensure the methods they were teaching preservice teachers were current and effective. The article discusses the foundational beliefs that…

In the May 2009 issue of "English Journal", we reported on our analysis of data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress to provide a first look at changes in the teaching of writing over the past 30 years. In this article, we provide a more detailed look, drawing on data collected from visits to 260 English, math, social…

This study examines interdisciplinary collaboration between mainstream-English and English-as-a-second-language (ESL) in-service and pre-service teachers enrolled in graduate methods courses in their respective fields. During the semester, TESOL and secondary English Education teacher candidates collaborated to develop young adult literature based…

Math experts developed Formative Assessment Lessons that teachers can incorporate throughout the year's curriculum. Both tools target the "instructional core." A study by Research for Action (RFA) examining the first year of piloting the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) and Math Design Collaborative (MDC) tools (2010-11) found…

This study examined some of the factors that shaped how 18 experienced English teachers in New York and Georgia high schools assessed their instructional effectiveness and how they used their assessments to make instructional decisions for the teaching of literature. The research focused on three issues: how these teachers gauged their…

Secondary school English teachers, drawn randomly from school systems throughout New York State, were polled with regard to their knowledge of current testing practices and their attitudes toward testing and accountability. A total of 497 usable responses (50.5% response) was obtained. Findings suggest that there is a wide variety of standardized…

Literacy assessments are transforming the contexts of secondary instruction. This article reports how literacy assessments are shaping the instructional choices of nine English Language Arts teachers who work in three different states in northeastern United States--New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. Through interviews, the teachers reported…

The Center on English Learning and Achievement (CELA) has been studying the characteristics of successful English programs in middle and high schools. This report discusses the findings of the first two years of their 5-year Excellence in English study and focuses on the educational practices that support student literacy as well as the…

Extending the school day and year is not easy. The conventional calendar remains one of the most intractable features of the American educational system. Altering the traditional school schedule has significant ramifications for parents, students, teachers, and school administrators. This reform impacts student and family schedules, transportation…