Reflecting growing emphasis on data analysis and statistical thinking in the information age, mathematics curriculum standards in the U.S. have recently increased expectations for student learning in the domain of statistics and probability. More than 180 teachers in 36 public school districts in Florida applied for a two-week summer institute…

Leaders across North Carolina believe strongly in the potential for all students to read proficiently by 3rd grade. Yet despite significant effort and investment, only 36% of 4th graders are at or above proficient in reading. The Belk Foundation, in partnership with The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI), The Foundation for…

This evaluation study examined a state-wide professional development program composed of two institutes, one for mathematics teachers and one for science teachers, each spanning two weeks. The program was designed to help teachers transform their practice to align with Common Core State Standards for Mathematics and Next Generation Science…

The "2016 Knowledge for Teaching Early Elementary Mathematics" (2016 K-TEEM) test measures teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching early elementary mathematics. The 2016 K-TEEM is the third version of the K-TEEM (Schoen, Bray, Wolfe, Tazaz, & Nielsen, 2017). In this report, we present results of the first large-scale field test…

Using a cluster-randomized controlled trial research design, this study investigates the effect of the first year of a three-year teacher professional development program on grades 1 and 2 student achievement in mathematics. Although the findings reported in the present report do not meet the standard cutoff for statistical significance (e.g., 95%…

Low achievement in reading is a concern in a suburban school in the southeastern part of Florida. In an attempt to combat this issue, the school's administration has focused on teaching disciplinary literacy in content area classes, specifically social studies. In addition, the state standards also require that social studies teachers meet the…

The purpose of this study was to determine the continued impact of a short-term international student teaching experience on participants during the first five years following graduation from their teacher preparation program. We investigated the sustainability of pedagogical skills and personal growth through a comparison of alumni initial…

Florida Senate Bill 1108, requires educators applying for re-certification to earn one college credit or the equivalent in-service points in teaching students with disabilities (SWD). To assist educators in fulfilling this requirement, a college of education designed an online course and an educator's summer institute (ESI). This article examines…

International internships can assist pre-service teachers in beginning to build a repository of successful strategies for learning and becoming members of the global educational community. These include school settings and scheduling; use of curriculum and resources; instructional skills and strategies, including lesson planning; and classroom…

Teachers must continue to learn throughout their careers to maintain their professional competence. The purpose of this study was to explore the differences in professional development needs of Florida agricultural education teachers based on selected variables. Results of the study indicated that teachers had the greatest professional development…

The present paper explores the transformative learning of five pre-service teachers participating in a two-week study abroad program to Reggio Emilia, Italy. The study was conducted in order to understand how a study abroad program could contribute to pre-service teachers' content knowledge, teaching practices, and global competence. Through a…

Improving teacher preparation is critical to long-term improvement in teacher quality. More than 200,000 new teachers enter classrooms each year. Increasing student enrollment, the retirement of baby boom generation teachers, and high attrition in their first five years (between 40 and 50 percent of new teachers leave the profession) have…

By leveraging the strengths and commitments of each of the partners, a university, a private nonprofit, and a middle-sized urban school district, collaborated to impact student learning of key concepts in middle-grade mathematics and to change mathematics teaching. The project targeted middle grades mathematics because success in it is the…

Teacher turnover in urban schools is occurring at a breakneck pace; thus, it is important for us to understand the characteristics of teachers who stay and succeed in these settings. In order to address this need, this study examines the preparation and induction experiences of teachers who completed a Transition to Teaching- a funded urban…

The Exploring Florida Science project goals were: (1) increasing content knowledge of secondary science teachers, specifically in topics that are important to the future of the state, and (2) providing secondary science students with digital media for use in project-based learning. A team of instructional designers, educators, scientists, web…