In this chapter, the authors argue that there are five different dimensions of continuing professional development (CPD) crucial to its effectiveness. It should be: (1) systematic; (2) collaborative; (3) innovative; (4) reflective; and (5) digital. For each dimension, they give several concrete examples to illustrate the kind of CPD that they are…

The growth of school choice programs, including publicly funded private school vouchers and charter schools, raises questions about the relative effectiveness and cost of these options. A recent Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) report analyzes publicly available test score data in Wisconsin to investigate these questions. The…

As one of the longest running programs of its type, Wisconsin's private school voucher program has garnered decades of research interest, including a recent research report from School Choice Wisconsin, boldly titled "Wisconsin's Most Cost-Effective K-12 Program." The report concludes that voucher-receiving schools in three studied areas…

Commonly used machine learning applications seem to relate to big data. This article provides a gentle review of machine learning and shows why machine learning can be applied to small data too. An example of applying machine learning to screen irregularity reports is presented. In the example, the support vector machine and multinomial naïve…

A recent FutureEd report, "Directional Signals: A New Analysis of the Evolving Private School Choice Landscape," offers a generally useful, up-to-date compilation of basic facts and trends around universal school choice programs in 10 states. These universal programs, including vouchers and education savings accounts, subsidize private…

Connecting schools and students to community members is a mutually beneficial effort that can transform education and society. In this article, Josh Schachter, founder of CommunityShare--an innovative nonprofit initiative that catalyzes real-world learning experiences by connecting teachers and students with the wisdom, skills, and lived…

Little progress has been made in the last 20 years toward developing and sustaining effective inclusive programs for students with severe disabilities. An article by Agran and colleagues examines factors that contribute to this lack of progress and provides some initial discussion regarding alternatives for addressing this seemingly intractable…

Internet teaching using electronic teaching software or other multimedia can play a certain role in promoting academic performance, just like traditional teaching. Therefore, the problem is not that schools do not use computers or the Internet, but how to best use them, and should explore what methods are most effective for what kind of students…

ChildFund International (ChildFund) is a child-focused International Non-Governmental Organization (INGO) which, since 1938, has worked with local implementing partners (LIPs), government, and other partner organizations to help create the safe environments children need to thrive. The purpose of this commentary is to reflect on the utility and…

The targeting life skills model created by Dr. Patricia A. Hendricks represents the skills developed by youths participating in 4-H. The model is used to identify desired learning and action outcomes of positive youth development programs. An article related to the origins and validation of the model was never published. This oral history…

Two years after the onset of the pandemic, COVID-19 continues to take a toll on educators' morale and well-being. The need to strengthen relationships between educators and students is growing. The MyTeachingPartner-Secondary (MTP-S) program, which is a strengths-based coaching program for middle and high school teachers, helps educators respond…

This paper seeks to provide university administrators and faculty who may be considering the implementation of Academic Service Learning (ASL) with a comprehensive 360 degree viewpoint so as to aid in the decision making of whether ASL may be appropriate as a learning tool for their particular college or university. The article does this by…

In an article appearing in "Learning Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal," authors Cook, Rodes, and Lipsitz (2017) make multiple misleading, misguided, and blatantly false claims about Reading Recovery® in yet another attack to discredit the most widely researched early reading intervention in the world. When you're recognized as a…

In the 20 years since the implementation of the Work Investment Act (WIA), federal funding for adult literacy education has remained largely stagnant, and actually decreased in inflation-adjusted dollars from FY2001-FY2019, despite the fact that the field serves fewer than 5% of those in need. Yet over these two decades, the field has moved away…

Agran and colleagues have not only summarized the research on inclusive education, but they have also summed up the frustrations of many of us who have been working with families, teachers, and administrators to facilitate the inclusion of children and young adults with severe disabilities over many years. My response takes some of their most…