Opportunities to respond (OTR) offer a useful approach to actively engage all students, including those with emotional and behavioral disorders, by enhancing their learning experiences and effectively reducing student problematic behavior due to lack of academic engagement. In this article, we discuss common challenges faced by teachers in…

Many of today's educators learned math in elementary and secondary schools with approaches very different from those outlined in the current standards, and it is difficult to teach for proficiencies educators have not yet developed in themselves. How can teachers find time for this kind of professional learning with all the other responsibilities…

This module is designed for educators, educational researchers, and psychometricians who would like to develop an understanding of the basic concepts of validity theory, test validation, and documenting a "validity argument." It also describes how an in-depth understanding of the purposes and uses of educational tests sets the foundation…

Seven "habits of mind" -- ways of thinking -- create strong school cultures that invite new and veteran teachers into professional conversations to improve teaching. These habits are: remaining open to continuous learning; thinking about thinking; figuring things out; communicating; creating, imagining, and innovating; taking responsible…

Crisis intervention programs have been developed to help educators be better prepared to prevent and respond to students in crisis. Schools spend millions of dollars for the use of these commercial programs, many of which are based on the principles of the Cycle of Acting Out Behavior (Colvin & Scott, 2015), which is considered the "gold…

The purpose of this paper is to describe the use of a problem involving superfactorials (a specific product of factorials) that provides an in-depth and comprehensive mathematical experience, encompassing skills that mathematicians view as tantamount to exploration. The problem is easily accessible and fosters creativity and perseverance, thereby…

Research has shown that the ways in which teachers engage in professional development activities vary widely. identified three levels of teacher appropriation within professional development, with their inquiry stance indicative of teachers engaging in self-sustaining practices. In our project, we modified the demonstration lesson format so that…

Even before the release of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)'s Principles to Actions (2014), teachers paid significant attention to mathematics tasks based on their positive influence on student learning (Doyle, 1988; Kazemi, 1998; NCTM, 1989, 2000). Over the last almost quarter century, we have learned a lot about high-level…

In this article, we illustrate the experience of three literacy educators who harnessed online, collaborative platforms to cultivate community within their classrooms and with their colleagues. Through the use of creative practices including digital poetry, selfie collage, and curriculum sharing through video conferencing, the authors invited…

In numerous workshops and course design retreats, we have modeled the course design process using a fictional course (entitled "Colorado Mountain Hiking") to help instructors bridge the gap between course design theory and practice. We have found this example to be effective because it: a) is accessible to colleagues of different…

Much of the formal professional development teachers experience consists of short-term workshops that maintain -- rather than disrupt -- the systems of power that reproduce educational inequities. In response, some scholars have advocated critical professional development (PD) as a means of supporting teachers' interrogation of these inequities…

This paper provides an overview of the research landscape for the kind of professional learning needed for project-based learning to succeed. The evidence is clear that such professional learning must ensure teachers are active, self-directed learners who receive support that is meaningful and relevant to their experiences and context. The authors…

The first step in providing support to children and teens exposed to trauma and adversity is helping them to feel safe at school and demonstrating alternative working models of relationships. By spending time in a supportive classroom, students can learn that school can be a safe place, and that teachers and peers can be caring, thoughtful people…

This paper reports on a project that sought to enhance problem-solving practices within a cluster of primary schools. In-service teachers' description of their approach to problem-solving suggested it was treated as an isolated practice that occurred after concepts had been taught; often focusing on teaching particular problem-solving strategies…

Disruptive student behavior poses significant challenges for teachers and is associated with negative student outcomes. Research shows that teacher use of empirically-based proactive behavior management (PBM) can improve student outcomes; however, research also indicates that teacher use of PBM is low. One prominent factor in teacher use of PBM is…