Group work has "a lot" going for it. It incorporates the social-cognitive and social-emotional aspects of learning and can lead to memorable, engaging lessons and increased learning for students. But group work can also fall flat--and cause student disengagement--if not carefully designed and assessed. This article presents four elements…

Two advocates of grading reform, Joe Feldman and Douglas Reeves, answer questions about how grading practices and policies could--or should--be influenced by the current pandemic, and by U.S. schools' switch to distance learning. They weigh in on how the K-12 grading landscape will differ this fall--with likely more clarity about learning gaps and…

On the surface, learning a second language may seem to be a simple one- to two-year undertaking. Research shows, however, that it's a far more complex endeavor. This article considers the depth of learning required to become academically proficient in a second language. For instance, language learners learn the basics of reading in a second…

"Improving Schools: What Works?" is the theme chosen for this issue of "Educational Leadership (EL)," and this theme should help dispel just one of the myths that have grown up about school reform: that educators are stuck in the status quo and don't care to implement change. This and some other myths about school…

Three essential elements--curriculum, sound instruction, and authentic literacy--are the primary, fundamental drivers of schooling and its improvement, says ASCD author Mike Schmoker. And yet they are rarely implemented. If our schools are to enter Marzano's "era of unprecedented effectiveness," then we must change the way we train…

More than a decade ago, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Studies observed that teachers in the United States focused more on "high-interest activities" (games, dramatic presentations, humor, and so on) than on the development of challenging concepts. Since then, the authors have worked with many teaching teams to shift…

In her years of experience studying, working with, and writing about new teachers, induction programs, and mentoring, Annette Breaux has learned that successful mentoring boils down to 10 factors. In this article, Breaux highlights those features and provides actionable takeaways for school districts and educators. She recommends embedding…

"Let's keep this in perspective," writes Jeff Anderson." The Common Core State Standards are a guiding document." Anderson cautions readers to look beyond such artificial boundaries and dive into pedagogy, process, content knowledge, and research that reveals best practices for teaching writing. Educators, he notes, need…

The term "best practice" is widely used throughout education despite lack of evidence or consensus concerning which practices are "best." The pervasive use of this term creates three problems. First, it promotes a plug-and-play approach, in which teachers are encouraged to adopt new methods and use them as much as possible but…

School improvement programs that work in some places don't work in others. School improvement programs that work with some students don't work with others. Programs that appear to have positive effects in the hands of some teachers don't work for other teachers. If we can't be confident that a program will travel well, from one…

"If I've learned anything from the Visible Learning research," writes noted researcher John Hattie, "it's that almost everything in education works. The key question is not, What works? but, Is it working sufficiently above the average of all possible influences? Research has shown above-average effects for leaders who…

A growing number of students in U.S. classrooms have spent more than five years in U.S. schools but have not yet attained fluency in English. These students account for 30 percent to 70 percent of English learners, and most have been in U.S. schools since kindergarten. Through research and their own experiences, Jana Echevarria, Nancy Frey, and…

It's easy to make excuses for not integrating technology into classes, and some of these excuses do have merit. If teachers plan on making the effort to overcome these difficulties, they must believe strongly in the strategies they select and stick to them long enough to at least test their effectiveness. Technology use is sometimes referred…

The key practices that improve struggling schools, writes Chenoweth--a researcher who's studied successful high-poverty schools and their leaders--aren't a mystery. From both decades of research and the craft knowledge of educators who've jumped in and turned around schools, we know these practices generally yield improvement: (1) a…

It makes sense that an emphasis on new ways of reading and writing fits easily within the Common Core umbrella. After all, a primary thrust of the new standards is college and career readiness. How can young people be prepared to thrive in today's society--in which people are connected 24 hours a day by media and coworkers may well live in…