Today's college and career-ready standards emphasize developing students' ability to interpret and analyze complex texts and to assert and defend claims relating to those texts in extended pieces of writing. By providing secondary English language arts teachers with professional development and instructional materials, the UC Irvine Writing…

The MyTeaching Partner-Secondary (MTP-S) coaching program for middle and high school teachers builds on research studies about effective coaching that have shown positive effects on teacher and student outcomes. For the past five years, Learning Forward has engaged in a project led by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) to better understand…

The University of California, Irvine Writing Project's (UCI Writing Project's) Pathway to Academic Success project (Pathway) aims to improve students' academic writing through professional development for secondary English language arts (ELA) and advanced English language development (ELD) teachers. Based on evidence of Pathway's previous success…

Multiple meta-analyses have now documented small positive effects of teacher professional development (PD) on pupil test scores. However, the field lacks any validated explanatory account of what differentiates more from less effective in-service training. As a result, researchers have little in the way of advice for those tasked with designing or…

This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the implemented Teacher Development Program (TDP), encompassing these modern approaches, in short-term (after 1 month) and more long-term perspectives (after 1 year). Data on the perceived effectiveness of TDP were collected through a survey. The participants included higher education instructors who…

Professional development for teachers must evolve to provide a personalized approach to better meet the needs of the individual. Micro-credentialing is one way to provide teachers with personalized professional development. This case study explores the implementation of a micro-credentialing course in one school district. The district selected a…

We examine the effects of a year-long national-scale professional development (PD) program on mathematics instructional quality. In contrast to previous studies examining the effects of this program on instruction by comparing before and after participation or participants and non-participants, we examine whether instructional quality changed…

Professional development is ubiquitous in education, with over 90% of teachers engaging in professional development activities, yet often with limited perceived impact on their practice. This dissertation situates itself at the critical juncture of professional development quality and teacher self-efficacy, investigating the transformative…

Continuous professional development (PD) fuels teacher growth, fostering engaging classrooms and brighter futures for students. This Spotlight will help readers investigate the ins and outs of effective PD; uncover the types of PD that teachers want; learn how PD can help teachers better support English learners; evaluate the debate around hybrid…

Transformative assessment is a strategic approach to assessment that helps teachers use assessment not only for accountability, but also to promote meaningful learning. It enhances instruction and shifts the assessment orientation from summative to formative and summative. This study examined the impact of the Lesson Study for Transformative…

Formal teacher leader programs that develop, position, and reward teachers to work with peers to improve instruction are a growing reform effort in the United States, yet there are few published studies of their efficacy. In this paper, we examine the impacts of one district's teacher leadership program on students' annual state test performance.…

The purpose of this professional practice dissertation (PPD) was to examine and provide Department of Defense Education Activity Schools practical and real-world solutions with regards to continuous improvement within its educational equity program. This process was examined and analyzed through a qualitative action research approach and design…

Brief multiple-choice question workshops are a prevalent part of the faculty development landscape. But do they work? Studies have documented that faculty member-written multiple-choice questions (fMCQs) are frequently flawed and do not live up to quality standards. Poor fMCQs have real consequences for students beyond annoyance. Fourteen studies…

Professional development is vital to PK-12 teachers' growth and student learning, contributing to school improvement (Barghani, 2021; Bredeson, 2000; Darling-Hammond, 2000; Snow-Renner & Lauer, 2005). Yet, with all the systems that have been put into place by NCLB (2001), and ESSA (2015) to provide PK-12 teachers with effective professional…

Teachers who adopt a growth mindset significantly enhance student development, facilitating learning, and continuous improvement, leading to better student learning outcomes and a more positive learning environment. This research aimed to develop a growth mindset to improve the facilitating learning skills of primary school teachers. The research…