Reform efforts in K-12 science education have been gaining pace ever since the introduction of the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS). The new vision calls for reconsidering teacher preparation programs to prepare future teachers who are confident and competent in delivering NGSS-based instruction. This study investigated the…

Global efforts are underway to include engineering in pre-college curricula. In the USA, this pursuit led to the inclusion of engineering content in the most recent version of the Next Generation Science Standards that guide K-12 science. As these standards become part of the K-12 curriculum, teachers face the challenge of gaining basic…

In this paper, we present a study, which models and measures the competencies of higher education students in business and economics--within and across countries. To measure student competencies in a valid and reliable way, the Test of Understanding in College Economics was used, which assesses microeconomic and macroeconomic competencies. The…

Reform in science education has led to the adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) by 20 states, the District of Columbia, and an additional 24 states have based their science standards on the framework that inspired NGSS. A specific component of NGSS, the Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs), are critical to prepare students…

This Stage Two Academic Re-entry guidance builds upon the Stage One guidance that was issued by the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE). Stage Two focuses on support on meeting the academic needs of learners through the formative assessment process. Formative assessment is a critical component of a balanced assessment system that can greatly…

This article make a case for the importance of background knowledge in children's comprehension. It suggests that differences in background knowledge may account for differences in understanding text for low- and middle-income children. It then describes strategies for building background knowledge in the age of common core standards.

Most current approaches to improving teaching and learning in American public schools rely on either market pressures or bureaucratic controls to leverage performance. In this article, however, authors Joshua Glazer and Donald Peurach examine occupational control as a third approach, whereby the internalization of norms, technical language, and…

For several years, WestEd's Measure to Learn and Improve (MLI) project team has kept California state policy leaders informed about the statewide implementation of the California Academic Standards in English language arts and mathematics, by summarizing and disseminating results from the RAND Corporation's annual American Educator Panel (AEP)…

In the current educational climate, teachers are required to find methods to give all students, including students with mild intellectual disability, access to the general education curriculum. The purpose of this study was to investigate the combined effects of the concrete-semiconcrete-abstract instructional sequence and model-based problem…

Writing instruction is central to the implementation of the Common Core State Standards. It is embedded across all curricula. Under the Common Core guidelines, students must produce writing that includes not only narrative and literary responses as part of the language arts curriculum but also argumentative and informative/explanatory texts in…

This article contributes to the debate on early years professionalism. It explores the impact of a continuous professional development (CPD) programme, in particular a module on professional practice, on early childhood care and education (ECCE) practitioners' identity as early years professionals. Action research informed the development of the…

This article describes a model of literacy development as reflected in students' spelling. The model, based on research that identified five stages of word knowledge, explains the development of this knowledge in readers and writers, and provides a framework for elementary-grade instruction that is intended to: (1) address grade-level expectations…

For many years computing in New Zealand schools was focused on teaching students how to use computers, and there was little opportunity for students to learn about programming and computer science as formal subjects. In this article we review a series of initiatives that occurred from 2007 to 2009 that led to programming and computer science being…

The best science teachers are not only experts in teaching and knowledgeable about science content, but they are also great at teaching science. They have specialized teaching knowledge, including knowledge of effective pedagogical practices in science, student difficulties with understanding content, and curricular purposes. As a result,…

As prekindergarten becomes a more common feature in elementary school, little is known about how early childhood stakeholders are incorporating their child-centered practices into the standards-based accountability reforms that define elementary school. This article addresses this issue by presenting a case study that examined the implementation…