As professors, we each have our own approach to grading which allows us to assess learning and provide useful feedback to our students, yet is not too onerous. This article explains one approach we have used that differs from standard grading scales we often hear about from our colleagues. Rather than being based on 100 points or 100% over the…

In this commentary I discuss how Getting to Outcomes and other empowerment strategies have potential to contribute to a theory of evaluation practice, address the epistemology of quality improvement, and inform the external validity of outcome evaluations.

In this article, a layered conceptual framework for "place-based school reform" is presented as a way to link the concept of school reform and neighborhood development. Because many universities have been involved in community-school-university partnerships, the university community engagement literature will be connected to this…

In Western cultures, subjectivity has often been seen as the "black sheep" of educational research because of its heavy emphasis on objectivity. Consequently many research initiatives in education share the assumption that objective reasoning should play a central role. However, mentoring teachers' practice improvement research often…

This article provides a vignette which demonstrates some of the outcomes that occur when teachers collaborate across school district lines. The project began as an idea from Ben Owens, a 2014 Hope Street Group National Teacher Fellow. The basic notion was that good teaching doesn't happen in isolation. As someone who came into teaching after a…

Semiformal EMLs are developed to facilitate the adoption of educational modeling languages (EMLs) and to address practitioners' learning design concerns, such as reusability and readability. In this article, SDLD (Structure Dialogue Learning Design) is presented, which is a semiformal EML that aims to improve controllability of learning design…

Academic researchers dedicated to contributing to quality improvement in professional practice need to find more effective ways to bridge the gap between research and practice. Bridging the gap requires understanding what encourages the use of research findings by practitioners and what discourages it, as well as understanding how practitioners…

Class action lawsuits filed in violation of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) raise questions for those concerned with improving the education system for students with disabilities. First, do the lawsuits result in changes that can be directly linked to improved student outcomes? Second, do these lawsuits and the "consent…

In this article, Hoerr suggests that as a new school year begins, why not set some goals? Just as with the resolutions made every January 1, the new school year resolutions should focus on areas needing improvement. This article offers three key areas for review: (1) Communication. Hoerr notes, if administrators want faculty to work as colleagues,…

The pressure on students, teachers, administrators and teacher preparation programs to demonstrate increased performance is at an all-time high. Teachers need to be willing to make deliberate changes to improve teaching effectiveness and increase student learning. The purpose of this article is to share practical steps that physical education…

In October 2014, U.S. secretary of education Arne Duncan announced the Obama administration's new "education equity initiative," explaining that the president could not "continue to wait" for Congress to act "on behalf of vulnerable children." The centerpiece of this initiative was a 37-page "Dear Colleague"…

Doctoral candidates often struggle to write at doctoral level. This struggle has many causes, but includes finding the time and support to write. We analyse a doctoral writing retreat aimed to encourage doctoral candidates to develop their academic writing and offer new insights into successful retreats. A comprehensive review of the literature…

Data utilization is a key component of school improvement as data can be used to enhance student achievement both systematically and on an individual student level. Through systemically analyzing multiple sources of data, educators can make informed and knowledgeable school improvement decisions. In order to effectively make data-drive decisions…

This paper is an attempt to delve into the debate about educational change and evaluate this concept around the paradigms introduced by inclusive education. The paper embarks on views of 27 educational administrators working in different educational institutions in Turkey. Participants are asked to provide their views on educational change and the…

Many school systems in the United States face the prospect of renovating existing buildings rather than constructing new facilities because of budgetary limitations and constraints. The least disruption to the educational process when a building is scheduled for renovation is to move the student body to a vacant building. This option is not…