The reluctance to design and teach online courses in higher education is often attributed to technology anxiety in faculty. This article documents a faculty development model that has successfully helped faculty overcome this obstacle. "Bootcamps," faculty development programs held at Carroll University in Waukesha, WI, were specifically and…

Initiatives such as Response to Intervention (RTI) and the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (CCSS-ELA) have the potential to positively impact progress toward the goal of literacy for all. Because the CCSS-ELA will guide the content of the curriculum, instruction and assessment in the large number of adopting states, they will…

For many years, England has been the epitome of high-stakes accountability, often playing leapfrog with the USA. It represents an extreme of centralized surveillance, with schools organized as a quasi-market and supervised through a punitive combination of external inspection, the use of test data to name and shame schools, and ultimately closure…

Three foundational elements are key to improving student achievement: a coherent curriculum, intensive literacy practices, and well-structured lessons. There is stunning--in the author's view, indisputable--evidence for and agreement on the unrivaled power of sound curricula, authentic literacy, and effectively structured lessons. For schools to…

After decades of use in creative writing programs, the workshop method has come under a recent wave of attacks and criticism. Though revising and enhancing the workshop process is necessary, the writing workshop should remain a tradition in the education of young writers.

Supporting teacher learning is a complicated and challenging task. This much-awaited book offers a practical, research-based framework for thinking about instructional leadership, along with the necessary resources and tools for improving practice. The authors identify specific structures, formats, and strategies that an instructional leader can…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Digital Learning Meets Digital Democracy: Alliance for Excellent Education Accepting Public Feedback on New Digital Learning…

With the historical political and social changes, which ultimately affect education, it is easy to see why teachers sometimes balk at new initiatives and perceived new best practices. For change to occur it is important to understand how perception of critical elements of change impact student academic growth. It is also important to have a…

The relationship between academies, and school autonomy more generally, and the wider system is a crucial issue in the battle to improve school-level education. International experience indicates that emphasising choice and competition to drive improvement is not effective and that changing structures does not yield better results for students. A…

The ability to mentally manipulate objects in three dimensions is essential to the practice of many clinical medical specialties. The relationship between this type of visual-spatial ability and performance in preclinical courses such as medical gross anatomy is poorly understood. This study determined if visual-spatial ability is associated with…

While the debate continues over whether to close failing schools or attempt fixing them, the author asserts that the solution most often lies in assigning strong leaders to them who will take definite and immediate action. Reviewing his own success turning around schools, he says creating a sense of urgency, unloading poor performing staff, and…

The transformation of the Kansas City, Missouri Public Schools (KCMSD) has been long overdue. Multiple superintendents and administrations, using billions of dollars of desegregation funds ventured to transform the district by creating magnet schools, themed schools, and career-focused high schools. Missing from these initiatives, but included in…

Every school has a list of renovations, upgrades and repairs that need attention, but many are too distracting and disruptive to carry out during the school year. Often, the best time to address these nagging construction projects is during the summer when students are on break and the campus is quieter. Although these "summer slammers" often are…

Non-government organisations (NGOs) are big players in international development, critical to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and constantly under pressure to "achieve more". Scaling-up their initiatives successfully and sustainably can be an efficient and cost effective way for NGOs to increase their impact across a…

Educators are professionals. One important attribute of professionals is their constant quest for personal growth. Great music educators are lifelong learners who draw on a variety of sources to improve their expertise and effectiveness. In the first part of this topic, the author listed the primary purposes of student assessment, and focused on…