Effective instruction is a critical predictor of student achievement. As students with exceptionalities such as emotional and behavioral disorders and learning disabilities, who typically struggle with academic achievement, spend increasing amounts of general education settings, the need for precise instructional behaviors becomes more imperative.…

A student-centred approach to learning encourages students to have more responsibility for their learning and is a process that relies heavily on professional confidence to "let-go" of traditional teaching responsibilities. This paper describes the introduction of a student-centred approach within one further education college in…

Even with the use of effective universal classroom management practices, some students will need additional behavioral supports. However, to translate implementation of new strategies into the classroom, professional development programs need to be adaptive to the complexities teachers face in providing instruction and managing classroom behaviors…

To establish job-embedded, ongoing professional development recent policies and initiatives required that districts appoint school-based coaches. The Reading First Initiative, for example, created an immediate need for coaches without a clear definition of coaches' responsibilities. Therefore, the purpose of this case study was to investigate how…

Dramatic Science is an approach to teaching science that purposely places the children in thought-provoking situations where they need to apply their scientific understanding to decide how to act. Teachers can then apply drama techniques to help children develop and communicate their ideas. In this article, the authors share how modelling through…

This article presents findings from a study in which the author served as an expert coach and provided ongoing support to four elementary school teachers related to employing standards-based pedagogies in their mathematics classrooms. In addition to assisting teachers, the author examined which supports they sought and the impact of them on…

This study explored how young children interact with their peers in the computer area of a public kindergarten classroom. Children's social interaction, as defined in this study, is the action of giving and taking information that results in children's knowledge construction and cognitive development that can be accomplished through peer-to-peer…

Conceptualizations of teacher knowledge have shifted to focusing on the role of experiential rather than theoretical knowledge. There are different approaches to this, but the idea of an image that guides practice is widespread. One approach to images that has not been frequently investigated in studies of second language teachers is through…

The use of a classroom observation tool to monitor differentiation strategies is described, and relevant research findings using the form are reported. The advantages for using this approach to document differentiation are discussed as are the reasons teachers may question its intent. Applications for practice include its use as a self-assessment…

Measurement scholars have recently constructed validity arguments in support of a variety of educational assessments, including classroom observation instruments. In this article, we note that users must examine the robustness of validity arguments to variation in the implementation of these instruments. We illustrate how such an analysis might be…

Class-wide interventions have been effectively used as a primary level of support to increase student engagement, but the management of these interventions can quickly become burdensome for busy classroom teachers. To address this problem, this study combined a class-wide self-management intervention, in which the students were responsible for…

Since 2011, all first year students in a health sciences faculty at a university in Western Australia complete a compulsory (half) Unit titled Indigenous Cultures and Health. The Unit introduces students to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, diversity, cultural protocols, social structures, patterns of communication, contemporary…

This paper extends existing research regarding content knowledge for teaching (CKT) and the role it plays in advancing student learning. Two teachers, with high and low measured CKT respectively, are observed on the same day teaching similar content. Many studies have recently been published linking student achievement to teacher's CKT and many US…

The study examined whether and how teacher practice can be influenced when the existing research bases on best pedagogical practice and personal motivation were operationalized and then supported with opportunities for self-reflection. Administrators created a professional development experience, called Instruction Cadres, focused on peer…

This study investigated the extent to which teachers' questioning techniques and the way teachers handled students' responses facilitated students' learning and promoted their thinking skills. The study focused on three secondary schools in Dar es Salaam. The data collection process involved classroom observations during chemistry lessons and…