Little is known about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on special education teachers. Of 468 surveyed across the United States, 38.4% met clinical criteria for generalized anxiety disorder, a rate 12.4 times greater than the U.S. population, and 37.6% for major depressive disorder, a rate 5.6 times greater than the population. Race/ethnicity,…

Systematic classroom observation is often used in evaluating and enhancing the quality of classroom instruction. However, classroom observation can potentially suffer from human bias. In addition, the traditional classroom observation is too expensive for resource-constrained environments (e.g., Sub-Saharan Africa, South and Central Asia). A…

A growing number of state and district education agencies collect staff ratings (SR) using multiple-choice item questionnaires to evaluate the quality of working conditions (QWC) in schools. Agencies often report school-level metrics derived from these data to the public, and some use these to inform decisions about practice and policy. Although…

One common method for school improvement focuses on improving teacher instruction through observations with feedback in post-conferences. While school leaders dedicate many hours to observing teachers and providing feedback, observational feedback does not always change instruction. While previous studies have examined teacher perceptions of…

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a massive shift in higher education to emergency remote teaching occurred in March 2020. This sudden shift required faculty to move their courses to an online remote format with little time and training in online pedagogy. Students faced completing their semesters online without much of a choice. As we continue to…

Motivational interviewing (MI) is applied in a variety of clinical and coaching models to promote behavior change, with increasing interest in its potential to optimize school-based implementation fidelity. Yet there has been less consideration of fidelity indicators for MI-embedded coaching and links to outcomes. We leveraged secondary data from…

The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Southern California K-12 school districts and understand what district and site administrators have learned from their experiences and their decision-making responsibilities in managing the crisis. This study has brought to light the impact of the pandemic on students,…

Studio art education is lauded as a vehicle to establish critical and creative thought in higher education, yet there is no one method of assessment that can establish its effectiveness. Therefore, it is essential that studio art educators in higher education understand how students perceive their studio art assessment. The critique is widely…

Classroom evaluations are implemented with the best of intentions -- to measure student satisfaction in the classroom. However, survey questions do not always apply to the learning environment, especially in nontraditional classrooms. We want to improve our craft as teachers and as facilitators, but we lose the chance to critically reflect on our…

During the coronavirus pandemic, nearly all forms of education underwent an online pivot, to some form of internet-based instruction. The UK Open University (UKOU), like many other distance education and online universities, found its expertise in designing and delivering effective online teaching in demand. This paper reports how the UKOU…

This conceptual article highlights the use of instructional practices based on the Universal Design for Learning framework and a focus on promoting effective mindsets in two teacher preparation courses (Classroom Management and Introduction to Developmental Psychology & Learning Theory). These practices have anecdotally demonstrated potential…

Across the country schools have continuously looked to find ways to increase student achievement. In response to state and federal policy, school districts have used evaluative processes and accountability measures to increase teacher effectiveness. Despite a significant body of research that supports the effect of supervisory practices on teacher…

Research suggests there is no significant difference in outcomes for online learners and on-campus learners. Several decades of online learning have also consistently demonstrated online students are less likely to persist than those students attending on campus. The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework describes social presence, teaching…

This simulation study examines the characteristics of the Explanatory Item Response Model (EIRM) when estimating treatment effects when compared to classical test theory (CTT) sum and mean scores and item response theory (IRT)-based theta scores. Results show that the EIRM and IRT theta scores provide generally equivalent bias and false positive…

Of all the tasks that special education teachers are charged with completing, managing classroom behaviors has been reported as one of the most challenging and one of the top reasons the teachers are leaving the field. The task of providing effective support in classroom management is also daunting for leadership personnel in school systems. This…