This booklet focuses on effective mathematics teaching. Drawing on a wide range of research, it describes the kinds of pedagogical approaches that engage learners and lead to desirable outcomes. The aim of the booklet is to deepen the understanding of practitioners, teacher educators, and policy makers and assist them to optimize opportunities for…

Quality Matters[TM] (QM) is a set of standards to measure the quality of instruction and design in online or hybrid courses. Adopted by a growing number of institutions nationwide, QM is based on best practices and instructional design research. To meet or exceed QM standards requires that resources and learning activities in an online course…

Intense competitive pressure and the need for continual improvements have led to a burgeoning interest in and use of pay-for-performance programs. This paper explores the increased use of pay-for-performance, drawing examples from healthcare, education, and the government. Suggestions are made as to how best to implement pay-for-performance…

This report is a synthesis of research, challenges, and best practices in the education of secondary English Learners (ELs). It incorporates a summary of three days of presentations and discussions by key national experts in the spring of 2005, observations and findings from our own research, and key issues from the research literature. The report…

As the diversity of the students on campus increases, the importance for everyone in authority to understand students' distinct cultures and how they perceive institutions, and equally, to understand their own privilege, and often unconscious cultural assumptions, has never been greater. This book presents a comprehensive set of resources to guide…

The mission of the National Academy for Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (NAIRTL) is to ensure that all higher education students are exposed to cutting edge research in their classrooms, and that students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels are actively engaged in relevant and authentic research in their chosen discipline. To…

This study addresses preservice teachers' perceptions toward online experiences, specifically, their perceptions about utilizing an online science methods curriculum versus a traditional methods curriculum. Thirty-eight senior level preservice teachers at a midwestern U.S. university completed surveys about their experiences during their methods…

The following paper culminates a year of research conducted by researchers at E[superscript 3] Alliance and Texas State University and sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The following reports on promising practices observed and reported at Manor New Tech High School (MNTH), a Texas Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (T-STEM)…

The purpose of this study was to identify instructional strategies and support services of five learning community programs that focus on the retention of African American students at California Community Colleges. Empirical research indicates that colleges and universities have historically structured their curricula, student services programs,…

One of the greatest challenges that community colleges face in their efforts to increase graduation rates is improving the success of students in their developmental, or remedial, education programs. This literature review seeks to examine research on developmental education strategies and reforms and identify the most promising approaches for…

This article examines recent research and developments relating to the role of phonemic awareness and phonics in early literacy education and the relevance of these findings for school counsellors and teachers. It defines and reviews the role of phonemic awareness and phonics in theoretical models of reading processes, including whole-language,…

International governments are increasingly comparing their educational outcomes to the best in the world, not just to see how they rank, but to identify and learn from top performers and rapid improvers. This process, known as "international benchmarking," has become an important tool for governments striving to create world-class…

With the advent of faster and widely accessible information, communication and transportation technologies, people are living in an era where their actions increasingly influence and are influenced by realities in other parts of the world. Truly understanding their own communities, province and country requires gaining a deep understanding of the …

Quality career/technical education and its role in school improvement was a primary theme of the 2008 "High Schools That Work" ("HSTW") Staff Development Conference. This newsletter covers crucial topics in quality CTE (career and technical education), including assessing the quality and effectiveness of CT programs, preparing students to succeed…

In recent years, several large urban districts, including Cincinnati, Cleveland, Milwaukee, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, and Kansas City, Missouri have converted their middle schools (generally grades 6-8) to K-8 schools in the hope of improving student achievement, attendance, and behavior, while also enhancing parental involvement. The…