A multilevel latent transition analysis (LTA) with a mixture IRT measurement model (MixIRTM) is described for investigating the effectiveness of an intervention. The addition of a MixIRTM to the multilevel LTA permits consideration of both potential heterogeneity in students' response to instructional intervention as well as a methodology for…

Findings from a meta-analysis of studies investigating the use of five different assistive technology devices (switch interfaces, powered mobility, computers, augmentative communication, weighted/pressure vests) with young children with disabilities are reported. One hundred and nine studies including 1,342 infants, toddlers, and preschoolers were…

Transforming Writing was a two-year action research project, sponsored by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, which developed a model for the teaching and learning of writing that embedded formative assessment. This report evaluates to what extent the model of writing developed by the teachers during the research period impacted on children's writing…

This report shows how insights gained from system dynamics modeling and the U.S. STEM Undergraduate Model® can help inform the Navy's strategy to grow a robust civilian workforce that is strongly invested with Navy-relevant STEM skills and ready to contribute to the next generation of Naval innovation. This work positions the Navy to serve a…

This action research study examined the implementation and impact of a job-embedded professional development intervention that included professional learning community (PLC) sessions and individualized feedback and coaching. Participants in the study were eight high school teachers who had historically demonstrated poor classroom performance and…

Michigan's School Aid fund increased once more this year, but many school administrators in the state continue to hunt for effective measures to reduce spending due to increased pension costs and phased-out stimulus money. Many options available for trimming costs, such as enacting pay-to-play for sports, are extremely unpopular for districts and…

The "Read Naturally[R]" program is a supplemental reading program that aims to improve reading fluency, accuracy, and comprehension of elementary and middle school students using a combination of texts, audio CDs, and computer software. The program uses one of four products that share a common fluency-building strategy: "Read…

The study reviewed in this paper examined the impact of "Collaborative Strategic Reading" ("CSR"), a set of instructional strategies used to build reading proficiency, on the reading comprehension of fifth-grade students. The analysis included 1,355 students from 74 social studies classrooms within 26 linguistically diverse…

For more than a decade practitioners have promoted professional learning communities (PLCs) as an effective structure for providing teachers with professional development (Chappuis, Chappuis, & Stiggins, 2009; DuFour, Eaker, & DuFour, 2005). These collaborative networks are believed to be effective because they expose teachers to new ideas…

Professional learning communities (PLCs)--teams of educators who get together regularly to exchange ideas--have sprung up to meet school districts' growing interest in promoting professional development that engages teachers and administrators. PLCs meet to develop lesson plans, monitor student progress, assess instructional effectiveness, and…

In 2009, Vanderbilt University's Peabody Research Institute, with the assistance of the Tennessee Department of Education's Division of Curriculum and Instruction, initiated a rigorous, independent evaluation of the state's Voluntary Prekindergarten program (TN- VPK). TN-VPK is a full-day prekindergarten program for four-year-old children expected…

Expeditionary Learning (EL) is a growing provider of curriculum and professional development services to teachers and school leaders. The EL model combines an interdisciplinary instructional approach with ongoing training and coaching for teachers and school leaders. The EL curriculum uses an experiential approach in which students conduct…

Teachers in a Southern California, high-needs, low-achieving elementary school participated in a three-year period of action research beginning in the 2009-2010 academic year. As part of the action research, teachers received 40 hours of in-person professional development, classroom coaching, and online support to improve their understanding and…

AISD staff's top three suggested priorities for the Dual Language (DL) program in 2013-2014 were: professional development opportunities, program alignment, and increased availability of materials and resources.

The overall aim of this multi-informant study was to examine pre-post treatment changes, and maintenance at 3-year follow-up, for multiple dimensions of the family context, for a modular intervention that has previously demonstrated significant clinical improvements in child behavior and maintenance of these effects. Family outcomes included…