Universities are currently embracing community engagement strategies to increase opportunities for student learning in community settings such as community organizations. Experiential learning is often touted as the pedagogy underlying such experiences. We undertook a research project exploring the challenges and benefits for students and faculty…

Project-based learning (PjBL) is an approach often favored in STEM classrooms, yet some studies have shown that teachers struggle to implement it with academic rigor. This paper explores the relationship between PjBL and rigor in the classrooms of ten STEM-oriented high schools. Utilizing three different data sources reflecting three different…

In conducting a literature review of 133 articles on cultural responsiveness in middle level education, we identified a lack of shared definitions, theoretical frameworks, methodological approaches, and foci, which made it difficult to synthesize across articles. Using a conceptual framework that required: a) clear definitions of terms; b) a…

In this brief report, we share three challenges we encountered when designing and implementing an after school intervention program for an ethnically diverse group of middle grade underachieving readers. We also offer practical solutions to help guide middle school teams in anticipating and addressing potential problems when putting in place…

Many states have adopted the Common Core Standards for literacy and math and have begun enacting these standards in school curriculum. In states where these standards have been adopted, professional educators working in K-12 contexts have been working to create transition plans from existing state-based standards to the Common Core standards. A…

Purpose: In general, teachers who are highly satisfied are more motivated teachers and positively affect health and student learning to improve academic achievement. The purpose of this study was to provide national-level data with regard to teachers' attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs related to teaching, job satisfaction, and working…

Centers for teaching and learning (CTL) have traditionally relied upon on-campus programming to support faculty professional development, but as increasing numbers of faculty access resources and collaborate online, CTLs could do more to build online community. To meet this challenge, our team developed a website, EdTech Commons, which features…

We present a naturalistic case study of one teacher's development of a growth-centered context for classroom assessment. In-depth interviews, analysis of student work, and observations were used to identify the processes this teacher used to engage her students in the assessment process. Data were analyzed using listening guide analysis to garner…

The mandate that teachers are accountable for student performance has driven states to initiate new evaluation instruments for administrator use to assess teachers. This study examined leaders' perceptions of a first-time statewide accountability instrument used for teacher assessment in one southern state, with 230 K-12 principals anonymously…

This article integrates two frameworks, Quality Matters (QM) and tenants of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), in the development and implementation of online learning courses. Both of these frameworks are described. This report highlights guidelines and presents an example for creating quality online courses with a combined emphasis on course…

This report describes an extensive set of actions and resources that can be leveraged by libraries establishing basic research data management programs. Part 1, "Laying the Foundation," is intended to help institutions establish the underpinning for the next steps suggested in Part 2, "Building Up and Out." The order in which…

End-of instruction (EOI) examinations are used in several states for high school students as a determining factor for graduation and the receipt of a high school diploma. Given that the EOI examinations have become a gateway to a high school diploma, it is important to understand how demographic distributions are related to examination…

The purpose of this study was to document within-year fidelity growth during installation and initial implementation of School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS). Participants included school teams from schools throughout the United States that were in years one to four of SWPBIS implementation and routinely evaluated…

This study examines predictors of abandonment of evidence-based practices through descriptive analyses of extant state-level training data, fidelity of implementation data, and nationally reported school demographic data across 915 schools in 3 states implementing school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS). Schools…

The College Readiness Consortium at the University of Minnesota has developed Ramp-Up to Readiness™ (Ramp-Up), a schoolwide advisory program to increase students' likelihood of college enrollment and completion by enhancing five dimensions of college readiness (academic, admissions, career, financial, and personal-social) among students in middle…