Mathematics classroom coaching is used across the United States as a means for improving instruction, with the ultimate goal of improving student learning. The job assignments of coaches can vary widely across schools and districts. Regardless of the various forms that coaching can take, there is the consistent expectation that a coach's…

One quality indicator of intervention research is the extent to which the intervention has a high degree of social validity, or practicality. In this study, I drew on Wolf's framework for social validity and used qualitative methods to ascertain five middle schoolteachers' perceptions of the social validity of System 44®--a phonics-based reading…

Recently, interdisciplinary instruction has come back to the educational scene, specifically supported through the Common Core State Standards. As teacher educators and former middle-level teachers, the authors see this as a positive move to enhance learning for adolescents. This qualitative study sought to answer: How do secondary preservice and…

This paper explores the impact of a Teaching and Learning Audit of all government schools in Queensland, Australia. This audit has a concern with the extent to which schools "differentiate classroom learning". We note that in England, since September 2012, one of the standards that teachers have been expected to demonstrate is an ability…

The logic model that implicitly drives most professional development (PD) efforts asserts that PD leads to changes in teacher knowledge and beliefs, which leads to improved classroom practice, and ultimately, better student outcomes. However, efforts to study the impacts of PD programs are often hampered by the scarcity of high-quality…

Michelle is a first-year English teacher at Vailsburg Middle School, a public school in Newark, New Jersey. Michelle is dedicated, caring, energetic, and insightful. This year, the author had the chance to watch Michelle and her principal, Serena Savarirayan, meet for their weekly debriefing of Michelle's teaching. Serena began by praising…

The most fundamental reason why teachers are evaluated is because public schools take public money, and the public has a right to expect high-quality teaching. But there are two more basic purposes: (1) to ensure teacher quality; and (2) to promote professional development. The challenge is merging these two purposes of teacher evaluation.…

Teaching is a complex activity that requires making ongoing multiple decisions and sporadic, responsive actions all while performing preplanned prescribed tasks. Evidence of certain aspects of teaching can be best assessed with a well-designed observation instrument. This instrument was designed to assess the enactment of the essential elements of…

Although mentoring programs for novice special education teachers have been highly touted, there is scant research describing either novice needs or mentor roles. This study is based on a sample of 66 randomly selected national board certified teachers (NBCTs) in special education in an effort to determine the nature and extent of their…

Of particular import to this study, is collider bias originating from stratification on retreatment variables forming an embedded M or bowtie structural design. That is, rather than assume an M structural design which suggests that "X" is a collider but not a confounder, the authors adopt what they consider to be a more reasonable…

Even the most effective teachers have room to grow, but it's not always easy for principals to give adequate guidance through short observations. High school principal Jenne Colasacco decided to bring more depth to her observations by observing each of her teachers during one class for an entire week. The new observation structure, which included…

Instructional rounds are a disciplined way for educators to work together to improve a school's instructional core. The practice combines three common elements of improvement: classroom observation, an improvement strategy, and a network. Instructional rounds differ from supervision and evaluation in that people doing rounds learn something…

In this "Voices Inside Schools" essay, Vivian Gussin Paley brings us into Derek's kindergarten classroom using her characteristic style of listening and recounting from the child's perspective. With delicacy and insight, she reveals the small but significant moments that occur alongside the planned curriculum to illustrate how children author…

Since 2001, the Education Bureau (EDB) in Hong Kong has been promoting a shift from traditional assessment of learning to assessment for learning, where classroom-based assessment is linked to teaching and learning, with students taking an active role in the assessment process. In particular, secondary school students are encouraged to assess…

One increasingly popular way of supporting new teachers is through the use of mentoring. New teachers are often paired with mentors as one of a number of supports meant to aid new teachers as they begin their career. The various types of mentoring range from school based mentors assigned by the school to specialty mentors, such as math coaches.…