Instructional coaching is an attractive alternative to one-size-fits-all teacher training and development in part because it is purposefully differentiated: Programming is aligned to individual teachers' needs and implemented by an individual coach. But, how much of the benefit of coaching as an instructional improvement model depends on the…

This applied research study aimed to improve teacher professional development to improve teacher's instructional practice. The need to improve teacher professional development arose from ineffective instructional practices and low academic achievement ratings. This applied research study incorporated an action plan with three elements to improve…

Purpose: This article aims to contribute to a clearer understanding of the importance of mentor preparation and provide recommendations for effective mentor preparation programmes based on the literature. Design/methodology/approach: A narrative review of a range of literature focussing on the importance and characteristics of effective mentor…

The introductory statistics course has gotten better over the years, but there are many content areas in STAT 101 that should be reconsidered.

The ultimate goal of an education system is to ensure students receive a quality education that prepares them for real-world experiences and opportunities beyond their K-12 education. However, it is the responsibility of the building-level leaders or principals to ensure teachers are receiving the proper professional development that can be used…

Given discourse across the globe on school reform and the importance of teachers' work to school improvement, teacher leadership represents an opportunity to re-imagine school cultures, and to consider a range of factors that impact the teaching profession and contribute to overall school improvement. Based on a qualitative inquiry of 24 teacher…

For states to succeed in their efforts to improve reading instruction, they must ensure teachers are prepared to implement and sustain scientifically based reading instruction. The states most successful in leveraging policy to improve reading outcomes for students have taken a cohesive and comprehensive approach focused on improving teachers'…

One key mechanism through which evaluation facilitates teachers' growth is principals' feedback during teacher evaluation. In this study, we examined the relationship between teachers' perceptions of feedback quality and improvement in their instructional practices. We used student report--a meaningful but rarely used measure--to measure the…

Microteaching is a way of doing professional development for teachers wanting to incorporate new evidence-based and high-leverage practices into their instructional toolboxes. Given how much work is required in teaching and the limited time professionals have available, microteaching is an accessible process that supports instructional improvement…

This article argues that by tying instructional improvement efforts to ongoing reforms, colleges may be able to take advantage of structures and mechanisms employed by the reform to make teaching an institutional priority.

Because they offer feedback and communicate school administration goals to teachers, instructional coaches are generally seen as leaders. Balka et al. (2010) discovered that instructional coaches can model lessons or team-teach with teachers to achieve teaching goals. Due to its multifaceted nature, instructional coaching can improve teaching…

Traditional academic lectures have long been criticized as providing a passive learning environment to students. Often, they do not capture the audience's attention, resulting in learners being distracted or bored and thereby reducing their learning efficacy. Consequently, they are being abandoned by many schools and universities as an educational…

A recent independent evaluation by WestEd of Learning Forward's What Matters Now Network looked at the ways in which a structured, facilitated network provided support for state-level coalitions working with districts, schools, and educators to improve instruction and make progress toward achieving content standards. The network was facilitated by…

Teachers' engagement in educational reform is an emotional process, yet the emotional dimensions of school improvement efforts remain understudied. This paper explores the emotional experiences of two teacher teams navigating a reform centering collaboration for instructional improvement. Drawing on group emotion (Kelly and Barsade in Org Behav…

Professional development (PD) for school leaders is focused primarily on documenting professional learning and identifying growth areas. However, the impact of reflections related to PD on sustaining school leaders' instructional capacity remains rather unaddressed. We examined how practicing school leaders develop their instructional leadership…