Category: Working Papers

Authors: Eric M. Camburn and Seong Won Han February 2008, 37 pp. Abstract: Given the vitally important role of instruction in student learning, valid, generalizable evidence is needed by policymakers, researchers, and practitioners. Surveys are commonly used to measure instruction in education research, and surveys administered to probability samples can directly yield generalizable evidence. This …

Authors: Matthew Clifford and Susan Millar December 2007, 35 pp. Abstract: School districts and institutions of higher education (IHEs) have historically attempted to improve K–12 instructional quality and student performance in relative isolation from each other, and with limited success. Recent calls to improve preservice teacher education have prompted policymakers and others to rethink models …

Authors: Jana Bouwma-Gearhart, Susan Millar, Shihmei Barger, Mark Connolly October 2007, 40 pp. Abstract: Teaching-related professional development (TPD) projects aimed at aspiring college/university educators (ACEs) have emerged in the U.S. in the last decade, partially in response to calls for colleges and universities to play a more prominent role in improving science, technology, engineering, and …

Authors: Matthew T. Hora and Susan B. Millar September 2007, 66 pp. Abstract: This report of the National Science Foundation–funded SCALE Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) Case Studies line of work provides preliminary findings about SCALE activities at the California State University, Northridge (CSUN). This interview-based study (N = 19) includes a descriptive analysis of …

Authors: Jeffrey L. Lewis, Eunhee Kim, Angel Gullón-Rivera, Lauren Woods September 2007, 26 pp. Abstract: We still have much to learn about how effective teachers promote positive social and academic behaviors in urban African American children. Through an analysis of videotaped data from two successful after-school programs, we introduce solidarity in community as a framework …

Authors: James G. Benson and Geoffrey D. Borman August 2007, 49 pp. Abstract: Researchers have disagreed about the extent to which differences in achievement based on socioeconomic status (SES) accumulate during the school year as compared to the summer, and the literature has not fully assessed the contributions of social contexts — in the form …

Authors: Mitchell J. Nathan and Suyeon Kim July 2007, 33 pp. Abstract: This descriptive study analyzes instructional conversation in a middle school mathematics class. We set out to investigate how teachers regulate student participation in classroom discussions and how this regulation affects students’ mathematical talk and conceptual reasoning. We examined the cognitive complexity of the …

Authors: Richard Halverson, Reid B. Prichett, and Jeffery G. Watson May 2007, 30 pp. Abstract: Formative feedback systems live at the heart of systemic school improvement efforts. Without accurate and timely information on the results of intended interventions, school leaders and teachers fly blind in their efforts to link what they expect to what actually …

Authors: Matthew T. Hora and Susan B. Millar February 2007, 54 pp. Abstract: This report on the SCALE Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) case studies line of work provides preliminary findings about SCALE activities at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. This study focuses on the structural and behavioral dynamics influencing the implementation of the core SCALE …

Authors: Richard Halverson and Christopher N. Thomas February 2007, 22 pp. Abstract: Instructional leadership in K–12 schools is changing dramatically as schools seek to satisfy the demands of high-stakes accountability policies. In this paper, the authors argue that the need to use achievement data effectively pushes instructional leaders to adapt existing structures and expertise to …