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In Ireland, Initial Teacher Education [ITE] standards require all teachers to possess an adequate level of numeracy themselves in order to teach for numeracy learning across the school curriculum. This paper reports on a study that investigated 204 pre-service post-primary teachers' numeracy capabilities. Analysis of questionnaire data from participants in three universities showed that pre-service teachers tend to struggle to complete the numeracy tasks correctly, especially tasks related to ratio and proportional reasoning. If pre-service teachers of all disciplines are not capable of completing core numeracy concepts, then they will struggle to teach for numeracy learning.

This paper outlines the rationale for, and some elements of, a particular approach to teaching and learning mathematics in the early years. The researchers worked with two school systems to offer both centrally delivered and school-based teacher professional learning, which included the application of illustrative teaching resources. The project gathered a range of data from teachers and leaders on their dispositions and knowledge, as well as the opportunities and constraints they experienced, and the influence these variables had on planning, teaching and student learning outcomes.

The current study explores how teachers report using enabling and extending prompts when teaching with sequences of challenging mathematical tasks. Twenty-nine early years primary school teachers completed a questionnaire following their participation in a professional learning project. Findings suggest that teachers': view prompts as important when teaching with challenging tasks; generally prepare prompts in advance of the lesson; consistently allow students to engage with the core task before making prompts available; and consider prompts equally valuable for augmenting learning across all content areas.

Students exhibiting mature number sense make sense of numbers and operations, use reasoning to notice patterns, and flexibly select the most effective and efficient problem-solving strategies (McIntosh et al., 1997; Reys et al., 1999; Yang, 2005). Despite being highlighted in national standards and policy documents (CCSS, 2010; NCTM, 2000, 2014), students' mature number sense and its nomological network are not yet well specified. For example, how does students' mature number sense relate to their knowledge of fractions and their grade-level mathematics achievement? We analyzed 129 middle school students' scores on measures of mature number sense, fraction and decimal computation, and grade-level mathematics achievement. We found mature number sense to be measurably distinct from their fraction and decimal knowledge and uniquely associated with students' grade-level mathematics achievement. [For the complete proceedings, see ED630210.]

This paper reports results from an investigation of the impact of an intervention program which was designed to help underperforming students reengage in mathematics learning. The paper outlines teacher and tutor perceptions of the program's impact on students who participated in the intervention which intends to "get students ready" for their subsequent mathematics lesson. Over the course of the iteration, the students' cognitive and behavioural engagement improved. Perhaps even more encouraging was the improvement in the students' dispositions, leading towards greater valuing of mathematics learning.

San José State University, in partnership with California State University-Los Angeles and Cal Poly Pomona, are developing supportive methods to transition STEM faculty from lecture-based instruction to instruction using active learning pedagogies. These efforts, sponsored by the Department of Education's First in the World Grant Program, focus on providing faculty training through workshops conducted in the active learning model, resources to support their material development, and peer support through access to multi-disciplinary/multi-campus learning communities. Active learning pedagogies like the flipped classroom have been shown to be a high impact practice that increases URM student success and retention. The partner campuses, all part of the California State University System, are all designated Hispanic-Service Institutions and Minority-Serving Institutions. While their designations are similar, their demographics are not. Each campus has their own unique student and faculty makeup. These varied demographics provide a level of rigor to materials collaboratively developed and tested across the campuses. Activities and materials developed follow the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, which states that an educational experience is a blend of social presence (establishing strong relationships), cognitive presence (moving beyond understanding to exploration, integration, and application), and teaching presence (a combination of environment and directed facilitation components). Materials developed to train, support, and evaluate faculty will be presented, along with sharing lessons learned about support needed from all levels of administration to create a culture of change across STEM education. Lessons learned will include ways to avoid the "slump" often seen with student success as faculty implement new teaching and supporting peer evaluations for promotion when the evaluator is unfamiliar with active learning.

Current reform efforts challenge teachers to create more student-centered classrooms focused on high quality classroom discourse (NCTM, 2014). There are difficulties, however, teachers face in bringing this vision to fruition. Over the past three years, we have worked with a group of 7-12 teachers supporting their efforts to implement high quality classroom discourse. Although their espoused beliefs aligned with our vision of high-quality discourse, their enacted practices did not align with those espoused beliefs. Further analysis suggested that many of these challenges are related to sharing mathematical authority with their students. We intend to share a set of "Look Fors" to build awareness of features of sharing mathematical authority that might be inhibiting the quality of teachers' classroom discourse. A set of questions will also be shared to help teachers decide upon a plan of action to overcome those challenges. [For the complete proceedings, see ED606556.]

This Research-to-Practice paper, a work-in-progress, describes work supported by the First in the World program at three different universities in California. A consortium of three California State Universities (CSUs)- San Jose´ State University, California State University- Los Angeles, and Cal Poly Pomona - have a four-year grant from the U.S Department of Education First-in-the-World (FITW) program. Surveys of students revealed that a major challenge to success is course bottlenecks - impasses where they cannot enroll in a course they need to make progress toward their degrees or when they cannot successfully complete a course and move forward. All three campuses have large numbers of high-need and underrepresented students (URM) and URM students are overrepresented among students who receive low grades in bottleneck courses. To address course bottlenecks, the flipped classroom approach has been implemented in seven gateway STEM courses collaboratively across the partner campuses. This paper targets faculty and administrators interested in promoting and implementing the flipped classroom pedagogy at their institutions. It provides a brief overview of the target courses and the impact of the curricular changes thus far. In addition, a description of the in-depth Calculus study of the flipped classroom approach across the three campuses is discussed.

San José State University, in partnership with California State University-Los Angeles and Cal Poly Pomona, was awarded a prestigious 2015 First in the World grant, sponsored by the Department of Education. The multi-campus effort is focused on bringing the flipped classroom model to seven STEM gateway courses over three years that have high failure rates through collaborative efforts from faculty on the three partner campuses. SJSU, CSULA, and CPP are all designated Hispanic-Serving Institutions and Minority-Serving Institutions, though their demographics are very different. High impact practices like the flipped classroom approach have been shown to increase URM student success and retention. Development/selection of course materials that promote active learning and student engagement is shared among the faculty collaborators, a divide-and-conquer approach to overcoming the often overwhelming challenge of creating a full length flipped classroom. The first courses currently being flipped are Calculus I and Physics I. In addition to promoting student success through active learning pedagogy, our approach also includes a multi-disciplinary, cross-campus faculty learning community (FLC) that serves as a model of active learning for our faculty, as well as providing training and support during development and implementation of the flipped classroom. Our flipped classroom model and FLC are based on the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, which states that an educational experience is a blend of social presence (establishing strong relationships), cognitive presence (moving beyond understanding to exploration, integration, and application), and teaching presence (a combination of environment and directed facilitation components). Initial data on student success as a result of the flipped classroom implementation in Calculus I and Physics I will be presented. In addition to student success data, qualitative data on student and faculty satisfaction with the flipped classroom will also be presented.

As part of a project exploring the use of challenging mathematical tasks, data from New Zealand teachers and their students were analysed to explore teachers' actions that encouraged students to persist. Rather than rescuing the students when they needed help, the teachers' actions included arranging for and encouraging students to work independently and cooperatively, asking questions, providing materials, and getting students to reflect on the process. When the teachers performed these actions, they reported students persisted and were better able to navigate through the zone of confusion.

The following outlines the rationale and structure of a professional learning initiative that seeks to explore teachers' ways of engaging students more actively in building mathematical connections for themselves. An example of one of the suggested experiences is presented.

Highly capable mathematics students are not usually considered strugglers. This paper reports on a case study of a Year 6 student, Debbie, her response to a lesson, and her learning involving a challenging mathematical task. Debbie, usually a highly capable student, struggled to complete a challenging mathematical task by herself, but as the lesson unfolded she was able to solve the problem. Rather than relying on teacher explanations during the lesson introduction, Debbie benefitted from the support of her teacher during the lesson and sharing of other students' thinking when applying her knowledge to an unfamiliar task. [NOTE: Debbie is a pseudonym.]

This paper examines the learning by students who were participating in a project designed to promote persistence while working on mathematical tasks. We examined their learning of mathematics concepts and learning about the processes of engaging in mathematical tasks. There were substantial increases in students' knowledge of angles and also evidence that the students built on their prior knowledge, made connections between concepts, found the tasks rewarding, valued concrete materials and engaged in mathematical communication.

As part of a project exploring various aspects of teachers' choice and use of challenging mathematics tasks, we sought some responses from students on their preferences for the difficulty of tasks on which they might work and also on the ways of working. Despite the common finding that teachers are reluctant to pose challenges to their students for fear of adverse reactions, many students reported that they prefer tasks to be somewhat challenging and many prefer to work on the tasks before having the process explained by the teacher. An important finding was the diversity of student preferences. There are implications for the information that educators offer to teachers on structuring their lessons.

The following is a report of an exploration of what mathematical reasoning might look like in classrooms. Focusing on just one lesson in one classroom, data are presented that indicate that upper primary students are willing and able to reason for themselves, especially in classrooms in which the culture for such reasoning has been established. It seems that the opportunities to reason are a product of the tasks that are posed, the structuring of the classroom, and the willingness of the teachers to allow students to engage with the tasks for themselves.

While there are many considerations for effective mathematics teachers, one key factor is the development of a classroom culture that supports the desired form of learning. In examining the opportunities and constraints associated with posing challenging tasks, we are exploring ways that teachers might influence classroom culture positively. The data presented below suggest that it is possible to foster a classroom culture in which teachers pose tasks that challenge students and encourage them to persist when working on those tasks. The key elements seem to be the ways the tasks are posed, the interactive support for students when engaged in the tasks, collaborative reviews of class explorations and assessment against criteria.

At some stage when planning, teachers make decisions about the mathematics tasks they will pose and how they will structure lessons. It seems, though, that these decisions are complex, and that this complexity has been underestimated by curriculum developers and teacher educators. The following is a report of data collection that simulated some of these planning decisions. The results suggest that teachers may need support in matching tasks to curriculum content statements, in articulating the purposes of tasks, and in considering how tasks might be used to address differences in student readiness. [Additional funding was provided by New South Wales (NSW) Department of Education and Training, Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, Catholic Education Office Melbourne and the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. The project is collaboration between Monash University, Australian Catholic University, University of Sydney, University of Technology Sydney, University of Newcastle, and the University of Melbourne.]

This study examined differences between two groups of students' spatial-scientific reasoning from pre to post implementation of an Earth/Space unit. Using a quasi-experimental design, researchers explored how instructional method and gender affected learning. Treatment teachers employed an integrated STEM curriculum while the control teacher implemented her regular Earth/Space unit. The Geometric Spatial Assessment (GSA), the Purdue-Spatial Visualization Rotation Test, and the Lunar Phases Concept Inventory (LPCI) were used to assess learning. Experimental groups made gains on periodicity LPCI domains while the control made gains on geometric spatial visualization LPCI domains. Only females made gains on GSA items. This is the first quasi-experimental study to examine students' spatial reasoning as they participate in Earth/Space units and to discover gender's role in this spatial development. [For the complete proceedings, see ED584829.]

Insights into aspects of teachers' planning reported here were gathered as part of a broader project examining aspects of the implementation of the Australian curriculum in mathematics. In particular, responses of teachers to a survey of various aspects of decisions that inform their planning are discussed. While there is diversity in processes teachers use for planning, a consistent theme was that teachers make active decisions at all stages in the planning process. There were slight differences in the ways that primary and secondary teachers plan. There are important implications from our findings for those who support teachers in the transition to the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics.

The research reported here was motivated by curiosity about ways of suggesting tasks and activities to teachers that assist them in their planning and which allow them to see the purpose of the suggested tasks. A group of junior secondary teachers involved in a larger project worked through a set of tasks that sought to address the content they were about to teach, and then completed a survey about those tasks. A comparison group also completed the survey. There was consensus across the groups of teachers about the potential of the tasks, they felt they could implement them and that such tasks were preferable to comparable textbook exercises. There are implications for both teacher educators, and for resource developers.

This study provides descriptive information regarding teacher mobility for Texas public schools during the 2011/12 through 2015/16 school years. Analyses explore links between mobility and teacher, student, and school characteristics and pilot data from the Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System. The overall mobility rate increased from 18.7% in 2011/12 to 22.0% in 2015/16. Teachers with special education certifications left Texas public schools at twice the rate of other teachers. Schools with higher overall observation ratings tended to have lower mobility rates. Findings from this study provide policymakers in Texas with updated information about trends and correlates of mobility and offer a systematic baseline for monitoring and planning for future changes.

Funded through the 1994 School-to-Work (STW) Opportunities Act, state STW systems must serve all students but have tended to have an urban focus because private sector resources are more available in urban areas. Although effective, urban models that rely on large employers have been difficult to replicate in rural areas. In November 1997, state and local teams and individuals from nine northeastern states attended a conference to share ideas, strategies for success, and promising practices related to STW in rural schools. In this document, conference presentations and workshop summaries provide practical technical assistance for rural STW programs. Entries include: "Making Entrepreneurship Education Work: The REAL Enterprises Model" (Rick Larson, Lisa King, Mark McGee, Brendon Shea); "Small College + Small Communities + Industry: Share Our Strategies for Success" (Eugene McCluskey, Ray Chelewski, Timothy Crowley, David Lee); "Vermont Employer/Teacher Internship Program" (Robin Morton, Albert Zielenski); "Innovation and Imagination: Advancing the Virtual Classroom in Rural New England" (Yvonne Damborg, Kathy Flynn, Rick Nastri); "New York Wired: Connecting Schools" (Jeffrey Perlee); "School-to-Work Risk Management" (Greg Voorheis, Gregg Meyer, June Van Houten); "Building Business Awareness in Rural New York" (Jean Stevens, Robert Drake, Candace Huber, Betty Powers, Kris Reuland); "School-to-Work Transition: Developing Collaborative Partnerships for the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities at the State, County and Local Level" (Lucy Ely-Pagan, Bob Haugh, John Grover, Nancy Lauria, Kerry McKenna); "School-to-Career Project-Based Learning: A Teacher Friendly Workshop" (Ronald Millican); and "Connecting Learning and Work: Roles and Leadership for Higher Education" (Danial Via, Ivan Charner, Judy Nelson, Lee Williams, Jan Wilson). This proceedings also includes profiles of speakers and presenters; an extensive glossary of school-to-work terms developed by the National School-to-Work Office, a joint initiative of the Departments of Education and Labor; and summaries of "open space proceedings" (small group discussions). (SV)

This paper reports on a study done with Anglos and Hispanics in Texas, focusing on the pending English Only legislation and their awareness of and attitudes towards it and what biases these attitudes were based upon. A 1-page, 2-sided, questionnaire was distributed to 328 Anglo and Hispanic subjects in a predominantly Hispanic city. Forty-seven percent of respondents were Mexican American; 43 percent were Anglo. Results suggest that over 50 percent of respondents were aware of the English Only Movement, Anglos were more than three times more likely to support it, and the most common variable to explain these results was ethnicity rather than education, sex, or age. Bilingual Mexican Americans were more likely to be against the movement than monolingual Mexican Americans; bilingual Anglos were less likely than monolingual Anglos to support it. Knowledge of the movement and bilingualism thus appeared to mediate attitudes. A blank copy of the questionnaire is appended. (Contains nine references.) (Author/NAV)

This report documents the proceedings of a regional policy seminar hosted by the Iowa Department of Education with support from the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) and the Midwest Regional Center for Drug-Free Schools and Communities (MRC). The seminar, "Safe Schools Within Safe Communities," was held on September 19-20, 1995, in Des Moines, Iowa. Participants from 10 states attended--Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The purpose of the seminar was to provide a working forum where states could share information about existing violence-prevention policies, legislation, resources, successes, and state initiatives. Each state was asked to form a team to develop a long-range, coordinated, state-policy agenda and action plan for safe schools. The document contains highlights of a speech by Robert H. Brown, Jr., Chief of the Crime Prevention Branch, Office of Justice Programs, in which he addressed the future of school/community partnerships with the Bureau of Justice Assistance. William Modzelksi, Director of Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities Program, U.S. Department of Education, described the future of that program. Information on Minnesota's Plan, Unlearning Violence, is included, as well as highlights of the state goals developed during the action planning session. A list of contact organizations is included. A sidebar contains information on the Gun-Free School Act of 1994. (LMI)

A study interviewed 28 students enrolled in a great books course at Temple University. While interviews did not follow a strict formal pattern, they all covered 4 areas: (1) student interpretations of overall purpose of the course; (2) the influence the course had on the student; (3) which texts were "enjoyable,""difficult" or "engaging"; and (4) how the student saw him- or herself doing in the course. Each interview lasted about an hour. Three patterns of response emerged. First, while the students readily acknowledged the value of the course in terms consistent with the course rationale, they were much less ready to acknowledge its influence on them personally. Second, students simultaneously stressed the need for objectivity in writing about the course texts and the need for representing the self. For them objectivity concerns not simply being neutral but negotiating among personal knowledge, textual knowledge, and teacher expectations. It also concerns ways of speaking, the analytical, secular discourse of the class and the more "expressive" discourse of the self. Third, students repeatedly used spatial metaphors that re-presented them as multiple, even contradictory "selves" in relation to specific texts, to the course, and to their own past and future lives. Elaboration on individual case studies illustrates in detail the conflicting social and cultural positions some student found themselves in when asked to read political, psychological, historical or religious texts. (Contains 10 references.) (TB)

In West Virginia, an alternative special education program allows students with bachelor's degrees in fields other than education to become teachers of exceptional children. This program provides a route to certification in mental retardation, specific learning disabilities, or behavior disorders, as well as to a master's degree in special education. Developed to address a situation in which a third of the state's educators working in special education were on substandard licenses, the program differs from traditional certification in target population and length of training rather than in program content, vigor, or expected outcomes. Since the program was initiated in 1986-87, 94 students from nontraditional backgrounds have sought admission to the program and 56 have completed all certification requirements. The average student was 34 years old, had two children, and was otherwise fully employed. Alternative means of delivering coursework include faculty that travel to distant sites, audio-only and video-teleconferencing links between distant sites and professors, and flexible class meeting schedules. In addition to coursework, students must master three competency tests: the Preprofessional Skills Test, the Multi-Subject Test (grades K-8), and a test in the specialization area. Includes an outline of required coursework and other degree requirements. (SV)

Traditional elementary statistics instruction for non-majors has focused on computation. Rarely have students had an opportunity to interact with real data sets or to use questioning to drive data analysis, common activities among professional statisticians. Inclusion of data gathering and analysis into whole class and small group activities acknowledges that students learn in different ways. This paper discusses seven data gathering problems that have been successful in facilitating student understanding of elementary statistical concepts common to introductory courses. The problems are: (1) "Breaking the barriers to success with surveys"; (2) "Which exam should Prof. Dee Viation scale?"; (3) "Probability distributions from Mars - M&M, that is"; (4) "Making cents of the Central Limit Theorem"; (5) "Descriptive statistical summaries - what about the data?"; (6) "Body correlation"; and (7) "Telephones: a necessary expense, but is the expense necessary?" (MKR)

In three southwestern states, grassroots movements of citizens, educators, and local businesses developed and implemented two-way interactive television projects in their schools and communities. A descriptive multiple case study design was used to examine six project sites in New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma. Research questions were categorized in a framework that may serve as a prototype for project replication; categories included the context of project development, concerns or needs that sparked the project, the shared vision, community and administrative support, planning and resource allocation, monitoring and problem solving, and barriers to implementation and ongoing support. Data sources included extensive interviews, classroom observation during site visits, and documents and records. Findings cover: (1) the specific characteristics of two-way interactive full-motion video that make it attractive and feasible for use with rural at-risk student populations; (2) the electronic classroom model; (3) fiber-optic technology; (4) cost categories; (5) details of the development of the most mature project, the Oklahoma Panhandle Shar-Ed Video Network; and (6) additional events unique to the other five projects. Other projects were the New Mexico Eastern Plains Interactive TV Cooperative, the TeleCommUNITY Network, North Texas Educational Network, East Texas Learning Interactive Network Consortium, and the Dell City Initiative. Guidelines are presented for implementation of similar projects. (SV)

This study examined the effect of different types of loss of control on the quality and quantity of the frustration response in 4- to 6-month-old infants. To establish an expectancy, all infants received 4 minutes of contingency training in which infants were presented with slides and music after they performed a pulling response with their right arm. The frustration period, which followed initial contingency training, lasted 2 minutes. Three frustration conditions were investigated. These were: (1) loss of outcome, in which arm responses no longer produced outcomes and outcomes never occurred; (2) reduced control, in which outcomes consistently occurred with every third arm response; and (3) loss of control, in which arm responses no longer produced outcomes and outcomes occurred independently of arm responses. The frustration period was then followed by a reinstatement of the initial contingency. Changes in arm responses and incidence of expressions of anger were the measures of frustration. Results indicated that infants in the loss of control condition exhibited more angry expressions than infants in the other conditions; and, unlike infants in the other two conditions, exhibited a decrease in arm responses. Results suggested that loss of control was a critical determinant of anger in young infants. (MM)

This paper describes three studies that evaluated the Marvelous Me-Preschool Edition curriculum, a 12-session program designed to enhance the self-concept of preschool children. The program is organized around 6 central themes: feelings, self-image, getting to know oneself, family friends, and community. Children participate in activities such as art projects, songs, dances, large group activities, book activities, and puppetry. Parental involvement is encouraged. The first study was conducted with 158 middle- and upper-middle class, white, Jewish students. The second study included 58 at-risk, black, inner-city students. The third study involved 31 middle- and upper-middle class, predomonantly white, students. In all three studies, the Purdue Self-Concept Scale for Preschool Children (PSCS) was administered before and after implementation of the curriculum. In the third study, the Joseph Pre-school and Primary Self-Concept Screening Test (JPPSST) was also used as a pretest and posttest. Results from the first and third studies indicated no significant difference between control and experimental groups. In the second study, experimental students had a significantly higher gain than did control students, even though control students also gained from pretest to posttest, probably due to familiarity with the test and maturity. The major conclusion was that at-risk preschoolers may benefit more than children from higher socioeconomic groups from a systematic intervention designed to enhance self-concept. Appended are 37 references and related materials. (GLR)

This document consists largely of paper versions of the transparencies used by the author to give his conference paper on Total Quality Management (TQM) in the college and university setting. An introduction lists a series of definitional phrases, a list of what TQM is not, and 11 fundamental principles describing what TQM is. The three major "gurus" of TQM are described, followed by "Dr. W. Edwards Deming's 14 Points" (listing the benefits of TQM), 7 frequently found errors of management and organizational climate, and 14 steps of a quality improvement program. A section on applications for higher education notes institutions implementing the strategy. A chronology lists events in a University of Saint Thomas application of TQM. A concluding section lists structural, political, symbolic, and human resource frames for considering TQM. Also offered are five key management questions. Appended is a TQM bibliography of 45 items published from 1979 to 1992. (JB)

A study investigated the religious and spiritual values in selected children's books. A second study investigated children's comprehension of the values messages. Thirty realistic fiction books which won, or were honor books for, the John Newbery Medals for 1974-1988 were selected. A modified version of the Values Category Scale was developed and included five categories: negative religious, non-religious, humanistic, Christian-Judeo religious, and other religious. A panel of 5 experts in children's literature, 3 educational library media specialists, and 2 children's literature professors read and independently evaluated all 30 books. Results indicated that 24 of the books had non-religious content while only 7 of the books had Christian-Judeo content exceeding 25%. Results also indicted that historical fiction works were more likely to contain religious values than contemporary fiction works. In the second study, 8 children's librarians in northwest Arkansas selected a total of 29 Newbery Award books and identified specific spiritual values in those books. Thirty-five third- through sixth-grade students voluntarily read a total of 21 of the titles chosen by the librarians. The students were then interviewed to discover what spiritual values they recognized and if they identified the same values as the librarians. Results indicated that (1) the librarians and the children were able to identify a wide range of spiritual values in the books; (2) librarians chose stories emphasizing family relationships, love of parents, family unity, or the need for children to experience a loving and supportive, traditional or non-traditional, family unit; and (3) in those books conveying spiritual values which adults interpret as having religious significance, child readers focused only on the value in a non-religious connotation. (Eight tables of data are included; 37 references are attached.) (RS)

This paper describes outcomes of a series of teacher professional development grants that put teachers in the driver's seat of their own professional learning. Teachers used grant funds to build a team, select a focus for their teams' professional growth, and take actions that they felt would be most effective in helping them improve their practice. Grant funding also included additional supports for teams related to larger systems level change, capacity building and using local resources, as well as encouragement to include administrators and/or district leaders on their teams. The idea was that developing a shared leadership model that promoted teachers and administrators learning side by side would help sustain the professional learning process over time.

This study investigates how students who are peripherally positioned in computer science-based, collaborative group work meaningfully engage with the group activity in order to learn. Our research took place in the context of a one-day, all-girl robotics workshop. This work proceeds from the premise that learning about programming is mediated most directly by interaction with the robotics materials. In this and other studies of robotics, we have observed group negotiations over who would control materials at any given time. In our investigation of these negotiations, and the student participation that results, we have noticed that some students appear to be able to assert an agentic identity from the periphery, while other students struggle to participate. It is this phenomenon that we explore. A total of 17 girls participated in the workshop. In this study, we focus on two students from different groups who had less direct contact with the materials, and were thus positioned peripherally. We analyze discourse patterns to characterize the engagement of both the two groups of which the students were a part, as well as the two students themselves. One of the groups demonstrated stronger coordination from a discourse perspective and the focal student in that group exhibited meaningful engagement, while the other group demonstrated weaker coordination from a discourse perspective and the focal student exhibited marginal engagement. This contrast allows us to begin to build a picture of the factors that support learning from the periphery. Our results indicate that agency exhibited in well-coordinated group discussions is a key aspect of meaningful engagement. [For a related journal article from the authors, see EJ1121710.]

This paper reports research that investigated how school leaders use micro-political strategies and tactics that promote the retention of high quality early career teachers. It draws on a conceptual framework of retention as an attraction-recruitment-retention triad and a micro-political theoretical framework. A qualitative study was conducted involving interviews with 16 new teachers and case studies of four school leadership teams. The findings show that school leaders were deliberate and conscious in their uses of power and influence. Their actions were less obvious to early career teachers. Additionally, the findings indicate the commitment of school leaders to recruit and retain preferred quality teachers to promote their goals and aims.

Two college freshman required texts were chosen for analysis of readability and of cloze performance on selected passages. One cloze passage was administered to each of 218 students enrolled in General Psychology and Principles of Biology courses. Dale-Chall readability levels were separately calculated for the same passages. Reading levels of the selected textbooks ranged from fifth/sixth grade to college graduate level. Results of the cloze tests indicated that the majority of the passages selected could be read by students at the instructional level, although only 22% for one text and 42% for the other could be read at the independent reading level, which is usually required. (AA)

Twenty-three teaching competencies identified as "essential" in a state-wide teacher survey by Florida's Council on Teacher Education (COTE) are reexamined as an aid in producing valid and assessable programs for teacher education. Three hundred and fifty central Florida teachers were questioned to rate the competencies on an essential-unessential scale and the data were assessed to determine the degree of consensus. Results of the survey indicate that (1) teachers view the COTE competencies as generally essential; (2) there are probably not as many general areas as the Council has proposed; (3) there is communality of the areas across teaching levels; (4) differences exist in the perceptions of the areas among various teaching level groups; and (5) currently, the Florida county districts are generally placing emphasis for teacher evaluation on behaviors such as diagnosis of knowledge levels, identification and structuring of objectives, adoption of instructional materials, classroom assessment, and counseling and interpersonal skills. Ten tables are included in the appendix, giving detailed results of the sample survey. (MB)