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As a major component of leadership development, professional development (PD) support needs more researchers to focus on possible ways to build school leaders' instructional capacity. Despite the increasing use of virtual professional development (VPD) as venues for leadership development, little is known about the essential components of an effective VPD. With the advent of COVID-19, we pivoted to VPD focused on improving school principals' abilities to help teachers increase their instructional capacity. More specifically, we provided a virtual Summer Leadership Institute (VSLI) on peer coaching via VPD. Since research on effective PD calls for school leaders to translate their learning into leadership practice, we addressed in our sequential explanatory mixed methods study how practicing school leaders in the United States perceived the effectiveness of VPD on school leaders' professional knowledge and growth related to the VPD topic of peer coaching. We conclude with seven specific principles to consider when developing and providing such a VPD experience for school leaders.

With the recent changes in student demographics in the United States and the development of technology, virtual professional development (VPD) for teachers of English learning students(ELs) has become a valuable means to support teachers and their students. We developed a federally funded, five-year VPD program, Project Massive Open Online Professional Individualized Learning (MOOPIL), and provided in-depth descriptions in this paper. We also examined its effectiveness in a sample of 359 teachers of ELs. The research instrument utilized is a battery of questions developed about the research-based content delivered in the MOOPILs. Our results supported the effectiveness of Project MOOPIL, as indicated by statistically significant differences and effect sizes across units. In this study, we provided encouraging evidence that VPD through Project MOOPIL impacted the teachers' pedagogical background, knowledge, and skills, which are critical to enhancing quality instruction for English learners. The implication of this study is that professional development for teachers of English learners can be effectively employed virtually.

In this empirical study we examined the effect of a literacy-infused science intervention on fifth grade economically challenged students' science achievement in the curriculum-based and standardized assessments. A total of 27 treatment students and 20 comparison students from two intermediate schools in a rural district in South Texas in the United States participated in the present study. The intervention consisted of ongoing, structured, bi-weekly virtual professional development (VPD) with virtual mentoring and coaching (VMC) at the teacher level and literacy-infused science lessons with inquiry-based learning delivered at the student level. Results revealed a significant and positive intervention effect in favor of treatment students as reflected in higher normal curve equivalent scores in the standardized science assessment and higher scores in curriculum-based assessment. We conclude that the literacy-infused science intervention, inclusive of evidence-based curriculum, VPD, and VMC, is particularly beneficial for promoting science learning for the students in rural areas with educational and economical challenges due to geographic isolation.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected individuals and institutions globally, especially schools. As schools temporarily closed, teachers and administrators worked to develop innovative solutions to the problems generated by the crisis. In this qualitative case study, we examined the impact of leadership practices and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic as perceived by the pre-service principals who were enrolled in a university principal preparation program. Forty-four pre-service principals participated in an open-ended survey to identify leadership practices during the pandemic. Pre-service principals, in the findings, identified five main practices they experienced to overcome the pandemic's challenges: (a) distributing meals for students and their families; (b) issuing learning materials and devices; (c) coordinating online instructions; (d) assisting leadership teams; and (e) leading professional development sessions to integrate the school teams' experiences. The research team expects that these findings could assist decision makers in creating new leadership strategies to respond to the natural crisis that society is experiencing.

The empirical research examining the effects of virtual mentoring and coaching (VMC) on principal leadership development is limited. Furthermore, little is known about school leaders who engage in virtual professional leadership learning communities (VPLCs) and how much school leaders grow with VPLCs who are also receiving VMC at the same time. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of VMC on school leaders' professional growth and to determine how school leaders perceived the effectiveness of the VMC while being engaged in VPLCs. The findings showed positive effects of VMC on school leaders' professional leadership development, and the younger practicing leaders tended to benefit more from the VPLCs.

The purpose of this paper is to share a model of a principal preparation program that is socially responsible. The program is collaborative with two departments at the Texas A&M University College of Education and Human Development: Educational Administration and Human Resource Development and Educational Psychology (Bilingual Education). The program is being tested as (a) a four-semester program for 36 credit hours, (b) a year-long residency with an intensive summer residency, (c) a randomized control trial study with the treatment students receiving virtual mentoring and coaching, and (d) an analysis of family-community involvement program and dual language program development by the candidates. How we are evaluating the project is also shared.

In this study, we investigated Texas teachers' perceptions of instructional coaches' (ICs) practices that improve professional learning communities (PLCs) to enhance teachers' instructional capacities. The study's participants included 67 teachers from rural, urban, and suburban school districts across the state of Texas. They enrolled in a virtual professional development (VPD) module related to improving instruction in high needs schools. Data were collected from participants via an open-ended survey. To answer the study research question, we employed a qualitative phenomenological research approach. Findings indicated that teachers perceived ICs can perform two main types of practices that contribute to enhancing PLC meetings: (a) practices for creating a safe PLC learning environment and (b) practices in PLCs for enhancing teachers' instructional capacities. Our findings add to the literature providing the first empirical study in which researchers investigated teachers' perceptions about ICs' practices within PLCs.

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of program admission requirements, university-district partnerships, and course content integration on the internship within principal preparation programs. University principal preparation programs have been a focus of recent attention, specifically since 2005 when the report Arthur Levine published his report, Educating School Leaders. Research identified the field-based internship as a valuable part of principal preparation programs. We developed the Principal Preparation Program Policy Survey (4Ps) to collect data from program chairs of public universities across the nation. We employed structural equation modeling to answer the research questions. The findings revealed that partnership policies have significant relationships with the principal internship and with admission requirements. Universities that develop strong district partnership policies are more likely to have strong internship and admission policies for their preparation programs. Similarly, admission policies have a significant relationship with program-course content integration, which means that the universities that produce strong admission policies are more likely to produce strong program course-content integration policies. Because this study provides empirical evidence that university-district partnership policies and admissions policies have a significant relationship with internship policies, it is important for university principal preparation faculty to review their university-district partnership and admission policies and practices in relation to their internship policies and practices. The outcome based on the results implies that the stronger the university-district partnerships and admissions policies are, the stronger the internship will be.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore intrinsic and extrinsic motivations that led 28 teachers of emergent bilingual (EB) students to seek a master's in educational administration with a focus on bilingual/English as a second language (ESL). Design/methodology/approach: To address the study objectives, the authors used a qualitative phenomenological design. The authors conducted online interviews with 28 teachers of EBs. The authors used the self-determination theory as the theoretical framework. Findings: Primarily, teachers of EBs were intrinsically motivated to seek the principalship. The authors identified additional motivators that were not found in the previous literature which heretofore was based on general education teachers' responses. Those motivators were, gain advice from mentors, promote cultural awareness, commit to a campus-wide impact, increase awareness of the importance of bilingual/ESL education programs, and foster a relationship with the school community. Practical implications: Identifying the intrinsic and extrinsic motivators for teachers of EBs who desire to move into a principal position may aid faculty in university principal preparation programs and administrators in school districts to support and mentor these teachers to better serve as leaders in high need schools. Originality/value: There is little known about intrinsic and extrinsic motivations of teachers of EBs which influence their decisions to change their career paths to become principals.

Purpose: This study was conducted in the United States of America to identify what practices virtual mentor-coaches perceived to be effective in virtual mentoring and coaching (VMC) within virtual professional learning communities (VPLCs). The authors also sought to determine the ways in which virtual mentor-coaches provided VMC for school leaders within VPLCs. Design/methodology/approach: The authors used a phenomenological approach in our research, describing the lived experiences of practicing virtual mentor-coaches as they engaged in VMC. Data analysis included video analysis and systematic coding of interview data. Findings: An in-depth analysis of interview and video data showed that virtual mentor-coaches support school leaders in developing and transforming school leaders' leadership for building teachers' instructional capacity. The authors identified a VMC process model within VPLCs, including four steps as follows: (1) presentation, (2) collaboration, (3) reflection and (4) action plan. Practical implications: VMC for school leaders participating in VPLCs is regarded as a transformative model which provides encouragement, reflection and support for instructional leadership actions. Originality/value: Key steps and components of an effective VMC highlighted in the current research offer practical guidance for future virtual mentor-coaches in conducting and implementing VMC within VPLCs.

Via a multi-domain, multi-response classroom observation instrument, we observed and analyzed treatment and control teachers' pedagogical differences when applying cooperative, collaborative, and peer-tutoring (CCP) strategies in Grade 1 bilingual classrooms with English learners (ELs). We found that with the support of ongoing, structured, and curriculum-aligned virtual professional development (VPD), treatment teachers allocated more time in engaging ELs via CCP strategies and evaluating and providing feedback to ELs. Moreover, treatment ELs had more opportunities to be involved in CCP activities that promoted dense cognitive, academic English language development.

English language learners (ELLs) benefit when their teachers utilize a wide range of English as a Second Language (ESL) instructional strategies. However, content-area teachers often are unfamiliar with these ESL strategies as they have not received extensive professional development on meeting the needs of ELLs, especially within the context in their content area. In the current study, we explored the instructional differences between sixth-grade science teachers in their use of specific ESL strategies through the use of an observation protocol. Treatment teachers received ongoing, in-depth professional learning on working with ELLs and using ESL strategies. Our research question was: Is there a significant difference between treatment and control classrooms on teachers' implementation of ESL strategies? A total of 1,380 rounds of observation were completed in both treatment and control classrooms during science instruction, with an average of 54.5 minutes per teacher. Chi-square tests were conducted comparing treatment and control teachers' instruction. The results underscored the difference between treatment and control teachers in utilizing some of the specific ESL instructional strategies to enhance their students' science and literacy growth.

The overarching purpose of our study was to compare performances of treatment and control condition students who completed a literacy-infused, inquiry-based science intervention through sixth grade as measured by a big idea assessment tool which we refer to as the Big Ideas in Science Assessment (BISA). First, we determine the concurrent validity of the BISA; second, we investigate the differences in the post-test of the BISA between treatment and control English Learners (ELs), controlling for their performance in the pre-test; third, we analyze the differences in the post-test of the BISA between treatment and control non-ELs, controlling for their performance in the pre-test; and fourth, we examine the relationship between students' English language proficiency as measured by standardized assessment, and their performance in the BISA among ELs and non-ELs, respectively. Our findings indicate: (a) literacy-infused science lessons with big ideas, implemented through the tested intervention, improved students' language acquisition and science concept understanding for ELs and economically challenged students (ECs); (b) there was a positive relationship between language and content for both ELs and non-ELs, with a similar magnitude, suggesting that students with a higher level of English proficiency score higher in science assessment; and (c) the lesson plans prepared were successful for promoting a literacy-infused science curriculum via a 5E Model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate) that includes three to five of the Es used daily. A pedagogical approach for a literacy-infused science model with big ideas is proposed.

Teachers and school district administrators, particularly in the United States, are increasingly turning to teacher virtual professional development (VPD) to stay current and learn new pedagogical knowledge and skills. With more English learners (ELs) entering public school classrooms, it is essential to find effective ways to prepare educators to meet the needs of these students. The authors examined the improvement of Texas in-service teachers' English as a second language (ESL) pedagogical and content knowledge after participating in a VPD program designed for developing teachers' ESL instructional capacity. Chi-square analyses were conducted with participant pre- and post-survey data (n=61). Results indicated a significant improvement in teacher knowledge after program completion. There was no difference in teachers' knowledge gains based on their school district location. These findings are in line with other researchers who have found improvement in terms of teacher knowledge and instructional practices after participation in VPD.

We conducted a research synthesis to examine the impact of cooperative, collaborative, and peer-tutoring strategies on elementary English learners' (EL) reading and oral proficiencies in studies from the United States. Seven studies were included in the analysis and fully examined regarding the characteristics of sample, intervention, design, and outcome. Effect sizes were reported by the outcome. We found that cooperative/collaborative/peer-tutoring (CCP) strategies boost elementary ELs' reading comprehension, reading fluency, and phonemic awareness. Ongoing professional development (PD) and coaching help teachers to improve the quality of strategy implementation. The findings indicated that the quality of implementation, the actual amount of time of these strategies are used in the classroom, and the instructional impact of CCP strategies utilization to improve ELs' English reading and speaking should be the focus of future research.

The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the effect of Story Telling and retelling and higher order thinking for "E"nglish "L"anguage and "L"iteracy "A"cquisition (STELLA) on the English oral proficiency of elementary students in Mainland China and Taiwan, where English is taught as a foreign language. The 6-week intervention incorporated direct vocabulary instruction, modeling reading, and leveled questioning strategy through storytelling and retelling, and was delivered by certified English teachers who received weekly virtual professional training in two public schools in Mainland China and Taiwan. An English oral vocabulary measure was administered among 10 students in Mainland China and 9 students in Taiwan before and after the intervention. Paired-sample T-tests were conducted to examine the progress from pretest to posttest on the two cohorts, respectively. The results showed a significant improvement on students' oral proficiency at both sites.

Using a low-inference observation instrument, we investigated the effect of an ongoing, intensive, and structured virtual professional development (VPD) based on the fidelity of implementation (FOI) across treatment and control conditions in a randomized controlled trial validation study implemented in 116-bilingual classrooms in seven Texas school districts. Virtual observations were collected three times at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year. Both quantitative and qualitative results indicated that VPD significantly impacted bilingual teachers' fidelity of implementation. Treatment teachers outperformed teachers in control condition in the areas of student involvement, leveled questioning, applying ESL strategies, providing affective and cognitive feedback, and presenting more English material to encourage English learners to participate in classroom activities.

In this study, we analyzed the perceptions of treatment teachers who participated in a randomized controlled trial study which targeted a science-infused literacy intervention, "Let's Talk Science," for first grade English language learner students. Three aspects, including the effectiveness of the intervention, details of instructional practice, and recommendations of teachers, were investigated. We used the qualitative approach of content analysis. Results suggested that (a) the intervention had a positive result for both treatment students and teachers and (b) four core strengths contributed to the successful effect of the intervention related to science-infused literacy -- professional development, time-scripted teaching materials, effective questioning strategies, and visuals and hands-on activities. We advocate that special consideration be given to English language instructors' ongoing professional development, as well as to the learning environment with a lowered affective filter using effective instructional strategies.

In this study, the authors examined the survivability, or persistence over time, of overall science instruction for English learners (ELs) in treatment and control classrooms within a field-based, quasi-experimental grant-funded project in the United States. The project's goal was to increase ELs' science and language achievement through implementation of a language-infused science inquiry model with scripted lessons as teacher scaffolds. The project included observational data on activity structures in treatment and control classrooms. Using survival analysis, the authors analyzed science inquiry instruction survival (i.e., free of lecture-based teaching) and general science instruction time-on-task survival (i.e., free of interruptions) in both groups during the first year of the project (Grade 5). Results indicated a statistically significant difference in science inquiry and time-on-task science instruction persistence in favor of treatment classrooms. Implications for practitioners and possibilities for future research are considered.

Research in the United States show that professional learning (PL) can improve classroom instruction. However, teachers, especially educators in the content areas, receive insufficient training specific to meeting the language and academic needs of English learners (ELs). The purpose of the current randomized controlled trial (RCT) study was to introduce a high-quality PL program for supporting middle school teachers in teaching science to ELs through classroom observations, so as to evaluate whether in-service science teachers' instructional delivery can be shaped by intensive, structured, and ongoing PL. Results indicated that after receiving PL, treatment teachers allocated a significantly higher portion of their instructional time in teaching content language, developing students' expressive language skills, small group and pair activities, implementing strategies evidenced to effective with ELs, and providing more opportunities for students to participate in hands-on activities that were content-related and grade-appropriate. Practical implications for PL were discussed for an international audience.

In this randomized control study, we evaluated science teachers’ pedagogical practices via classroom observations following ongoing, intensive, and structured instructional support sessions. These sessions included virtual professional development (VPD) and virtual mentoring and coaching (VMC) that accompanied a literacy-infused science curriculum. Using a low-inference observational instrument, we explored the direct impact of VPD and VMC on fifthgrade science teachers’ observed time allocation in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) validation study. The observations were collected three times during science instruction from 121 teachers in 68 schools from 35 public school districts in the U.S. state of Texas, during the 2017- 2018 school year. Preliminary findings revealed pedagogical differences in time allocation among teachers between treatment and control classrooms. We identified improved instructional practices within treatment classrooms, which suggests the intervention had a positive effect by enhancing the quality of pedagogy as well as the contentarea instruction in science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic language is critical for English learners (ELs) to succeed in the science classroom. This study analyzed the instructional practices centered around academic language taking place in eight, fifth-grade classrooms during a grant-funded project. Observational data collected through a classroom observation instrument were analyzed to describe and compare the instructional practices occurring in treatment and control classrooms when teachers and students used academic language. Our findings show both treatment and control classrooms using academic language during the course of the intervention study, but the instruction looked markedly different in each setting. These differences provide valuable insight for practitioners and researchers concerned with the academic language development of ELs in science classrooms.

In this longitudinal study, the cross-language transfer from second language (L2) to first language (L1) was examined among Spanish-speaking English-language learners in an English intervention (Grades 1-3) in the southwest United States. Path analysis revealed statistically significant transfers (ps < 0.05) for the treatment group from English reading comprehension to Spanish reading comprehension. English vocabulary and English grammar also had an indirect influence on Spanish reading comprehension through English reading comprehension. For the comparison group, no English to Spanish paths were statistically significant. We concluded that intervention activities in L2 influenced L1 reading even when L1 instructional time was reduced.

The purpose of this study was to compare and describe 8 fifth-grade classrooms by their teachers pedagogy during a quasiexperimental, longitudinal, and field-based project focused on increasing English language learners' (ELLs') achievement in science and language. The larger study found statistically significant and positive intervention effects in favor of the treatment group on measures of science and language achievement. This study adds an in-depth analysis of the teacher pedagogical practices contributing to students' science and language achievement as captured by an observational instrument used during the project. Results from the analysis show how treatment teachers, when compared to control teachers, focused on activities promoting verbal and written interaction among the students and dense cognitive language use during science inquiry instruction. The findings support the importance of effectively using language in the science classroom to improve ELLs' science and language achievement. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Campus administrators need to have a good understanding of strategies that work with diverse populations they serve. In this paper, the authors share a research-based intervention from a longitudinal randomized trial study funded by the Institute for Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. The intervention is Story Retelling and Higher Order Thinking for English Language and Literacy Acquisition (STELLA) which combines the following components: (a) integrated ESL strategies, (b) higher order leveled questions, (c) academic vocabulary in the content area of science which was explicitly and implicitly taught, (d) opportunities for students to practice language through retelling, and (e) training for the teachers on a biweekly basis.

We examined the direct impact of an ongoing, intensive, and structured professional development (PD) within an English-as-second-language (ESL) instructional intervention on (a) teachers' time allocation in cognitive--academic language proficiency (CALP) and (b) Spanish-speaking English language learners' (ELLs) CALP development from the second to third grade within a multilevel cross-classified framework. Second, we explored the mediation effect of teachers' time allocation. We observed that treatment teachers spent more time in CALP than control teachers as a result of the instructional intervention with PD. In addition, the treatment effect was evident in ELLs' outcomes, including expressive vocabulary, oral reading fluency, and retell fluency. Finally, the treatment effect was completely mediated through teachers' time allocation in CALP in the second grade on retell fluency.

This meta-analysis includes experimental and quasi-experimental studies of reading interventions for English learners (ELs) coupled with four specific instructional strategies. The purposes of this meta-analysis were two-fold: (1) to identify the effects of the four instructional strategies (i.e. scaffolding, graphic organizers, interactive read aloud, and leveled questions) on ELs' reading comprehension; and (2) to evaluate the combined effect of these four strategies when used together on ELs' reading comprehension. In addition to considering that different studies might have varying effect sizes on ELs' reading comprehension, we also conducted moderator analyses to explore potential moderators that might affect the variation between selected studies. Our moderators were school level, intervention duration, language learning context, and sample size. After an extensive search of research literature, 23 studies were identified that met the inclusion criteria of this meta-analysis study with a total of 2,284 participants. Mean effect sizes among these studies ranged from –.05 to 2.23, depending on instructional strategies. These studies were associated with increased reading comprehension across varied school levels, methodological features, and settings. Our findings showed that each of the four instructional strategies is beneficial for ELs' reading comprehension. We also found an additional potential benefit on ELs' reading comprehension when these four instructional strategies are used together throughout a lesson. Our findings also revealed that intervention duration was the only significant moderator, suggesting that the longer the treatment is, the greater the impact will be on ELs' comprehension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite research interest in testing the effects of literacy-infused science interventions in different contexts, research exploring the relationship, if any, between academic language and conceptual understanding is scant. What little research exists does not include English language learners (ELLs) and/or economically disadvantaged (ED) student samples--students most at risk academically. This study quantitatively determined if there exists a relationship, and if so, how strong of a relationship, between ELL and ED students' academic language and conceptual understanding based on science notebook scores used in a larger science and literacy-infused intervention with a sample of culturally diverse students. The study also considered strengths of relationships between language and concept science notebook scores within student language status groups (ELL, former ELL, and English speaking). Correlational analyses noted positive, large, and significant correlations between students' language and concept scores overall, with the largest correlations for science notebook entries using more academic language. Large correlations also existed for ELL student entries at the end of the school year. Implications of the findings for future research and practice in science classrooms including literacy interventions, such as science notebooks, with populations of culturally diverse students are discussed.

The authors of this quantitative study measured and compared the academic language development and conceptual understanding of fifth-grade economically disadvantaged English language learners (ELL), former ELLs, and native English-speaking (ES) students as reflected in their science notebook scores. Using an instrument they developed, the authors quantified the student notebook language and concept scores. They compared language growth over time across three time points: beginning, middle, and end of the school year and across language-status (ELL, former ELL, and ES), and gender using mixed between-within subjects analysis of variance (ANOVA). The authors also compared students' conceptual understanding scores across categories in three domains using ANOVA. Students demonstrated statistically significant growth over time in their academic language as reflected by science notebook scores, and we noticed conceptual trends in which scores for ELLs, former ELLs, and male students lagged behind at first, but caught up to their peers by the end of the school year.

This study presents first-year findings of a 25-week longitudinal project derived from a two-year longitudinal randomized trial study at the elementary school level in Costa Rica on effective computer-assisted language learning (CALL) approaches in an English as a foreign language (EFL) setting. A pre-test-post-test experimental group design was implemented to evaluate two varying types of CALL curriculum (Treatment A and Treatment B, both technology based to assist English language learning) with a difference in students' time-on-task, as opposed to the Control/Comparison group (that received no treatment and was a typical practice within the regular English teaching time period). Four subtests from Woodcock Munoz Language Survey-Revised (WMLS-R), a norm-referenced, standardized instrument, were selected to monitor participants' oral English development. A total of 76 urban, rural, and urban/marginal schools with 816 third graders were included in the analysis through multilevel modeling. Results suggested that (1) students held very limited oral English proficiency at the beginning of the third grade; (2) although students significantly improved their oral English proficiency during the 25-week intervention, they were still significantly below the typical native English-speaking norm at the end of the third-grade level; (3) those who were exposed to CALL modules in Treatment A developed at a faster rate than did students in Treatment B and in Control classrooms in lexical knowledge and listening skills when statistically controlling for student-level variables, including initial level and time-on-task; (4) although students in CALL intervention (especially in Treatment B) started with a lower level of oral English proficiency, their gain was numerically higher than that in the Control condition; and (5) time-on-task demonstrated to be an irrelevant variable in the study. These findings imply that it is not just exposure to English that matters for significant gains in the language; rather, it is the type of instruction a student receives, or the quality of instruction in which the software engages the students interactively in a hands-on, minds-on, scaffolded manner, that matters the most in developing steep gains. Finally, we recommend that additional research be conducted with groups that move through kindergarten, first grade, and second grade longitudinally to determine cohort effects in learning English via CALL instruction in EFL countries.