What Teacher Educators Need to Teach About Evidence-Based Instruction and Response to Intervention

Recent research has determined essential components and features of instruction that lead to success for the majority of students. Yet many teachers are not implementing these evidence-based practices, perhaps because they are not receiving information about evidence-based practices in their teacher preparation programs. This paper addresses what teacher educators need to be teaching about reading, effective instruction, and response to intervention in pre-service programs.

Mathematics Achievement

One of the largest and most persistent inequities in the modern American education system is the gap in math achievement along income and race lines. Beating the Odds, prepared for the Carnegie-IAS Commission on Mathematics and Science Education, argues that the math achievement gap is not, as commonly viewed, primarily the result of poor and uneven math instruction in urban schools, but the result of two deeper, generally overlooked factors. The paper argues, however, that there is mounting evidence that we are capable of closing this gap, and highlights the growing number of academically rigorous small schools that are beating the odds by bringing the highest-need students to high levels of math achievement.

Expanding Pathways

Growing evidence demonstrates that pathways hold promise for reducing high school dropout rates, increasing academic achievement and learning, and increasing students’ earning power when they graduate. Studies also show that students enrolled in pathways perform as well as their traditionally educated counterparts on key measures. According to Expanding Pathways: Transforming High School Education in California, the multiple pathways approach holds significant promise for engaging high school students and improving their ability to achieve their dreams. The report outlines ten major areas of focus that will address needs and provide a policy framework for successfully expanding pathways.

Education Field Recession-Proof

Though it's difficult to predict exactly how the year will pan out, with some signs pointing toward an economic recession, the good news for job seekers is that employers are still hiring and certain industries will survive (even thrive) during hard times. While some industries are vulnerable during recessions, there are always industries that seem "recession-resistant," based on different trends at the time of the slowdown. On a list of industries expected to offer the best opportunities for job seekers during the predicted slump, produced by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the education field is number one.

Virtual Office Hours

Professors across the nation are beginning to offer "virtual office hours," allowing students to chat via text or microphone in live, online help sessions. Turning to Internet technology to enhance course communication in this technology-based age is viewed more and more as essential to connecting with students. The annual National Survey of Student Engagement found that using information technology correlates with higher student-faculty interaction and is strongly associated with other measures of student engagement. "There is a tremendous advantage … especially when it expands on the potential for learning and allows students to access materials in different ways," says Jillian Kinzie, associate director of the National Survey. Students comment that electronic options are the “future of education”.

Focus on Older Students

Since the Commission on the Future of Higher Education underscored the importance of improving job training and increasing the number of college graduates, adult students have received more attention from policy makers. However, according to the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), 20 million 25- to 55-year-olds in 16 southern states have enrolled at a college but left without a degree. SREB is currently working with the Louisiana Board of Regents to promote an initiative to improve higher education access for older students, and to help colleges boost enrollment, and hopes to replicate the effort elsewhere. Other states are focusing on a growing base of "nontraditional" students that will be central to colleges' academic planning and economic well-being for years to come.