Implementation Science: From Dangerous Canyons to Fields of Dreams

By Andrew J. Ecker, Special Education School Improvement Specialist

May 2016

I recently traveled to San Francisco to hear Dean Fixsen, founder of the National Implementation Research Network (NIRN), deliver a keynote address on Implementation Science. During my flight there I had a birds-eye view to our country’s diversely beautiful landscape -- green fields blo...

What Works in Education? Evidence-Based Practices!

By John Boniello, Bilingual Special Education Specialist

April 2016

These days the education market is being flooded with products that claim to be “research-based” or “evidence-based”. For educators who are always looking for a program, product, or practice that will help students, it is easy to become overwhelmed by all the hype. How do we sift...

A Change in Perspective: Teacher Self-Efficacy & Student Behavior

By Erin Leskovic, Preschool Behavior Specialist

March 2016

According to research summarized by the authors, “teachers’ feelings of low self-efficacy ... were significant predictors of conflict with children…[and teacher] higher levels of personal stressors were associated with substantially lower levels of classroom behavioral management” ...

Does Teaching Social Skills Really Work?

By Sara Fienup, Behavior Specialist

February 2016

Long-term life outcome studies like the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health & Development Study (2011), in which 1,000 children in New Zealand have been followed from birth to age 38, demonstrate the critical importance of self-regulation and social skills in attaining positive academic, care...