Explore · I4I

Reading Apprenticeship Across the Disciplines (RAAD)

2019

Reading Apprenticeship Across the Disciplines (RAAD) is a cross-disciplinary blended professional development model for middle school teachers (grades 7-8) in English Language Arts, science, and social studies. The program provides 5 days (32.5 hours) of face-to-face training delivered in two institutes (3-day summer Foundations Institute and 2-day winter Calibration Institute), monthly online Professional Learning Community (PLC) meetings (approximately 7 hours per year), and monthly site-based school team meetings (approximately 8 hours per year) facilitated by Teacher Leaders. The professional development teaches teachers to integrate literacy instruction into subject-area teaching using the Reading Apprenticeship framework, which focuses on four dimensions: Social, Personal, Cognitive, and Knowledge-Building, supported by metacognitive conversations and extensive reading. Teachers learn to make reading processes visible, support student collaboration, provide explicit comprehension strategy instruction, and differentiate instruction. The model includes support from Regional Partners (local education organizations) and trained Teacher Leaders who facilitate monthly school team meetings. Teachers receive materials including Reading for Understanding text and online resources through Canvas platform.

7th Grade 8th Grade

Pre-K Mathematics

2012

Pre-K Mathematics is a pre-kindergarten mathematics curriculum designed for 4-year-old children from low-income families to address the socioeconomic gap in early mathematical knowledge. The intervention includes classroom small-group mathematics activities with concrete manipulatives conducted by teachers twice weekly (approximately 15-20 minutes per session) with groups of 4-6 children, covering six curriculum units: Counting and Number, Understanding Arithmetic Operations (Fall), Spatial Sense and Geometry, Patterns, Understanding Arithmetic Operations (Spring), and Measurement and Data. The curriculum also includes 16 home mathematics activities sent to parents throughout the year, a classroom math learning center, and supplemental math software (DLM Express) used at least once per week. Teachers receive intensive professional development including a 2-day introductory workshop, multi-day fall (4 days) and winter (3 days) workshops, and biweekly on-site support from curriculum coaches. The intervention uses a trainer-of-trainers model where internal facilitators are trained to support teachers' implementation with fidelity.

Prekindergarten

CompuPower

2022

CompuPower is a multifaceted program for high school students centered on a culturally responsive computing course. The program emphasizes society, science, and technology as innovation drivers and provides opportunities for students to investigate their intersectional identities using technology tools and computational thinking. The yearlong course curriculum includes 120 hours of instructional material divided across four quarters, focusing on power and identity, power and community, power and place, and power and social change. Students complete projects and assignments using various technology tools and develop skills including project planning, communication and collaboration, and basic coding. The program also includes professional development for teachers on culturally relevant and responsive teaching practices, a multiday CompuPower Residency Experience on the ASU campus, and a Parent Academy workshop series to help parents support their children in pursuing STEM opportunities.

9th Grade 10th Grade 11th Grade 12th Grade

Reading Apprenticeship in High School Biology

2009

Reading Apprenticeship (RA) is a professional development program designed to help high school biology teachers integrate academic literacy instruction with biology coursework. The intervention involves 10 days of professional development (5 days in summer 2005, 2 follow-up days during the 2005-2006 school year, and 3 days in summer 2006) where teachers learn to integrate metacognitive inquiry into ongoing biology instruction. The approach makes explicit the tacit reasoning processes, strategies, and discourse rules that shape successful readers' and writers' work in science. Teachers learn to engage students in extensive reading, integrate explicit teaching of comprehension strategies, establish relevance and personal connections to reading materials, identify and use text structures to support comprehension, and support collaborative sense-making activities with written materials. The central dynamic is routine metacognitive conversation—talking about the reasoning and problem-solving processes that accompany reading as students carry out learning tasks in the biology curriculum. Teachers receive stipends for participation, travel expenses, and up to $200 for supplemental reading materials (science magazines, trade books, fiction, and non-fiction selections linked to biology topics).

9th Grade 10th Grade

From Here to There (FH2T)

2023

From Here to There (FH2T) is a dynamic research-based game that implements theories of perceptual learning and embodied cognition to address cognitive and affective factors that lead to low proficiency in mathematics, specifically targeting Grade 7 students' algebraic understanding. In FH2T, algebraic notations are turned into interactive objects that enforce mathematical rules through their physical movements. Students can dynamically manipulate and transform expressions by using various gestures, such as dragging and tapping, to perform operations on the screen. Students are presented with two expressions: a starting expression and a target goal state, which is mathematically equivalent but perceptually different to the starting expression. Students transform the starting expression into the target goal state by using algebraically permissible actions and learned gestures. The game consists of 14 worlds that focus on different mathematical concepts, and each world contains 18 problems (a total of 252 problems). Students received nine 30-minute intervention sessions across the school year, with a 2-week window to complete each session. All interventions were administered online through the ASSISTments platform, and students worked individually at their own pace, using a device.

7th Grade

Coding as Another Language using ScratchJr (CAL-ScratchJr)

2023

Coding as Another Language using ScratchJr (CAL-ScratchJr) is a curriculum developed by Boston College's DevTech Research Group that integrates coding and computational thinking with literacy skills for second grade students. The curriculum consists of 24 lessons of 45 minutes each, delivered during regular school hours in classroom settings. Students use the ScratchJr app on tablets to create interactive stories and games while learning powerful ideas of computer science integrated with literacy. The curriculum includes both unplugged activities and on-screen coding. Before implementation, teachers receive professional development training including two 2-hour workshops (4 hours total), completing their own ScratchJr project, and exploring curriculum lessons. Teachers also have access to onsite and virtual coaching support during implementation.

2nd Grade

P-TECH 9-14

2023

P-TECH 9-14 is a six-year educational program that integrates high school, community college, and employer partnerships to prepare students for both college and careers. The program serves grades 9-14 and involves partnerships among a high school, a City University of New York (CUNY) campus, and one or more employer partners. Students have the opportunity to earn a high school diploma within four years, followed by a cost-free, industry-recognized associate's degree in a STEM field. During the program, employer partners provide work-based learning experiences including internships, mentoring, and job shadowing. Students participate in career and technical education (CTE) coursework, work-based learning opportunities, and college classes (dual enrollment) beginning as early as tenth grade. The program requires substantial coordination among high school, employer, and college partners, with dedicated staff including college liaisons and work-based learning coordinators to support implementation.

9th Grade 10th Grade 11th Grade 12th Grade 13th Grade Postsecondary

NURTURES

2024

NURTURES is a professional development program for PreK-3 teachers that provides Framework-aligned science instruction training. The program is designed to improve teaching practices in early elementary science education, with the goal of enhancing student outcomes in science, mathematics, and reading. Teachers who participate in NURTURES receive training to deliver high-quality science instruction aligned with current educational frameworks. The program was implemented in 41 elementary schools in the Toledo Public School District and included parent support and community-wide science learning opportunities. Students could have had a NURTURES-trained teacher at any time between kindergarten and 3rd grade, with longitudinal effects measured up to 5 years after exposure.

Prekindergarten Kindergarten 1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade

TAP: The System for Teacher and Student Advancement

2013

TAP: The System for Teacher and Student Advancement is a comprehensive school improvement program for K-12 schools that integrates four components: (1) Multiple Career Paths - selected teachers become master or mentor teachers while remaining in the classroom; (2) Ongoing Applied Professional Growth - embedded professional development through weekly cluster group meetings, individual coaching, and classroom support; (3) Instructionally Focused Accountability - comprehensive teacher evaluations 4-6 times per year using research-validated rubrics, conducted by trained master teachers, mentor teachers, and administrators, with pre- and post-conferences; and (4) Performance-Based Compensation - additional compensation based on teacher performance observations (50%), individual classroom achievement growth (30%), and school-wide achievement growth (20%). The program requires restructuring the school schedule to allow at least one hour per week for cluster meetings, and master teachers (1:15 ratio) are released from most classroom duties while mentor teachers (1:8 ratio) retain partial teaching responsibilities. Implementation includes intensive initial training followed by sustained support across all four components.

Prekindergarten Kindergarten 1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade 6th Grade 7th Grade 8th Grade 9th Grade 10th Grade 11th Grade 12th Grade

Opening Doors Learning Communities

2012

Opening Doors Learning Communities at Kingsborough Community College is a one-semester program for incoming freshmen (ages 17-34) who tested into either developmental or college-level English (excluding ESL students) and planned to attend full time. The program places groups of up to 25 students in three linked courses during their first semester: an English course (developmental or college-level based on placement test scores), an academic course required for their major, and a one-credit freshman orientation course. Faculty receive one hour of reassigned time to meet regularly, discuss student progress, integrate curricula, and coordinate assignments. Enhanced supports include: a case manager (Opening Doors counselor) who teaches the orientation course and proactively assists 75-100 students across 3-4 learning communities; a tutor assigned to each learning community who attends the English and often the subject matter course; and textbook vouchers worth $150 for the 12-week main session and $75 for the subsequent 6-week intersession. Some services (enhanced counseling, textbook vouchers) extend into the intersession following the program semester.

Postsecondary