Innovation, Research, and Policy: Evolutions in Classroom Teaching

This article offers a vision of innovation within the complex nature of teaching. Innovation is the process through which new ideas are generated and put into productive practice—“new” meaning new to this situation or this location or this community. In this article, the authors describe a) how innovation occurs through small-scale “tinkering”; b) the conditions for innovation; c) methods for distributing and developing innovation; d) the complex relationship between policy and innovation; e) the need to evaluate fully the consequences of innovation; and f) how to develop capacity for innovation. Building capacity for innovation also requires examining our goals—what we think we are doing – because, when innovation occurs, it occurs in the direction of people’s goals

Collaboration on the Book Club Project: The Multiple Roles of Researchers,Teachers, and Students

Our article describes the potential benefits of university/public school collaborations for the teachers, researchers, and students involved. Even these common terms teachers, researchers, and students shifted meanings as each participant of our project assumed various roles. All of us were classroom teachers, though Taffy, Ginny, and Sue had returned to the university

Preparing reading/literacy specialists to meet changes and challenges: International Literacy Association’s Standards 2017

Lead writers and co-chairs of the International Literacy Association’s Standards 2017provide a hands on guide to using updated standards for the preparation of reading/literacy specialists. Authors share key changes in content, supporting explanations with updated references, and implications for program faculty, state policymakers, and specialist candidates. Standards 2017 adds a new seventh standard for Practicum/Clinical Experiences and sets high expectations for programs to incorporate candidate experiences with technology, diversity, collaboration, and advocacy. Processes to work with colleagues to design or re-design, implement, and evaluate programs are discussed

Promoting Native Roadside Plant Communities and Ensuring Successful Vegetation Establishment Practices

118543The loss of vegetation from roadside activities can lead to erosion and an increased sediment load in stormwater ponds. Current VDOT procedures regarding approved seed blends and establishment practices have led to inconsistent vegetation establishment and greatly rely on introduced species. Growing concerns regarding the threat of introduced, invasive species have increased the promotion of native plants in landscapes. One example is VDOT\u2019s participation in the Candidate Conservation Agreement for monarchs fostering a desire to better understand factors that may improve milkweed abundance. Native seed blends, however, have failed to produce soil stabilization or long-term establishment in the past, presumably because of erroneous species selection, seed dormancy, and competitive displacement by weedy vegetation. This study was conducted to (1) identify and document potential procedural improvements for successful roadside vegetation establishment in Virginia; (2) propose candidate native plants for VDOT see blend consideration based on a statewide plant community assessment on Virginia roadsides; and (3) summarize the literature on availability, cost, and establishment success of candidate native species. A review of VDOT\u2019s vegetation establishment practices indicates that procedural inconsistencies related to the development of Roadside Development Sheets and recent restrictions on fertilizer application may be contributing to vegetation establishment failures. A statewide plant community assessment evaluated 490 sites and identified 616 unique plant species among the 67,330 plants surveyed. The Shannon Diversity Index was calculated for 2,450 10-m transects, indicating that plant biodiversity was higher on low-maintenance distal backslopes compared with high-maintenance road edges, shoulders, and ditches. Plant biodiversity was also higher on secondary roads than on primary roads. The unique introduced species encountered were relatively stable across Virginia\u2019s seven ecoregions, but unique native species were more ecosystem dependent. Unique native species increased from 114 species on the road edge and shoulder to 281 species on the distal backslope. The likelihood of encountering a native plant increases from 1 in 4 on the road edge to 1 in 2 on the distal backslope. Among the native plants that were most frequently encountered, seeds were often unavailable or price prohibitive. Andropogon virginicus, Tridens flavus, Dichanthelium clandestinum, Tripsacum dactyloides, and Sorghastrum nutans have desirable attributes as native roadside grasses and are among the top 20 most commonly encountered native grasses on Virginia roadsides. The average cost of the seed for these grasses was $59 per pound compared with$2.40 per pound for tall fescue. Among grasses that are currently not commercially available, Setaria parviflora, Eragrostis pectinacean, Dichanthelium laxiflorum, and Panicum anceps are among the top 10 most commonly encountered native grasses and have characteristics that would be desirable for roadside vegetation. At least one milkweed species was observed at 37 out of 490 sites statewide (7.6%). The report recommends that VDOT explore opportunities to improve understanding of procedural policy and to implement procedural improvements, including revisions to the roadside development sheet. Additional opportunities for research include testing native plants for establishment and long term dominance

Specialized Literacy Professionals as Literacy Leaders: Results of a National Survey

This large-scale national survey of specialized literacy professionals was designed to answer questions about responsibilities, including leadership, and preparation for these roles. Questionnaires, completed by over 2,500 respondents, indicated that respondents had multiple responsibilities that included both instruction of struggling readers and support for teachers. Four distinct role-groups were identified: instructional/literacy coaches, reading/literacy specialists, reading teachers/interventionists, and supervisors. The findings indicated a need for more precise definitions of the roles of these professionals and for preparation programs to include experiences that address the tasks required. Themes discussed included: roles have changed and require more focus on leadership, specialists must be nimble, and they require more in-depth preparation to handle the leadership demands of their positions