This article reports the results of a six-year longitudinal interpretative case study on the development of five elementary teachers' beliefs and practices related to historical inquiry. Using activity theory as the lens, the researcher found: (1) the teachers' conceptual tools remained relatively consistent over time, and they believed inquiry…

Teachers are rarely included as partners in school reforms or in planning teacher supports to enact new initiatives. The authors explored co-design as a professional learning (PL) framework to support localized enactment of a high school language arts project-based learning (PBL) course. They examined aspects that facilitated or limited progress…

Research has identified several factors that contribute to the effectiveness of professional development opportunities in schools including improvement of participants' knowledge, administrator support, incorporation of active learning activities, duration, fostering coherence, and timing. The current case study examined how these six factors…

This project explores 'meaningful' student voice development in an evaluation of project-based Character lessons taught by teachers and students. In the context of a secondary school in a deprived urban ward, within a Multi-Academy Trust using value-based instruction, this evaluation is grounded in the notion that student empowerment is essential…

This article provides insights into how participating in an action research study challenged traditional beliefs about teaching practices and led to more active learning strategies being included in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) Science classes at a Vietnamese university. Recent reforms in higher education teaching and learning by the…

This article is about personally driven professional development through the use of reflective self-study. The argument that teachers need to take responsibility for their own learning while also taking decisions on how and in what areas to develop is strongly made throughout the article. Data for this article were gathered over a 10-year period…

Teaching requires the navigation of an intricate terrain of complex and often overlapping issues, many of which extend beyond the classroom setting. Teachers are uniquely placed to influence large numbers of learners beyond the delivery of prescribed curriculum, and therefore need to be particularly careful and aware of their professional ways of…

Opportunities for self-guided professional development provided a context for exploring ways that mid-career teachers designed learning projects and articulated their perceptions of professional growth. In their applications for small grants for materials and released time, participants identified their own personal goals for improving…

A study of a discipline-specific teacher development project designed to prepare teachers to implement a series of core instructional practices for pre-collegiate history teaching is described as a model that can be applied to any content discipline. Teachers were surveyed concerning the success of the project in achieving the goals it set,…

Many secondary math and science teachers don't understand the nature and application of engineering adequately to transfer that understanding to their students. Research is needed that investigates and illuminates the process and characteristics of development that addresses this gap. This mixed-method study examines the developmental experiences…

The primary purpose of the study was to create and psychometrically test an instrument which measured teachers' perceptions of characteristics of professional development. The sample consisted of elementary teachers from five school districts in Washington State participating in a district improvement initiative. Results of exploratory factor…

This paper reports on a longitudinal study of nine teachers and their principal in a new secondary school that met to select, read, discuss and determine the viability of the text for their growing English classes and the library. This research offered a unique opportunity to examine how practitioners create and develop a social context for…

Continuing professional development (CPD) for teachers must be situated within the context of the practice of teachers and be relevant to their teaching and learning needs. A CPD project was conducted in a Hong Kong kindergarten class. For five years prior to the CPD project, the class had used a mixed curriculum of project approach topics and…

Preparing teachers to implement a new curriculum presents a significant but important challenge. While formal professional development programs can assist in this preparation, finding prescribed experiences that meet the needs of all teachers can be formidable and indeed may not always be the best option for promoting change in practice. Decisions…

This article reports on a needs assessment study which investigated Greek Cypriot teachers' in-service training needs in the context of local demands for educational reform and the drive to reformulate teachers' professional development. Data presented in the article were collected through open-ended questionnaires in addition to individual and…