The purpose of this article is to describe the Quality Educators Academy (QEA), a year-long training for K-8 classroom teachers that was funded by a NC ESEA Title II-A Improving Teacher Quality (NC QUEST) Grant. Key features of the project as well as the design and content of the training contributed to success in recruiting, retaining, and…

Mike Carbone has been the principal of Kickemuit Middle School in Warren, Rhode Island, since 1990. He's seen some bad times there before a dramatic turnaround. When asked what finally got his school's engine revved and moving the school forward, he said without hesitation: "Learning walks." In this article, the author describes how…

This study describes and analyzes the actions taken by the principal and a middle school leadership team, which resulted in a change from a seven- to a six-period bell schedule. Change was facilitated through the interaction of three forces: (a) transformational leadership of the principal; (b) the development of a strong leadership team, and (c)…

This article describes the theoretical framework, research base, structure, and content of a video-based professional development program implemented during 2 consecutive years with sixth-grade mathematics teachers from five low-performing schools. First, difficulties teachers encountered in responding to video-based prompts during the 1st year…

The 2009 Professional Development Schools National Conference recognized the North Florida Urban Professional Development School Partnership for its outstanding work in an urban education context and so named it one of the three recipients of the first-ever National Association for Professional Development Schools Award for Exemplary Professional…

In the targeted school in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, teachers focus on differentiating instruction with technology-based software. Differentiated instruction is the chosen teaching strategy over direct instruction because students and teachers alike prefer to work in cooperative groups while using technology in the classroom.…

This study investigates mathematics teacher learning in a video-based professional development environment called "video clubs." In particular, the authors explore whether teachers develop professional vision, the ability to notice and interpret significant features of classroom interactions, as they participate in a video club. Analysis for the…

This study offers an analysis of the learning of practicing teachers as they acquire a deeper knowledge of mathematics. While some professional developers have shifted part of their focus to helping practicing teachers acquire a deeper knowledge of mathematics (e.g., Stein & Silver, 1996), the results from studies often describe what translates…

Eight teams of elementary and middle school teachers developed pilot online courses for the North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS) in the USA. A qualitative case study with focus groups and a follow-up survey helped to identify common needs of these non-traditional course designers during course development efforts. Findings suggest virtual…

The research objectives were to identify the middle level mathematics teachers' conceptions of mathematics teaching and learning and ascertain changes in their conceptions and instructional behavior at the end of a three-year professional development (PD) project. These changes were studied through the qualitative analysis of their reflective…

The authors share a successful Fulbright Group Projects Abroad grant award. The purpose of the grant was to enhance American educators' experience and knowledge of South Africa, in particular, and sub-Saharan Africa more generally. Toward that end, participants experienced a multifaceted view of South Africa's geographical diversity, both physical…

This project investigated the effects of technology task autonomy, teacher gender, and student gender on student achievement scores for students disaggregated by IEP and SES in middle school science classrooms. Participants were from the treatment group in a larger quasi-experimental design project that investigated the effects of integrated…

This paper describes a collaborative professional development model in which faculty in a College of Education partnered with a local school district to design and implement a year-long project in an effort to increase effective integration of technology in instruction by K-8 classroom teachers, university teacher preparation faculty, pre-service…

Facing History and Ourselves is an international educational non-profit organization that engages middle and high school teachers and their students in an examination of racism, prejudice, and antisemitism by relating the past to the world today. This annual report highlights the activities of this organization during 2002-2003. Detailed in this…

The causes of reading failure are numerous and complex. If instruction provided by the school is ineffective or insufficient, even some otherwise capable learners will have difficulty learning to read. Improving literacy instruction through professional development is an ongoing process involving all of the members of a schoolwide literacy team in…