Background: Integrated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education is crucial for teacher preparation programs that provide effective teaching in an interdisciplinary approach to teacher training. There is a need for a novel program to train pre-and in-service STEM teachers as STEM leaders who's moving a passive STEM teacher…

Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) are the legal documents guiding the education of students with disabilities served under IDEA. Despite the importance of these documents, noncompliance and lack of quality remain in the present levels of academic and functional performance, annual goals and objectives, and supplementary aids and services…

To address the question of how to develop the capacity for every instructional coach to provide job-embedded professional learning for every teacher and student, the Utah State Board of Education's quality instruction team designed and built a statewide 22 networked professional learning system that includes instructional coaches, local education…

With a continuous shortage of qualified agricultural science teachers (Foster, Lawver, Smith, 2014; Kantrovich, 2010), it is imperative teacher preparation programs identify and utilize effective cooperating teachers, as well as develop training for in-service teachers that will assist in preparing more effective cooperating teachers. The purpose…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of online professional development training on assistive technology by comparing knowledge acquisition through pretest/posttest scores and assessment of the participants' assistive technology implementation plans with a researcher designed rubric. The architecture for the six trainings…

Many colleges and universities rely upon online programs to support distance delivery of personnel preparation programs in special education and related services. These distance education programs enable individuals who live or work in rural communities to access training programs to earn teaching certification and assist rural schools in…

This study focused on the perceptions of in-service general education teachers who completed a cohort mentoring program leading to certification in English as a Second Language (ESL) at a large, urban university. Based on interviews with 19 members of a cohort of 28, participants valued both the support and augmented skills-development the…

Despite the Bologna agreement implementation in 2008, teachers' education in Portugal has not changed significantly from earlier practice. The major modification in the requirements of master's level teacher education programmes was the introduction of a strong component of educational research in a master's degree; this is designed to replace an…

This article describes the evaluation of a project designed to provide in-service training for teachers in rural schools in Outer Mongolia in techniques of independent and co-operative learning. Difficulties faced by Mongolian teachers in implementing a new national standards based curriculum were identified by the Mongolian State Education…

Student feedback collected through program evaluation of secondary education licensure and Master's program clinical experiences prompted us to conduct a collective self-study. We used a reflective framework for analysis and discussion of the shifts students in our courses made as they progressed from observers to practicing teachers. Along with…

If you are looking for an organic approach to purpose-driven professional learning, this is the book for you. Award-winning educator Lois Brown Easton's latest work provides a compelling case study in narrative form, a chronological PLC planning outline, and first-hand "lessons learned" about how PLCs develop, mature, and sustain themselves. You…

The goal of school-university partnerships is most often the promotion of teacher growth through professional development (PD). Yet, despite the best of intentions, most PD is not conducted in an effective way. The purpose of this article is to share the perceptions of one group of elementary teachers regarding teacher growth and change as the…

Elementary teachers in one school system have expressed low self-efficacy teaching science and desire more support teaching science. However, little research has been conducted on how best to meet these teachers' needs. The theories of perceived self-efficacy, social cognition, and behaviorism make up the conceptual framework of this study. The…

Whether you're an old hand at professional learning communities (PLC) or just starting out, you know that PLCs don't succeed on their own. They need a supportive environment, an effective structure and process, and a plan for study, sharing, analysis, and action. Here's a book that ensures you provide your PLC all that and more. Drawing from their…

Developing a model for effective large-scale continuous professional development (CPD) for teachers remains a significant obstacle for many governments worldwide. This article describes the development and evolution of Vital--a CPD program designed to enhance the teaching of information communication technology in state-funded primary and…