As Extension faculty and staff work to meet the requirements for increased scholarship activities through multiple outlets, a collaborative writing activity can be an important instrument in one's academic toolbox. Writing collaboratively allows colleagues to support one another's individual strengths and work through concerns together. This…

This article presents a literature review of principal academies in urban public school districts, with an examination of five prototypical academies. Senge's five disciplines of learning organizations and Guskey's optimal mix model for professional development are linked to form the conceptual perspectives guiding the review. The analysis reveals…

Successful careers in sustainability are determined by positive real-world change towards sustainability. This success depends heavily on professional skills in effective and compassionate communication, collaborative teamwork, or impactful stakeholder engagement, among others. These professional skills extend beyond content knowledge and…

Across Canada many initiatives have been initiated to generate more interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education; however, no single or comprehensive overview has been conducted that takes into account the impact of these STEM initiatives on teaching/learning outcomes in K-12 education. This knowledge synthesis of…

A retired professor of educational leadership/higher education looks back to the literature review in his dissertations (1966) and moves forward over some 50 years of his personal research and his collaboration with his colleagues and doctoral students. The resulting document from the reflective process is shared in this submission. As reflected…

Teachers' careers are often considered to consist of two parts: pre-service and in-service. In-service refers to the entire time between a teacher's entry and exit from the profession. Recent research suggests teachers' careers actually consistent of several parts, known as phases or stages and, collectively, as the career cycle. This further…

The professoriate, as a whole, is growing older and more experienced; yet institutions often overlook the professional development needs of mid-career and senior faculty. This article, based on a review of the literature and the development of a peer coaching project, examines peer coaching as a professional development opportunity for experienced…

The learning curve is high for novice special education teachers. They must assume full teaching responsibilities, while at the same time become familiar with district and school policies, curriculum, and assessment policies and procedures. They are expected to build relationships with administrators, teachers, paraprofessionals, families, and…

In July 2009, a group of over 80 FSL teachers from British Columbia (BC) participated in a two-week sojourn at the "Centre d'Approches vivantes des Langues et des Medias" (CAVILAM) in Vichy, France, as part of an initiative to address the critical shortage of qualified French language teachers in the province. After almost four decades…

The Professional Development School (PDS) literature is filled with the stuff of good storytelling--archetypes of an ancient profession, struggles of marginalized individuals against powerful structures, personal triumphs, and devotion to a quest. However, much of the writing about PDS experiences that could be considered storytelling tends to…

In this "FastFacts," a state's Department of Education requests information from the Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes (CEELO) on how the research defines skills in social-emotional development, approaches to learning, and executive function, to inform planned revisions to the early childhood indicators of progress for children…

Preparing future citizens for postsecondary education and careers that span a continuum of sophistication is not a new topic in education. However, the rapid changes in technology and increased competition from industrialized nations have changed the landscape and meaning of college and career readiness. As part of a strategy to better prepare…

In this article, Catherine Snow, Twakia Martin, and Ilene Berman describe professional development institutes offered in 2001 and 2002 by the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices to familiarize state-level policymakers with research on adolescent literacy and to guide states'…

This paper discusses the issues inherent in the teacher induction stage based on a literature review. Literature on organizational socialization is utilized as the theoretical framework and for informing the teacher education literature. A conceptual framework of teacher development is proposed to illustrate the stages from teacher preparation to…

This paper is intended to support school authorities by summarizing research on professional development. The term professional development is used in a context that encompasses related terms such as staff development, training and in-service. The paper covers conceptions and understandings of professional development, processes and approaches…