Recent innovations in professional development are rife with a wide array of efforts focused on teacher collaboration. In this essay, we address some of the unexamined assumptions about the nature and significance of interactions in teacher professional collaboration, drawing on the concept of the "fourth wall" from theater and film…

During 2017-2018, CEELO conducted a professional learning community (PLC) to support leadership development among newly appointed, high-level leaders of early education in state education agencies. The goal of the PLC was for participants to increase awareness, gain critical knowledge and develop leadership skills needed to guide highly effective…

Working at a distance brings several benefits, often offset by several detriments. One aspect of working at a distance is the difficulty in sharing successes and promoting accolades. These successes may be personal, team, program, or institutional. But, as a distance worker it can seem daunting or even futile when attempting to "toot your own…

This article examines what both in-service and pre-service trainee teachers learn from their early experience of teaching in further education (FE) colleges in England. Despite differences between in-service and pre-service trainees, that early experience is often characterised by isolation and lack of control over practice for both groups.…

Transitioning into a new role can be difficult in any walk of life, and this is no different for physical educators entering a new teaching environment. In a new setting, a physical educator may go through a socialization process where beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, and teaching philosophies are influenced. Teacher socialization research suggests…

Principals play an important role in new teacher induction. The quality of the relationship with school administrators is as important to novice special education teachers as it is to novice general education teachers. Although special education teachers can benefit from general administrative support, they also may require additional supports…

Teachers in rural settings find it difficult to access quality professional development that can improve student science achievement. These teachers are serving the 10 million students, or about 19% percent of the nation's total public school enrollment, who attend school in a rural district. Studies show that long-term, in-depth methods of…

Even though introductory educational psychology is a widespread feature of preservice teacher education, instructors of this course generally learn to teach the course in isolation from each other--a circumstance that limits the effectiveness of this course. The traditional strategies of professional development are conducting research about the…

Connecting with other education professionals is important in supporting teacher learning. Teachers in remote locations in Australia experience a professional isolation due to geographic isolation that makes it difficult to engage in sustained collaborations with other teachers. In a national project ICT was used to assist these teachers by…

Directing the Women's Center for the last ten years at an institution with 22,000 students, 3,000 faculty and staff members, and 9 colleges, the author has collaborated with many individuals and programs with a shared interest in women and leadership. In this article, the author relates how she collaborated with her colleague in the Student…

The focus in the author's role as Director of the New Zealand Principal and Leadership Centre (NZPLC) has been strongly influenced by her involvement with principals and has resulted in her dedication to a developmental approach that meets interpersonal, personal and professional needs of principals. It has been imperative that the focus of such…

Few chief executive positions rival today's academic presidency in the complexity, unpredictability, and stress-producing nature of the job. This article describes how board members can sustain the well-being of those who hold down today's demanding academic presidencies. Initiatives boards can consider include: (1) appropriate personal staff; (2)…

A teacher study group was formed at Garfield Elementary School (Billings, Montana) to provide opportunities for professional development. Garfield Elementary has a student population of over 400 students, approximately 50 of whom qualify for special education services. The majority of children come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and…

Discusses the findings of a recently completed British Library project which sought to enable information professionals to develop and enhance their careers by identifying a framework of transferable skills. Highlights include professional isolation; the Library Association Framework for Continuing Professional Development; mentors and learning…

Teaching in a remote town has its drawbacks with regard to Professional Development (PD), which becomes extremely costly, so each staff member is probably limited to one decent PD once a year. This means choosing PD extremely carefully to ensure "value for money" and hopefully that it will provide the teacher concerned with…