While the demands of teaching continue to escalate, teacher development has changed relatively little over time, leaving many of today's teachers feeling underprepared, overwhelmed, or demoralized with few opportunities to make real change. Teacher leadership holds promise for both addressing challenges within schools and empowering teachers.…

This chapter describes the conceptualization and interactions of the Portfolio Group, a knowledge community of teachers and teacher educators with over a twenty-year history of collaboration. Formed in 1998, its story formed the model for the concept of the Faculty Academy. An overview of the Portfolio Group's members and collaborative activities…

Book groups are gatherings of readers who aspire to remain lifelong learners. Educators who read and enjoy quality fiction and non-fiction contribute with confidence to the rich, literate environment of classrooms. The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) expresses, through rich policy statements and other published works, the vital…

The global online education sector has been rising rapidly, particularly during and after the events of 2020, and is becoming mainstream much sooner than expected. Despite this, research studies report higher levels of perceived isolation, difficulties with engagement, and higher attrition rates in online compared to equivalent on-campus programs.…

This paper explores the idea of a formalized "critical space" in higher education, using elements of Habermas's theory of communicative action and ideas from Barnett, Englund, and Marginson. Inquiry in this hypothetical space would use knowledge generated in existing domains to engage in dialogue, debate, and development of proposals and…

This case study provides an overview as to how two faculty members co-taught an asynchronous online course with a service-learning component during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Within this paper, the authors recount the adjustments that were made in order to accommodate an online teaching modality while maintaining their commitment to service…

This case study describes a collaborative process by various teaching and distance support units to create and run a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in the subject of Leadership. Whereas typical collaboration arrangements in the literature involve partnerships of various teaching and support units, the collaboration of course developer,…

Reported percentages of young children who engage in challenging behavior is estimated between 10% and 20%. This percentage is even greater for children with disabilities. Not surprisingly, when young children with challenging behavior do not receive services and supports early on, they can experience negative social and emotional outcomes long…

Created by Tufts University through a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded project, the Novel Engineering website explains that "Novel Engineering is an integrated approach to teaching engineering and literacy" (2018) that asks teachers to support students' engagement in a project-based endeavor of problem-and-solution processes and…

Communities of practice have become important tools for districts striving to improve teacher quality in a way that improves student outcomes, but scaling the benefits of these communities requires a more rigorous, intentional approach. That's why Learning Forward, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, created the Redesign PD…

In this program profile, we detail the design and implementation phases of an interdisciplinary first-year experience curriculum for multilingual students in the Creando Raíces learning community model at Humboldt State University. Our profile describes how we worked together as a professional learning community to integrate theories of writing…

Although many schools around the world have claimed to embrace the Professional Learning Community process, it would be more accurate to describe the current state of affairs in many schools as PLC Lite. Educators rename their traditional faculty or department meetings as PLC meetings, engage in book studies that result in no action, or devote…

Physical activity declines among children in their tweens and teens. To address physical inactivity as a health risk, national organizations are endorsing the implementation of comprehensive school physical activity programs (CSPAPs). The purpose of this article is to describe the history of school-coordinated approaches to addressing health…

Since the enactment of Public Law 94-142, school districts have struggled to hire and retain required special education personnel (i.e., special education teachers, school psychologists, and related service providers). Data show that shortages of these qualified personnel are even more magnified in rural school districts. Distance education can…

In an era of limited fiscal and human resources, educational developers are seeking innovative ways to connect with their constituents. Developing a "virtual" center for teaching and learning (CTL) is one approach to consolidating development resources and reaching busy full-time and adjunct faculty. This article will describe the…