The pandemic forced universities to move rapidly to remote teaching, and Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTLs) played a large role in ensuring that transition. We argue that the effectiveness of our work as academic developers lies in our style or approach as much as in any actions taken. This style of working -- holding lightly to expertise,…

In an age of educational reform which incentivises increased digitisation and standardisation, teachers are expected to embrace the rise of 'new' tools and pedagogies with limited agency to inform, question or direct what 'newness' must be brought into their classrooms. Drawing on my research with English as a Foreign Language (EFL) educators in…

Centerness is defined as a quality of multi-agent systems (groups) where agents share a common set of system goals and interact so the system will achieve those goals. A pair of measures is identified to capture the two dimensions of centerness: distance-weighted fragmentation and average goal centerness. As a case study, the measures of…

The article analyzes the learning paths, organizational devices, and system actions taken within the Teaching & Learning Center research and training facility at the University of Siena.

This critical retrospective review describes the ideation, creation, and implementation of a faculty development fellows program at a regional comprehensive university. The authors share their perspectives as fellows regarding primary considerations for designing the program, including attention to the fellows selection process, required…

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about unprecedented changes in our approach to delivering educational development (ED) programming. In this article we discuss how our dual ED centers pivoted during the sudden switch to online learning, highlighting how we overcame challenges such as a small staff, tight timelines, and faculty anxieties.…

To support new teachers during the challenging transition to the profession, schools and districts across the country often establish induction supports such as professional development, mentorship, and coaching. This report describes the findings of a research study designed to examine how the Chicago implementation of the New Teacher Center…

In a time of evolving Algebraic standards and expectations for Minnesota teachers and students, the establishment of quality professional development and technical assistance can help educators move more confidently toward greater mathematics understanding and, subsequently, successful teaching and learning. To this end, the Minnesota Department…

Although basically for public and non-public school teachers, the District of Columbia Teacher Center Program target population also includes paraprofessionals, students, parents, and other members of the community. The objectives of the center are: (1) to plan, develop, disseminate, implement and evaluate inservice training, graduate courses, and…

Feedback is central to the development of effective learning, yet is comparatively underresearched. This article seeks to examine the notion of written feedback on assignments and argue that this feedback process is more complex than is sometimes acknowledged. The author illustrates the problematic nature of assignment feedback by drawing on a…

The Teacher Center Program (Washington, D.C.) provides an environment where teachers may come to work on materials or projects for their classrooms, take courses for recertification credit, college credit, or enrichment, and take graduate level courses. Chapter one of this evaluation report on the Teacher Center Program describes the background of…

To explore group maturation in an educational setting, the policy board of a teacher center consortium was studied over a year, using ethnographic research methods. The group proceeded through various development stages, but not according to the predicted pattern, and failed to reach maturity. Maturation was disrupted by the director's dominating…

Briefly describes the national Head Start Teaching Center model, the implementation of this model in the New England region, the outcome evaluation plan, and results from the first year of training. Finds that training significantly increased trainees' knowledge, skills, and expertise. (EV)

Professional development center programs present the opportunity for both practitioners and researchers to gain valuable insights into the teaching profession and the mental lives of teachers. Evaluation of these programs informs educational researchers and is responsive to the needs and expectations of funding agencies. It would be useful to…

Effective needs assessment is not an end in itself but a continuing means of meeting the needs of students and teachers. It is an integral part of other activities such as planning, operating, and evaluating school programs and teacher center activities. The key to comprehensive needs assessment is the support and cooperation of the teachers,…