Taking the form of a personal essay, the author describes developments within teacher education in the USA over a 40-year period, since the founding of "JET." Beginning with his work within teacher education as a graduate student and moving across time, he describes major movements in teacher education, discusses several of the most…

Building faculty or professional learning communities is an idea that has come of age. This article describes work being done within the Brigham Young University (BYU)-Public School Partnership to form and sustain such communities across higher and public education and in ways consistent with the four aims of the Agenda for Education in a…

Increasingly, educational reform is linked to the concept of professional learning communities (PLCs). Definitions of PLCs vary, but generally the concept refers to a group of educators who "continuously seek and share learning, and act on their learning" (Hord 1997, 6). Stoll and her colleagues, concluding their review of the current state of…

Drawing on interviews with clinical and university-based teacher educators and administrators, the authors explore the challenges of building and sustaining collaborative university/school partnerships. Using the concept of ''communities of practice'' (Communities of practice: learning, meaning, and identity, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,…

Reports on the impact of being in a Professional Development Schools network on seven Utah schools (four elementary, one junior, and two high schools) over five years. Identifies and analyzes the catalysts that promoted teachers' professional development and school reform, as well as the road blocks to effective reform. (SR)

Examines problems and possibilities associated with university-secondary school partnerships using data from three case studies within urban Utah schools. The paper also discusses the University of Utah's attempts to forge closer university-school links through Professional Development Schools. Data suggested that contextual, school-specific…

Describes the rigors of institutionalized Professional Development Schools (PDS), demonstrating the symbiotic, difficult nature of the relationship. Researchers evaluated one elementary partnership program via interviews with all PDS participants. Results provided information on the changing roles of teacher educators, cooperating teacher…

Using data from surveys of and interviews with teachers and principals, this study explored the impact of involvement in Professional Development Schools (PDS) on teacher professional growth and school change at seven elementary and secondary PDS sites. Results highlighted the importance of a range of context variables to program success. (SM)