This conclusion to the volume presents a dialogue from the perspective of educator and clinician. With examples from professional development and practice, the discussion revolves around teacher training and the role of the administrator in creating a bounded and safe environment in which teachers can develop healthy relationships. It discusses…

This paper explores mathematics teachers' perceptions about class size and the impact class size has on teaching and learning in secondary mathematics classrooms. It seeks to understand teachers' views about optimal class sizes and their thoughts about the education variables that influence these views. The paper draws on questionnaire responses…

Within the field of science education, there remains little agreement as to the definition and characteristics of classroom inquiry. The emerging emphasis on scientific practices in science education reform discourse is underpinned by a need to better articulate the constituent elements of inquiry-based science. While a small number of…

Learning communities are best defined as "ongoing groups who meet regularly for the purposes of increasing their own learning and that of their students." Although learning communities vary in form and context, they share some fundamental core beliefs and values. Based on the idea that educators can learn from each other, learning communities…

This study examined how teachers who practice culturally relevant pedagogy describe their work and its challenges. Data is from ten semi-structured interviews with teachers in Vancouver Canada. Analysis revealed four themes in relation to participants' practice to support culturally diverse students: 1) An inclusive classroom of meaningful…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and describe the visual arts beliefs and practices of eight K-1 teachers in four schools and in two different school districts in a southern state. Using a phenomenological framework (Creswell, 2007; Leedy & Ormrod, 2005), the research revealed the teachers' understandings of beliefs and how…

This study examined the effectiveness of a professional development (PD) experience on preschool teachers' instructional strategy development. Focusing on supporting young children's peer social competence as a common interest, preschool teachers were guided to design the specific contents of the PD workshops and were offered an on-site…

There is widespread acknowledgement that the production of effective teaching and teachers is perhaps the critical component of education reform and innovation for improvement of student learning. This aim requires a serious investment of time, rigor, and evaluation to produce professional-development programs that actually work. This report…

The paper reports results of three studies that used a formative assessment (FA) framework to compare schools that vary in their level of functioning as professional learning communities with respect to three processes: classroom assessment (study 1), development and implementation of school-based curriculum (study 2), and pedagogical…

This article examines how laptop computing technology, teacher professional development, and systematic support resulted in changed teaching practices and increased student achievement in 47 K-12 schools in 11 Florida school districts. The overview of a large-scale study documents the type and magnitude of change in student-centered teaching,…

Presents an inventive approach to professional development in early childhood education and care settings. Focuses on how early childhood programs shape the stories of individual children, the importance of planning physical environments to shape stories and remembering the power of the social-emotional environment, and the need to include…

This report summarizes the 2006-2007 evaluation that was focused toward investigating one primary question: What changes in tool-based, student-centered teaching happen as a result of the infusion of technology and professional development? The research methodology involved the use of trained external researchers from Florida EETT schools…

The Classroom Assessment Project to Improve Teaching and Learning (CAPITAL) examined teacher change and development with regard to classroom assessment. The National Science Foundation supported the four-year effort to study how teachers modify their practices to create the conditions for the kinds of assessment that foster learning. The authors…

This book presents a framework for discussing the action of teachers in public elementary schools as the 21st century approaches. An educator with almost 30 years of teaching experience speaks from the perspective of teacher and parent. He tells tales about his family and his life as a teacher; he shares his social and moral philosophy and what he…

This study examined differences at the classroom level between Kentucky schools with minimum versus large gaps in academic achievement between particular groups of students. Data were gathered via observations of 213 classrooms at 18 elementary, middle, and high schools. Although all the schools were identified as high-performing in terms of…