In this "Distance Learning" Special Issue, Errol Craig Sull introduces the "Try This" series of articles to assist with Becoming a Better Distance Learning Instructor. Sull notes, the basics of how to be a solid distance educator are well known: constant presence in the classroom, quick turnaround of student e-mails and…

The actions of a teacher are one of the strongest factors influencing students' academic achievement and future life success. However, some of the most common frameworks that are used to evaluate teachers and guide their development or improvement are not based on or informed by research about effective teaching methods. Other frameworks are…

This qualitative phenomenological study aims to explore teachers' perceptions of professional learning communities and how they feel it impacts their effectiveness as secondary mathematics teachers in two instructional domains--content knowledge and pedagogy. Teachers spend a substantial amount of their time engaged in Professional Learning…

This integrative review aims to render a systematic account of the role that teachers' psychological characteristics, such as their motivation and personality, play for critical outcomes in terms of teacher effectiveness, teachers' well-being, retention, and positive interpersonal relations with multiple stakeholders (e.g., students, parents,…

This quantitative research study investigates the relationship between teachers' evaluation rating and their classroom-based assessment practices using a survey approach. Four middle schools consisting of 39 (grades six through eight) teachers in the Southwestern U.S. participated in the study. Research has shown that when teachers regularly use a…

This disquisition (a dissertation-in-practice model) provides an analysis of an improvement effort aimed at closing opportunity gaps by increasing educators' equity consciousness. The scholarpractitioner's theory of improvement posited that an increase in equity consciousness (deeper understanding of the inequities present within schools) leads to…

A survey of over 500 teachers and trainers in the Australian Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector was carried out to examine whether their teaching practices and approaches varied with their qualification levels. The survey, carried out with teachers and trainers from different types of training providers -- public and private -- formed…

The quality of inclusion for young children with disabilities in early childhood learning environments has long been attributed to the effectiveness of the teachers within such settings. As the service delivery system has shifted toward more inclusive models, endeavors to improve preparation for inclusion have been marked by efforts to combine the…

This article reports on a quasi-experimental pilot study of the impacts of a high school teacher professional development (PD) series. The 10-session series, "Engaging High School Students in Academic Work," was designed to equip teachers to deepen students' learning and engagement and thereby increase course-passing rates. The study…

Purpose: The purpose of this literature review was to identify best practices in coaching faculty within higher education and the subsequent benefits of effective faculty coaching programs for the retention of quality faculty. In higher education, where an emphasis is on the delivery of curriculum for student learning, faculty performance reviews…

This paper reports the findings of a meta-synthesis of studies which investigated the ways in which teachers described their pedagogical practices in three different contexts: the Maldives, Australia and Nepal. Each of the studies was focused on making teachers' classroom practices visible in an effort to establish a shared language and…

Teachers in K-12 education begin their careers underprepared for the complexity and demands of teaching. The current practice of a short span of student teaching and entering classrooms as the sole educator sets teachers up for overwhelm and frustration, which can negatively affect student achievement. New teacher induction programs can support…

The literature supports transformative models of professional learning and development (PLD) such as professional learning communities (PLCs). However, there is a research gap relating to PLCs for inclusive practice. This paper draws on findings from a qualitative study with 10 teachers in an urban primary school in the Republic of Ireland, who…

This paper reports on a multiple case study classroom observation investigating the types and qualities of teachers' AfL strategies among three English teachers across three distinct types of secondary schools in Indonesia. The study found that while teachers are integrating several AfL strategies, the quality issues persist. The study highlights…

One of the great failures, so far, of the United States experiment with democracy is the failure to ensure that every child receives an equitable educational experience. This study was conducted to contribute both to scholarship and to educational practices aimed at correcting years of disenfranchising Black and Brown children through oppressive…