Praxis development remains invisible in many discussions of professional learning because professional educators take praxis development for granted as an indissoluble part of education and educational work. This special issue provides new insights into professional learning for praxis development, and about the conditions that enable and…

Many higher education institutions have put interdisciplinary teaching and learning high on their agenda. We know students learn a lot from interdisciplinary education, and we know scholars learn from their educational scholarship, but what do scholars learn from engaging in interdisciplinary education? I interviewed seven mid-career scholars…

Background/Purpose: This study examines the use of the Interactive Growth Guide, a structured coaching tool, within a year-long high-intensity induction program for beginning teachers. Specifically, the study investigates how the Interactive Growth Guide was integrated into the mentoring relationship between a beginning teacher and her coach and…

Coaching is a form of professional learning that can contextualize learning and personalize the development of knowledge and skills to improve professional practice and the student experience. Coaching for equity-oriented continuous improvement needs be defined differently than instructional coaching since the schools are focused on changing…

Professional learning (PL) in education is thought to be a key mechanism for improving classroom instruction and student achievement. Yet despite decades of research into PL, the impact of this investment is not well understood, with reports of limited change in both research and practice. As part of a large-scale investigation focusing on…

This mixed-methods study explored the relationship between teacher academic optimism and personalized professional learning in a rural Appalachian elementary school in southeastern Ohio. Twenty K-5 educators participated, with pre/post-surveys utilizing the Teacher Academic Optimism Scale-Elementary (TAOS-E) yielding quantitative data. Six…

This study delved into the professional development strategies employed to enhance novice classroom teachers' grasp of culturally responsive teaching and pedagogy and their subsequent impact on cultivating equitable classroom environments. The research question guiding this investigation was: What specific components of culturally responsive…

It is widely accepted that professional learning is a crucial aspect of the ongoing professional practice of educators. But how should this professional learning take place, and what arrangements enable and constrain practices associated with educator learning? In this article, we explore two case studies of action research projects: one…

This case study critically reflects on the impact of the Students as Partners in Learning initiative at the University of Stirling. The authors (two academic developers and four students) explore collectively how our partnership enabled us to reimagine a shared understanding and common learning and teaching purpose among our staff and students. We…

Online teacher education programs can be more situated by engaging student teachers in Internet-based collaborative reflection (ICR) and e-learning-oriented assessment (ELOA) via Web 2.0 technology. Thus, this study explored how the role of English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) student teachers' ICR practices and ELOA can enhance student teachers'…

It is essential for second/foreign/additional language teachers to develop their digital competence in digital environments. This article explores language teacher development in digital technology integration in terms of exploration, communication, collaboration, and reflection (ECCR). It presents the results of a study that investigated how…

In 2017, the participants of a higher education professional development (PD) working group (meitheal) met face-to-face and remotely to examine the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (NFTL) Framework for Professional Development. Through collaboration and mentorship, members of the meitheal successfully…

Research supports the contention that professional learning communities (PLCs) are a "path to change in the classroom" (DuFour, 1997). Teachers treading this path, however, can encounter obstacles or plateau as a result of five common challenges: incoherence, insularity, unequal participation, congeniality, and privacy. Fortunately,…

I draw on theories of embodied and critical reflection to propose how Boal's The Rainbow of Desire (TRoD) develops teachers' critical consciousness by supporting them to interrogate practice through the lens of power. In particular, the embodied, emotional, problem-posing, and collaborative characteristics of TRoD offer an embodied approach to…

This paper explores how three researchers utilize critical friendship to systematically examine the nuanced roles of Teacher Education and Nursing Education practices in a community of inquiry. An ancillary theme investigates sustainable structures for supporting the professional learning of teacher and nursing educators. Respectively from two…