While scholarly writing on trust in academic development (AD) is still relatively limited, current literature explores trust within a number of institutional relationships. Here, we reflect specifically on the relationship between academic developers (ADs) and faculty groups, consider how we as ADs aim to build rapport and trust when supporting…

Small human complex systems, here called co-present groups, are found across all fields of human social life. Complexity thinking suggests why this is so: that these groups, irrespective of formal content, have a meta-function of providing maximum complexity to manage the "indeterminacy" or "uncertainty" that characterises the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between Marsick and Watkins' (2003) dimensions of a learning organization, Bandura's (1977, 1986) collective and self-efficacy, and teacher level of effectiveness (LOE) in a Rural Tennessee School District (RTSD). School districts invest significant amounts of time and resources to…

In this application briefing we describe an inductive learning activity designed for an executive-level leadership development session on leadership networks. We separated participants into nine teams of different sizes and varying access to collaborative networks among the teams. Each team was given the same word association challenge consisting…

Background: Over the last two decades, communities of practice (CoPs) have been regarded as an effective approach for teachers' professional learning within physical education (PE) literature. There has been increasing academic interest in the instructional model approach as a way to overcome the limitations of traditional PE pedagogies. However,…

Increasingly, research suggests that successful professional learning communities (PLCs) worldwide need effective principals to strengthen pedagogy and develop skills that facilitate team planning to increase student achievement. Using immersive simulations to help teachers build skills and increase self-efficacy is also supported in research. Few…

Whereas Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are a frequently applied professional learning tool in education, their use is often limited to an application among (a) teachers and (b) within-schools. This article contributes to the nascent research evidence on PLC usage for principal professional learning. As outcomes align with PLCs' phased…

The purpose of this study is to explore how participating in professional learning communities influenced teachers' curriculum design skills during the recent curriculum reform in Taiwan. A cohort of high school teachers in suburban areas participated in a semester-long professional learning community, strictly based on a well-planned agenda as…

This research presents the investigation of physics students' and physics faculty members' professional development and a design methodology via which we could best support them in their professional development. In particular, the first part of this dissertation will focus on undergraduate upper-division physics students' conceptual learning and…

Literature shows cooperative learning has positive benefits for students' learning and social outcomes. Even though cooperative learning studies have been conducted in all areas of the curriculum, few studies have investigated whether there are similar effects for students across several curriculum areas or age groups. Moreover, less attention has…

The experiential growth group (EGG) is a common pedagogical activity employed in counselor education and is required by CACREP and ASGW standards. However, various parameters of such a training modality were not specified. The author first reviewed the multitude of current EGG delivery methods and student experiences in EGG. Then, 3 aspects of the…

Since 2005, the AISD Central Office Work Environment Survey has been conducted to gather information about working conditions. The following report presents the survey results for Spring 2013 and 2014 for AISD employees in the Chief Schools Office. Separate reports also were published for other central office departments and offices as well as an…

Much like traditional dyadic mentoring experiences, group mentorship has been practiced since time immemorial. Benjamin Franklin, for example, as a young entrepreneur created the Leather Apron Club, a group mentoring experience for a select group of Philadelphia tradesmen. Since the late 1990s, when group mentoring became a serious focus of…

This paper reports the use of Google Docs in a master's degree program as an online tool for collaborative co-construction of knowledge and self-assessment. Participants included eighty graduate teachers in a master's degree. The study employed a mixed method approach. Among the tools applied were a questionnaire, focus group discussions,…

Induced by a literature review, this paper presents a framework of dimensions and indicators highlighting the underpinning aspects and values of social learning within teacher groups. Notions of social networks, communities of practice and learning teams were taken as the main perspectives to influence this social learning framework. The review…