The skills required of assessment professionals are wide and varied, but research over the past decade has brought a focus on interpersonal skills as a key component of the assessment professional's toolkit. Relationship-building forms the basis of interpersonal communication with stakeholders at all levels and the assessment professional often…

The current university model in a market-driven and knowledge-based society entails a change in the teachers' roles. The prevailing narrative sustains a competence-based approach in higher education, considering that quality education implies that teachers in this context must have personal, research and pedagogical skills that enable them to…

Coaching has become a prominent professional development tool for helping early childhood teachers implement curriculum and research-based practices in their classrooms. One of the coaching strategies found to create positive changes in teacher practice and child outcomes is building trust between the coach and teacher(s). Despite what is known in…

The purpose of this article is to provide strategies for music teacher mentors and mentees to use to proactively develop and strengthen their relationships--whether they are assigned by an administrator or begin organically--to enhance the overall mentoring experience, making it mutually beneficial for mentor and mentee. Strategies include using…

Classroom talk or verbal exchanges during lesson time play a central role in students' disciplinary understanding and intellectual development. It greatly influences not only what students learn but also how they learn it. Despite this, teachers can be unaware of teacher-student talk patterns and functions; thus, what is uttered during class time…

This multiple-case study utilised inductive and deductive analyses of interactions of five coach-teacher dyads at two university-based literacy clinics to investigate procedural knowledge -- what coaches say and do -- to guide teachers toward greater instructional expertise. Using theories of situated cognition and positioning and framed within…

Social exploration is the key to spreading ideas through networks (Pentland, 2014). When people talk with others outside their immediate group, they can bring fresh ideas into the group--leading to improved outcomes. So, to improve educational practice, we should increase communication in our professional communities and encourage communication…

The advancing social-communication and play (ASAP) intervention was designed as a classroom-based intervention, in which the educational teams serving preschool-aged children with autism spectrum disorder are trained to implement the intervention in order to improve these children's social-communication and play skills. In this 4-year, multi-site…

Scholars recognize that K-12 teachers' social interactions, particularly within teaching focused relationships, are important to professional development. This is true whether discussions take place in formal or informal settings. Few studies, however, seek to link the teaching-focused relationships of "college faculty" directly to their…

This qualitative research study explored perceptions of best teaching strategies implemented by science teachers for learning disabled high school students from one northwest Texas high school. Four research questions guided the exploration of personal and scholarly practices that high school teachers perceived worked best in their science…

As cyberschooling options expand, it is vital that we understand the nuances of these particular learning opportunities. Because little research exists on leaders of K-12 cyberschools, this exploratory case study had two purposes. We first examined how 18 cyberschool leaders in the United States obtained their position. Second, we explored the…

The purpose of this study was to examine interactions among in-service music teachers in a graduate music teacher education program and their influence on professional growth. To collect data for this research, five different collection methods were used, including participant observation, surveying, artifact collection, nonparticipant…

The purpose of the study was to document and examine the experiences and perspectives of students and staff who were affected by the closure of Mount Rogers Combined School in 2010. Mount Rogers Combined School was established in Grayson County, Virginia, by the concerted efforts of volunteers and community members who valued education and…

First-year alternatively certified teachers face significant challenges as they attempt to address the complexities of classroom teaching, particularly when they are assigned to teach in urban school settings. As the number of alternatively certified teachers continues to increase, it is important to provide them with professional development…

Online education is a steadily growing industry, and financial pressure at institutions, combined with the rising demand for online education, have caused many universities and colleges to rely on adjunct faculty to staff their online courses For instructors, the transition to teaching online can pose a variety of barriers not the least of which…