In this article, a massive open online course (MOOC) made by and for Swedish teachers will be presented and discussed in order to determine what possibilities and dilemmas are involved when creating and participating in a MOOC that is meant to be a community rather than a course. By analysing interviews of the organisers as well as blog posts and…

This descriptive study explored how teachers implemented interactive practices during vocabulary instruction after participating in a professional development initiative comprised of an initial workshop to provide an overview of vocabulary research and instruction, opportunities for teachers to receive targeted feedback on audiotaped classroom…

Ubiquitous computing scenarios such as the one-to-one model, in which every student is issued a device that is to be used across all subjects, have increased in popularity and have shown both positive and negative influences on education. Music teachers in schools that adopt one-to-one models may be inadequately equipped to integrate this kind of…

Two departments in a secondary school in England participated in "lesson study" projects over a five-month period to explore its usefulness as a vehicle for professional development. Through a cycle of two research lessons, conducted separately in each department, teachers identified challenges that inhibited the learning of their…

In response to the need to develop leaders to guide the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the Carnegie Corporation of New York provided funding to WestEd to develop a framework that defines the leadership knowledge and actions needed to effectively implement the NGSS. The development of the framework entailed…

Research has been conducted to identify and analyze how schools are determining that the activities of their Professional Learning Community (PLC) are directly tied to student achievement as there is currently a gap in the existing literature with regards to this topic. For the purpose of this study, a "successful" PLC was defined as one…

Organizational effectiveness is a term without a single definition about the nonprofit community; it is difficult to define, much less measure, due to the wide disparity in that community. Inconsistency in the sector leads to an array of hypotheses in the literature addressing organizational effectiveness. Through a comprehensive examination of a…

Professional development is a recognized approach to improving the quality of instruction in schools. The goal of professional development is to increase teachers' knowledge and improve their practices, which lead to enhanced student learning. The problem with providing staff development is the high cost incurred by presenters' fees, and…

Context: Mentorship is a developmental process whereby a novice individual, as he/she becomes inducted into his/her area of expertise, is guided by a more experienced person. Speculation exists that years of experience can impact this relationship. Objective: To determine the impact mentoring can have on athletic training student development and…

The focus of this action research study was the implementation of a professional development initiative comprised of two phases: a training program for teachers on Marzano's nine research-based instructional strategies, and the implementation, supported by follow-up coaching, during "Pear Mountain" High School's (a pseudonym) six-week…

This backward-looking reflection, which stems from experiences of an action research project with teachers, begins with an overview of current perspectives on action research in education settings. Significant details of the project are described to provide context for identification and discussion of the strengths and weaknesses relating to…

With changes in federal legislation and the proposed reauthorization of "The Elementary and Secondary Education Act," school administrators are held to high standards in an attempt to improve achievement for all students. They no longer just manage their schools but must now be instructional leaders charged with observing and…

Federal policy around supervision and evaluation has prompted state action to develop new evaluation systems to increase student achievement. Systems, such as the Framework for Educator Effectiveness implemented in Wisconsin, are tied to teacher performance as well as student achievement. This type of performance-based evaluation system relies on…

The focus on measuring student growth based on teacher effectiveness has presented new challenges for an urban school in Massachusetts. The purpose of this general interpretive qualitative study was to examine the instructional practices of a group of middle school teachers, the practices they perceived to be effective for ensuring student…

Over the past 3 years, teacher union membership has significantly decreased in the state of Georgia. This decrease in union membership is troubling, as previous research has shown that union membership is positively connected to teacher satisfaction and, in turn, to student success. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to determine why…