This study attempts to illuminate the recognition, reflection, development, and effects of geography teachers' attitudes toward regions around the world (ATRAWs) using Straussian grounded theory. A total of 194 concepts were categorized into 18 categories, and three types were identified. The findings of this study show that geography teachers…

Background/Context: Figured worlds have been conceptualized as spaces, or "realms" (Holland, Skinner, Lachicotte, & Cain, 1998), where individuals assign meaning and significance to actors and characters or understand what they take as "typical or normal" (Gee, 2014). This study applies a lens of figured worlds to…

This paper documents the first year of a qualitative case study investigating the experiences of reciprocal learning teams of teachers within a small, rural secondary school. The purpose of this study was to examine how teachers experienced collaborative professional development (PD) and how their experiences contributed to developing the culture…

The authors voice teachers' perceptions of their interpersonal experiences with students in both positive and problematic relationships. Interview data from 28 teachers were examined by coding utterances on teacher and student interactions. Results indicate that teachers defined the quality of the relationship mostly by the level of communion…

This study investigates teacher responses to a common set of high potential instances of student mathematical thinking to better understand the role of the teacher in shaping meaningful mathematical discourse in their classrooms. Teacher responses were coded using a scheme that disentangles the teacher move from other aspects of the teacher…

The iPad is a tool that could change the way in which teachers prepare and deliver instruction in the K-12 environment. But, while proponents tout its capabilities, school administrators run the risk of purchasing yet another tool without understanding its potential impacts on the teacher, students, and classroom environment. This study used iPads…

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological was to describe teacher efficacy in the lived experiences of secondary teachers actively engaged in the instructional coaching process. The theoretical framework guiding this study was Albert Bandura's (1992) social cognitive theory as it expounds upon the role efficacy plays in human agency as it…

As we approach the second quarter of the twenty-first century, one may predict that the environment will be among the dominant themes in the political and educational discourse. Over the past three decades, particular perspectives regarding the environment have begun to emerge: (i) realization by human beings that we not only live on earth and use…

Professional learning communities (PLCs) are a group of educators working collaboratively to improve student achievement and expand the pedagogy of the individual as well as the group. Studies on PLCs, grounded by the social constructivism theory of Vygotsky, Bandura, and Wenger, have found that collaboration and collegiality foster a positive…

This qualitative study investigated how educators in urban second-chance high school settings made sense of their work with formerly disconnected youth. Using Duncan-Andrade's framework of critical hope, we examined how adults' orientations toward hope shaped the educational context in ways that were necessary and sufficient for student success.…

This study investigates the knowledge that experienced teachers draw on when fostering students' reflections. Reflective skills are crucial for advancing students' learning. In order to promote students' reflection productively, extensive support and scaffolding from teachers is indispensible. However, teachers are in need of more guidance in this…

This study examines the classroom practice and craft knowledge underpinning one teacher's integration of the use of GeoGebra software into mathematics teaching. The chosen teacher worked in an English secondary school and was professionally well regarded as an accomplished user of digital technology in mathematics teaching. Designed in accordance…

Few studies of iPad-supported teaching have been set in secondary school STEM contexts, and there is limited examination of teacher practice. This study examined how STEM teachers' pedagogical practices took shape when participating in a secondary-level innovation to use iPads to support critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and…

This study investigates preservice teachers' perspectives on their preparation to use social justice teaching in rural schools, how they implemented the concept in their classrooms, and the challenges they faced. The findings suggest that even though coursework may have prepared the participants to integrate social justice principles and practices…

Background: Despite increasing popularity and mounting evidence for teacher collaboration as a lever for school improvement, reported changes in teaching associated with collaboration are often subtle and incremental, rarely involving substantial shifts in instructional practice called for by advocates of deeper learning and next-generation…