The Critical Friends Group, a highly articulated model of professional learning, posits that, in order for teachers to learn together in ways that change their practice, the content and nature of their conversations must change (National School Reform Faculty, 2012). The content needs to change from externally driven agendas that address (in a…

This paper proposes social living labs for informed learning as an innovative approach to interprofessional and community education. It presents a new conceptual model and practice framework suited to rapidly changing, information-intensive work and social environments. The proposed approach is theoretically informed and evidence based. It…

In 2012, a private University in South Texas sought to prepare eight cohorts of 25 nursing, optometry, pharmacy, physical therapy, and health care administration students with an interprofessional education activity as a model for collaborative learning. The two semester interprofessional activity used a blended model (Blackboard Learn®,…

Music education leadership in public schools has often been the responsibility of a department chair or a district music supervisor. Nevertheless, budget constraints have forced districts to consolidate supervisory positions, frequently eliminating district chairs in music and the arts among other curricular areas. Without a strong advocate at the…

Culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students comprise the most rapidly expanding, and among the most educationally marginalized, group in the United States. CLD students' opportunities to learn are often diminished through service delivery models that are deficit-oriented, viewing linguistic diversity as a challenge to overcome, not a…

Professional learning communities and teacher efficacy are at the core of many of the current educational reform models. The intention of this dissertation was to identify the correlation between professional learning communities and collective teacher efficacy for math data teams in the six Kaua'i Complex Area secondary schools, as measured by…

Professional learning to embed educational reform may need to take account of the stage of the reform rather than previous teaching experience. As reforms move to the embedding phase, some teachers have become more expert in executing the reform than others and may be well placed to provide professional learning. In 2007, the New Zealand Ministry…

The partnership between Kennesaw State University and Marietta Middle School, a 2012 recipient of the National Association for Professional Development Schools (NAPDS) "Award for Exemplary Professional Development School Achievement," began as a year-long internship (YLI) program for teacher candidates in middle grades education at KSU.…

This study examined the relationships between leadership practices of principals and strength of schools as sustainable professional learning communities. Strength of schools as professional learning communities was measured using the Professional Learning Communities Assessment; leadership practices were measured using the Leadership Practices…

The cognitive and learning styles research domain is a highly complex one which has recently been the focus of rigour-relevance debates (Coffield et al. 2004; Evans and Sadler-Smith 2006; Rayner 2006). There is considerable support for the existence and value of style as a construct (Sternberg 1996) even though further work is needed to evidence…

While there is a growing body of literature promoting a new paradigm of differentiated professional development in which teachers' voices shape learning opportunities, the reality is that much professional development continues in an outdated, top-down mode. Teacher input is rarely solicited to determine the perceptions of teachers regarding their…

Paralleling the accelerating pace of educational change in the last two decades has been the development of a professional learning community (PLC) in schools. Characterised by teacher collaboration and a spirit of enquiry, the PLC represents a response to change and an opportunity to benefit teachers, students and schools, using an approach most…

This document describes the mentoring relationship from the perspectives of several virtual schools that have built mentoring programs to assist their new teachers. Each school's mentoring program is unique and has been designed specifically for the school's staff, size, and instructional approach. These schools have learned that a successful…