Background/purpose: This study explores the different ways in which critical friend roles are conceptualized. The critical friend role is adaptive by nature, with significant ambiguity surrounding it, which has resulted in disjointed and fragmented literature. This study sought to provide insights into the varied and potentially boundary-spanning…

This teaching case study explores how two school administrators support whole-school performance improvement through professional development (PD). Wilson Elementary School has seen significant academic growth as measured by state assessments. The administrators attribute these improvements to the PD structures they have implemented which focus…

This study contributes to the growing body of research that highlights the usefulness of professional noticing of children's mathematical thinking for understanding the complexity and variability in teaching expertise. We explored the noticing expertise of 72 upper elementary school teachers engaged in multi-year professional development focused…

Purpose: Current school leadership research has primarily utilized quantitative methods to explore the relationship between leadership and teacher learning. However, there is a notable gap in understanding how principals facilitate professional learning, especially in centralized educational settings. This study aims to address this gap by…

This research aimed to investigate effective approaches to teacher development as a meaningful form of professional development (PD). The objective was to assess the impact of teachers' learning as an approach to PD and to summarize best practices. The study involved teachers from two primary schools who participated in the Healthy School…

Sparse information exists on how elementary teachers might use reflective journaling as a tool for professional development (PD) to enhance their teaching methods. The problem is that even though elementary teachers have access to a variety of PD opportunities, these opportunities are often insufficient for meeting individual teachers' needs to…

Calls for evidence-based practice are pervasive. In response, extensive scholarship has employed four categories of research use--instrumental, symbolic, conceptual, and imposed--to examine how research is used in schools and districts. We draw on sociocultural learning theory and empirical data from one school district to newly theorize latent…

Lesson study's international popularity spread as a unique, agency-oriented model of teacher professional development that is context-rich and deeply rooted in teacher subjectivities. This project aimed to answer the question, what do mathematics teacher education researchers learn about teacher learning by focusing on uncertainties as they arise…

The purpose of this study was to investigate teacher candidates' perceptions of their first experience teaching literacy. Using a case study design, this research spans two consecutive semesters and investigates 34 teacher candidates' reflections as they engaged in structured tutoring in a university-based literacy clinic. Qualitative analyses of…

Purpose: This research seeks to explore the potential of Lesson Study as a vehicle to support professional development (PD) in a rural, Irish primary school. Lesson Study was utilised to design and implement integrated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) lessons with young children (ages 4-7 years). Design/methodology/approach:…

The focus of this study was to investigate elementary educators' reflection on the usage of their social media personal learning networks (PLN). The problem to be addressed in this study is that it is unclear how, if at all, elementary educators utilizing social media platforms for their personal learning networks (PLN) reflect on whether their…

This conceptual article focuses on how a National Professional Development grant through the Office of English Language Acquisition in the U.S. Department of Education supported multilingual paraprofessionals' equitable access to and participation in high-quality, ongoing professional development aimed at supporting young multilingual learners,…

This report derives its findings from Summer/Fall 2023 phone interviews with 22 facilitators and eight administrators following their participation in Math for All during the 2022-23 school year. The findings, summarized below, provide insight into the implementation experience, including challenges, areas of success, and plans for sustaining and…

Menarche can be a difficult transition for young people. With appropriate education, youth can feel more positively about the menstrual experience. Since many elementary teachers are not equipped with menstrual health knowledge, the education falls to the school nurse. However, it is unknown if school nurses feel comfortable communicating about…

I designed this study to explore elementary assistant principals' perspectives of their roles as instructional leaders while fulfilling other administrative duties typically associated with the assistant principal position. I aimed to build on existing research on the role of contemporary elementary assistant principals as instructional leaders.…