Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore how, through the cultivation of reform ownership in the professional development (PD) program, the Pathway Project, agency was achieved for the development of teacher professionalism and teacher expertise in the cases of Mrs. Cruz and Mrs. Keyes. This, in turn, provided opportunities to advance…

Background/Context: In the context of increasing accountability mandates in the preK-12 education system, the importance of professional development (PD) supports for early childhood educators is recognized. Education leaders emphasize the importance of partnering with teachers to inform the development of effective PD approaches. This partnering…

Online professional development programmes have a long tradition in adult education. However, in early childhood education, such programmes are only just beginning to be developed. Before online professional development courses can be made inclusive, accessible and widely available to early childhood educators, they must meet a few basic…

The purpose of this article is to explore staff physical activity programs in the school setting, describe a viable option for a staff walking program in an elementary school, and determine elementary school staff members' participation and perceptions in one such program. Previous research has shown that placing a focus on staff involvement and…

In this study, we examine teacher perspectives of magnet school implementation in two recently converted elementary schools that had received federal grants to reduce minority group isolation. We draw on 2 years of data on teacher perspectives related to satisfaction, preparedness, and implementation of the magnet program. Surprisingly, we found…

This research aimed to investigate and compare teachers' conceptualizations of their students' and their own outcomes of our earlySTEM program at the K4 level in two distinct roles: practitioners only and practitioners and program developers jointly. The study group included 66 teachers, 26 of whom had actively contributed to the development of…

Research indicates multi-section coordination improves the academic performance of students in STEM education. This paper describes the process of coordination in Precalculus, Calculus 1, and Calculus 2 courses undertaken by a large department that grew from the merger of two institutions through a pilot program and a project grant. Components…

In this article, Gustafson and Kiltz reflect on why they got involved in the very first master's level Professional Administrative Leadership Academy developed at Kansas State University (KSU). The authors had the opportunity to observe school leaders and noted that the most effective leaders shared their power and knowledge freely with others.…

This study aimed to investigate the two primary school science teachers' conceptions of professional development, their perceptions of self-improvement and the factors influencing their professional development. In this investigation, a case study approach was adopted. The participant teachers were given a semi-structured interview and the data…

This article describes the development, implementation, and exploratory evaluation of a professional development series that addressed educators' knowledge and use of the terms "research-based" and "evidence-based" within Human Sciences Extension and Outreach at one university. Respondents to a follow-up survey were more likely…

The author spends a lot of time thinking about good professional learning vs. typical professional development. Based on her 20-plus years of experience, as well as a bit of inspiration from Reuben Duncan, assistant superintendent in School Administrative Unit 29 in Keene, N.H., she shares what she considers to be the ten best ways to waste…

Faculty and staff at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) have developed several tools to assess campus civic engagement initiatives. This chapter describes the IUPUI Faculty Survey and the Civic-Minded Graduate Scale, and reports on findings from campus-based assessment and research.

Institutions of higher education are struggling to meet the growing demand for online courses and programs, partly because many faculty lack experience teaching online. The eCampus Quality Instruction Program (eQIP) is an online faculty development program developed to train faculty to design and teach fully online courses. The purpose of this…

Literature finds mentoring to be a substantive, enduring practice in widespread arena, and among the attributes associated with career success and satisfaction. This paper provides a tangible mentoring model that has been operational for several years, and which applies what the literature proscribes to higher education academic settings. The…

Urban schools and school-based agricultural education programs (SBAE) face challenges to engage students in the educational system. Specifically, urban SBAE programs face unique challenges engaging students in the development and implementation of SAE programs. While SAE continues to be considered a central component to the total SBAE program, a…