This research study examined questionnaires that included responses from 4,886 teachers employed by 90 schools in the state of Tennessee. The purpose of this study was to analyze the perceptions of teachers from an existing state-administered on-line questionnaire concerning the professional development activities they had participated in during…

Creating change is one of the central objectives of faculty development as well as one of the significant challenges. This paper addresses a faculty development intervention called Dialogue which creates pathways to engage faculty in the process of changing their teaching practice. The study of two Dialogue groups in different academic settings…

To remain globally competitive in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), we must increase our number of underrepresented minority scientists (URMs) as our country's population becomes more diverse. For URMs to move up the educational and professional ranks, they need to be properly socialized as graduate students and…

This paper reports the findings from a research study conducted by the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME) in partnership with the Faculty Inquiry Network (FIN), a professional development program designed to engage faculty at 18 colleges across California. Participants were FIN faculty teams involved in iterative…

The purpose of this study was to investigate socio-cultural factors underpinning curriculum change by examining teacher beliefs in the context of professional development. Scottish teachers in the study were participating in policy implementation based on formative assessment. Teachers were selected who were positive about the formative assessment…

This study assessed the influence of the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) discipline system on disciplinary referrals, (ODRs), suspensions, academic improvement and attendance in two rural schools. The influence of the PBIS system on the variables of interest was assessed for all students combined and subsequently between…

The purpose of this study was to find out which assessment data are used by elementary principals who are currently practicing in Title One California elementary schools with populations of at least 600 students, API scores of 700 or higher, and 40% or more English Learners (ELs) to inform instructional efforts at the school site level to improve…

In 2009-10, New Leaders for New Schools partnered with the Perspectives Charter School Network in Chicago to pilot an innovative leadership development program for principals. The program is part of the Effective Practice Incentive Community (EPIC) initiative, which was created by New Leaders in 2006 to identify, reward, and share effective…

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program provides a unique opportunity to assess a broad spectrum of professional development projects that share key characteristics but were designed to meet distinct local school and community contexts. To better understand how innovative…

This paper examines secondary science teachers' perspectives of the role that mentoring by a scientist and science educator pair played in their professional development. Multiple data sources from three years of a professional development project, including interviews, participant reflections, and a focus group, were used to examine the benefits,…

Peer observation partnerships can help teachers improve their teaching practice, transform their educational perspectives and develop collegiality (Bell 2005). This paper describes the peer observation model used in the tutor development program in the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Sydney, and reports on the effectiveness…

For most of the last 50 years, teachers and administrators have perceived professional development and the instructional role primarily in terms of what one individual does with classes of others. Teachers, like their students, were considered to be rather passive acceptors of the instruction, rather than active modifiers. Thus, there was very…

Introduction: This study was undertaken to evaluate the influence of a continuing education course in facilitating the development and implementation of educational projects of course participants. Methods: This is a case study evaluating a full-year course that consisted of 11 monthly seminars, each 4 hours in length, including practice in a…

Low-income preschool children face many risks to their social-emotional development that can affect their school experience and social outcomes for years to come. Although there are some promising approaches to improving young children's social-emotional competence, the evidence base is limited, particularly on the effectiveness of these…

College readiness is becoming an increasingly important standard by which to measure school success and student achievement. While high school graduation and dropout prevention remain critical issues for educators, there is a substantial gap in outcomes between students who only earn a high school diploma and those who go on to obtain a college…