Background: Collaboration among teachers is now considered a marker of effective schools and key to creating successful professional learning opportunities. However, the nature and efficacy of collaboration vary widely, and research suggests that collaborative efforts often fail to promote teacher development. Purpose: This study draws on…

Background/Context: Professional development (PD) programs have been the primary tool school districts have used to improve teachers' knowledge and skills, though the evidence is mixed on the degree to which these investments translate into improved outcomes for teachers and their students. Further, most research has tracked researcher-designed…

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…

Background: Substantial research on reform implementation highlights numerous challenges to implementing innovations at scale with depth and sustainability, yet new reforms continue to encounter many of the same challenges. This has led to calls for researchers to work in partnership with practitioners to design, implement, and scale educational…

Background/Context: This study seeks insights into teachers' experiences implementing Garden-Based Learning (GBL) in an elementary school. The breadth of studies supporting the use of GBL in K-8 schools in the United States alongside the paucity of studies specific to teachers' experiences implementing GBL highlights the importance of this work.…

Background: Research suggests a number of benefits from teacher participation in school improvement--chief among them that it can increase teacher receptivity to innovation and reform adoption. Improvement science has been put forward as a new paradigm for involving local school stakeholders in the improvement process. Purpose: We describe the…

Background/Context: Similar to the United States, government efforts to improve education in the Netherlands are focused on innovation and the development of collaborative structures to support the generation of new knowledge. However, empirical evidence of the relationship between social linkages and innovation in education is scarce. Objective:…

Background/Context: Recent research has demonstrated the potential for teacher professional development to enhance teacher learning, improve instruction, and increase student achievement. Nevertheless, research examining the relationship between state and local policies and teachers' participation in professional development is sparse. This…

Background/Context: Recent research has shown the importance of professional development for teacher learning and has documented the qualities that make professional development effective for improved instruction and student achievement. But there is little research to suggest how the policy environment shapes teachers' choices to participate in…

This qualitative case study investigated faculty perceptions of the purposes, costs, and benefits of program evaluation during a comprehensive review by the Office of Graduate Studies at a large Research I university. The assumptions held by the faculty at the beginning of the review process about the purposes of a program evaluation and their…

Interactive research and development can be an effective staff development strategy for experienced teachers. The teacher takes the role of researcher and the university professor acts as a team member in this partnership. Problems and prospects of implementing this program are discussed. (DF)

Researchers followed six high schools where teachers had shared decision-making (SDM) powers, comparing them with six high schools that used traditional administrative structures. The study did not show that SDM focused more attention on curriculum and understanding, but SDM did help enhance participating teachers' commitment to implementing…

Results of a program to improve teaching in New York City schools through teacher-to-teacher networks are reported. The program, IMPACT II, solicits ideas from teachers, awards development and dissemination grants, and helps other teachers replicate innovations. A District Incentive Grants Program for teachers is also described. (PP)

The paper examines how shared decision making can help reframe the purpose of social foundations in teacher education, arguing that it bridges the gap between teacher as decision maker and the content of foundational studies. Four studies that represent different levels of educational decision making are highlighted. (SM)

Reports on a study of a collaborative relationship between faculty at the University of Michigan and teachers and students at a comprehensive urban high school. The ethical and epistemological (validity) considerations have to do with using high school students as paid coresearchers. The study is illustrated with excerpts from student meetings and…