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 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…

The purpose of this quantitative study (n=126) was to identify if differences exist between Title I and non-Title I elementary teachers in the confidence levels of social and emotional learning (SEL) teaching practices. Social and emotional learning promotes critical thinking and builds confidence (Hardy, 2022). SEL also reduces discipline issues…

The teaching and learning of mathematics are essential to building daily discipline and encouraging logical reasoning and mental rigor. Engaging in mathematics helps to provide an overall understanding of the world. Exposing students to use mathematics to identify relationships and patterns is the basis for engaging in carrying out daily tasks.…

This study investigated the sustainability effects of the schema-based instruction (SBI) program and corresponding PD on the instructional practices of two cohorts of teachers (i.e., SBI experienced-teacher implementers and SBI novice-teacher implementers) and on students' ability to reason with proportions and overall mathematics performance. SBI…

The problem explored by this study was that teachers' perspectives are not implemented when selecting and utilizing phonics instruction in kindergarten through second grade classrooms. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore primary teachers' rationales and experiences when choosing and implementing phonics instruction in primary…

This study aimed to understand elementary school teachers' beliefs about science teaching and e-learning and to identify changes in their beliefs and practices while using an e-textbook designed for science learning. Two experienced science teachers from the same elementary school participated in this study and taught two science topics: Simple…

Purpose: This practitioner-focused article highlights a collaborative, school-wide project at a PDS that showcased elementary students' strengths and talents. Based on the children's book, The Smart Cookie (John, 2021), teachers and the university professor-in-residence developed professional learning communities, which inspired the creation of a…

This instrumental mixed methods case study investigated Grades 3-5 classroom teachers' perceptions of teaching for creativity and the effects of a researcher-developed, one-day, online professional development creativity module intervention within a suburban school district in south-central Pennsylvania. Creativity has been identified as a…

Engineering design is being increasingly included in elementary education, typically to provide students with opportunities to apply science and mathematics concepts while developing their engineering practices. An important question is how to prepare teachers who can help students develop more informed engineering practices during classroom…

Mathematics education researchers examined teacher practices that support students who have historically been marginalized and have underperformed in school. These efforts have led to much discussion about how to incorporate culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) theoretically and pragmatically. Many teachers want to develop and implement more…

 Today's elementary teachers are expected to teach the engineering practices included in the National Research Council's Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards. Recent studies have indicated that teachers are less self-efficacious in teaching engineering than in other subject areas. Project Lead the…

Science teachers struggle to implement and sustain new curricular ideas from professional development (PD) experiences. These PD opportunities are crucial for enacting real-world changes to teaching practice and address pressing global challenges, such as the teaching and learning of socioscientific topics nested in school communities.…

This case study explored 18 Taiwanese novice elementary school English teachers' practice of critical friendship models as an avenue for professional development. Based on the thematic analysis of the interviews, documents, and observation, the following major conclusions were drawn. Participants spent most of their time with critical friends in…

Teachers face numerous challenges in their efforts to be pedagogically responsive to students' different learning needs. I extend scholarship in the field by exploring the potential of implementing a nuanced, collaborative intervention strategy called knotworking to facilitate teachers' ongoing professional development (PD). The heuristic of…