The purpose of this study was to examine teacher perceptions of professional learning communities in three middle schools. This research examined the perceived impact of professional learning communities on teaching and on student learning. One question guided this research. "What are the teachers' perceptions of seventh grade learning…

Professional development (PD) is key to improving mathematics teaching and learning in the middle grades. Many PD projects and initiatives have been undertaken across the United States. Yet, we know very little about what teachers learn in and through such PD, nor about what those who conduct the PD might be learning as well. This knowledge gap…

This is a literature review of studies and articles surrounding the issue of literacy strategies for adolescents in high school who continue to struggle with reading. It is also a review of research about where literacy interventions should take place and what obstacles may keep the strategies from either being effective or serving the best…

If teachers want to create positive change in the lives of their students, then they must first be able to create positive change in their own lives. This book describes a powerful professional development approach that merges the scholarship of critical pedagogy with the Theatre of the Oppressed. Participants "act up" in order to explore…

"Examining and Facilitating Reflection to Improve Professional Practice" is specifically designed and organized to be used throughout a teacher-education program from an introductory foundations course, continuing through content-specific methods classes to graduate-level theory seminars, and, ultimately onto professional development workshops.…

In 2008 and 2009, a series of online professional development communities for groups of teacher-leaders in digital pedagogy was run. In each of the first two iterations, there was an early dropout of individuals who felt they "did not belong". Contributing to this sense of isolation was the immediate emergence of online networks in the…

This paper describes some key characteristics of two secondary schools that were able to sustain benefits accrued from funded, externally facilitated literacy professional development intervention, during the year after facilitation had ceased. Characteristics that, together, signal a school with the potential to sustain gains in understanding…

In our work in teacher education and professional development, we aim to help teachers to learn to participate in, and create, classroom ecologies that support students' learning. In this article we focus on the challenges of developing a classroom ecology that provides mathematical sustenance for students. We pay particular attention to the ways…

This case study investigates the perspectives of four Taiwanese English ESL (English as a second language) teachers with regard to their participation in an online professional development course. To build a collaborative online professional development community, in which teachers acquire professional knowledge to improve teaching instruction and…

There's no doubt that children's home environments have a huge impact on the kind of people they become. But so do their educational environments. A number of schools are beginning to realize it's worth it to spend the time on "soft" skills such as empathy. Even forgetting the recent scary headlines about bullying, teachers know that a classroom…

This article summarizes the findings of a study that examined instruction in early childhood classrooms where teachers participated in high-quality, sustained, and intensive professional development through an Early Childhood Educator Professional Development partnership on literacy practices essential to school success. Comparisons made between…

This case study analysed the circumstances during a one-year work placement in which a pre-service teacher showed professional development, with a focus on the impact of her interactions with various interlocutors. The study was conducted within the framework of the cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) and of activity theory with its methods…

Reflective practice means that teachers must subject their own teaching beliefs and practices to critical examination. One way of facilitating reflective practice in ESL teachers is to encourage them to engage in classroom observations as part of their professional development. This paper reports on a case study of a short series of classroom…

Despite 60 years of evidence linking juvenile illiteracy and delinquency, practitioners and policymakers have been painfully slow in the implementation of evidence-based reading interventions for incarcerated juveniles. We will present the Texas Juvenile Justice Tiered Instructional Model, an evidence-based reading program model created…

The purpose of this article is to propose performance as a creative instructional strategy to convey complex competencies related to understanding and working effectively with families in early childhood education. Performance derives from performance ethnography, which is a qualitative research methodology. Its application to professional…