Research has extensively linked teacher collaborative work with opportunities for both explicit and implicit professional development. However, while teachers work together more often than before, little is known about how workplace collaborative contexts are structured in terms of who and how frames the problems of practice. Drawing on an…

There is growing attention to the potential for developing professional learning experiences for content area teachers to infuse computational thinking (CT), which refers to the set of problem-solving practices related to the computer science discipline, into their classrooms. Although research has begun to document professional learning models…

Productive mathematical conversations are a significant component of developing students' mathematical understanding and ability to effectively communicate their thinking, and the types of questions teachers ask can either hinder or advance that development. Seeking to understand students' thinking while monitoring their initial work on a task…

This paper reports on a study of Teacher Support Teams (TSTs) established to generate peer support and collaboration among teacher and nurse educators at a Norwegian university. In TST groups, educators share experiences from their own teaching practices and support one another in solving work-related problems. By the use of interaction analysis,…

The International Technology and Engineering Educators Association's (ITEEA's) "Standards for Technological and Engineering Literacy" ("STEL") describes design thinking as an approach that allows students and educators to integrate other content areas by considering relevant contextual information to guide design and making…

Academics are increasingly required to balance the expectations of the 'old' academy with a future model of universities as interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary 'problem solvers'. This paper highlights changing expectations of academics in producing alternative research outcomes in collaborative, practice-based research. Through a series of…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore educator collaborative inquiry in the shared workspace in professional learning communities (PLCs). Specifically, this investigation was part of an ongoing investigation of well-established PLC collaborative interactions and self-directed learning of educators as part of the shared workspace as a…

This paper marks the second in a series of five reports detailing the work of the Optimizing Assessment for All (OAA) project at Brookings to strengthen education systems capacity to integrate 21st century skills into teaching and learning, using assessment as a lever for changing classroom practices. Twenty-first century skills (21CS) are now…

We report here the type of problems and solutions that 38 school teams reported during a randomized wait-list controlled trial of one problem-solving approach (Team Initiated Problem Solving [TIPS]). The experimental results from that analysis are reported elsewhere. The purpose of this article is to summarize companion descriptive data from this…

This article discusses two multidisciplinary courses created at the Colorado School of Mines that were developed to integrate ethics into the first-year engineering curriculum: "Nature and Human Values" (NHV) and "Innovation and Discovery in Engineering, Arts, and Sciences" (IDEAS). In both NHV and IDEAS, our objectives are to…

A university's seminar model suggests the design of a collaborative structure that promotes team sharing and problem solving. The mentoring that occurs in the seminar comes mainly from the student teachers sharing their experiences with each other and working together to make sense of their classrooms in the context of the theories they have…

This article describes the results of a three-day professional development workshop for newer teachers (with less than six years of experience) and more experienced teachers trained in design of skills-based, year-long themes with rich interdisciplinary connections at Charles River School (Massachusetts). For the three days, the school was buzzing…

Problem-solving teams address student difficulties. Teams comprised of teachers, specialists, and administrators identify the student problem, develop individualized interventions, and assess student change. Teacher experiences of teams are understudied. In a prospective, mixed-method study conducted in the United States, 34 teachers were followed…

Communication and professional dialogue are essential elements of a high-quality education environment in which all students can succeed. Such an environment is especially important for the success of students with special needs. Unfortunately, collaboration between special educators, general educators, and other professionals is often hindered by…

This investigation addressed the use of problem-solving teams (PST) to support general education teachers working in inclusive classrooms. Eight teams in a high-poverty elementary school that had recently implemented an inclusive program were the focus of the study. Teachers noted several benefits of PSTs, including social support, learning new…