This paper questions whether relationships between teachers and researchers can in fact be called collaborative. It is asserted that they are collaborative in only the generic sense of the term and do not meet the specifications denoted in the paper for equitable collaborations. Examples of innovative types of relationships in which university…

This paper tries to present a careful analysis of current trends and challenges to importing Japanese model of teachers' professional development. The objective is to examine what "we" can learn from Japanese approach to improving instruction, especially "Jugyou Kenkyu" (Lesson Study) as a collaborative research on the…

An effective teacher must continue to learn, problem-solve, and respond to the evolving needs of his or her students. Ideally a culture of inquiry, reflection, and self-evaluation should develop. Voluntary inquiry-based reflection identifies problems and issues within a school and allows teachers and administrators to develop professional study…

Classrooms in the United Kingdom are beginning to open up, with teachers working in multidisciplinary teams composed of classroom assistants, nursery nurses, learning support auxiliaries, educational psychologists, community educators, health and social workers, and parent volunteers. This paper identifies published sources of information on…

This paper examines the relationships among administrative support, interdisciplinary team functioning, classroom practices, and student outcomes. It is premised on the need to move beyond examinations of the team process and explore the effects of processes on student learning. The report is based on a systemic research project that studied 60…

This study investigated connections between school district policy related to professional development in four urban districts nationwide and school organizational capacity in one elementary school in each district. The elementary schools served large numbers of low-income students, had histories of low achievement, had shown progress in student…

This presentation outline with overheads demonstrates differentiated planning, a system with four separate planning methods designed to reduce confusion and increase staff commitment to planning efforts. Differentiated planning involves: (1) prioritization (used for single question issues, multiple question issues, and as a follow-up to the…

This book suggests that a solution to schools' lack of comprehensive literacy programs may be found through innovations in collaborative decision making about curriculum and instruction. It provides analyses of collaborative efforts, multiple ways to think about collaboration and its implementation, and examples of collaborative projects. After an…

This study examined how an urban, elementary teacher study group helped five classroom teachers learn the practice of mentoring teacher candidates. A university liaison for one elementary school hosting interns led the group and conducted a longitudinal study of it as a context for collaborative learning. Teachers focused on making their teaching…

This toolkit explains how to get started with a collaborative process of professional development that includes selecting best practices and identifying ways to put them into action. It is a companion to an online resource, "The Knowledge Loom: What Works in Teaching & Learning." The loom as a metaphor suggests a work in progress, a…

This longitudinal study analyzed planning processes in teachers' collaborative curriculum-making, working with two teacher teams in a Finnish elementary school and one American team. Data from discourses, interviews, and observations addressed: differences and similarities in the planning processes involved in curriculum making; changes in the…

This study examined collaborative planning and decision making in a grade level team of elementary teachers during team meetings. Fourteen teachers in a suburban district participated over 3 years. Participants were predominantly white and female and ranged from first-year to experienced teachers. Teachers were observed during regular weekly team…

This monograph discusses the findings of two federally funded research projects that brought together university, school district, and state education personnel, along with families, to find ways to weave a tapestry of inclusion in the context of general education reform efforts. Among the lessons learned were that there are seven types of threads…

The fifteen articles in this anthology examine the process of collaboration as it fits into questions of gender. Articles include: "Educate, Organize, and Agitate: A Historical Overview of Feminist Collaboration in Great Britain and America, 1640-1930" (Melodie Andrews); "Beyond Feminism: An Intercultural Challenge for Transforming the Academy"…

Describes a high school English teacher's first year collaborating with math, science, and history teachers in a connecting-the-curriculum program. Describes how the author's first semester of teaching English within this interdisciplinary framework lacked coherence and was not successful and how his students helped make the second semester more…