Addresses the past four decades of Quebec's teacher education reform, noting the resulting interplay between university-based teacher educators and school-based practitioners. The paper highlights four historical periods, explaining that even at the oldest North American French-speaking university, the evolving forces at play within teacher…

Investigated the nature of professional interactions of two teams of middle school mathematics teachers involved in a schoolwide professional development project centered around increasing teachers' collegial discourse in order to improve practice. Findings indicated that the collegial interactions had little impact on one team but drastically…

Describes four key elements typically seen in schools that show continuous improvement in student results. Such schools' cultures are permeated by a shared focus on student learning, a strong culture of reflective practice, a collaborative environment where teachers see colleagues and parents as important partners, and an ever increasing…

Examined the effectiveness of collaborative action research teaming as a professional development mechanism to address the demands of contemporary classrooms through formalized sharing between groups of inservice and preservice teachers. Data from observations, interviews, and student artifacts indicated that effective teaming depended…

Elliot Eisner, Lee Jacks Professor of Education and Art, Stanford University, imparts his thoughts about the salient features of schools he believes America needs, for example, having principals spend about one-third of their time in the classroom. (PKP)

Investigated the collaborative-research process between an elementary physical educator and a university researcher, describing what the process meant to each during their long-term collaboration. Data from participant observation with an autobiographical component indicated that there were two major themes: shared privilege and shared…

Effective principals realize that learning support-teachers can provide job-embedded staff development for general-education teachers. They build schedules allowing the kind of cooperative planning that makes inclusive block scheduling successful. Principals must also share control of the master schedule and support major changes in teaching…

Daniel A. Grout School in southeast Portland, Oregon, built a unified literacy program that sparked change across the school. The "literacy block" program, which focuses on teacher collaboration, early intervention, and higher-order thinking skills, began in 1996 as a Title I Schoolwide program. In 1998, Grout staff received "early…

Explains a Web-based system that allows teachers of various experiences, specializations, and in different locations to contribute their ideas for instructional activities collaboratively. Describes the use of this system by junior high school science teachers using misconceptions in science education to help students make conceptual changes. (LRW)

Interviewed program coordinators from 57 urban university-school district collaborative efforts to determine their characteristics and effectiveness. Results indicated that collaborations were typically longstanding, varied in type, serving large numbers of city students, satisfying to university partners, and perceived as generally achieving…

Discusses changes that occurred in preservice teachers' thinking about and use of technology infusion and its role in student learning. Reports findings from a two-year evaluation study of a preservice teacher technology infusion project in which teams of teacher educators and K-12 teachers collaborated to infuse technology into their respective…

Proposes restructuring the professional education of PhD students preparing for academic careers by providing an apprenticeship underpinned by a framework involving research, teaching, and administration. This would create better qualified, more experienced applicants and help overcome social and cultural barriers to the acceptance of PhD students…

As the effects of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act and its ensuing mandates for compliance are felt in classrooms across the United States, the issues of high-stakes testing and rigorous benchmark paradigms are becoming a daily challenge for teachers. NCLB mandates rigorous testing for every child in grades 3-8 in reading and math. Children…

Recent research emphasizes the context-specific nature of professional knowledge and expertise, implying that developing novel practices in authentic environments is a prerequisite for teachers' professional development. The aim of this study was to find out how teachers develop their practical knowledge and expertise through shared planning and…

Three faculty used action research to address concerns with student learning but in the process also learned of its value for their own professional development. Through semi-structured interviews, multiple case vignettes, and peer collaboration, they addressed student cognitive and affective learning concerns, made adjustments in their…