As part of a long-term program to develop effective, research-based professional development programs for physics graduate student teaching assistants (TAs), we first identify their current classroom practices and why they engage in these practices. In this paper, we identify a set of teaching practices we call "focusing on indicators,"…

Even with the best planning and supportive implementation, one's school will experience challenges to achieving its vision of increased rigor. One of today's most serious issues is how schools can improve when resources are stagnant or even declining. Virtually every school faces dwindling resources and is caught between the expectation that…

This article examines a little-discussed phenomenon in the study of both peer-to-peer collaborative networks and teaching with technology: that of teachers caught in the middle between open public networks as teaching resources and highly restrictive school policies regarding internet content and online access. Based on their experiences as…

In this work we study the meaning of professional development as a participative process within a community of practice. In this collaborative narrative self-study we look at the development of ourselves as a professional group working together in an intensive program. The study is based on personal career stories, each told by its author, but…

This study investigated elementary school teachers' comprehension of data displays. Assessment, interview, and observation data were analyzed to determine their level of comprehension. Results revealed that the teachers were proficient at "reading the data" and computation types of "reading between the data" questions, but were…

The author's most meaningful professional development (PD) experience was not a workshop or institute; nor did it result from a course or professional reading. Rather, it came in the form of Betsy--the second-grade teacher down the hall. This article describes the role of a mentor in professional development--and why everybody needs a Betsy!

In this commentary, I discuss how policy initiatives play out in two different contexts for elementary school teachers yet produce very similar outcomes regarding teachers' professional development and school science learning for elementary students. Ironically, the outcomes that we want see in elementary school science learning and professional…

This study shows how a group of English language lecturers use storytelling as a form of professional dialogue. The aim of the study is to highlight the dialogic role of storytelling in supporting the construction of lecturers' professional knowledge and not to identify lecturers' professional knowledge. In a professional development project, 12…

During 2008-2009, the authors worked with a focus group of educational psychologists and teachers to develop resources to enable educational psychologists, tutors working in ITT and CPD and teachers to use an approach we call "Growing Talent for Inclusion" (GTI) in schools and other learning contexts. The aim of our approach is to promote more…

This paper explores medical teachers' perceived barriers and opportunities for educational and professional development. Data has been gathered through 19 semi-structured interviews with participants on a staff development course 1 year after their participation. The analysis shows that most perceived barriers are found on an organisational level,…

The Warwick REDCo community of practice was a group of religious education researchers operating in several contexts: English secondary schools and universities, English and European collaborations on religious education. The group undertook action research, seeking to illustrate and critically assess the interpretive approach to religious…

The 2010 revision of the "Code of Professional Ethics for Rehabilitation Counselors" addresses changes in ethical standards related to rehabilitation counselor supervision. In an effort to promote awareness of these changes, this article offers a brief overview of the revisions and implications for practice including the responsibility of…

This article presents an overview of the history of counseling in Malaysia, provides an update of its current status, and discusses some anticipated future trends for the profession in light of recent developments in the country. Counseling in Malaysia began with school guidance in the 1960s and has now achieved recognition as a profession in…

Recently, much attention has been focused on the importance of intentionality when working with and teaching young children. Intentional teachers "act purposefully with a goal in mind and a plan to accomplish it" (Epstein, 2007, p.4). In the intentional classroom, there is a synergistic partnership between the children and teacher. Although the…

Serving a working-class suburb of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the Hawthorne School District (HSD) is a small district with 11 schools: seven elementary schools, three middle schools, and one dependent charter high school. HSD's students are predominantly from low-income families (87%). Most students (71%) are Latino/a and about fifth (21%)…