This investigation examined interactions in three classrooms to determine how they influenced Discourses related to mathematics learning and teaching. Mathematics education literature suggests that effective mathematics instruction includes mathematical Discourses. However, effective mathematical Discourses within mathematics classrooms vary…

A recent report published by the National Center on Performance Incentives (NCPI) presents findings from the second-year evaluation of the Texas Educator Excellence Grant (TEEG) program, a statewide educator incentive program that operated in Texas. As part of this larger study, evaluators administered a survey to educators to learn about their…

Continuing professional development (CPD) is increasingly seen as an essential driver in raising the standards of teaching and learning in post-16 education and training. Requirements and processes have been set in place by Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK) and Institute for Learning (IfL) to ensure that every teacher engages in CPD--but is it getting…

To move toward educational excellence leaders, teachers, and district administrators must be strategic in planning for instructional success. As this planning takes place, I believe that the concept of "Professional Learning Communities" (PLC) should occupy a large space in a school strategic plan for success. Strategic planning should be viewed…

For many professional educators, effective professional development must be at the center of any educational reform (Dilworth & Imig, 1995). Moreover, while many studies have provided documentation describing effective models of professional development, currently very few school districts are using these models. The purpose of this study was to…

While efforts have been made in the last two decades to educate professionals about the nature of assistive technology (AT) devices, successful implementation of technology is impossible without the support and provision of appropriate AT services. The current investigation, designed and conducted by the National Assistive Technology Research…

It would be difficult to imagine any first-year teacher had aspirations of becoming a weak teacher. Most individuals hired as teachers have the ability to do a good job and want to do a good job. So how is it that some become ineffective? The authors contend that school leaders make them that way. Consider this preposterous notion: School leaders…

Objective: Education is becoming a recognized career path in psychiatry. Yet, there are few published accounts of how to create sustainable structures within departments to support this academic focus. The authors document the creation and 5-year progress of the Research Innovation and Scholarship in Education (RISE) program at the largest…

A peripatetic is one who journeys hither and thither. Many people can claim that title by just describing a domestic day. In the context of the Mid-Western Educational Research Association (MWERA) conference theme, the globalization of the teacher education experience, the author defines a peripatetic as one who journeys hither and thither…

Action learning sets are used by Lancaster University Management School's Institute for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development to provide business support to owner managers of small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs). This paper compares the experiences of participants and facilitator of two programmes: one part of a wider programme of…

Teaching national history in school generates significant public anxiety and political debate--as the various "history wars" around the world reveal. For many school students, however, studying their nation's past is dull and repetitive. Such lack of interest has been confirmed by surveys and research reports that reveal alarmingly low…

This article will map the process of collaborative professional enquiry in an attempt to make sense of the structural elements evident in creating a "Community of Collaborative Professional Enquiry" (CCPE). At the heart of each CCPE examined was a collaborative, improvement-focused intervention that was designed and implemented by…

In order to stay current within their field, many professionals regularly attend conferences and training events in distant locales. Travel to these conferences costs professionals, and their sponsor organizations, both time and money. In the past the benefits afforded by these conferences, and the lack of comparable alternatives, have provided…

The development, publication, and distribution of the "Standards for the 21st-Century Learner" once again demonstrate the vision of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) in pointing the way with new literacies (textual, media, digital, technology) for students. These standards include critical self-assessment strategies that will…

Objective: Assessing professionalism in medical education poses many challenges. The authors discuss common themes and principles in managing professionalism in medical education. Methods: The authors review the development of standards of professionalism in medical education. They define educational goals for professionalism and also discuss the…