Through the use of narrative inquiry, this research study explores the collaborative curriculum making experiences of six teachers (three males; three females) in one physical education (PE) department in an urban middle school in the U.S. Collaboration; as defined in this work, this has to do with teachers' voluntary interactions and their shared…

Probing is a communication skill that provides the psychological safety teachers need to share their perspectives, inquire into those of others, and reconsider what they have been doing and how they have been thinking about it. In their book, "The Collaborative Analysis of Student Learning: Professional Learning That Promotes Success for…

The transition from Grade 8 to Grade 9 is particularly difficult for students who were not very successful in mathematics in Grade 8. Research into ways to improve this transition as well as improve the teaching practices at the Applied level will be helpful for teachers, administrators, and policy makers. The Collaborative Teacher Inquiry Project…

This article describes how one elementary school's professional development model helped both new and veteran teachers grow in their knowledge and practice of balanced literacy. Created in partnership between university faculty, school administration, and elementary teachers, this multifaceted whole-school PD effort enabled teachers to learn…

Across the education field, there is unusual consensus that strong teacher leaders are key to improving our nation's schools. Unfortunately, clear expectations for what teacher leaders should do, and strategies to prepare them to do it, are few and far between. A recent survey found that while 86 percent of urban school districts have teacher…

Explore the practical steps teacher teams must take to establish clear, comprehensive assessment systems that guide instruction and strengthen PLCs. This book has the capacity to reignite passion and energy assessment practices bring as tools to guide teaching and learning. Strengthen instructional agility in professional learning communities with…

Our goal in this session is to open up new pathways for addressing the seemingly immutable educational disparities, often brought about by historical power imbalances and traditional transmission pedagogies in classrooms and schools that continue to value and perpetuate a view of knowledge and learning maintained by the dominant group. We share…

In this article we document our experiences as facilitators for the "Engaging All Students" professional learning community (PLC), which was implemented to help Toronto public school teachers re-engage underachieving students. These students, who are known as "marker students," are members of the school system's most…

Teacher burnout is conceived as a general concern in special education because of the emotionally demanding work context. This study explored the potential role of perceived support for reduction of burnout in a sample of 276 special education teachers working in lower (n=130) and higher (n=146) secondary schools. Participants completed the…

Since the turn of the century, teacher evaluation has been introduced around the world with the intent to improve teaching. However, in the literature on teacher evaluation, often findings reveal critical accounts about the effectiveness of feedback in teacher evaluation for teacher and school improvement. This article presents a qualitative study…

Many school-improvement efforts include time for teacher collaboration, with the assumption that teachers' collective work supports instructional improvement. However, not all collaboration equally supports learning that would support improvement. As a part of a 5-year study in two urban school districts, we collected video records of more than…

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are an important strategy for innovation in schools, and they are receiving considerable attention from scholars and educators alike. The present study aimed to examine the effect of PLCs on schools' effectiveness and to investigate the social, organizational, and structural factors that can promote these…

Disciplinary literacy scholars promote text-based instruction in the service of disciplinary inquiry, and scholars of teacher education promote practice-based preparation for teachers. This study brings these scholarly communities into conversation by investigating how practice orientations in teacher education influence novice teachers' literacy…

Input from parents of children with disabilities is highly valuable; however, barriers such as lack of time or travel can hinder the partnership between parents and stakeholders. Internet-based applications (e.g., Google Groups, Google Drive, and OneDrive) can alleviate some of the difficulties in collaborating. This article describes the use and…

Background: In many educational settings, professional development (PD) for in-service teachers assumes particular significance in the wake of curricula reform. This is so that teachers are enabled to become familiar with new competencies that are aligned with new learning standards, and also that teachers may be supported in actively reflecting…