If the quality of an education system can never exceed the quality of its teachers, then countries need to do all they can to build a high-quality teaching force. "Teaching Excellence through Professional Learning and Policy Reform: Lessons from around the World," the background report to the sixth International Summit on the Teaching…

Based on evidence derived from studies conducted mostly in the United States, many low- and middle-income countries are investing in early childhood education (ECE), with high expectations that it will improve academic outcomes, increase human capital, promote economic growth and reduce economic inequality. In Chile, there has been a great…

Research on the experiences of teacher leaders returning to classroom teaching (Fiarman, 2007; Munroe, 2013, 2014a) has indicated that this career change is complex and often fraught with unanticipated tensions and frustrations such that the potential contribution of these returning teacher leaders is not realized. We explore the experience of a…

Helping students achieve advanced critical thinking and writing skills in large undergraduate classes is a challenge faced by many university faculty members. We addressed this challenge in a three-year project using team course design, built around a cognitive apprenticeship model, to enhance undergraduates' writing, critical thinking, and…

Research indicates that children with visual impairments demonstrate delays in fundamental motor skills, including locomotor, object control, and balance skills (Haibach, Lieberman, & Pritchett, 2011; Houwen, Hartman, & Visscher, 2010; Wagner, Haibach, & Lieberman, 2013). All of these skills are prerequisites to living an independent…

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) can be powerful tools for school improvement but require principals and teachers to collaborate and work together. This article reports on a qualitative multi-case study focused on six elementary schools in West Texas that had been identified for having effective PLCs. Principals and teachers were observed…

Promising improved student and teacher learning, Japanese lesson study has attracted many international educators to try to implement it in their own contexts. However, a simple transference model of implementation is likely to meet difficulties. Key determinants of any adaptation will be differences between existing conventions of pedagogy and of…

This article describes a teacher-led school "Mathematics and Science Leadership Academy" (MSLA) that is part of the Denver Public Schools. At MSLA, teachers collaborate to make authentic and substantive decisions about how the school operates and seek to meet each student's needs. At teacher-led schools, teachers hire their own…

This article describes a collaborative action research process in pre-school and primary education in Spain during a four-year period (2006-2010). The aim was the need to promote a level of reflection among the participants as to their teaching practice. The methodology used was a technologically mediated action research process. The results are…

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the lesson study process on science teacher candidates' teaching in terms of lesson plan content, pedagogy and classroom management based on expert, peer and self-evaluations. The participants of this case study consisted of 16 teacher candidates in elementary science education in their…

There is substantial evidence in the literature to suggest that professional isolation is a significant problem for music teachers. This paper reports on the results of a survey regarding the professional learning of classroom music teachers (n = 53) from Foundation (also known as Preparatory, Reception or Kindergarten) to Year Nine. Teachers who…

When teachers collaborate in schools, taking collective responsibility to improve instruction and achieve goals, student performance improves and good results happen. Wyoming is one example of a state that uses peer-to-peer professional learning with notable results. Teachers joined together to form a statewide professional community and saw the…

Picture a professor of library and information science working in her office on the fourth floor of the university library. She is away from student traffic and relatively isolated from other faculty on campus. Nevertheless, the professor has much to be proud of as she uses computer technology to reach, teach, and interact with enrolled students…

This paper focuses on the Center for Global Geography Education teaching workshop held in Bangalore, India, in March 2012 which served as a collaborative forum linking geography teachers in secondary and higher education in the USA and India. It considers the inclusion of the Advanced Placement Human Geography teachers from the USA and the…

Professional development allows teachers to create professional knowledge and increase collaboration and collegiality to promote quality teaching and leadership. Peer coaching is frequently overlooked as a form of professional development. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the effect of participation in a voluntary…