If the goal is to fundamentally change the culture inside schools, people need to move beyond the superficiality of professional learning communities and focus on a system of learners. Professional learning communities are in fact about establishing lasting new collaborative cultures. Collaborative cultures are ones that focus on building the…

Several years ago the author attended a week-long orientation for a new job she was taking as an English teacher in an affluent suburb of Chicago. On the first day, the school's director of student activities led all of the new teachers in an "icebreaker," wherein they were taught how to juggle. However, the author could not juggle. When it was…

In most disciplines, professors ask students to "read" without specifying what this operation means for their particular field. This chapter traces the path laid out in a cultural history class, where reading entails identifying the essential elements of a text. (Contains 1 figure.)

Having in mind the need for an increased attention to the importance of pre-service teacher development concerning technology, this study examined teachers' interest to attain educational technology standards (Interest) in terms of their computer attitude (Attitude) and the professional support they received to attain these standards (Support).…

The authors invited teachers participating in a climate change education course to voluntarily demonstrate new environmental behaviors. They were interviewed and described the process of change they experienced. Facilitating professional development activities were participation in a community of change, construction of knowledge of climate…

This article presents initiatives used by two elementary schools in the authors' district to meet the learning needs of students who speak Spanish as their first language and are limited English proficient (LEP). Both schools have a 10-20% population of Hispanic students. In most cases, the parents are LEP as well. In this article, the authors…

The purpose of this paper is to provide an account of changes in student achievement at one urban elementary school involved in an eight-year partnership with a University. The school first became involved with the University through a research project designed to support the school's efforts at restructuring and soon became a full-fledged…

As the number of computers accessible to students and teachers has increased, there has been a growing emphasis on integrating technology across the curriculum. Even though schools increasingly invest in new technologies, the actual use of computers in classrooms remains limited. This paper examines a model developed to guide the implementation of…

This paper reports the findings of a project--'Lifelong learning and teacher education'-- undertaken by the Centre for Lifelong Learning, Australian Catholic University, under the auspices of the Australian Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training. The study was designed to investigate the operationalization of lifelong learning…

Reexamined Fuller's concerns-based model of teacher development, investigating teacher development during a two-semester teaching internship program by examining patterns of evolving concerns and aspirations. Results supported and extended Fuller's developmental model. Interns' concerns shifted outward from self, to tasks, to students, as well as…

Previous studies into teacher attitude and motivation have identified staff development as one of the contributing factors in using ICT (information and communication technology) effectively in the classroom. Substantial funds have been provided for such staff development in recent years in the United Kingdom. Currently, ICT training is being…

As testing becomes more prevalent as a policy tool in the Anglo-Saxon world, debates continue as to whether it supports central reforms of instruction or leads to a kind of 'teaching to the test' that invalidates results and undermines more challenging instruction. This paper reports on a three-year study of mathematics testing of nine-year-olds…

"Let's Think!" is a cognitive acceleration programme aimed at developing thinking in children aged between 5 and 6. "Let's Think!" was described in "PSR" 69 (Robertson, 2001) using the acronym CASE @ KS1, as it was known before publication by NFER-Nelson. Since then, "Let's Think!" has spread beyond the…

In-service education using information and communication technology (ICT) to teach science is particularly demanding when working in under-resourced locations or where resources are in heavy demand. This article is based on Inset carried out by the authors working with teachers and a university lecturer in a Bulgarian Internet cafe. The use of…

During the 1998-1999 academic year, a survey was conducted to look at current trends and issues in the profession of graphics education (Clark & Scales, 1999). The survey solicited information from the membership of the Engineering Design Graphics Division of the American Society for Engineering Education related to their view of future areas of…