This paper presents findings of a project aimed to improve the quality of science education in Southeast Mexico by the creation of a community of practice among scientists, researchers and teachers, involved in the design, implementation and evaluation of a professional development program for mathematics, chemistry, biology and physics secondary…

No one graduating from school can any longer have the illusion to have completed her or his learning career, nor to live in a monocultural society. Quite on the contrary, learning will be the major business of the professional future of anyone who now leaves school. Moreover, the multicultural nature of current societies constitutes an additional…

The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of occupational education officers concerning the instructional skills professional development needs for part-time faculty members within the community colleges in the U.S. The types of instructional help part-time faculty members were perceived to need most were concentrated in the…

Rockville Centre is a diverse, suburban school district serving approximately 3,500 students. Since 1981, the school has offered the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma. The IB diploma, which began in Rockville Centre as a gifted and talented program, is a comprehensive and challenging course of study in all subject areas. In this article,…

This article details a 5-year evolution of a middle school mathematics faculty serving predominantly economically at-risk students. Faculty members worked to improve students' mathematics test scores, used a scripted curriculum, and integrated National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) standards-based activities. Schools nationwide are…

Faculty members require training when they first learn how to teach in a specific online format. Such training introduces them to the technical features that will allow an exchange of information, discussions, and course materials and to how to use these features to advance student learning. "Online" education can mean asynchronous or no…

Historically, the Composition Program at Eastern Washington University (EWU), a comprehensive university in Cheney, WA, required a single essay sample from each composition student as the final exit exam; in practice, a student passed or failed the course based on an in-class argumentative essay, written in three consecutive class periods. Such a…

"Alabama Education News" is published monthly except for June, July, and December by the Alabama Department of Education. This publication, authorized by Section 16-2-4 of the "Code of Alabama", as recompiled in 1975, is a public service of the Alabama Department of Education designed to inform citizens and educators about…

Now in a thoroughly revised and expanded third edition, this evidence-based book distills the latest knowledge about literacy teaching and learning into clear strategies for helping all children succeed. Within a comprehensive conceptual framework, the field's leading authorities provide eminently practical recommendations to guide instructional…

This article applies theories of alternative thinking and problem solving to the teaching context. Teachers working in static situations are prone to stagnation leading to a paradigm crisis where they are forced to question the status quo. Techniques for confronting such situations are examined, along with personal management strategies and the…

A food-safe school takes the steps to minimize the risk of foodborne illness throughout the school's environment and has procedures in place to identify and manage outbreaks if they occur. This booklet introduces the Food-Safe Schools Action Guide, which helps schools identify gaps in food safety and develop an action plan for becoming food-safe.…

Student diversity is significantly different than diversity in the teaching staff. Educational leaders must identify methods to bridge the gap in teacher diversity so that students of all backgrounds see adult role models and images of themselves in the classroom. Recruiting, developing, and retaining qualified minority teachers is an important…

This critical review of literature on mentoring encompasses print and online books and journals from the mid-nineties on. While by no means comprehensive, the literature surveyed was adequate to indicate how the field of mentoring in education stands today. The author's particular focus, in response to her needs and goals as an educator, was on…

This exploratory paper presents a challenge for teachers and for pedagogy. Following studies that indicate a need for teachers to use more productive pedagogies to improve student learning, it is here proposed that teachers need to be more radical still to be effective. They need as well to consider how they might be producers of their own acts of…

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and implementation of community-based, service-learning field projects by 30 health professional faculty fellows of Project MAINSTREAM, a faculty development program on substance abuse. The fellows worked together for two years in 10 Interdisciplinary Faculty Learning Groups (IFLGs), which…