Principals' instructional leadership may support the degree to which teachers work together to improve instruction, and together leadership and teacher collaboration may contribute to school effectiveness by strengthening collective efficacy beliefs. We found a significant direct effect of leadership on teacher collaboration. Further, leadership…

We address several challenges faced by those who wish to increase the number of faculty participating in upper-division learning communities that feature a student research experience. Using illustrations from our own learning community, we describe three strategies for success that focus on providing low cost incentives and other means to promote…

In this article, Joellen Killion highlights the methodology, analysis, findings, and limitations of Ronfeldt, M., Farmer, S., McQueen, K., & Grissom, J. (2015), "Teacher collaboration in instructional teams and student achievement," "American Educational Research Journal," 52(3), 475-514. Using sophisticated statistical…

This article outlines findings from a study of student perceptions of team teaching. The researcher surveyed students at different times during their first term of study at a private college in Japan where team teaching is applied across the curriculum. Responses were content-analysed and six major categories emerged. Team teaching was seen to…

In this essay, we explore how sustainability is embodied in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), analyzing how the NGSS explicitly define and implicitly characterize sustainability. We identify three themes (universalism, scientism, and technocentrism) that are common in scientific discourse around sustainability and show how they appear…

We live in "a world of clashing interests" [Zinn, H. (1991). "Declarations of independence: Cross-examining American ideology." Toronto: Harper Collins, p. xx]. In a grapple for survival, universities choose to spend less money and time on teaching and learning, less time on robust evaluation of student learning and…

This column contends that administrators are responsible for constructing a culture of collaboration in their schools and that ultimately, the facilitation of collaboration affects students' academic achievement. Within the context of a leadership scenario, this article outlines the need for, function of, and logistical implementation of…

This study investigated novice teachers' perceptions of their professional agency during the initial years of their work in schools. The research questions were: (i) How do novice teachers perceive their professional agency within their work, and what do they see as the main restrictions and resources affecting that agency? (ii) How do novice…

Teaching requires the navigation of an intricate terrain of complex and often overlapping issues, many of which extend beyond the classroom setting. Teachers are uniquely placed to influence large numbers of learners beyond the delivery of prescribed curriculum, and therefore need to be particularly careful and aware of their professional ways of…

In the United States and elsewhere in the world, disabilities are being studied by two different schools of thought: special education and disability studies. In the field of special education, analyses are often pragmatic and instrumental. In contrast, analyses in the field of disability studies are often historical and cultural, explaining…

Policies around the world increasingly call for teachers to become 'agents of change', often linked to social justice agendas. However, there is little clarity about the kind of competencies such agency involves or how it can be developed in teacher education. This paper draws on theories of teacher agency and inclusive pedagogy to clarify the…

This case study explored the impact and effectiveness of a teacher educator professional development initiative after 11 faculty members received iPads and committed to learning about their applications for teaching, research, and service. The six-month study featured interviews, a focus group, survey, and a collection of artifacts from faculty…

This study is part of a larger research design project that aims to cultivate an online community of mathematics educators. The purpose of this smaller study is to suggest interventions that will further support community cultivation efforts. Social network analytical methods are used to study project participants' interactions in virtual spaces.…

At Arlington Heights High School, a grassroots effort began in the 2010-2011 school year with the formation of a new committee of teacher leaders on campus, tasked with envisioning and creating campus change hand-in-hand with administration. This committee's membership has continued to evolve over the last five years, and we are now known as the…

This is an empirical qualitative interpretative multiple case study, which was guided by the question; what are the teacher's perspectives of the types and nature of practical work? Document analysis and interviews were used for data collection. The results show firstly, that teachers held faulty perceptions of the nature of practical work.…