Purpose: In this chapter we describe how a rubric-style observation instrument for observing classroom writing instruction was used to focus and optimize collaborative video analysis sessions among teachers and researchers spread across six states. As part of a 3-year Institute of Education Sciences (IES) development grant, we used videos of…

This design case will introduce how collective design intentions shared by a group of three program faculty for an online Instructional Technology (IT) Master's program at the University of Tennessee (UT) were collaboratively identified and further acted upon within the context of the first course in the program. The course that is the focus of…

Collaboration and synergy among education stakeholders is a fundamental pillar for any educational reform success. The reported research analyses the state of collaboration and work dynamics that existed between natural science district officials and primary school teachers in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Data were collected through…

In this article, "TalkPhysics," the Institute of Physics' (UK) community website for teachers of physics and their supporters, is described. It is now used by over 7,500 professionals in physics education, whether they are seeking or giving advice, contributing to discussions, or accessing the wealth of resources available, but will also…

The author spends a lot of time thinking about good professional learning vs. typical professional development. Based on her 20-plus years of experience, as well as a bit of inspiration from Reuben Duncan, assistant superintendent in School Administrative Unit 29 in Keene, N.H., she shares what she considers to be the ten best ways to waste…

Schools rise and fall based on the quality of the teamwork that occurs within their walls. Well-functioning leadership and teaching teams are essential to the continuous improvement of teaching and learning. That is particularly true when schools have clearly articulated, stretching aspirations for the learning of all their students. Effective…

The author is a teaching artist. Most of her previous experiences as a teaching artist have afforded her the opportunity to create and facilitate a lesson or an arc of lessons through a residency in a school. She was the "expert" artist in the partnership. The author longs to have a deeper, more fruitful impact on classroom learning. What might…

Research suggests effective professional learning communities (PLCs) enhance teacher collaboration and student achievement. Within-school variation in PLC processes, however, is underexplored. This study highlights differences in teacher behavior and teams' perceptions of principal leadership in well-functioning teams versus less well-functioning…

The purpose of this research was to investigate the experiences of instrumental music teachers in Designing Arts Instruction, a 4-day professional development course in a large urban school district. Specifically, I was interested in which activities participants (a) found most relevant and applicable to their current teaching situation, (b)…

The application-oriented development of local institutions has become a trend. Business English, with its "compound and cross-disciplinary" characteristics and the development of local economy have put forward higher requirements for the development of business English teachers in local institutions. This paper surveys and analyzes the…

Much of what we know about music classes comes from observing students without disabilities; there is little empirical research that informs music education practices for students with disabilities in inclusive music settings. The purpose of this study was to systematically observe and describe opportunities for nine students with disabilities to…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss teachers' practices, barriers and facilitating factors associated with a regional school-based action-oriented sexuality education (SE) project with the use of information and communication technology. Design/methodology/approach: This qualitative research was anchored in a constructivist paradigm,…

This study describes a collaboration in one northern California university between three teacher education programs (multiple subject, single subject, and education specialist) that explores how and to what extent faculty are developing and modeling the 21st-century skills in preservice teachers. In addition, this study analyzes preservice…

This paper serves as a phenomenological reflection about the meaning of a co-teaching experience at the college level for two graduate teaching assistants. When two teachers combine planning and teaching efforts it is called co-teaching. As a pedagogical method for both instructors and students, co-teaching was beneficial because it modeled a…

The article describes how a group of student teachers understood and enacted inclusion in noninclusive school placements during a year-long teaching residency. It examines, within de Certeau's framework of tactics and strategies, how students made meaning of their placements, their understanding of university practice in relation to inclusion, and…