Federal mandates have increased the pressure on school officials to improve student achievement. These mandates have forced educators across the nation to analyze different types of professional development that train teachers to provide quality lessons that are rigorous in nature. These mandates have forced a shift in pedagogy where teachers work…

Since adopting the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in 2010, California has given districts significant flexibility in how they support teachers in implementing the standards. This flexibility, along with vastly differing local and regional contexts, has resulted in a wide variety of district-level approaches to training teachers in content…

The National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) 2016 "Landscape in Teacher Preparation" has examined 875 traditional undergraduate programs that prepare elementary school teachers, finding widely variable levels of quality. Some programs prepare teachers whom parents would love to see in front of their child's classroom. Too many…

This was a descriptive survey study design which sought to establish the school based factors that affect the learning of Kenyan Sign Language in primary schools for learners with hearing impairment in Embu and Isiolo counties in Kenya. The target population was all teachers teaching in primary schools for learners with hearing impairment in the…

This book is an edited volume addressing specific issues of significance for individuals involved with the undergraduate mathematics content preparation of prospective elementary teachers (PSTs). Teaching mathematics content courses to this group of students presents unique challenges. While some PSTs enter their teacher preparation with weak…

The Issue: School improvement policy for the past few decades has been characterized by mandated lists of activities--both well intended and research based--designed to stimulate a dramatic turnaround in student achievement. However, this prescriptive approach to policy, particularly federal policy, has not resulted in the systemic changes needed…

This Special Issues Brief from the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability and Reform (CEEDAR Center) and the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders (GTL Center) outlines essential features for providing high-quality, structured, and sequenced opportunities to practice within teacher preparation programs. This brief is…

This manuscript builds on the previous reviews of professional learning communities (PLCs), using 10 empirical international research studies to present the impact of PLCs on teacher practice and student learning. The results showed that PLC studies that embrace collaboration and focus on student learning reported improved teacher practice and…

The Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE) is an international association of individual teacher educators, and affiliated organizations of teacher educators in all disciplines, who are interested in the creation and dissemination of knowledge about the use of information technology in teacher education and faculty/staff…

In order to improve one's teaching in the long run, reflection on the lessons makes up an integral part in the process of developing a sufficient reflection competence. The problem, however, is how this reflection competence can be established in student teachers already and if that concept is compatible with current systems of teacher education…

This article aims at raising awareness of the key role the EU already plays in matters of teacher policy. It takes stock of European teacher policy related documents and activities, such as relevant strategies, presidency priorities, Council Conclusions, Commission working documents, the activities of thematic working groups, of networks, of data…

In today's classrooms, inclusion is evident on many levels. Educators are given opportunities for professional development on creating inclusive classrooms that respect and embrace diversity, and they are gaining confidence in their ability to apply differentiated instruction that engages all students in their learning. Using differentiated…

Teacher performance, as measured by evaluations, is increasingly being considered by states in employment decisions, including the awarding of tenure--and the removal of that status, according to a 50-state policy review by the Education Commission of the States (ECS). This report, one of three based on ECS' 2014 review, identifies the states…

Despite the widespread use of alternatively certified personnel by school systems to address shortages of highly qualified teachers, alternative certification programs (ACPs) have appeared largely inconsistent in design and lacked research in effectiveness. Hence, benefit could be gained in evaluating the competency of ACP participants in terms of…

Purpose: We investigated the way in which structured, multiyear conversations about race and institutional racism occurred in suburban secondary schools with changing racial demographics. Research Framework: The study draws on interpretive research traditions, in that we assume that how teachers understand race and racism will influence how they…