This article explores collaboration between a rural school in upstate New York and an international school in Amman, Jordan. The authors describe how they provided their students with real audiences for their writing, and, over time, built an international community of writers. Classroom walls were blurred as the authors "team-taught"…

This article discusses how school districts in California collaborate with higher education to boost college readiness and access. In Long Beach, educators from all three major institutions of learning--elementary, middle and high schools, the local university and the community college--worked together to align standards and expectations across…

The use of performance-based pay, or merit pay, has become a topic of increased focus in education circles in recent years. Questions about the effectiveness of these types of programs, coupled with a variety of criticisms about the benefits of merit pay, have resulted in teachers viewing this type of incentive structure with much skepticism. In…

This article looks at the possibilities of content-based instruction in mainstream English secondary schools. It considers the continuum from a language to content focus in classrooms where teachers collaborate. English as an additional language (EAL) and subject curriculum teachers work together to support young people while they simultaneously…

This inquiry explores the collaborative relationship between Mary, a teacher at a junior high, and Stefinee, a teacher educator at a nearby university. Through the use of emblematic narratives that emerged through the process of reliving and retelling experiences from a shared professional knowledge landscape, we make assertions about our…

The purpose of this study was to examine and describe the role of trust, a complex and understudied aspect of working relationships, among teachers in smaller learning communities (SLC). Based on a review of the literature, four kinds of interpersonal professional relationships were defined and described from individualism to community. An…

Co-teaching is gaining popularity as an instructional delivery service for supporting students in diverse classrooms. In spite of recent research indicating its effectiveness, co-teaching does not always realize its potential; often due to interpersonal or communication issues occurring between co-teachers. This article describes ways co-teachers…

This article offers insight into teacher training that needs to be occurring in the preparation of teachers. The focus is on the preparation practices and one Canadian institution is used to forward concerns. The institution is left anonymous as the intent is not to critique this particular institution but to bring attention to a more general…

In 2006, the author returned to school after completing the Teaching Shakespeare Institute at the Folger Library inspired with new performance-based ideas for teaching the plays. The author began to wonder about using Shakespeare as a vehicle for investigating "rich and strange" language with English Language Learners (ELLs). The author began by…

Understanding the concept of area is a challenge for children. In the past, instruction about area often focused more on learning procedures for measuring rather than on learning underlying concepts. To develop conceptual understanding, primary students need experiences with (1) partitioning a region with a two-dimensional unit of measure; (2)…

In this article, the authors describe VSA arts Tennessee's pilot arts in education project and the many good questions that have arisen from it. From VSA's inception in 2002, Lori Kissinger, Executive Director of VSA Tennessee, planned to find a way to partner with the Tennessee Department of Education based on other state models. VSA arts…

Technology integration in school curricula promotes student achievement, yet many teachers are not successfully integrating technology for learning. This phenomenological study explored the strategies of 10 elementary teachers in Georgia who overcame barriers to technology integration to successfully incorporate lessons within the public school…

Almost half of new teachers leave the profession within their first year. New teachers need support, mentoring, encouragement, and, most importantly, hope in order to survive the challenges of their first years of teaching. "Burned In" features essays from today's most visionary educators, including Jim Burke, Peter Elbow, James Loewen, Gregory…

This study explores the principal driven collaborative planning (PDCP) phenomenon occurring at SUN Elementary School. SUN Elementary is located near the border of Washington, DC. Exploring this new phenomenon requires a close look at the relationships among teachers, and the relationship between the teachers and the principal. This study…

This article describes a unique course-based collaboration involving an English professor, a Learning Strategies Counselor, and a Librarian. The potential benefits and barriers of collaborative teaching in literature are reviewed. The article delineates a three-way instruction model built around an annotated bibliography assignment in a…