As collaborative instruction for students with disabilities becomes a prominent practice, teacher educators must examine prospective educators' views on these practices. Researchers analyzed reflective journal entries of 41 masters-level teacher certification students in a class on collaboration. Several themes emerged through content analysis…

When students are struggling to be successful in the general classroom, collaborative efforts should include planning for academic and social needs. Students with disabilities may display significant social difficulties such as establishing friendships or feelings of isolation and loneliness. Because peer relationships in childhood play a…

This article describes a model for student/faculty collaboration in WAC development--students tutoring faculty on drafts of the writing assignments they have designed for their own students. While writing center scholarship is student-centered and invites student participation, Writing Across the Curriculum scholarship and implementation remains…

Formative assessment has been receiving increasing attention in education. But from a classroom teacher's perspective, changing assessment practices is not always an easy, straightforward process. This article describes the experiences of five middle schools science teachers who met together weekly to exchange ideas about integrating formative…

This paper reports data from the third phase of a 2-year investigation into continuing professional development (CPD) for physical education teachers in England. The purpose of this phase was to examine the ways in which 10 case study teachers engaged in professional learning over the course of 1 academic year. Data were collected from a series of…

Learning communities are a growing tool in use at colleges and universities around the country. In large part, these communities have been created in the hope that they will increase interaction among students and teach them to apply knowledge in meaningful ways. In addition to generating student interaction, learning communities should strive to…

Every time music educators gather, whether at a national conference or at a local coffee shop, professional development can occur. The common denominator is always communication of ideas and experiences that result in some sort of learning--generally among all parties involved. As such, all school districts should invest in high-quality and…

In a collaborative effort between university researchers and high school science teachers, an inquiry-based laboratory module was designed using two species of insecticidal nematodes to help students apply scientific inquiry and elements of thoughtful experimental design. The learning experience and model are described in this article. (Contains 4…

Teacher leaders assume a wide range of roles to support school and student success. Harrison and Killion describe 10 roles that teacher leaders can fulfill in their schools. As resource providers, they provide materials to help their colleagues. Instructional specialists help colleagues with instructional strategies, and curriculum specialists…

This article investigates young children's understanding of and relationships to their communities and the natural world. Inspired by the pedagogy of Reggio Emilia (Edwards, Gandini, & Forman, 1998) and guided by the concept of documentation as a cycle of inquiry (Gandini & Goldhaber, 2001), a group of early childhood educators from across…

Environmental scientists warn that the health of the planet is rapidly deteriorating, and the primary cause of the crisis is human behavior. Psychology can contribute greatly to understanding and changing behaviors that negatively impact global ecosystems; however, environmental issues are not generally included in psychology curricula, and…

As we engage our students in social studies topics--whether at the college level or the secondary level--we are charged with promoting habits of mind and thought that produce our country's citizens. If we are doing our jobs, we are insistent about finding ways to connect the democracy in our classrooms with the democracy in our culture, and thus…

This study examined social structures that complicate teacher professional development within the context of university and school partnerships in a Western state. Semi-structured interview with participants was the primary data source for conducting an activity systems analysis comparing teacher professional development activities with school…

A Nation at Risk, Goals 2000, and No Child Left Behind are examples of external factors that compel educational leaders at local schools and districts to explore reform initiatives in order to meet federally required results. Because of political mandates to improve student learning and instruction, educational leaders are searching for…

Although teachers may work in the same building for years, they usually have slight knowledge about what goes on in each other's classrooms. In a similar way, there is little knowledge at one school level about what happens at other levels. This book presents a way for teachers to make maps as a way to communicate about curriculum development.…