The rapport among teachers can be a significant determinant of educational quality and workplace atmosphere. A practicum project sought to improve professional communication among staff at an urban, public elementary school where teachers did not have opportunities to meaningfully interact with one another. The staff in this school consisted of a…

This bibliography contains approximately 80 abstracts of publications, dated from 1991 through 1996, concerned with the provision of educational services for students with disabilities in inclusive settings. Each one-page reference includes bibliographic information (author, title, publication date, journal, publisher, place of publication);…

This paper describes the outcomes of a study that tested a path model designed to predict the quality of instructional interactions between teachers and students in 46 heterogeneous general elementary education classrooms in 14 schools. The quality of instruction interactions was measured for three groups of students, students with disabilities,…

This book offers a theoretical framework and practical guidance for creating professional learning communities in schools. It proposes to renew the capacity of the school as a whole to produce positive results for all children. Part 1, "Building Professional Learning Communities: The Cornerstones," discusses the concepts and assumptions…

A team of graduate students and educational administration professors, as part of a field-based doctoral program, discovered the "split and fit" culture during an evaluation of the school's Continuous Progress Primary Program (CPPP). According to Pascale (1990), "split and fit" can work to an organization's benefit. Fit…

This briefing paper discusses integrated curriculum, an approach to curriculum that educators believe will help students draw upon their school learning when facing everyday challenges. Integrated curriculum refers to the fusion of knowledge from different disciplines; the approach to learning and teaching from a variety of world views,…

This paper presents a model of professional development using collaborative coaching and networking which has been used to improve online instructor effectiveness. Components of the model are presented in the context of a ten-year-old faculty development program at a private university in the Southeast. A collaborative coaching checklist is also…

How do you transform your own practice, and the practice of your peers? How do you act as a change agent in a positive, open dialogue with peers? The author seeks to explore this complex, often difficult issue, hoping to encourage others to look at their practice, and the practice of their peers, and ask: "Can we do better?" Can we…

Under the leadership of State Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum, with the support of the South Carolina Department of Education's Division of Teaching Quality (DTQ) and the South Carolina Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention and Advancement (CERRA), South Carolina became only the second state in the nation to study teacher…

Respect and communication. That's what teachers and paraprofessionals say makes an effective classroom team. In speaking with paraprofessionals and teachers, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has gathered several tips about how to make working together work. These tips include: (1) Creating a healthy, open relationship between teacher and…

Just as middle schoolers are "wired" to learn in active, hands-on ways, this book is wired to help teachers spark a vital connection to these students to keep them tuned-in to science. "Doing Good Science in Middle School" combines practical insights about adolescent learners with what master teachers know about how to shift from passive,…

Increasingly, third parties are working with schools and providing a coach (a skilled educator external to a school) who helps to facilitate reform. This paper explores some of the complexities of coaching by presenting a case study of a coach in her first year of facilitating math and science reform in a pseudonymous middle school in a Boston…

This study focuses on elementary schools, where it is critical that students develop foundational knowledge and skills in preparation for later advanced coursework. For the study, McREL selected a sample of high-needs elementary (PreK/K?6) schools, defined as moderate- to high-poverty, with 50 percent or more of students eligible for free or…

This evaluation report summarizes Year 4 of the Math and Science Academy (MSA), an initiative of the Northern New Mexico Council on Excellence in Education (NNMCEE). The report begins with an overview of the project and its objectives, and then outlines the research questions and methods used to carry out the evaluation. Findings from the Year 4…

With updated language and references to the 2005 revision of the Code of Ethical Conduct, this book, like the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct, seeks to inform, not prescribe, answers to tough questions that teachers face as they work with children, families, and colleagues. To help everyone become well acquainted with the Code and use it in one's…