Introduces a theme issue on the Saber-Tooth Project, an ongoing reform effort involving a university and school district that collaborate to improve middle school physical education by improving teaching conditions and engaging teachers in professional development emphasizing curriculum improvement. The monograph explains the nature of…

Surveyed Canadian teachers to determine leadership sources for implementing new programs and teaching practices. Results indicated that principals were the most widely identified source of leadership in implementing change. There was ambivalence about the perceived effect of principal-assistant principal teams. Teachers considered informal…

Presents a literary answer to the question of how literary theory informs educational practice. Suggests how professors in education, English, foreign language and library sciences might learn to listen to one another and combine their scholarly experiences to better inform the literary practices in all classrooms. Explores the topic of literary…

Bob Goerke, principal of Jacksonville (Oregon) Elementary School and Oregon's National Distinguished Principal for 1999, raised student achievement by encouraging his staff to collaborate on articulating the curriculum. Proceeding gradually, he has encouraged joint planning, team teaching, and ability grouping. A blend of warmth, daily classroom…

Describes a school-university collaboration which tackled issues of mentoring, writing, and publication, bringing teachers, professors, and administrators together for research. Participants' action research resulted in a major book publication on new directions for mentoring and creating cultures of synergy. Strategies for developing and…

Discusses reflective practice based on the research orientation of a European network, highlighting the interaction between reflection and partnership which generates reflective practice and discussing: kinds of reflection, theorization, and research devices suitable for reflective practice processes; kinds of teacher-researcher partnerships that…

Qualitative research methods were used to investigate the perceptions of three teams of general and special education teachers concerning their educational roles and collaborative efforts in the inclusion of children with severe disabilities in general education classrooms. Findings indicated that initially discrete role boundaries were observed,…

Describes a collaboration between two high school English teachers that linked sophomore and senior English classes in using literacy for real purposes in the "Magazines for Change" project. Discusses the process of collaboration between the teachers, and describes the project itself. Notes the many benefits that resulted, and describes how…

Describes the shift to portfolio assessment in Juneau (Alaska) schools, including teacher-developed assessment guidelines for language arts in elementary school and the use of portfolios in a special interdisciplinary high school program. Lists items that the district requires in elementary language-arts portfolios and recommendations to other…

Investigated relationships among confidence and competence and performance in variable collaborative groups of preservice elementary educators who worked to solve four mathematical problems that permitted several solutions and had varying degrees of difficulty. Results indicated that their confidence was relatively unaffected by problem difficulty…

University researchers investigated how to organize teacher preparation so that competent teachers would emerge. They created partnerships with elementary and secondary schools serving nonnative English speakers. Partnerships articulated specific goals envisioned by all participants and emphasized outcomes and achievements in gauging success.…

Teachers at a rural Appalachian elementary school made the curriculum more responsive to students by incorporating storytelling, theater, and music. Students interviewed community members, told their stories in school and community, created and performed plays based on them, and provided workshops for classmates. Teacher perspectives, supporting…

Discussion of staff development in schools focuses on the role of school librarians. Topics include job-embedded staff development that emphasizes collaboration, including case studies, networking, and using technology for professional development; models of staff development; and effective approaches to staff development, including active teacher…

Describes how a literacy coach worked with two content area teachers to revise the way they think about and implement instruction to enhance students' reading and writing. Shares two teacher inquiries: the experiences of a ninth-grade science teacher and his students as they developed and rated a class-written expository essay; and a…

This article discusses the involvement of general education teachers in service delivery for students with disabilities and explores 20 related issues, including: current practice-related concerns, legal issues, effective instructional practices, behavior management, and challenges. The need for teacher preparation programs to improve the capacity…