Today's students are often called "digital-age learners"--reflecting their technological savvy and free-agent approach to learning. With their iPods, iPhones, computer games, social media pages, and text messaging, these digital-age students have access to resources and knowledge beyond traditional school structures and practices. These…

Never before in human history has it been more important for a person to be geographically literate. But the unsettling reality is that many teachers and most students are not yet geographically literate. Currently, American students are not even provided opportunities to learn enough geography to understand the very basic aspects of the world in…

The 2009 Professional Development Schools National Conference recognized the professional development school relationship between North Springs Elementary School and the University of South Carolina for its outstanding collaborative accomplishments, naming it one of the three recipients of the first-ever National Association for Professional…

As innovation has become one of the most important competitive advantages, academic practitioner's interest in the matter has increased. But, still the question "why lots of organizations fail in their path of article to be innovative" is remained unanswered. In this, among many factors influencing innovation capacity of an organization;…

Fundraising traditionally involves selling. This paper explores the merits of selling technology services provided by a technology oriented student club to members of a campus community. This club activity puts into practice learning theories presented in the literature. Beyond fundraising, this activity yields many additional benefits to the…

In response to budgetary constraints, a new staffing structure, the Pilot Leadership Plan, was proposed for California's 4-H Youth Development Program. County clusters were formed, each led by a coordinator. The plan was piloted for 2 years to provide insight into how county clustering could support Extension staff to increase and enhance program…

How can one capture the good practice within the further education sector and identify how best to develop the workforce? This conundrum has taxed government and professionals within the sector for decades. The introduction of Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (PTLLS), the Certificate (CTLLS) and Diploma (DTLLS) in 2007 was the…

Schools and districts are inundated with data from a variety of sources. As a result, using data to guide instructional planning can be daunting for teachers and schools. While schools and districts are dealing with shrinking budgets and growing demands for high student achievement, an investment in school-based coaching can provide exponential…

Teachers often complain about the professional development opportunities. And it is not uncommon for absenteeism to increase among teachers and staff during in-service days. The biggest problem that professional development has encountered is that it is usually developed as an isolated requirement, with no real connection to daily teaching and…

The professional pipeline represents a developmental perspective for fostering leadership capacity in schools and districts, from identification of potential talent during the recruitment phase to ensuring career-long learning through professional development. An intentional and mindful approach to supporting the development of educational leaders…

There is some evidence to indicate that chronically low-performing schools, whether improving student performance or not, often report pursuing substantially similar policies, programs, and practices. However, while chronically low-performing schools may pursue similar school improvement strategies, there is some evidence that the level and…

In this paper, the progress of a three-year cooperative project investigating the current state of TPD (teacher professional development) in Sweden and China in the area of TPD and ICT (information and communication technologies) is summarized. A brief introduction to the field of TPD is given, and thereafter, ICT is related to what in the project…

A growing body of knowledge exists which describes the rewards and importance of mentors in the professional development of young men and women, particularly with relation to their interactions in professional and organizational settings. Research in both educational settings and the workplace indicates that students and employees alike are more…

This is a nationwide six-year data study of law enforcement training and professional development in relationship to workplace productivity. Why do we care about law enforcement training and professional development? Because the law enforcement environment is not standing still. Unlawful activity, and in particular drug trafficking strategies,…

In an effort to increase writing scores and improve knowledge about historical events, a school district in the western region of the United States trained several teachers through the Document Based Question (DBQ) program. The rationale for this study was to explore the perceptions of elementary teachers who participated in this training in order…