In this article, the author describes her induction years in high school teaching, reporting the frustration in lacking a suitably matched mentor, and her determination to attend to her own professional growth. Her story reveals characteristics common among "stayers," those who continue beyond their induction years and thrive for a long time as…

This brief is intended to provide State Education Agency (SEA) and Local Education Agency (LEA) educators with a brief overview of key components of Michigan's Integrated Behavior and Learning Support Initiative (MiBLSi), a project designed to help schools develop schoolwide support systems in reading and behavior. The MiBLSi is helping districts…

Determining the ideal academic setting in which students can be successful continues to be one of the primary goals of educators. Is there a best classroom structure in which students can be successful? Although there is research on the academic gains in the block schedule and in traditional departmentalized settings, both of which are common in…

Poverty most likely will always be a concern in the United States, particularly in at-risk populations of the public schools. Many students in poverty enter public schools behind in academic and social skills due to a lack of quality early learning experiences. Regular education teachers work diligently to catch these children up in vital skills;…

In this article, the author addresses classroom teachers, department heads, and supervisors who have direct contact with students and what they learn. They need to tell students, parents, policymakers, and everyone else that social studies is critical and that the NCSS mission statement is not just a nice set of words, but absolutely crucial to…

The idea of teaching physics to ninth-graders, known as "Physics First," has become more and more popular among physics educators in this country. However, introducing ninth-grade physics has been an uphill battle; such a change has a major impact on the students, parents, teachers, and the school administration. Switching to Physics First affects…

In this article we focus on university lecturers' approaches to the service teaching and factors that influence their approaches. We present data obtained from the interviews with 19 mathematics and three physics lecturers along with the observations of two mathematics lecturers' calculus courses. The findings show that lecturers' approaches to…

Mid-career faculty comprise the largest component of the academic workforce. But what do people really know about them? What do they experience? What are their needs? In contrast to the large and growing body of empirical research on their early-career colleagues, the research on them is far from robust, offering relatively few suggestions for how…

The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) has contracted with the Learning and Skills Network to support awareness and take-up of Triple Science GCSEs through the Triple Science Support Programme. This publication provides an introduction to teaching and learning approaches for the extension topics within GCSE Chemistry. It…

This study explores teacher professional learning within the workplace context of a science department community. Workplace learning is considered in terms of the construction and flow of information about science, pedagogy and the relationships of science to the wider community. Implications for establishing sound conditions for teacher workplace…

This document offers a planning tool for grades 3-7 that can be used by regional comprehensive centers, other technical assistance centers, and state departments of education to plan professional development for teachers. It is based on the "National Mathematics Advisory Panel Report" which was published in 2008. The panel synthesized its final…

"Gender Differences at Critical Transitions in the Careers of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Faculty" presents new and surprising findings about career differences between female and male full-time, tenure-track, and tenured faculty in science, engineering, and mathematics at the nation's top research universities. Much of this…

A discussion of conflict in academic departments describes current philosophies in conflict resolution, including a principled approach emphasizing positive benefits. Structures within organizations that inherently create conflict are identified, and various strategies for dealing with conflict are outlined based on one theory of response modes.…

This case study explored sociocultural forces that influenced three 10th grade public high school biology teachers' instructional goals, instructional acts, and identity narratives related to the teaching of evolution. Primary data included field observations of classroom instruction and teacher interviews. Secondary data included informal…

This study considered how physical education teacher education students "perform" their "selves" within subject department offices during the practicum or "teaching practice". The research was framed by a conceptual framework informed by the work of Goffman on "performance" and "front". The findings revealed three common performances across the…