This qualitative study explored the development of classroom teacher identities as in situ teacher educators through a multi-year, school-university partnership. Seven focus group interviews conducted across three years with educators from high-need, urban schools were analyzed using Wenger's theory of Communities of Practice (CoP). We found that…

We examine how teacher leaders (TLs), working in a low-income urban elementary school, supported their colleagues to learn how to collect quality formative data and to discuss it in collaborative conversations in order to make their students' learning visible. The TLs faced challenges reflecting consequences resulting from the district's high…

This article explores the tensions surrounding teaching linguistically diverse students that are illuminated during a teacher inquiry group that has an explicit focus on working with English learners (ELs). The discussion is focused on the tensions teachers encounter when trying to make sense of the complexity of working with large numbers of ELs…

The urban school context is rife with descriptors that frame children's lives in deficit ways: "under-prepared," "below grade level," "limited English proficient." In this study, I reframe my perception of the life of one child in my second-grade class to better understand the funds of knowledge he brings to school each day. The data include…

Recently developed Professional Development School standards underscore the importance of professional learning community, inquiry, shared decision-making and a focus on student learning. These standards closely mirror the goals of "Critical Friends Groups," a significant movement in education to improve student achievement through…