When one hears the term "coach" one often thinks of someone standing on the sideline of an athletic field with a whistle, and a clipboard. An instructional coach is someone who also cheers teachers on, providing guidance and support in order to move teachers forward in their practice. Much like their students, teachers also benefit from…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the conditions and challenges that facilitate teacher professional learning through the implementation of pedagogical mentoring (PM) within the Chilean school context. Design/methodology/approach: This study employed a qualitative methods approach, utilizing an instrumental case study. As the…

Teachers are required to work with data on a daily basis to assess the effectiveness of their teaching strategies, but may not approach it as research. This paper presents a reflective discussion of how and when a professional development team used an action research project to help 12 K-6 teachers explore the effectiveness of reform based Nature…

A challenge that professional development coordinators and instructional leaders face is designing and implementing professional development that is the most effective for improving teaching and learning in their school. To determine what is the perceptions and beliefs of elementary teachers' value of and responses to their professional…

Science IDEAS is an evidence-based model that reflects interdisciplinary research findings that support the integration of literacy (e.g., reading comprehension) within science instruction in grades K-5. Presented is a framework for planning integrated science and literacy instruction in which six elements (hands-on investigations, reading,…

Analyzing student work can help teachers improve the teaching and learning of mathematics. Fortunately, the four authors have experienced professional development that supports teachers' professional growth and provides tools to begin the challenge of analyzing student work. However, as they began to assume leadership roles in their schools and…

One of the largest initiatives using coaching has been Reading First, a federal project whose purpose is to improve reading outcomes for students in low-performing K-3 schools. The present study addressed two questions: (1) Who becomes a reading coach, and what background, skills, and qualifications do coaches bring to their jobs? and (2) How do…

This highly practical guide is grounded in the authors' experience setting up and running a successful professional development program to improve K-3 reading instruction. The book systematically describes how professional development works: how sessions are organized, what they contain, routines and procedures, and the roles of each participant.…

This report presents findings from the third and final year of the Reading First Impact Study (RFIS), a congressionally mandated evaluation of the federal government's initiative to help all children read at or above grade level by the end of third grade. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 established Reading First (RF) and mandated its…