In education, the term "living contradictions" refers to "holding educational values whilst at the same time negating them" in practice (Whitehead, 1993, p. 17), and self-study research often begins with a question surrounding such living contradictions. In this self-study, I implemented an instrumental case study design to…

In this study, it was tried to determine teaching activities that elementary preservice mathematics teachers exhibited in a micro teaching session. Preservice teachers are required to prepare and later present a sample micro teaching session. First of all, they were advised to freely select a topic (or an attainment) of their own intention within…

The purpose of this research study was to explore the impact effective teacher characteristics have on student motivation within the classroom in order to inform Education Preparation Programs (EPPs) with further knowledge regarding how to support and train future teachers. Specifically, this study sought to (1) determine differences in effective…

A key aspect of supporting teachers' learning on a large scale concerns mathematics leaders' practices in designing for and leading high-quality professional development. We report on a retrospective analysis of an initial design experiment aimed at supporting the learning of three math leaders who were charged with supporting the…

In this article we share how a district-level technology integration specialist used literature on implementing student response systems (SRS) for formative assessment, based on Desimone's (2009) core features of professional development design, Guskey's Levels of Professional Development Evaluation (1998, 2000, 2002), and Danielson's Observation…

Profile analyses were used to investigate differences in the self-efficacy growth of teachers with more and less mathematics background as the teachers participated in professional development across two summers. Professional development activities were associated with increases in teachers' self-efficacy; however, without considering mathematics…

Background: This study examined the impact of professional preparation and class structure on sexuality topics taught and use of practice-based instructional strategies in US middle and high school health classes. Methods: Data from the classroom-level file of the 2006 School Health Policies and Programs were used. A series of multivariable…

Teacher effectiveness has been shown to have a greater impact on student achievement than any other single factor. School principals must therefore take measures to ensure that schools are staffed with only the most effective teachers. Teacher effectiveness should be assessed yearly and accurately reflected through teacher evaluation measures.…

The use of recent college graduates as uncertified classroom teachers has increased in recent years, with the growth of Teach for America, alternative certification routes for teachers, and alternative schools for urban children placed at risk. Few studies to date have investigated the effects of using these inexperienced teachers on the quality…

Teacher education in the 21st century is encountering increased scrutiny, added pressure, and escalating external regulations but does not have practical and immediate solutions for improving programs. While reforms in teacher education call for additional and improved clinical practice for candidates, through strengthened partnerships with local…

The purpose of this study was to examine school counselors' perceived role and self-efficacy in managing multiparty student conflict. Literature on conflict resolution in the field of education has not addressed conflicts that take place among three or more students, or multiparty student conflict. Therefore, investigated in this study were middle…

The introduction of middle schooling in Australia has brought about changes to the working conditions of many teachers including finding themselves in teacher teams. The formation of such teams has been identified as critical to Australian middle school reform with teacher teams underpinning several of the fundamental components of a middle school…

This qualitative study examined the experiences of three eighth-grade prealgebra teachers as they planned student sensitive lessons for their ethnoculturally diverse students. The teachers worked in a lesson study group with a diversity consultant, an ESL (English as a second language) teacher who had a variety of multicultural experiences from…

This study was designed to (a) gather band directors' opinions of skills and characteristics important to teaching and (b) examine the relative effectiveness of electronic versus paper survey methods. Survey respondents ranked lists of music, teaching, and personal skills or characteristics in order of importance and answered open-ended items…

Teachers are a combination of who they are and what they've learned--with a bit more emphasis on what they've learned. It helps to be a born comedian or a motivational speaker, but it isn't necessary. What is necessary is a great desire to teach children and knowledge of how to manage student behavior to keep students engaged academically and…