Recent research efforts (Schmidt et al. in "The preparation gap: teacher education for middle school mathematics in six countries," MSU Center for Research in Mathematics and Science Education, 2007) demonstrate that teacher development programs in high-performing countries offer experiences that are designed to develop both mathematical…

In addressing the nation's need for a more technologically-literate society, the Rutgers University Research Experience for Teachers in Engineering (RU RET-E) is designed to: (1) engage middle and high school math and science teachers in innovative "green" engineering research during the summer, and (2) support teachers in integrating…

The purpose of this exploratory study was to analyze the writing experiences of eighth-grade students in three social studies classrooms while using a Web 2.0 online writing workspace. Participants included one social studies teacher and 69 eighth-grade students in a selective admission public high school. Furthermore, three of the eighth-grade…

Increasing the rigor of learning tasks to align with the expectations in the Common Core State Standards presents challenges for many educators, particularly for middle and high school teachers of nonproficient readers. In this article, the authors describe a number of these challenges and identify four steps that together, create a systematic…

Background: Sexuality education teachers' perspectives are important to gain a full understanding of the issues surrounding teaching this subject. This study uses a statewide sample of public school teachers to examine what sexuality education content is taught, what barriers teachers face, and which barriers are associated with teaching specific…

Over the past several years, school bullying has received an increasing amount of media attention. The varying definitions and perceptions of bullying can make it difficult to identify and implement change. Researchers suggest that teachers have a difficult time identifying bullying, but not defining it. Specifically, teachers tend to overlook…

The purpose of this study is to understand how teachers make sense of data from a complex set of reading assessments and how inferences they derive from the data affect decisions about instruction. There are two key research questions--1) How does a teacher's developing expertise with a complex set of assessments (assessment literacy) affect the…

The strengths and talents of diverse gifted learners must be supported in culturally responsive middle and high school classrooms. Secondary social studies teachers can use teaching strategies to provide an enriched experience in U.S. history classrooms that will engage and intellectually challenge diverse gifted learners. The model proposed by…

Lesson study developed organically in Japan over a period of 140 years, whereas in Indonesia, lesson study was introduced as a top-down initiative. This research explores beyond general cultural differences by illustrating how the daily concerns of teachers and their social interactions differ in Japan and in the case of an Indonesian school, the…

Teacher learning communities are hailed by many as vehicles for reforming and elevating the professional status of teaching. While much research explores teacher community as a venue for measurable gains, our research examines the orientation of practitioner inquiry toward critical debate about effective instruction. Specifically, our study…

In this descriptive study, we examined the influences and experiences motivating students to enter college-level music schools as reported by a population of precollegiate students auditioning (but not yet accepted) to music education degree programs. As a follow-up to a published pilot study, this research was designed to quantify the various…

Models of professional development for teachers have been criticized for not being embedded in the context in which teachers are familiar, namely their own classrooms. This paper discusses an adapted-Continuous Practice Improvement model, which qualitative findings indicate was effective in facilitating the transfer of creative and innovative…

Standardized teaching observation protocols have become increasingly popular in evaluating teaching in recent years. One of such protocols that has gained substantial interest from researchers and practitioners is the Classroom Assessment Scoring System-Secondary (CLASSS). According to the developer, CLASS-S has three domains of teacher-student…

Queensland rural and remote schools have difficulty in attracting experienced, in-field mathematics teachers. Thus, when such teachers arrive, much is expected of them to increase the mathematics knowledge of students. This paper looks at one such teacher who, against the high expectations placed upon him as an in-field teacher, experienced…

Teacher flow experience is a phenomenon occurring when a teacher becomes totally absorbed into a given task at hand. The clearest indication of teacher flow is action-awareness merging; or, the degree in which an activity becomes so spontaneous and automatic that teachers lose conscious awareness of themselves as they perform their duties. This…