For six years, teachers in a study group at a Denver inner-city middle school have enjoyed intellectual stimulation, collegiality, and professional growth. In this article, the authors present the success of the endeavor as proof that teachers are more than happy to stretch themselves when they are given the opportunity to direct their own…

The problem of secondary teachers' resistance to becoming teachers of reading is well documented. Unfortunately, the dominant model for many courses and in-service presentations has been transmission--teacher educators presenting knowledge and strategies for improving adolescent literacy and then expecting preservice and practicing teachers to…

Beginning teachers are often given teaching assignments that would challenge even the most skillful veteran teachers. Such assignments can take several forms: teaching in a subject area for which the teacher is not certified; having too many class preparations; "floating" from classroom to classroom; working with low-ability, unmotivated, or…

Middle and secondary public school educators teaching family and consumer sciences (FCS) in a southern state were surveyed to develop a demographic profile and to gather information regarding their satisfaction with the profession and with their way of life, health, leisure activities, and place of residence. Results indicated that the typical FCS…

We report on the construction and application of an instrument entitled the "Science Achievement Influences Survey" to assess combined effects of student attitudes about science, peer interaction, and home support, and the frequency of student-centred and teacher-centred instructional practices on student achievement. Controlling for pre-test…

Over the last 15 years, interest in student performance and teacher qualifications has intensified among educational policymakers and researchers. During this time period, research has accumulated that links student achievement to the qualifications of teachers. Two central measures of elementary and secondary teacher qualifications are teachers'…

This article describes how the author, a sixth-grade teacher at Parkview Middle School in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, used the NCAA's "March Madness" basketball tournament to make connections between students' lives and the curriculum. He found that he could use the students' interest in the tournament as a springboard for a variety of…

This article investigates China's middle school and secondary school teacher expectations of student book use as an aspect of learning environments. A questionnaire was used to probe the following teacher expectations: physical accessibility of books, homework, mastery of texts and types of extra-curricular reading materials. Results showed…

This study describes the influences that one professional learning community had on teacher resilience, teacher retention, and school reform initiatives. Teachers at a low performing, urban middle school in the Southeastern United States implemented professional learning communities as a reform initiative to assist with staff development. This…

The 2012 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education was designed to provide up-to-date information and to identify trends in the areas of teacher background and experience, curriculum and instruction, and the availability and use of instructional resources. A total of 7,752 science and mathematics teachers in schools across the United…

Investment in educational technology has increased rapidly in recent years and many observers have begun to question whether, and how technology is being used as a teaching and learning tool. In order to address this issue, this research used survey data collected from 1,404 "middle and high school teachers" in 52 schools across 22…

In this article, the author discusses how to teach the 2006 elections in middle or high school social studies and provides ways and some websites for social studies teachers at all grade levels to help teach about the 2006 midterm elections. One way to teach about the midterm elections would be to develop individual or group assignments that focus…

For five years running, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has tracked states' teacher policies, preparing a detailed and thorough compendium of teacher policy in the United States on topics related to teacher preparation, licensure, evaluation, career advancement, tenure, compensation, pensions and dismissal. The "2011 State…

For five years running, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has tracked states' teacher policies, preparing a detailed and thorough compendium of teacher policy in the United States on topics related to teacher preparation, licensure, evaluation, career advancement, tenure, compensation, pensions and dismissal. The "2011 State…

For five years running, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has tracked states' teacher policies, preparing a detailed and thorough compendium of teacher policy in the United States on topics related to teacher preparation, licensure, evaluation, career advancement, tenure, compensation, pensions and dismissal. The "2011 State…