The UK Coalition Government has recently introduced a number of education policies that aim to reform initial teacher development in England. It has argued that the training of new teachers will be improved by giving greater priority to the development of "key teaching skills". This narrowly practical and overly managerial approach to…

The Summer Curriculum Writing Institute (SCWI) supports graduates of a university-based teacher education program during the induction years and beyond with the aim of impacting teacher quality. The purpose of this article is to describe the development, goals, research, and lessons learned during SCWI from 2005-12. The week focuses around the…

Algebraic structures are a necessary aspect of algebraic thinking for K-12 students and teachers. An approach for introducing the algebraic structure of groups and fields through the arithmetic properties required for solving simple equations is summarized; the collective (not individual) importance of these axioms as a foundation for algebraic…

Despite widespread calls for reform in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education, effecting lasting change in instructor practice is challenging to achieve. This article describes the results of a 2-yr research study that involved efforts to develop the pedagogical expertise of a group of anatomy and physiology…

Blended learning (BL) provides an efficient and effective instructional experience. However, adopting a BL approach poses some challenges to faculty; the most important obstacle found in this research is faculty's lack of knowledge regarding the use of technology in their teaching. This challenge prompted the research project focused on improving…

First-year alternatively certified teachers face significant challenges as they attempt to address the complexities of classroom teaching, particularly when they are assigned to teach in urban school settings. As the number of alternatively certified teachers continues to increase, it is important to provide them with professional development…

This document is a summary of the report "What Makes Great Teaching". It argues that improved teacher ­development will positively impact on pupil attainment, particular those from disadvantaged backgrounds. "Developing Teachers" presents five policy recommendations which have been signed by 17 of Britain's leading headteachers…

This article describes a qualitative study of college mathematics and science faculty (n = 6) and their engagement in a reform-based program, Japanese lesson study (LS), to change their teaching practices. LS is a process in which a team of four to six teachers jointly design, teach, observe, analyze, and revise a single class lesson. A series of…

Education is a lifelong process of continuous learning and renewal. This is necessary because of ongoing research and changes in technologies. For educators, the need for training leads to a continual search for learning opportunities from many sources. School administrators routinely provide in-service training. National and state associations…

A rural university and an urban school district developed a professional partnership that focused on promoting quality teaching by improving the skills, knowledge, and disposition of teachers. The major goals of this professional development initiative including the following objectives: first, establish a quality environment for teaching and…

In this article, the authors describe how one group of California teacher educators has responded to the call for high school dropout rates with new thinking and action in regard to making teacher preparation a key strategy for reducing the dropout rates, raising student academic achievement, and eliminating the pervasive inequities in learning…

Learning to systematically analyze the relationship between teaching and student learning is an important but difficult skill to engender in teachers. In this study, we examine how pre-service teachers who were introduced to a framework for analyzing teaching in a video-based teacher education course drew on this tool to analyze their own practice…

A comprehensive adjunct faculty training program is described, whose aim is to improve student perceptions of courses and programs in a private, not-for-profit MBA and Law degree granting university in San Francisco, The program is somewhat novel in that it uses (a) student input from open-ended responses on course evaluations to determine faculty…

This manuscript addresses how post-secondary educators can enhance their teaching effectiveness and student learning outcomes through student assessment. Highlights will include evidence-based practices, teaching style, methodology, and the use of assessment data for university instructors. Primary focus will be data obtained from key stakeholders…

This report was conceived as one of three publications that collectively provide a commentary on research awareness and research use within schools in England. This third report in the series presents findings from a small-scale, detailed study of teachers who are operating as their school's Research Lead. The small scale of the study is…