As a result of seeing 100% of the student population, elementary music teachers host more students with disabilities than a general classroom teacher would in his or her class. Depending on the severity of students' disabilities, some require general music lesson alterations. To create the least restrictive environment for students with…

With the recent changes in student demographics in the United States and the development of technology, virtual professional development (VPD) for teachers of English learning students(ELs) has become a valuable means to support teachers and their students. We developed a federally funded, five-year VPD program, Project Massive Open Online…

We first examined the effects of a year-long professional development (PD) programme for elementary science teachers on fifth grade student performance on state-mandated science achievement tests of students from a treatment and a comparison group of teachers in the 2009-2010 academic year. Then, we investigated the longer-term impacts by…

This paper explores the perceived professional development needs of inservice teachers of English-language learners (ELLs) from 10 rural and small districts in the USA. The survey instrument that captured responses from 159 elementary and secondary teachers in Texas was primarily quantitative and was based on the state English as a second language…

Beginning agriculture teachers (n=76) rated their performance and need for inservice training in 163 competencies, then ranked the level of importance of the competencies. Only 4 ranked among the top 15 in both. Mean weighted discrepancy rankings were more congruent with inservice needs in the literature. The discrepancy approach may be a more…

This report addresses various issues related to assessment, explaining that assessment is an integral process in all of Texas's Centers for Professional Development of Teachers (CPDTs). Section 1 explains that CPDTs conduct assessment to improve programs continuously, improve the authenticity of the tasks associated with mastery of teaching,…

This report describes teacher education programs, courses, and school-based experiences being collaboratively planned and implemented in Texas. The programs represent efforts to eliminate dissonance between what preservice teachers are prepared to do and what they are expected to do as student and inservice teachers. The report describes…

The inservice needs of entry-phase agriculture teachers in Texas were examined in a descriptive study that focused on Texas entry-phase agriculture teachers' personal and situational characteristics, their own assessment of their performance on specific competencies, and their need for inservice training on specific competencies. The target…