Engagement in practitioner inquiry by classroom teachers is a promising mechanism for teacher professional learning. While much has been learned about the positive role inquiry can play in traditional professional development efforts, we know less about the impact of inquiry in a rapidly advancing technological age that includes the proliferation…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) emphasize disciplinary literacy by making literacy instruction every teacher's responsibility (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010). The CCSS require content area teachers to adapt curriculum and pedagogy to support disciplinary literacy…

This paper describes in detail a successful training program developed for sessional (part-time or nonpermanent) laboratory demonstrators employed in the Electrical Engineering Department of an Australian university. Such demonstrators play an important role in teaching practical concepts and skills in engineering. The success of the program…

Academics in an engineering school at an Australian university participated in peer observation of a teaching program using a partnership approach. The present case study explains and discusses program aims, design, process and outcomes. The success of the program was dependent on four critical elements: educational leadership; a staged,…

This article describes the middle grades teacher preparation program at Augusta State University in Georgia. It describes the negotiation between the middle school concept and the standardized testing culture of the local schools as the faculty redesigned the undergraduate middle grades program to adequately address both. Ways in which new…

A teacher shortage in Hong Kong in core subjects, such as English, has led to interest in the recruitment and retention of second-career teachers. Drawing upon Wenger's (1998) theory of identity formation and using data from interviews with eight second-career English language teachers in Hong Kong, this paper explores how second-career teachers…

Topics covered include: back-to-basics vs "new math"; history--a guide to pedagogy; does research affect teaching; and a doctor of arts degree for teachers. (MP)

This report comprises a literature review whose purpose is to contextualize current language, literacy and numeracy delivery in Australia, in order to provide a framework for consideration of the current and future professional development needs of the language, literacy and numeracy teaching workforce. The information derived from this literature…

This article discusses how the traditional Maori concept of Hauora (balanced development) can be applied to beginning teacher induction programmes. To develop this idea, several steps were taken. From a nationwide survey, five primary schools were chosen with exemplary induction programmes. Data from interviews and observations indicated that…

This article describes a learning community for early-career faculty in the sciences aimed at course redesign and active-learning. Through findings from surveys, interviews, and observations, program outcomes regarding faculty teaching skills and confidence, understanding of how students learn, and use of assessment are explored. Finally, the…

In 1914-15, the Bureau of Education made a study of kindergarten training schools, the results of which were published in Bulletin, 1916, No. 5. Following the publication of this bulletin, a number of supervisors of kindergartens throughout the United States requested the Bureau of Education to make a study of kindergarten supervision similar to…

This interim report describes the progress of a Florida study to identify teaching competencies for teachers of preschool through grade six. Development and operation of the model for the study consisted of four phases: (1) generating and compiling a list of competencies from classroom teachers, through interviews and classroom observation; (2)…

A program designed to improve learning through improved teaching competencies, the IOTAH program (Instrument for the Observation of Teaching Activities in Higher Education) is reported. This program for instructional improvement involves three stages: introduction, training, and implementation. The introductory stage can be accomplished through…

The automation administrators of 49 recently automated libraries were interviewed regarding staff and user training for the systems. Discussion focuses on training objectives and procedures, timing and effectiveness, problems encountered, and factors necessary for training success. Vendor perspectives on library needs for detailed and customized…

Prior research has documented the failure of both staff development and teacher evaluation practices in schools to serve as sources of accountability and improvement for teachers. Few districts coordinate these two aspects of a human resource management system. Using a concept of organizational control, this study employs a qualitative methodology…