This case study addresses the use of the "anchored instruction approach" to restructure educational computing courses to enhance future teachers' learning of technology applications in the classroom. A cohort group of 22 preservice teachers from a typical teacher education institution in Southeastern Ohio was involved in the study. The…

Chemistry Is in the News (CIITN) is an innovative project aimed at enhancing higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS) via connecting university-level chemistry to everyday life and real-world issues. The CIITN project and its related Web tools were presented in a workshop to illustrate their conceptual framework, educational potential, and…

In this article we explore the concept of quality in teacher action research by re-examining our participation with science teachers in several different collaborative action research projects. We conducted second-order action research and generated a series reflexive conditions for promoting and ensuring quality action research. We assert that a…

This article explores the influence of grade-level team norms and district and school leadership on teachers' data use. Using an embedded-systems perspective to consider teachers' data use in four schools located in two different districts, the research takes the practitioners' perspective on what constitutes data. Findings indicate that…

In this technologically advanced age, much emphasis is put on collaboration in education at many levels. As a result, faculty co-teaching (collaborative teaching) has grown dramatically. This paper introduces how two instructors from different countries (USA and Turkey), one experienced in online teaching and the other in medical informatics,…

The papers presented in this paper accompany a core report about the Appalachian Math Science Partnership (AMSP) entitled "The Appalachian Math Science Partnership: A Multi-State Umbrella Partnership Promoting Local Mathematics and Science Reform Report." Each of them focuses on an especially effective strategy or component of the AMSP…

This report describes the amount of variance in student achievement that can be attributed to school, teacher, and student-level variables.

This paper examines the practice of online discussion in a course specially tailored for in-service teachers who are pursuing their basic degree qualification at a teacher training institute. Analyses of postings to the asynchronous electronic discussion group were made according to the type of postings as proposed by Poole (2000). Four focus…

Much has been written about collaboration and co-teaching in secondary settings, including the importance of understanding one's partner's teaching approach; determining readiness to co-teach; clarifying roles, responsibilities, and expectations; scheduling shared planning time; and effective communication, including constructive dialogue and…

This newsletter defines teacher leadership and offers concrete ways teachers can step forward, sometimes out of their comfort zones, into leadership roles. In most schools, traditional structures are in place that define certain teachers as leaders such as department heads and grade-level team leaders. Many schools also have a leadership team,…

A limited approach to team teaching at the college level is described and assessed. Two instructors with solo assignments collaborated to teach a single instructional unit across separate sections of an interdisciplinary course. The experience demonstrated that small-scale joint teaching can have significant advantages while avoiding the practical…

To embed ongoing learning opportunities in routine school practices, superintendents must help schools create the collaborative cultures that enable teachers to work together, engage in collective inquiry, and learn from each others' experience. Suggestions for fostering quality staff development, clarifying priorities, and improving capacity are…

Collaborative learning has been gaining momentum as a promising pedagogy in higher education. Research on student collaboration is increasing. However, one arena is often overlooked--faculty collaboration. In this article, a cross-institutional faculty collaboration is presented. The context is faculty collaboration on the design of an…

I clarify in this chapter what Iran can learn from Japan's experience of jugyou kenkyuu(lesson study) model, and what we can apply to the Iranian educational context. The chapter also discusses the process, progress and challenges of incorporating jugyou kenkyuu into Iranian teacher training. I examine how Iranian teachers and school…

Although the participation of administrators in problem-solving consultation teams is frequently mentioned in the literature as an important factor in the effectiveness of those teams, there has been little research into the impact of administrators on such teams. The impact of administrator participation on problem-solving consultation teams…