Recent efforts to help teachers improve have centered on teacher evaluation. This qualitative dissertation explored how eight teachers from one middle school described and understood improving their practice Additionally, this study used purposeful developmental sampling to explore how, if at all, participants' way of knowing (meaning their…

Growing concerns of diminishing teacher satisfaction in the workplace and a lack of support in their craft should be a topic of discussion for all school leaders. How do leaders help teachers grow and develop while also maintaining a strong level of support? This research study addresses this question through the process of classroom walkthroughs…

This study examined the teacher observation cycle to understand the effect of observer knowledge, observer effort, observer power, and school culture on teachers' perceptions of whether the observation process helped them grow, implement strategies, or increase student learning. The concepts of power and expertise were defined by blending the…

This action research study focused on the use of an instructional coaching model to support teachers in the use of Marzano's nine research-based instructional strategies at a low performing Title 1 middle school. The intervention was carried out over five and a half -month period and was aimed at improving teachers' classroom instruction. The…

Individuals involved in the profession of teaching continue to leave the educational profession. This has an adverse effect on the quality of education for the students and increased financial costs for school districts. School districts are in the process of training new teachers that have not attained a traditional education degree in the…

The United States is facing an unprecedented teacher shortage. With many studies estimating that 17-33% of teachers leave the profession within their first five years of starting a career, something needs to change to keep new teachers in the classroom. This study evaluates the effectiveness of peer observation as a learning tool to supplement the…

Beginning with the 2010-2011 school year the North Carolina State Board of Education (SBE) mandated the use of the North Carolina Teacher Evaluation Process (Evaluation Process) for use in all public school systems in the state to conduct teacher observations and evaluations. The Evaluation Process replaced the Teacher Performance Appraisal…

Enrollments in blended learning programs are growing, creating a challenge to find educators who understand blended learning pedagogy. The purpose of this study was to identify and understand the challenges and pedagogical transformations of elementary educators who recently adopted blended learning. The concerns-based adoption model provided a…

Professional development training raises many concerns in today's U.S. education system. Each year, education systems change. Understanding these change efforts provides school districts the opportunity to be successful in their efforts. Today's students no longer seem to benefit from one instructional approach and need an enhancement in their…

The purpose of this study is to contribute to existing research on teacher supervision, instructional leadership, and teacher reflectivity and teacher reflexivity by examining: teachers' personal perceptions and reflections about improving instructional effectiveness through observations of their own lessons when using a standards-based appraisal…

This study explored the relationship between mathematics teachers' participation in professional development and subsequent changes in their instructional practices. This professional development aimed to help teachers to implement high-level tasks through the use of the "five practices": anticipating, monitoring, selecting, and…

This is a study of teachers' authentic professional learning at a public school in Poudre School District in northern Colorado. At Polaris Expeditionary Learning School, teachers and administrators have developed a form of school-based instructional rounds referred to herein as PLC rounds (professional learning community rounds). In PLC rounds,…

In Professional Learning Communities, educators collaborated and focused on ways to improve student learning. Teacher practice was one key component for improving student learning and was the focus of this study. Through the use of a collective case study, the researcher examined how teacher practice was affected through the implementation of…

This study focused on improving teaching through professional development. Identifying and designing teacher-based innovative professional development (integrating music into mathematics) resulted in an improved mathematical concept at Jaclyn Public School (a pseudonym). The target population for this action research study is drawn from an…

This qualitative study examines a model of instructional coaching in a middle school using interviews and observations of both teachers and their coaches. During the 2012-2013 school year, Creekside Middle School implemented a new model of instructional coaching that differed from the traditional model of coaching; it focused on student learning…