Looking across the papers of this special issue, Volume 48, Number 2 and Volume 49, Number 1, this commentary paper suggests that by attempting to set stages of teacher effectiveness, collectively these five papers contribute toward making a step from exploring if teachers matter for student learning to understanding how teachers could be…

This article is excerpted from Marshall Project staff writer and author, Dana Goldstein's 2014 book, "The Teacher Wars: A History of America's Most Embattled Profession." It begins by describing Goldstein's experience traveling as an education reporter in the late 2000s and the incredible amount of political scrutiny under which the…

This commentary on the special issue on data use highlights the distinctions between data systems intended to improve the performance of school staff and those intended to hold schools and districts accountable for outcomes. It advises researchers to be alert to the differences in the policy logics connected with each approach.

Working on teaching as a collective practice--understanding it, specifying it, and improving it--is crucially important and too often ignored. But setting up a choice between improving teaching and improving teachers is problematic for several reasons. To begin with, it seems that the very methods Hiebert and Morris outline for improving teaching…

In this article, Heather C. Hill and Pam Grossman discuss the current focus on using teacher observation instruments as part of new teacher evaluation systems being considered and implemented by states and districts. They argue that if these teacher observation instruments are to achieve the goal of supporting teachers in improving instructional…

The authors comment on the article by Morris and Hiebert in three ways. First, they add thoughts about why improvement efforts often focus on teachers, rather than teaching. Second, they offer evidence from U.S. lesson study research that focus on teaching can improve both students' learning and teachers' learning. Finally, they suggest that the…

As both Friedman (2007) and Wagner (2008) have eloquently emphasized in recent years, children need to learn more complex material in preparation for further education and work in the twenty-first century. Teachers, therefore, must learn instructional approaches that develop the knowledge and skills students need to succeed in an increasingly…

The editors of this issue of the "Journal for Teacher Education" invited experienced scholars working in different teacher education fields and research traditions to share their bold ideas drawn from personal understandings of their fields and research. The new editorial team for the "Journal of Teacher Education" has published these scholars'…

This paper explicates the elements of several policy instruments used in Connecticut, the political conditions under which they were chosen, and their intended targets and expected effects on teacher quality and student learning. The purpose of the paper is to explain how the Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) and the Connecticut State Department…

For about two years the Rochester City School District has eliminated much of the teachers' mandatory staff development time. In years past students would be released almost an hour early once a week to create time for staff development. Due to such issues as low test scores, numerous retirements, and many newly adopted reform programs the city…

Because there is a critical problem with the deep structure of traditional staff development (which cannot produce routinely successful teachers), change is needed. In fully effective staff development, the approach focuses on an internship with true master teachers. After presenting examples of powerful staff development, this article discusses…

Four authors give their views on the recent teacher education reform reports. Topics include (1) issues that led to teacher education reform, (2) questions the reports raise, and (3) problems raised by the report recommendations and possible solutions. (CH)

The national conference "Policies, Practices, and Research in Teacher Education: Beyond the Looking Glass" and various research centers are working to improve the quality of education by improving teacher education. Several recommendations are offered. (DF)

Examines the effect of the educational reform movement and changes in the evaluation system on issues dealing with teacher development and retention. Recent events in Texas are used to explain how some issues, such as recertification testing, may be dealt with and to identify other issues that still need resolution. (GEA)

Educators involved in staff development share insights about changes in the field over 25 years, discussing staff development as a professional function, reflections from a founder of the National Staff Development Council, professional advances, staff development as a major force for educational change, and blending individual development with…