This article speaks to classroom reality issues that may supersede any ideals, funding and expectations. We document a journey regarding the implementation of arts integration for six teachers in a small rural school in New Zealand. Arts Integration is a pedagogical approach to teaching and learning that employs arts activities to teach concepts…

This book presents 28 practical case studies in detail and 49 case studies in brief. The collection of these case studies focuses on one or more aspects of exploration and practice on the following topics: smart campus and smart classroom, resource construction and sharing, new teaching mode, comprehensive quality evaluation of students, teacher…

Improvements in teachers' pedagogical content knowledge are critical in improving science education but may be insufficient to support and sustain instructional changes. This chapter describes how contextual factors influenced teachers' use of research-based instructional strategies learned in professional development. The research draws on…

"Math Expressions" is a curriculum for students in prekindergarten through sixth grade that aims to build students' conceptual understanding of mathematics and to develop fluency in mathematical problem solving and computation. The curriculum encourages student learning of mathematics through real-world situations, visual supports such…

"Math Expressions" is a curriculum for students in prekindergarten through sixth grade that aims to build students' conceptual understanding of mathematics and to develop fluency in mathematical problem solving and computation. The curriculum encourages student learning of mathematics through real-world situations, visual supports such…

Schools in rural South Australia are remote from opportunities for students and teachers to engage in music learning and professional development. This aim of this research project was to investigate the degree to which partnerships between rural schools and non-government organisations (NGOs) can be effective and meet this need. Anderson and…

Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world (World Bank, 2014). Yet, our experiences working with rural schools suggest that the Malawi education system may be far ahead of many developed nations, including the United States, in terms of their practical and philosophical commitment to inclusive education for all children, including…

Reviews the Basic Education and Life Skills program, which involves University of the South Pacific member countries, highlighting teacher involvement in collaborative action research to promote professional development at the school level. The paper describes the nature of teachers' involvement and shares insights from their experiences as…

The XX IDEA annual conference has been focused and reflected on different ways and means of meeting various kinds of methodological challenges, new technologies and multi-media developments, newly emerging partnerships and collaboration between emerging sectors on one hand and between the institutions functioning with similar objectives and…

This article describes the first year of a 3-year professional development program designed to train two rural elementary schools to implement a model for preventing reading failure. The model provides a continuum of instruction from the general reading curriculum to intensive reading instruction for students with diverse learning needs.…

A program promoting international education in South Dakota's rural elementary schools has provided staff development opportunities and assistance in curriculum modification based on information about the status of international education in the schools and student knowledge of the world. The program succeeds where key teachers and administrators…

This study examined the incentives and obstacles to instructional improvement perceived by 27 rural elementary teachers who participated in a cooperative school district/university language arts staff development project. Participants were almost all female, and averaged 42 years of age and 12 years of teaching experience. Most had lived in the…

This document provides a research study of a 10-year elementary school teacher science staff development project, "The Science in Rural California Teacher Enhancement Project." The study investigated the long term effects on teacher participants 3 to 5 years after project contact: beliefs about science, confidence levels about teaching…

Common strategies to assist at-risk students are remediation and special programs, but these strategies are difficult to accomplish in small rural schools. A more effective strategy for rural school districts may be to improve curriculum and teacher instructional skills, but curriculum development is labor intensive. This paper examines a…

The use of positive behavior supports (PBS) based on functional behavioral assessment (FBA) has produced dramatic improvements in problem behaviors of challenging students. This approach is a long-term strategy to reduce inappropriate behavior, teach more appropriate behavior, and provide contextual supports necessary for successful outcomes. Yet…