Improving inclusive middle school science teachers' vocabulary instruction is a critical step toward helping those professionals support the learning needs of all students. In this Institute of Education Sciences (IES)-funded project, inclusive science teachers received professional development using elements of a multimedia-based approach called…

Online professional development offers opportunities for growth to teachers who may not be able to participate otherwise due to constraints. These constraints include, but are not limited to, time and travel distance. This document is a narrative review of relevant literature as it relates to the evolution of teacher professional development. This…

In this paper, we explore middle school science teachers' learning of inquiry-based instructional strategies through reflection on practice teaching sessions during a summer enrichment program with middle level students. The reflection sessions were part of a larger year-long inquiry professional development program in which teachers learned…

Teacher teams are increasingly common in urban schools. In this study, we analyze teachers' responses to teams in six high-poverty schools. Teachers used two criteria to assess teams' goodness of fit in meeting the demands of their work: whether their teams helped them teach better and whether the team contributed to a better school. Their…

This paper describes a faculty development project in which 12 teacher educators used the Cognitive Coaching model to engage in critical reflections about their teaching. Each identified an aspect of their teaching they wanted to improve and a colleague to serve as coach. Participants engaged in Cognitive Coaching cycles, consisting of planning…

Recent legislation and accountability efforts in K-12 schools have increased the need to support and maintain high-quality teachers through enhanced professional development and teacher training efforts. As districts and schools seek new and innovative ways to provide professional learning opportunities that are real-time and effective,…

Through a randomized controlled trial, this mixed-methods study evaluated changes in elementary science teachers' understandings, confidence, and classroom implementation of problem-based learning (PBL), inquiry, and nature of science (NOS) instruction following participation in a professional development (PD) as well as the components of the PD…

How can educators work together more effectively to improve professional practice in a way that enhances student performance? The answer, says author Pam Robbins, involves combining collaborative activities and peer coaching--teachers supporting teachers. This book describes how any school can implement these proven practices and experience…

The aim of this study is to evaluate a continuing professional development (CPD) program designed to improve teachers' professional competences about the nature of science (NOS) by using a new evaluation perspective. The researchers followed a year long CPD about NOS with the voluntary attendance of 18 middle school science teachers and their…

This study explored the perspectives of mathematics teacher educator-researchers (MTE-Rs) on the use of theory in facilitating teacher growth. We adopted the framework of the theory-centered scholarship triangle (Silver & Herbst, 2007) to probe the underlying meanings of perspectives on theory use expressed by MTE-Rs. Qualitative analysis…

Participation in professional development activities is important for teachers to continuously improve their knowledge and skills. However, teachers differ in their attitude towards learning activities. This paper examined how different goal orientation profiles are related to participation in professional development activities (acquiring…

Faculty development efforts for supporting online instructors represent a growing concern for higher education administrators. Providing online faculty with enriching experiences designed to improve practice, combat isolation, and share knowledge and resources is a challenge. This review examines the use of a community of practice (CoP) approach…

Worldwide interest in Japanese Lesson Study as a vehicle to improve mathematics teaching practice through professional learning has left largely unanswered questions about the extent to which it can be replicated elsewhere. This paper reports on a small-scale research project, "Implementing structured problem-solving mathematics lessons…

In Western cultures, subjectivity has often been seen as the "black sheep" of educational research because of its heavy emphasis on objectivity. Consequently many research initiatives in education share the assumption that objective reasoning should play a central role. However, mentoring teachers' practice improvement research often…

This What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) report, part of the WWC's Teacher Excellence topic area, explores the effects of the "eMINTS Comprehensive Program," referred to as "eMINTS" in this report, on student achievement. The strong influence of teachers on student outcomes, as well as the variation in teacher effectiveness, has led…