This article examines the design of a professional development model that aims to improve student achievement. This model has been designed by combining and supplementing elements from school-improvement literature and existing professional development models. Existing models from two largely independent approaches to professional development of…

New science teachers should be equipped with the ability to integrate and design the curriculum and technology for innovative teaching. How to integrate technology into pre-service science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge is the important issue. This study examined the impact on a transformative model of integrating technology and peer…

The increasing need to learn English worldwide leads to the rapid development in the field of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). Teachers in this profession are required to reach a much higher level of professionalism now, and their in-service professional development can be an effective approach to updating their professional learning…

An experiential approach to professional development (EPD) allowed Spanish teachers opportunities to improve their practice through demonstration, observation, collaboration, fieldwork, and reflection. As result of "experiential" professional development, Burke (2012) found that teachers' knowledge about communicative language teaching…

The implementation of authentic learning elements at education institutions in five countries, eight online courses in total, is examined in this paper. The International Virtual Benchmarking Project (2009-2010) applied the elements of authentic learning developed by Herrington and Oliver (2000) as criteria to evaluate authenticity. Twelve…

This article reports on a 4-year longitudinal study of the effects of Literacy Collaborative (LC), a school-wide reform model that relies primarily on the one-on-one coaching of teachers as a lever for improving student literacy learning. Kindergarten through second-grade students in 17 schools were assessed twice annually with DIBELS and Terra…

This case study documented ways that participants in an urban high school collaborated to develop a Connected Coaching approach to literacy learning in the content areas. Analysis of interviews, observations, and archival documents provided detailed descriptions of ways the literacy coach and teachers worked together to integrate content concepts…

Administrators need intense support in their early years in their jobs to master the demands of the position and to emerge as effective leaders for their schools. This article reports on a leadership coaching program offered by a university to support graduates as they transition to new school leadership roles. First year research results of the…

The study investigated a coach's use of a theoretical framework called the Model of Mastery to assist three teachers in becoming self-regulated in the teaching of writing workshop by moving them through three settings: acquisition, consolidation, and consultation. The goal of the coach was to assist teachers in developing expertise in procedural,…

Math coaches play a vital role in strengthening math instruction and learning in schools. However, without a collegial relationship with the teachers they are trying to help, it is difficult to foster productive collaborations that lead to better teaching practice and increased student achievement. This resource helps coaches confidently clarify,…

This article features the Dysart Unified School District in Surprise, Arizona and discusses how the district developed a long-term professional development plan. The authors present an example that highlights what is becoming common practice in the district: supporting teachers through differentiated, job-embedded professional learning, using…

Despite well-intentioned professional development programs designed to improve teachers' effectiveness in the use of instructional practices that have the potential to enhance student achievement (e.g., differentiated instruction), a discrepancy exists between the promise these practices hold and their actual use by teachers in classrooms. To…

The purpose of this case study was to develop an understanding of the elementary principal's perceived role in creating and sustaining a collaborative workplace environment within their school. Collaboration among education professionals, when used effectively, is one strategy that has demonstrated improvement of instruction and student learning.…

This exploratory study examined the elements of a coaching model based on the best practices that first focus on providing managers with the ability to develop workers and increase productivity, before using existing models that only support the process of managing workers, when it becomes apparent that the worker is not meeting expected…

African-American boys are sent to the principal's office more often than any other group and disproportionately to their numbers in a school, according to Victor Cary, partner at the National Equity Project in Oakland, California. That is just one example of how the issues of society at large--racism, classism, sexism, language, and other…