Describes how one high school implemented schoolwide action research teams as a comprehensive change management strategy to develop teacher leaders, teachers as change agents, and a collaborative reflective culture. The three-year case study showed that work on action research teams did not come naturally or easily, but teachers improved over time…

Three integrated case studies in an elementary, middle, and high school examined similarities and differences in teacher leadership. Surveys, interviews, discussions, and observations indicated that time, support, and school climate both supported and constrained teacher leadership. Giving teachers voice through shared decision making played a…

Reports on a one-year examination of two urban teacher study groups. Data from participant observations and journal notes indicated that there were five themes: tensions about knowledge, alliance with traditional professional development structures, ways of working with one another, understanding the educational needs of English language learners,…

Examines the context and organization of Norway's teacher education, discussing teacher roles and responsibilities, preservice and inservice teacher education programs, and society's expectations that teachers will act as masters, mentors, and mothers. The paper describes recent curriculum developments and the organization of Norway's educational…

Describes a professional-development project designed to establish a community of learners among high school teachers. Diverse English and history teachers met twice monthly for two-and-a-half years to read and discuss fiction and history, develop an interdisciplinary humanities curriculum, and videotape and view classroom instruction. Teachers at…

Reflective peer coaching is a formative model for improving teaching and learning by examining intentions prior to teaching, then reflecting upon the experience. The goal of reflective peer coaching is to promote self-assessment and collaboration for better teaching and ultimately better learning. There are obvious benefits to colleagues…

Presents quantitative and qualitative data from a study involving a university, school districts and teacher candidates. Preservice-inservice dyads were taught how to use action research to examine, analyze, and reflect upon their teaching. Results indicated general acceptance by both new and experienced teachers, with developmental differences…

This brief describes workplace conditions in "learning centered" schools, where practices are consistent with recent research knowledge about learning and its contexts. Its purpose is to support fundamental, long-term change by offering a vision of best practice for educators to consider, discuss, and adapt to their circumstances. It summarizes…

This study explored alternative approaches to teaching and learning high school mathematics through a fluid approach to professional development utilizing cognitive coaching. Cognitive coaching is the application of specific strategies in a nonjudgmental environment, built around a collaborative, reflective planning conference. The process builds…

Behind a simple equation, 2 + 2, lies a rich yet realistic approach to enhancing teaching and learning. As this book demonstrates, the current method of job appraisal consists of sporadic classroom visits from school administrators that frequently serve to reinforce teacher isolation rather than promote professional development. In contrast, the 2…

This monograph covers the Saginaw Teacher Study Group Movement from its inception in 1996 through its expansion to include the overwhelming majority of Saginaw teachers in 1999-2001. Since 1996, classroom teachers in Saginaw have been volunteering for study groups addressing the learning and teaching of students in poverty. In the first half of…

In 2000, researchers conducted surveys on teacher preparation and qualifications, measuring change since 1998. Respondents were 5,253 K-12 teachers nationwide. The survey repeated some indicators of teacher quality examined in 1998 and explored new issues. Virtually all teachers held bachelor's degrees, and nearly half held master's degrees.…

This book provides an approach to professional development that moves beyond traditional notions of inservice education and staff development. Collegial coaching is premised on the notion that the impetus for improving instruction originates within individual teachers. There are 16 chapters in three parts. Part 1, "Theory," includes: (1)…

This report describes the Collaborative Yearlong Teaching Experience (CYTE), an extensive 1-year internship program that promotes a coaching/mentoring model of preservice education and professional job-embedded staff development in Broward County, Florida. This student teacher program is intended to help preservice teachers meet the demands of the…

Examined the usefulness of formal teacher preparation for those with prior teaching experience, investigating the experiences of Stanford Teacher Education Program graduates. Five themes emerged as central to their learning (e.g., greater awareness of students in their classes who were struggling academically and how to help them, broader and more…