Teaching is a complex profession that involves grappling with a variety of management styles; federal, state, and local mandates; local policies and agendas; and informed curriculum practices that affect pedagogy. Teachers work in increasingly diverse schools, and they must be reflective practitioners to deal with the many social and educational…

This study investigated secondary school students' conceptions of assessment and feedback. Five focus groups were conducted with 41 Year 9 and 10 students (equivalent to Grades 8 and 9 in other countries) from 4 diverse New Zealand schools. Students said that assessment was useful because it led to information and feedback. This information, in…

This mixed method study reports long-term effects of a staff development model on P-12 teachers' instructional practices and dispositions regarding Internet integration into teaching. The model design was guided by participants' varying professional developmental levels and their values and beliefs about teaching and learning. A survey,…

In fall 2009, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project to develop and test multiple measures of teacher effectiveness. The goal of the MET project is to improve the quality of information about teaching effectiveness available to education professionals within states and districts--information…

The purpose of this study was to determine if the National Board Teacher Certification (NBTC) process was an effective form of professional development for teachers that would result in changing teachers' instructional practice resulting in improved student learning. The study also examined how a cohort of NBTC candidates impacted the non-NBTC…

This study was designed to enhance early childhood teachers' efforts to prepare young children for school. Thus, the first objective was to determine if teachers receiving comprehensive professional development (i.e., PD) would show gains in language and literacy instructional practices than teachers randomized to the control condition. Objective…

Mathematics consultants from the United States provide ongoing professional development founded on the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (2000). Consultants provide teachers with sustained, hands-on opportunities to expand their abilities to teach mathematics more effectively. Readers will…

Inquiry is seen as central to the reform of science teaching and learning, but few teachers have experience with scientific inquiry and thus possess very naive conceptions of it. One promising form of professional development, research experiences for teachers (RETs), allows teachers to experience scientific inquiry in the hopes that these…

Most recently a number of school districts, with support from growing numbers of philanthropic foundations, have been honing in on the strategic management of human capital(SMHC)--which has been defined as "the acquisition, development, performance management and retention of top talent." Granted, over the last two decades policymakers and…

Because they focus on the quality of instruction, teacher evaluations can be powerful catalysts for teacher and school improvement. But today, the typical teacher evaluation consists of a single, fleeting classroom visit by an administrator untrained in evaluation. Often he or she wields a checklist of classroom conditions and teacher behaviors…

Supervision and coaching strategies that provide immediate feedback can help improve instruction for novice teachers. In this study, feedback was provided to teachers using "bug-in-ear" technology to coach them to deliver effective instructional interactions: "learn units." Three novice teachers in K-8 classrooms with students…

Studio owners continually face the challenge of finding qualified instructors. While aspiring performers spend time developing dance technique, little time is devoted to enhancing teaching skills. In this article, the author, a studio owner, describes the problem she had with her dancers' lack of teaching knowledge and details how she discovered…

A generational transition is occurring in U.S. public school classrooms. Baby Boom teachers (those born between 1946 and 1964) are approaching retirement age, and many of their colleagues from Generation X (those born between 1965 and 1976) are entering their mid-career stage. The newest generation in the teaching workforce is Generation Y (those…

Many articles and books have been written advocating for the use of literacy coaches in professional development and/or describing what literacy coaches should do. Some research has been conducted on the day-to-day practices of coaches, such as, how many hours they spend doing what (Alverman, Commeyras, Cramer, & Harnish, 2005; Deussen,…

Current research indicates that a professional learning community (PLC) is an effective means for helping teachers to bridge the gap between research and practice. A PLC is a team of educators systematically working together to improve teaching practice and student learning. This study evaluated the PLC formed by teachers at a public elementary…