In this article, the authors highlight key elements of their new model for developing educators' capacities, as well as key takeaways about the potential of supporting adult development. Focusing on the five elements -- Theory, Culture, Pillar Practices, Feedback, and Sustainability -- of their developmental model for building capacity can foster…

Personal interviews were conducted with biochemistry faculty during which they were presented with student performances on a content survey. From these interviews, four themes that reflect faculty responses to the surveys emerged: awareness of student understanding, self-reflection on teaching practice, planned collaboration with colleagues, and…

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) education and initiatives have grown tremendously over the past decade for children in high school, middle school, and even later elementary school. However, little research and opportunities exist for young children in early childhood (Moomaw, 2012). This qualitative case study research…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present how experiences gained from a theory-informed lesson study -- learning study (LrS) -- in regard to a specific learning goal can be shared and used by other teachers in new contexts. Design/methodology/approach: A group of teachers worked together in a cyclic, iterative process of planning,…

This phenomenological, action research study engaged a sample of teachers from a large middle school in northern South Carolina in developing a protocol and recommendations for the use of peer observations that would provide meaningful professional development for teachers at this school. Data collection methods consisted of interviews, focus…

The literature shows that collaboration is a critical part of a professional learning community and leads to higher student achievement. However, there is limited research on what collaboration actually looks like in a school setting. The purpose of this study was to examine the beliefs and strategies of elementary teachers and elementary…

"If well-trained, competent, caring teachers were present in every classroom, we would witness a staggering increase in student achievement, motivation, and character improvement along with a marked decrease in discipline problems" (Breaux & Wong, 2003, p.22). If school districts do not take the initiative to design and implement…

Professional learning communities have been labeled as effective and capable of producing continuous school improvement. Despite the merits and popularity of professional learning communities, they have been shown to be an elusive concept to implement. The problem this study addressed was the inconsistent quality of professional learning…

Fullan (1998) stated, "Student achievement increases substantially in schools with collaborative work cultures that foster a professional learning community among teachers and others" (p. 8). Vandevoort, Amrein-Beardsley, and Berliner (2004) also found that the quality of the teacher in the classroom is the single most important factor…

In "Systems for Instructional Improvement," Paul Cobb and his colleagues draw on their extensive research to propose a series of specific, empirically grounded recommendations that together constitute a theory of action for advancing instruction at scale. The authors outline the elements of a coherent instructional system; describe…

Mentor teachers (MTs) play a key role in a teacher candidate's (TC) learning to teach and teaching a TC to become a teacher is complex work. While there has been some scholarship that indicates MTs benefit from collective inquiry into and examination of their mentoring practice, there is minimum attention to engaging MTs in deliberate activity…

The purpose of this commentary is to explore the prospect of reaching out and collaborating for our future in literacy education. Conley argues that we have not always known how to collaborate well. We have not been good collaborators in some instances, and because we have not always been open and inviting, it has been difficult for others to…

In recent decades, the belief has originated that data use contributes to more thought-out decisions in schools. The literature has suggested that fruitful data use is often the result of interactions among team members. However, up until now, most of the available research on data use has used "collaboration" as an umbrella concept to…

The Arlington Independent School District in Texas has developed a New Teacher Induction Program to foster individual agency for each teacher and empower educator-centered growth, intentionally modeling the same kind of learning designs that teachers apply with students in their classrooms. After exploring elements of the ideal classroom through…

Student understanding of content can be dependent on the pedagogies that co-teachers plan and implement, regardless of which co-teaching model they use. However, when co-teachers vary instruction using different co-teaching models, secondary students with and without disabilities have more opportunities to take advantage of having two teachers and…