This practice article explores the relationship between practice and professional learning. Are these two distinctly separate activities, competing for the time of a staff member, or are practice and learning linked? If so, what is the nature of this link and how can we best align professional learning with practice outcomes? Using an example from…

Universities continue to attract growing numbers of international students, so addressing how teachers deal with cultural diversity in the classroom has become increasingly important. This paper outlines the development of a program aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of teaching a university business course in the multicultural classroom.…

Learning to read becomes a difficult task for many children, particularly if they have not been reared in early childhood settings where literacy-based activities, interactions, or materials are prevalent. This study examined the impact that providing a college-level course in research-based instructional strategies for literacy development to…

Schools across the country are investing millions of dollars every year in technology, and statistics show that technology in schools has grown at an exponential rate (Dirksen and Tharp 2000; Heath et al. 2000). But are schools getting the most from their technology investment? In this article, the author cites research literature to support his…

This report presents findings from the third and final year of the Reading First Impact Study (RFIS), a congressionally mandated evaluation of the federal government's initiative to help all children read at or above grade level by the end of third grade. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 established Reading First (RF) and mandated its…

Very few people would disagree that the work of the principal is multifaceted, hectic, and fraught with uncertainties, and given the ongoing press for accountability, the very work of the principal as instructional leader is shifting to ensure "results." There are myriad day-to-day activities that take principals away from the important work of…

Background/Context: In an era of high stakes accountability, public school districts struggle to improve teaching and learning for all students. As a result, effective professional development approaches for teachers are a high priority. Recently, teachers' learning communities (LCs) have been recommended because successful LCs foster teacher…

Four of the most important issues currently facing higher education are the need to make students the central focus, to restore public trust and demonstrate accountability, to manage limited resources more efficiently and effectively, and to utilize the power of technology. The driving forces behind these directions are public disaffection,…

Peer coaching is a method for improving instructor effectiveness in which educators work together to implement experiential strategies or achieve individual educational goals through a systematic process of classroom observation and feedback. Peer coaching has two main goals: the improvement of experiential education and the development of an…

Most educators would agree that the real purpose of evaluation is to improve instruction. This paper presents findings of a study that identified teachers' attitudes toward the teacher evaluation process. Data were derived from a questionnaire administered to 50 public school teachers--35 elementary and 15 secondary. A chi-square analysis was used…

The experiences of five mentors for beginning teachers in an urban school district were examined in this study. The results of interviews with the mentors revealed that they felt a sense of increased confidence and maturity in dealing with other adults, a more clearly defined set of beliefs about teaching and curriculum, and a more objective…

The first annual report in the project's 24-year history, this report describes aspects of the National Writing Project (NWP), a nationwide education program that works to improve student writing and thinking by improving the teaching of writing in U.S. schools. The report notes that each year more than 100,000 teachers in 45 states, the District…

The mission of the Department of Education's Professional Development Team was to examine the best available research and exemplary practices related to professional development, and to summarize the lessons learned from this knowledge base in the form of principles that might inform practitioners and policymakers across the country and guide the…

The development of Tennessee's Master Teacher Program is described in this case study, the first in a series of project reports. Data were derived from interviews, document analysis, transcriptions and analyses of meetings, informal conversations, questionnaires, and monitoring of legislative sessions and committee hearings. Following an…

This document summarizes the activities of REACH, the Rural Education Alliance for Collaborative Humanities. REACH is an effort to strengthen rural education in South Carolina through writing and the study of local history and culture. Among REACH projects are the REACH School Programs, fostering student created research on the history and…