School teachers must be prepared for ongoing, unpredictable and rapid changes in the world, therefore, they need specialised and general knowledge to be able to think independently and imaginatively. The purpose with this article was thus to report on the effectiveness of a self-directed professional development (SDPD) intervention that guided…

Educators across the U.S. participate in professional development (PD) to improve their teaching competencies. Numerous legislatures have mandated PD to develop highly qualified teachers; however, literature on PD has shown that teachers feel PD does not meet their needs. With consideration for the diverse needs of teachers, in this study I sought…

Studies in the career development of youth identify middle school as the optimum time for career exploration, as it advances young adolescents' self-awareness, knowledge of prospective careers, and goal setting. In South Carolina, only 5% of public middle schools provide agricultural education. The purpose of this study was to measure the…

Educators have limited knowledge of youth mental health disorders, treatment, and school-based supportive strategies. Mental health literacy (MHL) interventions are designed to promote educator understanding of youth mental health. The Go-To Educator Training is a MHL intervention developed for educators. The current study extended research on the…

This study described the experiences of a group of seven sixth-grade teachers and the participation of their emergent bilingual students (EBs) during the implementation of an instructional protocol designed to provide students with opportunities to engage in mathematical reasoning through discourse. The Discursive Mathematics Protocol (DMP) is…

This paper presents the preliminary findings and research agenda for the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Community Arts Collaboratory's (Arts Collab) 2-year initiative supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. The research examined how arts-based, embodied professional learning can support school-based educators in developing and…

The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of third through fifth grade teachers on the effectiveness of district reading instruction training as it relates to reading achievement. This research was conducted for the following purposes: (a) to explore the perceptions of third through fifth grade teachers on the effectiveness of…

The problem was that professional learning communities (PLCs) have not focused on topics relevant to teachers of students with developmental disabilities, limiting these teachers' professional development (PD) and their students' educational opportunities. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore whether fifth grade…

Interest in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) education and design thinking has risen as a way to equip students with 21st century skills, needed to solve complex real-world problems. However, integrating STEAM based design thinking challenges in the classroom poses challenges for educators, particularly in areas such…

Seventh graders from a STEM school performed poorly with rational number concepts in the yearly standardized test. This research investigated the impact of a three-day professional development intervention focused on improving math teachers' self-efficacy when teaching rational numbers. The study employed a concurrent mixed-method research design…

Although interest in blended learning for students has grown within elementary and secondary school contexts, limited research exists on the implementation of blended professional development (PD) for teachers. The current mixed-method action research study examined teacher participation in blended learning PD in a large California district,…

Teacher leaders often have to navigate implicit leadership structures within their schools and often move between communities as part of their roles. This study explores how a Noyce Master Teaching Fellow program fostered a sense of empowerment within teacher leaders. The program provided opportunities for the teacher leaders to become legitimate…

This study examined students' growth in algebra readiness progress-monitoring measures for a group of U.S. middle school students with math learning difficulties within the context of Project STAIR, a federally funded initiative supporting teachers' use of data-based individualization. Participating teachers received professional development and…

"Lesson study" has garnered considerable attention from educational researchers and practitioners as a promising method for improving instruction. At its core, lesson study reflects a collaborative inquiry process, grounded in cycles of planning, enacting, and reflecting, that promotes teacher learning through active engagement in lesson…

Prosocial and Active Learning (PAL) Classrooms is a year-long teacher professional development program designed to increase students' prosocial behavior and engagement in 5th grade mathematics and science classrooms that use active, team-based lessons by altering the way that teachers interact with students using research-based strategies. The…