The Reimagining Assessment Practicum (RAP) at Northwestern University exemplifies the importance of cross-functional collaboration, iterative design, and robust feedback processes in faculty development initiatives. RAP, a flexible, three-week series with both synchronous and asynchronous components, was created to enhance teaching and learning…

This study seeks to understand from the perspective of its participants the extent to which a year-long structured, state-level peer mentorship program for world language educators provides benefits, focusing on how involvement impacts their classroom practices and professional development. Research questions explore the specific advantages gained…

The mobilization of teacher leadership, simultaneous decentralization of power, and centralization of support for teacher-led initiatives is seen as important to educational improvement in post-Soviet Kazakhstan where hierarchical cultures and structures still prevail. The current study reports on results from the Teacher Leadership in Kazakhstan…

Background/Purpose: This study examines the use of the Interactive Growth Guide, a structured coaching tool, within a year-long high-intensity induction program for beginning teachers. Specifically, the study investigates how the Interactive Growth Guide was integrated into the mentoring relationship between a beginning teacher and her coach and…

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…

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…

This study aimed to investigate the influences instructional coaching had on middle school math teachers. Accountability demands have impacted teaching and learning, and the push to use high stakes tests to measure teacher quality and effectiveness has limited teacher autonomy, agency, and efficacy. Teachers need professional learning that…

This study investigated how Chicago Public Schools (CPS) computer science (CS) teachers and instructional coaches navigated remote professional development (PD) during the pandemic. Analyzing multiple sources of qualitative data, we explored how coaches adapted PD to address teachers' unique needs and how teachers experienced remote PD. We found…

This applied dissertation was designed to study the relationship between the participation of teachers in a collaborative professional development program, Lesson Study, and their self-efficacy and job satisfaction. Lack of structure and time to effectively implement and reflect upon collaborative professional development programs create a sense…

This study delved into the professional development strategies employed to enhance novice classroom teachers' grasp of culturally responsive teaching and pedagogy and their subsequent impact on cultivating equitable classroom environments. The research question guiding this investigation was: What specific components of culturally responsive…

This study investigated the effect of project-based learning (PBL), the most frequently used deeper learning instructional practice, on deeper learning competencies in school-based agricultural education. Nine teachers participated in a professional development program designed to help them develop PBL unit plans that incorporated the concept of…

Faculty in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines face intensifying pressures in the 21st century, including multiple roles as educator, researcher, and entrepreneur. In addition to continuously increasing teaching and service expectations, faculty are engaged in substantive research that requires securing…

Background: Professional development (PD) in a range of occupations has become increasingly digitised. Numerous digital courses are available, with evidence that social media, blogs and apps are increasingly being used for PD. Yet despite clear benefits, there is little robust evidence on the characteristics of digital PD that impact positively on…

Little is known about the long-term impact of faculty leadership development programs. Therefore, we assessed changes in leadership capabilities among faculty members (N=38, 46%) at an academic medical center four to seven years after their participation in a longitudinal leadership program. Descriptive and qualitative analyses of survey responses…

Research supports the contention that professional learning communities (PLCs) are a "path to change in the classroom" (DuFour, 1997). Teachers treading this path, however, can encounter obstacles or plateau as a result of five common challenges: incoherence, insularity, unequal participation, congeniality, and privacy. Fortunately,…