Teach For America (TFA), an organization that places college graduates in urban and rural classrooms for two-year terms of service, is lauded by reformers who see its five-week summer training institute as evidence that teachers have little to learn before entering classrooms. Yet, while boosters see TFA as a radical alternative to traditional…

Emerging community-based methodologies call for collaboration with speech community members. Although motivated, community members may lack the tools or training to contribute actively. In response, many linguists deliver training workshops in documentation or preservation, while others train community members to record data. Although workshops…

This study of four case studies looks at how secondary math, music, science, and social studies teachers' attitudes and classroom practices were affected by their participation in the Central Utah Writing Project (CUWP) summer institute. Participant interviews, observations, and artifacts were analyzed by looking at themes for effective…

This multisite case study explored the role of summer institutes in preparing Students of Color for doctoral programs. Bourdieu's social reproduction theory, particularly the concept of habitus, was employed as a theoretical framework to investigate how the participants further developed habitus (their dispositions, identities, and perspectives)…

Using a case study approach, this manuscript describes the professional transformation of Gary--an Anglo, male novice teacher--by focusing on his first two years of teaching in a culturally diverse and economically disadvantaged school. As a participant of a larger hybrid, intervention project with peers, Gary received multiple hands-on and…

This case study sought to understand why educators participate in museum summer institutes and how participation transferred to personal development and professional practice. The study found participation was affected by an interest in and need for learning about a particular time in history, ability to transfer institute content to curricula,…

This qualitative naturalistic descriptive case study provides an understanding of the characteristics of a community of practice within a National Writing Project invitational summer institute. This study utilized naturalistic, descriptive case study methodology to answer the research question: What characteristics of a community of practice are…

The notion that "teachers of writing must also write" has been pervasive since the 1970s. But "what" should they write? In the National Writing Project (NWP), a professional network focused on the improvement of writing instruction and featuring summer institutes in which teachers engage in writing of their own as well as demonstrations of…

The concept of cultural competency, its application, and impact on K-12 learning have not received much attention in the literature. Teachers need to understand the connection between culture and pedagogy when teaching minority and underrepresented students. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine whether the skill sets in…

Teachers who have participated in Summer Institutes of the National Writing Project (NWP) have often claimed "it changed my life." What do teachers mean when they say this? What does it mean to "transform" in a professional development setting, and what might researchers and professional development providers gain from an…

Problem: Since abolition of slavery, the United States has struggled to recognize people of color, specifically African-Americans, as equal citizens worthy of equal education. For several generations, within the curriculum of American schools, students have been taught the narrative of American History with a Eurocentric perspective. However, the…

This article investigates three teachers' conceptions and use of inquiry-based instructional strategies throughout a professional development program. The professional development program consisted of a 2-week summer inquiry institute and research experience in university scientists' laboratories, as well as three academic year workshops. Insights…

Faculty members at a large state university engaged in discussions of 21st century communication, new media, and the demands for new communication skills as they elected to establish a Communication across the Curriculum (CxC) program in 2005. Faculty leaders reviewed communication theory (e.g., from McLuhan to Kress), best practices from other…

Describes the projects of the Alabama Commission on Higher Education's (ASHE) Foreign Language Consortium, established through federal funding in 1985 to enhance teacher training programs. The impact of the Consortium on foreign language instruction in Alabama is discussed. (Author/CB)