This study explores questioning practices adopted by elementary teachers while facilitating science inquiry discussions prior and subsequent to their participation in a summer institute in which they were provided with scholarly descriptions of inquiry-based teacher questioning (i.e., typologies of questions used by discourse analysts to…

How might students engage mindful learning? How might the professor engage mindful teaching? Both questions derived from fieldnotes a participant observer had created for the Future of Learning 2010 Summer Institute (Harvard Graduate School of Education) and the Tests and Measurements course, fall 2010 at Edward Waters College (EWC). Additionally,…

The purpose of the study was to examine how teachers enhance their knowledge of rational numbers focused on modeling problem tasks using multiple representations. The professional development summer institute and the follow-up Lesson Study (Lewis, 2002) throughout the academic year focused on engaging teachers in rational numbers and proportional…

This study investigated inservice PreK to Grade two teachers' knowledge of some earth and space science concepts before and after a short-term teacher institute. A one-group pre-test-post-test design was used in the current study. Earth science concepts targeted during the professional development included properties of rocks and soils, and the…

This paper examines the impact of two approaches to teacher professional development in arts integration--a summer institute model and a model combining the summer institute with instructional coaching. In an experimental design, the intervention trained third and fourth grade teachers to integrate visual arts and theater into reading curriculum.…

To maintain their commitment to a site, teachers need truly meaningful work. Teacher leadership drives the work of the Writing Project. The narratives in this collection, written by three veteran teacher-consultants, demonstrate many ways in which teacher leadership builds the capacity of any National Writing Project (NWP) site to do its work.…

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,…

The concept map tool set forth by Novak and colleagues is underutilized in education. A meta-analysis has encouraged teachers to make extensive use of concept mapping, and researchers have advocated computer-based concept mapping applications that exploit hyperlink technology. Through an NSF sponsored geosciences education grant, middle and…

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 Language Resource Centers (LRC) program provides grants to institutions of higher education to establish, strengthen, and operate resource centers that serve to improve the nation's capacity to teach and learn foreign languages. Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education. Duration of the grant is four years. Center activities…

A larger scale context for power teaching includes ideas from Duane Elgin, Lester Brown, Al Gore and many others. Collectively, they say the convergence of systems level global problems without national borders place before humankind a choice the species has never encountered in 195,000 years of life on "Spaceship Earth." In Elgin's…

Student achievement in mathematics has been a focal concern in the United States for many years. The National Research Council's 2001 report and the recent report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel (2008) both called attention to student achievement in mathematics, and both called for all students to learn algebra by the end of eighth…

This paper describes the PD program that was delivered during the first year of the study. The main goal of the intervention was to increase teachers' capability to teach positive rational number topics effectively. The program included a 3-day summer institute (18 hours per teacher), five 1-day seminars held during the school year (30 hours per…

Despite the promise of technology in education, many practicing teachers are faced with multiple challenges of effectively integrating technology into their classroom instruction. Additionally, teachers who are successful incorporating educational technology into their instruction recognize that although technology tools have the potential to help…

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…