The problem addressed in this study was the lack of clarity around K-12 teachers' use and value of using social media as a resource for professional development. Many K-12 teachers are accessing social media for professional development. The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry study was to examine the experiences of K-12 teachers using…

Journal clubs are meetings where participants engage in discussion or appraisal of professional literature and research. This study investigates the perceived value of librarians' participation in journal clubs. Using a hermeneutic dialectic process, we built a construction of the value of journal club participation based on interviews with…

This article shares the journeys of two New Zealand secondary school educators participating in the Virtual Professional Learning and Development programme, who developed sufficient confidence to undertake a Developing Virtual Mentor role in the initiative. Qualitative and quantitative data were developed into stories of change and illustrate the…

The intent of this qualitative research study had two purposes. One, to describe and explain the perceptions of elementary school teachers through their participation in a Professional Learning Community, as defined by DuFour, DuFour, Eaker & Many (2010). This research was initiated with elementary education teachers, grades kindergarten…

Professional learning communities (PLCs) as a means of raising the teaching profession are becoming more attractive in education systems seeking to improve school improvement processes and outcomes. The main intention is to increase the individual and collective capacity of teachers so as to support school-wide capacity for teaching and learning.…

This paper reports the findings of an exploratory qualitative study using the implementation of Wenger's [(1998). "Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity." Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press; Wenger, E. (2000). Communities of practice and social learning systems. "Organization," 7(2), 225-246] Theory of…

This study explores the role of school and university partnership teams in the professional development of physical education (PE) pre-service teachers (PSTs) during their one year Postgraduate Certificate in Education course in England. The paper focuses on the key influences and processes that impacted on PST subject knowledge development. An…

Purpose: The paper aims to examine, within the context of professional practice and learning, how designers collaboratively working in international teams experience practice-based learning and how such occasions contribute to professional development. Design/methodology/approach: The paper introduces the cooperation project between Tibro Training…

This paper discusses the results of a qualitative study that examined the professional growth of undergraduate peer mentors as teacher leaders during an innovative Learning Community initiative designed for a teacher education program at the University of Saskatchewan. The paper describes the extent to which peer mentors exhibited characteristics…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore shared workspace and professional learning community (PLC) interactions in schools. The collaborative culture and PLCs were parts of the school culture. The collaborative culture of each school was designed to ensure teachers share intellectual and physical contributions in learning to investigate…

Understanding factors that impact teacher implementation of learning from professional development is critical in order to maximize the educational and financial investment in teacher professional learning. This multi-case qualitative investigation elucidates factors that influence the appropriation of instructional tools associated with…

This dissertation examined formats of job-embedded professional development that were experienced by beginning teachers at a high-poverty, high-mobility elementary school in the third year of a School Improvement Grant. A qualitative case study was conducted to examine formats of job-embedded professional development that were most useful to help…

The application of information and communication technology (ICT) in education has been gaining attention worldwide. Educators and school administrators are interested in the myriad possibilities offered by new technologies to enrich teaching materials and to provide ubiquitous learning environments to enhance students' learning. This case study…

High-impact educational practices can promote student involvement and learning outcomes, but are rarely tested in the community college setting--where involvement is a typical challenge to student success. For Family Child Care (FCC) providers, who tend to be older and overworked, higher-education training can be especially difficult. The present…

This paper examines a professional development and learning intervention that sought to improve teachers' understandings of, and capacities to teach, "critical evaluation" in senior school physical education (SSPE). Physical education (PE) teachers and researchers formed a professional learning community (PLC) to deliver critical…