Within Professional Learning Teams, or PLTs, teachers actively collaborate, share expertise, improve their skills, examine and use various forms of data, and learn from each other--all for the purpose of improved student learning. Over the years the concept of PLTs has become increasingly familiar to Wake County Public School System (WCPSS)…

Recent scholarship on teacher professional development has shown renewed interest in collaborative forms of teacher learning. Networks, communities of practice and clusters are related concepts that describe forms of collaboration between schools and/or teachers that encourage such learning. In South Africa, teacher clusters represent a relatively…

This article reports on student surveys and faculty interviews with regard to a university pilot project of a common book program for first-year students. We found that a minority of students read the book and the book was integrated into only some faculty members' courses. First-year students varied in their perceptions of the impact the project…

"Professional learning communities," the name given to teachers' collaborative professional learning--or PLCs, as they are often called--has become so overused that the term's meaning is often lost. Only when teachers reflect on their instructional practice, consider the effect instruction has on students, and implement insights gained…

Undergraduate education can be characterised by large lecture classes, lack of quality contact time with staff, and an impersonal experience. There is a move towards encouraging students to learn by enquiry, but how can this be encouraged, given pressures of time on both staff and students? One possible solution is to give the students themselves…

Pursuing doctoral study away from one's institution may have logistical advantages but many off-campus doctoral students face challenges in accessing the sorts of training and collegial support offered to their on-campus counterparts. To enhance and maintain the quality of education offered to off-campus and distance PhD candidates, higher…

Whereas much is known about designing effective continuous professional development (CPD) for teachers, little is known about spillover effects of CPD by fostering collegial interactions. In this respect, the self-efficacy expectancy of multipliers to spread CPD issues within their own school is an important predictor for scaling. Self-efficacy…

Although classroom video is well recognized as a valuable reflective resource for student teachers, we know very little about how university supervisors' pedagogical practices are shaped by creating and using videos with their student teachers. This study explored how 12 supervisors developed greater stances of inquiry toward their practices as…

Background: Sports coaching is largely a social activity where engagement with athletes and support staff can enhance the experiences for all involved. This paper examines how high performance football coaches develop knowledge through their interactions with others within a social learning theory framework. Purpose: The key purpose of this study…

The purpose of this study was to examine beginning high school teachers' perceptions of involvement in Professional Learning Communities in southeastern North Carolina and to determine whether beginning teachers' perceptions of involvement in Professional Learning Communities influenced their decisions to move to another location, stay in…

IRIS is designed to improve primary school teachers' use of dialogue and feedback through using video technology for collaborative teacher development with a view to improving academic outcomes for pupils. It is based around a video technology system (IRIS Connect) which enables teachers to record, edit, and comment on teaching and learning. In…

When educators do not facilitate English language learners' (ELLs) social integration in schools, this can perpetuate ELLs' marginalized status and the plateauing of ELLs' English language development. This study highlights a program for secondary ELLs called the ELL Ambassadors program, which partnered ELLs with non-ELLs based on shared…

In schools the participation of students, parents and paraprofessionals is important because it increases ownership and improves performance. Here the focus is on students' and paraprofessionals' learning and a sense of community when leaders try to develop a professional learning community in a new school in Iceland. An action research project…

The transition from middle into high school can be perilous for some students. High school freshmen fail at an alarming rate. In a general sense, the environment, expectations, structure, and culture of high schools are different from middle schools. However, school leaders can implement transition programs that may promote success of 9th graders.…

This article examines the in-house professional development program in a private school in Lebanon and the approach it adopts to train teachers on reflective practice. It identifies the contextual factors in the school that teachers perceive as supporting their professional learning of reflective practice, and investigates the teachers'…