The author introduced a three-phase training model into a yearlong inservice technology training program, field testing the model with a group of elementary school teachers. Strategies, tips and insights are shared regarding each phase of the following phases: "Familiarization: Getting Acquainted with the Computer Environment"; "Utilization: Using…

Describes five participatory workshop activities to be used when offering a communication workshop to help ensure that participants understand, retain and apply the ideas and information presented. Activities include second/foreign language simulation, speech reading, language/learning disabilities simulation, and coarticulation simulation.…

Presents a conceptual framework for teaching science to students with disabilities. The framework suggests integration of explicit instruction in critical concepts, with cognitively-based approaches that emphasize problem-solving skills on real-world tasks. Implications for policy, professional development, and creation of learning environments…

Evaluated a professional development project, Constructing and Networking for Multiage Learning, which gave teachers Internet access and support for more constructivist teaching. Found that teachers initially modified their teaching, but reverted to more traditional practices by the end of 3 years. Although most became successful technology users,…

This case study looked at the transition of preservice teachers from world language education methods courses at a major U.S. university to a 5-week field experience in secondary school classrooms. Data included lesson plans and self-critiques of two lessons implemented during the field experience, world language teaching philosophies the…

Problem solving is seen to lie at the "heart" of mathematics (Cockcroft, 1982). Problem solving is also of great importance to industry that claims many young people leave school and take up jobs without the skills needed to sort out difficulties and problems (Smith Report, 2004). So is problem solving at the heart of mathematics teaching in…

In the fall of 2000 the Department of Sociology at North Carolina State University (NCSU) implemented a Phase IV Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) initiative. The goal of this program was (and is) to ensure that doctoral students anticipating entry into a professional position be prepared for all expectations associated with faculty life in a wide…

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) was established in 1987 to develop and operate a system of advanced certification; including a set of high and rigorous standards of accomplished teaching and an assessment system designed to measure these standards. Utilizing a qualitative, case study framework, this research project…

The professional literature continues to be an essential resource for scholars and practitioners for filtering and highlighting new advances in research and practice. However, the ongoing challenges associated with too much information, inadequate tools for managing information overload, and too little time for professional development demand that…

This article articulates the results of an ongoing study in an urban school in New York City in which student and teacher researchers engage in practices that support the science success of the schools' predominantly Latino/a and African American population. By situating the study in the nature of corporate and communal practices, the article…

The two questions in this chapter are whether school restructuring promotes or constrains the professional development of teachers and which mechanisms for workplace learning appear to enhance the capacity of teachers to critically interpret educational reforms. To answer the first question, the implementation of structural changes and…

This research explores the experiences of artists and artist-teachers involved in two professional development programs for arts education: a national Canadian program and a state-wide American program. Both programs aim to help classroom teachers develop ways of teaching in and through the arts by interacting with partnering artists and/or arts…

This article discusses the impact that both conceptual and contextual problems have in inhibiting teachers' disposition towards capacity for development. These problems were highlighted from teachers' participation with a teacher educator in a collaborative culture of learning and within their schools' culture. They were challenged, supported and…

Fort Mill (S.C.) Elementary School developed a partnership with Winthrop University to help teachers improve how they taught writing after finding many teachers had never completed a college-level writing course and most felt they weren't very knowledgeable about assessing student writing. The results are improved student learning and professional…

Schools across the country are investing millions of dollars every year in technology, and statistics show that technology in schools has grown at an exponential rate (Dirksen and Tharp 2000; Heath et al. 2000). But are schools getting the most from their technology investment? In this article, the author cites research literature to support his…