The study reported in this article draws upon data collected for the programme "Increasing the Efficiency of Mathematics and Science instruction" (SINUS-Transfer), a professional development project in Germany. This programme's approach requires teachers to improve their teaching in a cooperative manner and with regard to pedagogical…

This article describes a project that studied 15 preservice teachers' perceptions of and reactions to responding to children's and young adult literature using a Ning blog. These perceptions and reactions provided insight into various practical aspects of using a social networking blog to facilitate literature response in a teacher education…

The purpose of this study was to investigate how science faculty members' belief systems about inquiry-based teaching changed through their experience in a professional development program. The program was designed to support early career science faculty in learning about inquiry and incorporating an inquiry-based approach to teaching…

The observation of teaching remains an integral process for the enhancement of practice as part of academic continuing professional development in higher education in the UK. This paper argues that failure to recognise the potential for peer-orientated development to reinforce restrictive norms of practice will be detrimental to the project of…

The study reported here examines whether teaching skills included in the dynamic model of educational effectiveness can be grouped into types of teacher behaviour and whether these types are related with different student outcome measures. The data stem from a study which was conducted in order to test the validity of the dynamic model. Results…

This article reflects on some of the findings of a research project which investigated the practice of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) within a major national teacher upgrading project in South Africa--the National Professional Diploma in Education (NPDE). The article analyses the ways in which a range of contextual factors have positioned RPL…

Creativity is a talent that undergirds invention and innovation, making it an important skill in today's society. Although students are often told to "be creative," they many times do not know how and have little practice in this skill. This document presents an analysis of 33 creative products made by adult participants at a state conference for…

This dissertation focuses on beginning mathematics teachers from alternative certification programs and their perceptions of what is required to be successful. A mixed-methods research study was completed with several goals in mind: (1) identifying how beginning mathematics teachers define success in the classroom during their earliest years, (2)…

The purpose of this study is to understand how teacher identity influences elementary teachers' science practices from multiple perspective---the teacher's self-reported identity, the researcher's perspective, and the students' perspectives. Two frameworks on identity were synthesized and used in this research. The first, developed by Gee…

Teacher effectiveness, equitable distribution, and teacher preparation are inextricably linked. Recognizing that evidence-based practices account for at least part of the effects of teachers on achievement and the critical role of teacher preparation, the TQ Center (National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality) offers innovation…

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) was founded in 1954 to serve as an independent body in promoting high quality teacher preparation programs. Its mission is to ensure accredited institutions produce high quality educators, administrators, and specialists able to meet the needs of all learners. Institutions seeking…

The authors introduce the concept of design support tools and situate them in the pedagogic context of professional development for technology-enhanced learning (TEL) and the research field of learning design. Through focusing on the development and evaluation of one such tool, Phoebe, they discuss their value to lecturers in post-compulsory…

This study surveyed the professional development (PD) needs of school English language teachers at Melaka State in Malaysia. With close cooperation with the Department of Language at the Ministry of Education, the whole population of English language teachers had been studied on their types of professional development needs in instructional…

The literature on digital video in education emphasises the use of pre-fabricated, instructional-style video assets. Learning designs for supporting the use of these expert-generated video products have been developed. However, there has been a paucity of pedagogical frameworks for facilitating specific genres of learner-generated video projects.…

This investigation sought to determine if there was a difference in the development of effective urban teacher characteristics after completing a traditional internship experience or a Professional Development School internship experience. The Urban Teacher Selection Interview was used to assess 10 characteristics including persistence, value of…