Many educational researchers across the United States have found that inquiry-based learning (IBL) supports the development of deep, meaningful content knowledge. However, integrating IBL into classroom practice has been challenging, in part because of contrasting conceptualizations and practices across educational fields. In this article, we (a)…

"The NMC Horizon Report" series is the most visible outcome of the New Media Consortium (NMC) Horizon Project, an ongoing research effort established in 2002 that identifies and describes emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, research, or creative expression within every sector of education in some 65…

In this paper, we compare teacher and administrator perspectives on multiple dimensions of teacher professionalism. An instrument with a total of 51 professional behaviors and characteristics that operationalize the multiple dimensions of professionalism was developed. Survey participants, including 216 teachers and 89 administrators, were asked…

Day after day, teachers hand out reading assignments; students ignore them; and both groups spend another day at school discouraged, less than enthusiastic, and bored. While principals struggle with stagnant test scores, teachers wonder how they can possibly work more diligently toward instructional outcomes. Getting students excited about reading…

Preschool teachers play a critical role in children's development yet there is little agreement about how to codify teacher knowledge and skill. This brief argues that too much attention has been given to debating the baseline of qualifications required of preschool teachers (e.g., AA vs. BA), failing to take into account the precise nature of the…

Because pesticide exposure is a significant hazard to farmworkers in their working and living environments, basic pesticide toxicology is a topic for farmworker science education that has implications beyond scientific literacy to encompass farmworkers' safety and health. Migrant and seasonal farmworkers have been identified as an at-risk…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the efforts implemented in a high-poverty, urban elementary school in order to increase academic achievement. The central research question was: (1) How do teachers and administrators in a high-poverty, urban school describe the strategies they use to achieve academic success? The sub-questions…

Drama for Schools (DFS) is an arts integration professional development program that trains teachers to use drama-based instruction techniques. The DFS strategies aim to connect student learning to their lived experiences in a manner consistent with authentic instruction principles. The focus of this mixed-methods study was on the relationship…

Many school systems mandate sight word mastery by their students, and this can be challenging for certain student populations. With a Professional Development School, college interns conducted an inquiry project with struggling first graders to learn required sight vocabulary. The inquiry project explored the use of American Sign Language to…

This paper investigates the impact of a two-year professional development program on teacher self-efficacy for inquiry-based instruction. The program utilizes scientist-teacher partnerships to develop content knowledge, inquiry-based instruction, and leadership skills for in-service STEM teachers. Participating teachers are administered a survey…

As the professional learning community (PLC) as a desired cultural norm gains popularity within K-12 state schools, greater knowledge of the PLC implementation process is warranted. This study reports findings from semi-structured focus group interviews with teachers in an urban/suburban high school after one year of schoolwide professional…

This paper presents the first in a series of studies on the informal advice networks of a community of teachers in an in-service professional development program. The aim of the research was to use Social Network Analysis as a methodological tool to reveal the social networks developed by the teachers, and to examine whether these networks…

In order to prepare all teachers for working with the increasing number of English-as-a-second-language (ESL) students in the US, researchers have explored what teachers need to know and pointed out that "just good teaching" is not enough. In this article, we described our effort to design and deliver professional development sessions based on key…

Prior professional development studies have identified discrepancies between what teachers' report (espoused practices) and demonstrate (enacted practices) during classroom teaching. This has proven particularly evident in studies examining classroom implementation of standards-based practices such as learner-centered instruction. The authors…

Objective: This research investigated teachers' perceptions of the impact of professional development on the classroom instruction of secondary business teachers and the relationship between the impact of professional development and the number of hours spent in professional development. Background: Quality professional development for teachers…