This article describes the use of self-study as a frame for professional learning that grew out of a professional development program for teachers examining their practice in a dual-language K-4 school. Located in the center of the rural state of Iowa, the school's development of a bilingual program for native speakers of both English and Spanish…

This study investigates how a teacher study group collectively examined problems in their current English curriculum and redesigned the curriculum into theme-based lessons for various grades. Comprised of seven elementary school teachers and a teacher educator, the teacher study group met bi-weekly for three hours for a total of eight meetings.…

The study proposes a way in which the learning and knowledge building (LKB) framework, which is consistent with the knowledge conversion phases proposed by Nonaka and Takeuchi, supports teachers' informal and self-directed workplace learning. An LKB framework in a socio-technical system was developed to support professional development in an…

This article reports an analysis of fifth-graders' comprehension strategy use, as it occurred within peer-led literature discussion groups, and the influence of such strategy use on students' post-discussion gains in story comprehension. Data collection occurred across nine weeks. Data sources included transcripts of discussions, transcripts of…

This purpose of this qualitative dissertation study was to capture the meaning and various dimensions related to being an undocumented immigrant youth in the United States, and to develop a grounded theory regarding how undocumented immigrant students negotiate their identity development in light of these dimensions. A semi-structured interview…

Community college students typically have access to a large selection of courses and programs, and therefore the student transcripts at any one college or college system tend to be very diverse. As a result, it is difficult for faculty, administrators, and researchers to understand the course-taking patterns of students in order to determine what…

Critical reflection is defined as an educational imagination that allows candidates to look at themselves and their situations with new eyes, and in the process, become conscious of the multiple ways they can interpret, critique, challenge, confront, and reconstruct teaching. This study examines the effectiveness of using explicit instruction in…

The purpose of this article is to summarize the methodology and findings in the case studies of three student teachers in secondary school mathematics. The broad area of interest is the relationship between beliefs and practice. In the study, "beliefs" refers to expectations teachers have that students will be successful in learning with…

Orff Schulwerk is defined by its practitioners as an approach to teaching music to children through the Orff media: speech, singing, movement, and playing instruments. The approach is often best known for use of the "Orff instruments," and some music educators criticize Orff-based instruction, claiming that singing is overlooked or…

The authors' conception of a Professional Development School has been in the making for six years; they have nurtured their high school/university partnership over that period of time with little involvement from other university personnel. Through a self-study approach, they investigated the intricacies of how professional relationships, both in…

This study was conducted to examine the expectations of adult graduate students enrolled in an online degree program at a research university in the mid-South United States. Students who were pursuing their master of education degree were invited to participate in an e-Focus group regarding their expectations of the degree program. Focus groups…

Few inquiries have investigated master's students in education as they mentor preservice teachers. In this embedded case study I explored the professional development of 15 master's students as they mentored 35 preservice teachers for eight weeks in a summer literacy camp. Data sources were e-mail exchanges, written reports, and transcriptions…

This article investigates how the goals of participants in a video club evolved and became more shared over time. A video club brings groups of teachers together to analyze video from one another's classrooms (Sherin, 2004). The purpose of the video club the author investigates was to bring teachers together to analyze student thinking, an…

The poor success rate of policy for curriculum change has been widely noted in the educational change literature. Part of the problem lies in the complexity of schools, as policy-makers have proven unable to micro-manage the multifarious range of factors that impact upon the implementation of policy. This article draws upon empirical data from a…

Researchers have identified a civilising mission in elementary schools in the decades around the turn of the twentieth century, particularly in poor urban areas. School log books from the 14 schools in Birmingham and Leicester, supplemented by other primary and secondary sources, are examined for insights into how headteachers perceived, and acted…