This paper describes a process in which early childhood professionals, who were novice researchers, engaged in their own research projects in collaboration with academics through a practitioner inquiry group. The aim of the project was to introduce the concepts and practices of practitioner enquiry, and learn about, plan and implement a…

Drawing on cartography, urban design and visual data modelling, we consider how people navigate, or fail to navigate, the mental, physical and social spaces of knowledge communities. Cartographically inspired critical thinking offers opportunities to re-examine the assumptions and formal maps of post-secondary institutions, visualizing…

This study investigated associations between teacher-student interaction and students' persistence to complete written electron configurations in a high school chemistry classroom. Analyses of the interactions were guided with an Expectancy-Value framework to identify the discourse strategies used by the teacher to build engagement in a classroom…

In this paper I highlight the significance of Maurice Merleau-Ponty's contribution to the study of teacher learning. I particularly draw on his notion of "embodiment" to show that professional knowledge is embodied knowledge and that teachers make sense of their professional world through their embodied action. I contrast my…

This study investigates the learning outcomes of 25 student teachers in an online video-based learning community (VBLC). Data were drawn from the student teachers' written comments and feedback recorded in the VBLC and the post-course interviews. Based on Biggs and Collis's Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes (SOLO) taxonomy, the majority of…

Higher education institutional assessment policy is dominated by summative assessment regulation, with little emphasis on the role of formative assessment to improve student learning. Yet the challenge for academics is to integrate more formative assessment practice into what many see as already overloaded curricula. It is questionable whether…

Sanger Unified School District in California's Central Valley had been named one of the worst 98 school districts in California. It was not only one of the worst-performing districts in a state with 1,042 districts, but it also had been flagged as one of the first to be named a program improvement district under No Child Left Behind. In this…

Books by education experts and speakers at national professional conferences have inspired many school leaders to initiate professional learning communities (PLCs). Sustaining them effectively to raise student achievement is another matter. How can one know whether a PLC is moving toward a desired outcome? Measuring effectiveness requires an…

Although frameworks now exist for quality provision for under-threes, discourses underpinning policy remain conflicted. The split between care and education is still firmly entrenched in provision and a gap remains between rhetoric and practice. This paper explores how Early Years Professional Status, which requires practitioners to engage…

Numerous studies have shown both anecdotal and formal evidence of the benefits students obtain from doing writing activities in classes. Little formal discussion exists about how student writing in geography classes professionally affects faculty. In this article, focus shifts from student-derived benefits of writing in classes to faculty…

What is an action learning set (ALS)? An ALS is a regular, action focused peer discussion group, generally facilitated, to address work place issues. Methods of undertaking ALS: methods are flexible within a range of approaches according to the group's developing needs. Benefits of ALS: builds trust, professional development, enables action,…

Numerous primary and post-primary communities of practice (CoP) are used as educational change mechanisms to support teachers improving physical education (PE) practice in Irish schools. This study's purpose was to examine perspectives of program facilitators and participants of Irish PE CoP created to address teachers' interests. Specifically…

Transformational leadership is essential in education as it empowers educators to make positive changes to the way they think, feel and act in improving learning for all. Reflection is a vital element of leading the change process. In relation to participating in the ACCE study tour experience, reflection allows one to sit and think about the…

This article focuses on the methodological use of reflective narratives from discourses and activities of an experienced primary teacher as evidence of her professional identity. The teacher's reflective narratives emerge from her participation in a 3-year developmental and research project, Learning Communities in Mathematics, conducted at the…

Between 2000 and 2009, 243 students in 11 cohort groups participated in the Internet-Based Masters in Educational Technology (iMet) Program. iMet is a hybrid masters program in education with an emphasis in educational technology. Students in the program work collaboratively in a problem-based approach to the integration of technology into…