The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) recently conducted a survey on the 2009-10 award year Administrative Cost Allowances (ACA), which are funds used by colleges and universities to support operations and professional development. Specifically, ACA is often used in essential areas that support the day-to-day…

Although state pre-K initiatives vary from state to state, they all share common characteristics in pursuing their goal of educating young children. Private providers have played a vital role of expanding access in states that have established rapid timelines for pre-K implementation or expansion, such as New Jersey (to comply with a court order)…

For those who are tired of old images and practices, Malaguzzi suggests that there is time for mistakes to be corrected. New paths of practice can be forged by being willing to consider another way of teaching and learning with young children. And as with any change in professional practice, teachers face cognitive dissonance when they try to…

This article looks at how Extension faculty and administrators perceive digital scholarship in relation to their institutions' reward systems. Our survey data suggest that even when land-grant institutions have policies in place to reward alternative or new forms of scholarship, these policies are often unclear or inaccessible, are not reflected…

This study identified qualities of influential facilitators of elementary mathematics professional development. Extensive research relating to elementary mathematics professional development has emerged over the past three decades. Embedded in this body of research are recommendations for effective practices in professional development and…

Tunica County, Mississippi, in the heart of the delta, has been home to stagnant academic achievement even as federal and state funds increased. A teacher-focused professional development program through the University of Mississippi helped yield higher scores and national recognition for an elementary school. It also revealed some learnings:…

The Faculty of Education at Brock University and an Ontario, Canada, self-regulatory body for the teaching profession partnered to create an innovative teacher induction project conceptualized to enable new and mentor teachers to self-affirm their professional capacities as autonomous and collaborative professionals. A distinguishing feature of…

In past decades, the "digital divide" referred to the gap between those who could afford access to technology and those who could not. The divide has shifted in recent years to reflect the growing technological chasm between teachers and their students: today's schools and teenagers' worlds. The digital divide is widening and deepening…

The Conference on English Education (CEE) Executive Board authorizes the creation of commissions that focus on a particular area of interest of discussion and action for the field. Commissions meet at the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Annual Convention to plan and promote their activities aligned with English language arts teacher…

This article describes a model for incorporating lesson study into the student teaching placement and reports on the success of the implementation of such a model with student teachers and their cooperating teachers (CTs). Student teachers had the opportunity to discuss many important ideas with each other and their CTs, including "big ideas" of…

The role of institutions such as zoos in global conservation efforts is critical. In addition to serving as informal learning centers for the general public, these institutions are well-positioned to provide training and professional development for the next generation of conservation scientists. And while many organizations traditionally have…

Since 1998, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has developed educational programs targeting adult audiences. Engaging public service professionals--those charged with serving and protecting our nation's democratic principles--has become a core outreach strategy to achieve the Museum's mission. This article describes the Museum's process…

The wide range of experience, education, and competence can make it challenging for administrators to plan and implement ongoing professional development that meets the needs of each teacher, particularly in centers serving preschoolers from families with low incomes. Administrators must meet multiple, and seemingly ever-changing, state and agency…

This qualitative study considers middle grades mathematics teachers' reasoning about drawn representations of fractions and decimals. We analyzed teachers' strategies based on their response to multiple-choice tasks that required analysis of drawn representations. We found that teachers' flexibility with referent units played a significant role in…

Every teacher knows that exposure to new information is one small part in the teaching and learning process. Before students truly learn a concept, they must actively engage with material--discussing, sharing, seeing, and practicing it--to make it their own. In other words, they need to "connect" with concepts and have opportunities to apply them…