Collaborative inquiry groups, such as professional learning communities and lesson study groups, are proliferating in schools across the United States. In whatever form, the potential for impacting student learning through this collaborative work is expanded or limited by the nature of teachers' conversations. Polite, congenial conversations…

Staff of subject centres have been largely invisible from discussions about the nature of Educational Development in the UK, which has largely focused on the institutional context. This article seeks to enhance the visibility and identity of subject centre academic coordinators who provide discipline-based teaching and learning support across the…

Nonfiction writing, as defined by the author, is the mix of art, craft, and information, put together by writers who let readers know they are interested in a topic, and who speculate about what that interest or topic might mean. In this article, the author introduces ten imagined colleagues who provide essential support for the teaching of…

As virtual worlds become more widely utilized in education to deliver instruction, the need to measure learning in this environment will continue to grow. Building upon McKerlich and Anderson's (2008) exploratory study, the researchers of this study utilized the Community of Inquiry's (CoI) Multi-User Virtual Environment Education Evaluation Tool…

Using the case of a secondary English department in Ontario, Canada, this article examines the constraints that academic departments face in transforming themselves from communities of practice into learning communities. This distinction between a community of practice and a learning community has taken on heightened importance as increasing…

For the forty-fourth time, the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented online and onsite during the annual AECT Convention. Volume 1 contains papers dealing primarily with research and development topics. Papers dealing with…

Teams of educators conducted lesson study independently, supported by a resource kit that included mathematical tasks, curriculum materials, lesson videos and plans, and research articles, as well as protocols to support lesson study. The mathematical resources focused on linear measurement interpretation of fractions. This report examines the…

As the communication between different cultures is becoming more and more frequent, the competence of cross-cultural awareness and collaboration is emerging as a key ability in the 21st century. Face to face communication is the most efficient way to cultivate the competence of cross-cultural awareness and collaboration. However, there are very…

A Victorian government initiative called "The Primary Science Specialists Professional Learning Program" is designed to tackle students' falling interest in science by investing in the building of teacher capacity. The aims of the initiative are: to improve the science knowledge base of all teachers and therefore increase teachers'…

The new standards for K-12 science education in the United States call for science teachers to integrate engineering concepts and practices within their science teaching in order to improve student learning. To accomplish this, teachers need appropriate instructional materials as well as the knowledge and skills to effectively use them. This mixed…

No Child left Behind, The ESEA Flexibility Program, and the Race to the Top contest have spurred a multitude of School Improvement programs, businesses, initiatives and more. The current emphasis on standardized testing, data gathering and analysis, and measuring effective schooling has caused many education agencies, state and local, to seek…

This study contributes knowledge about how a digital badge system integrated into an online, subject-matter-specific, and competency-based professional development (PD) program affected teachers' experiences with and perceptions of the program activities. The report presents findings from a one-year exploratory study of an online PD program, and…

In 2012-2013, sixteen senior secondary classes participated in this study, with eight of them being distance classes. Approximately 220 Year 11-13 students and 8 teachers took part in this study. This project aimed at designing and evaluating a computer-supported knowledge building community in senior secondary classes. Researchers sought to…

This qualitative phenomenological study explored the impact of the professional development model, "Powerful Teaching and Learning" (PTL) on teachers' sense of efficacy of 17 secondary teachers at a single high school in Washington State. Qualitative data was collected through in-depth interviews and analyzed using the methodical…

Across the country, resource-strapped school districts are looking for opportunities to work strategically with other districts to increase efficiencies and learn from each other's experiences. The Fresno-Long Beach Learning Partnership, established in 2008, serves as a useful example of such collaboration. The overarching goal of the Partnership…