This paper explores the dynamics surrounding the formation of academic identities in a context where the nature of academic work is contested both as a result of tensions within the discipline and in response to pressure from both the institution and the field of higher education. It is based on a case study which investigated the process of…

The Highline School District, located roughly 10 miles south of Seattle, Washington, has begun to implement a residency model for professional learning. Like the medical model, current teachers often traveled from other schools to be "in residency" at a previously selected classroom for six half-day sessions during the 2005-06 school year. Some…

In this article, the author talks about the highlights of the first design event of the "Northern Action Learning Network" held in Mersey Care NHS Trust Liverpool last November 6, 2008. The intent of the event was to tap into the diverse and flourishing action learning (AL) community by growing an innovative network of practitioners keen…

We consider the professional development of in-service teachers and review traditional development efforts that have been used in the past. An alternative form of professional development using Japanese lesson study is proposed and discussed as a possibility. A case study involving the Mpumalanga Secondary Science Initiative, where lesson study…

The purpose of this basic interpretive qualitative study was to explore how novice occupational therapy assistants begin to understand their profession, form practice beliefs, and subsequently select and initiate certain treatment methods and approaches with clients. The primary source of data for this study was obtained via semi-structured…

Teacher professional communities are central in the current discussion of teacher learning and professional development. Instructional reform initiatives aimed at improving student achievement through changes in instruction depend on effective professional development structures. Increasingly, teacher professional communities are being identified…

During the course of this study, I examine the effective uses of professional learning communities in relation to building leadership capacity among teachers. The literature reviewed illustrates and addresses the need for teachers to see themselves, not only as professionals, but as leaders. This study addresses the effects of this much needed…

The intent of this exploratory study was to examine the relationship between suburban public elementary school teachers' reports of their core competencies to function in a team, and their reports of the extent to which teachers and administrators in their schools engaged in practices known to support the development of well-functioning…

This study examined how one state approached the integration of policy and practice by forming communities of practice (CoP), defined as groups of people who share a set of problems and interact regularly to solve them (Wenger, McDermott, & Snyder, 2002). Policymakers have created strategies known as technical assistance (TA) to bridge the…

Work integrated learning which is terminology now very familiar to all universities' faculty members, has always been integral to initial teacher education programs. As a result of the complexities involved in this field, building effective partnerships with schools continues to be a major focus of education faculties. These complexities around a…

Can a system of teaching awards which is essentially one of rewards and recognition serve the dual purpose of enhancing learning and teaching, if the function of such a system does not go beyond the first stage of reward to the second stage of development? Institution-led teaching fellowships that focus on pedagogic research, and operate within…

The literacy team at Brentwood (NY) High School, a large urban high school, focused its efforts on building content-area teachers' literacy instruction skills. The team is made up of teachers from the various content areas, including physical education and art, as well as supportive administrators. The team developed a pacing guide, a monthly…

The authors investigate how conversational routines, or the practices by which groups structure work-related talk, function in teacher professional communities to forge, sustain, and support learning and improvement. Audiotaped and videotaped records of teachers' work group interactions, supplemented by interviews and material artifacts, were…

This article examines mathematics teacher collegiality by focusing on both the ways in which teachers interacted as critical colleagues in a long-term professional development project and the evolving role of the teacher-educator-researcher as the facilitator of this project. The professional development collaboration comprised two phases: one…

Of all the social constructs impacting the contemporary world, gender is perhaps the most pervasive and the most insidious. Its inequities creep into our everyday lives with impunity. Across the globe, gender construction has evoked challenge, undergone reform and, in some instances, transformed thinking in societies. Yet, for all the gains made…