Scholars have proposed that "the path to change in the classroom lies within and through" more collaborative professional communities among teachers (McLaughlin and Talbert, 1993: 18). How do different approaches to developing collaborative professional communities impact experienced teachers and their ability to change? This article identifies…

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to reveal differences between Program Improvement (PI) middle school scripted program and nonscripted program teachers' perceptions of their schools as professional learning communities (PLCs). The concept of PLCs is framed by Hord's (1997) 5 attributes of successful PLCs: supportive shared leadership, shared…

Although collaboration is a well-known and encouraged practice in teachers' work to support children with special needs, it is often conceptualized in either a vague or an overly idealized manner. Additionally, there is a dearth of research on how teachers work together and how this collaboration affects critical outcomes related to their working…

Online learning is in its infancy compared to other types of learning in the history of academe. Because of its limited history, there is much to be discovered about the ontological, axiological, and epistemological aspects of this technology-driven learning environment. While literature is saturated with online student experiences, and the…

This article explains how communities of practice have been developed as part of FrameWorks' field-building efforts. Strategic Framing Study Circles, as they are known, have been conducted with four statewide coalitions, one group of national organizations, and an emerging regional coalition. The goal of each community of practice is to build…

This paper reports on Information Technology (IT) secondary school educators in Victoria and their involvement in an online community of practice. It examined the social effects of the online mailing list technology on their participation and factors that influenced their collaboration with other colleagues. In mapping these elements, the…

School counseling interns are on the boundary of communities of practice. This study explored how school counselors develop competence during internship experiences by analyzing an online dialogue taking place among a small group of interns. Feelings of being on the boundary intensified with unsatisfactory supervisor-intern relationships (lack of…

Founded in 1988, Writers in Electronic Residence (WiER) is an educational and arts initiative that uses technology to connect students, teachers and Canadian authors as members of a creative writing community. Through on-line discussions that allow for a lively multi-party or many-to-many exchange, students and teachers in the classroom work with…

At Hoover High School in San Diego, California, the hard work of learning and refining teaching practices began and continues through professional learning communities (PLCs). The teachers and administrators see PLCs not simply as another reason to attend meetings, but as a means of engaging with their colleagues about the implementation of a…

Everyone can agree that the purpose of schools is "student learning," and that the most significant factor in whether students learn well is "teaching quality." Further, teaching quality is improved through "continuous professional learning." The context most supportive of the learning of professionals is the professional learning community (Hord…

Student-centred learning approaches like collaborative learning are needed to facilitate meaningful learning among self-motivated lifelong learners within educational institutions through interorganizational Open and Distant Learning (ODL) approaches. The purpose of this study is to develop blended learning platforms to promote sustainable living,…

Free, open, online help forums are open to the public and allow students to anonymously seek homework help from volunteers who have the time, willingness, and experience to respond. These forums offer affordable, accessible, and efficient help given as a social, public endeavor. Some forums exhibit a strong sense of virtual community, especially…

This article discusses the outcomes of a partnership between four high schools and one university to reduce the need for remediation in reading and writing. The purpose of the partnership was to build relationships between secondary and postsecondary faculty and to create a senior year English Transition course for students who did not meet ACT…

This article introduces the concept of "nation-state/colonial governmentality" as a framework for analyzing the ways current language ideologies marginalize the language practices of subaltern populations. Specifically, the article focuses on the innate limitations of re-appropriating nation-state/colonial governmentality in an attempt…

Previous research in the field of heritage language (HL) acquisition has focused on the connection between frequency of language use and HL speakers' connection to and maintenance of their HL. This dissertation introduces the concept of positioning through discourse into the study of HLs to show evidence that while frequency of HL use contributes…