Educational researchers have increasingly paid attention to how practitioners can access and utilize research knowledge, but the field still has been unable to create a research tradition and corresponding diffusion model that directly and uniformly influences teachers' practice. One reason for this is the contested status of teaching as a…

Hiring new teachers and continuing their professional growth so that they remain in the profession and become effective teachers have been a challenge for decades. Research suggests that induction programs can achieve these outcomes if they are highly structured, include mentoring, focus on professional learning, and emphasize collaboration that…

The purpose of this study was to examine the sources of efficacy of experienced teachers who are making the transition to reform-based mathematics teaching, by examining the criteria that they use to evaluate their teaching effectiveness. The quantity and quality of 10 elementary teachers' verbal reflections on the success of their lessons were…

This case study describes the impact of high-stakes testing on a first-year teacher's literacy instruction. Results indicated that content from literacy methods courses was often abandoned in favor of compliance to a test preparatory program. As an intervention, I began teaching in the third-grade classroom while the beginning teacher observed.…

Investigated the nature of professional interactions of two teams of middle school mathematics teachers involved in a schoolwide professional development project centered around increasing teachers' collegial discourse in order to improve practice. Findings indicated that the collegial interactions had little impact on one team but drastically…

Describes a California beginning-teacher support and assessment program, designed and carried out by a public university and two elementary school districts. discusses program strengths and challenges, changes made based on ongoing feedback and evaluation, and lessons learned during the program's first three years. Providing options and allowing…

Investigated the impact of a school-based teacher-education partnership on the professional development of elementary mentor teachers. Analysis of two mentor-teacher surveys indicated that mentors perceived benefits in the areas of teaching style, addressing student needs, and program influences. Mentor teachers became more self-confident,…

Compared cooperating teachers' and student teachers' perceptions of student teacher concerns. Measures of instructional, classroom-management, discipline, and attitudinal concerns obtained before and after the internship indicated that before the internship, both groups shared many instructional and disciplinary concerns. After the internship,…

Demonstrates how a graduate-level Initial Teacher Education Program at one university and its 12 partner schools conducts teacher research to promote educational renewal, describing a required teacher inquiry course and its implications for the partner schools and the students and teachers involved. Other efforts related to the partnership and…

Surveys of elementary and secondary educators identified competencies needed by teachers and administrators working in inclusive settings. The most important competency for both groups was collaboration. Notable teacher competencies were flexibility, classroom practices, and student knowledge. Significant administrator competencies included staff…

Traces the national reform movement in teacher education. making connections between elements of that reform and statewide reform in Maryland. Components in the Holmes Group, Carnegie Commission, National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), and National Board for Professional Teaching Standards are compared and contrasted to…

Describes POET (Principles of Educating Teachers), an ongoing statewide effort to improve the quality of Georgia's preservice teacher education in middle school mathematics and science. Explores POET's goals, foundations, processes, and activities and notes what POET staff have learned about statewide teacher education reform. (SM)

Describes how one high school implemented schoolwide action research teams as a comprehensive change management strategy to develop teacher leaders, teachers as change agents, and a collaborative reflective culture. The three-year case study showed that work on action research teams did not come naturally or easily, but teachers improved over time…

Three integrated case studies in an elementary, middle, and high school examined similarities and differences in teacher leadership. Surveys, interviews, discussions, and observations indicated that time, support, and school climate both supported and constrained teacher leadership. Giving teachers voice through shared decision making played a…

Explores issues related to defining teacher leadership and discusses the implications for teacher education and schools through a synthesis of the literature. Also presents a university-school collaborative framework for the development of leadership in preservice and inservice teachers. (Author/SM)