This study analyzed coaching conversations and interviews of four coach/teacher partnerships for specific ways in which kindergarten and first-grade teachers, and coaches, conceptualized instructional scaffolding for guided reading. Interview transcripts were coded for coaches' and teachers' specific hypotheses/ ideas regarding instructional…

Access to appropriate technological resources in schools has become an issue, commonly labeled the "digital divide." While the debate ensues in regards to an explicit definition for this phenomenon, research overwhelmingly demonstrates that students of marginalized populations remain on the lower end of access to and innovative use of current…

In this paper, the author aims to share some of the efforts, successes, challenges and lessons learned over approximately two decades of professional development projects both large and small. In retrospect the author contends that efforts toward change, improvement and advancement were always bumping against culture. So, this address attempts to…

A peripatetic is one who journeys hither and thither. Many people can claim that title by just describing a domestic day. In the context of the Mid-Western Educational Research Association (MWERA) conference theme, the globalization of the teacher education experience, the author defines a peripatetic as one who journeys hither and thither…

Data-driven instructional decision making (or D-DIDM) is a "process by which educators examine [data] in order to identify student strengths and deficiencies" (Mertler, 2007). My view of the process of D-DIDM merges three critical educational practices: classroom-based (or site-based) action research, assessment of student learning, and reflective…

The Urban Professional Development School (PDS) Network represents a group of professional educators from a large, urban university and six public and private schools in the same metropolitan area committed to providing progressive models of professional development for teachers across the lifespan. This paper demonstrates how participants in this…

As African American mothers and teacher educators, the authors' investment in teacher education is both personal and professional. The authors build upon these personal and professional investments in their teaching practices with primarily White pre-service teachers, in the hopes of better preparing them to teach African American children. This…

An experienced mathematics teacher in a rural high school in the United States was studied as she first implemented a reform calculus curriculum. Her instruction was compared to her previous practice using a curriculum not constructed with the reform movement in mind. Despite her early attempts to make her instructions more student-centered, the…

Assessing student performance is one of the most critical aspects of the job of a classroom teacher; however, many teachers do not feel adequately prepared to assess their students performance. In order to measure and compare preservice and inservice teachers' assessment literacy', two groups wee surveyed using the "Classroom Assessment Literacy…

This study used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to develop a teacher-friendly model for understanding the relationship between children's exposure to traumatic events, such as violence exposure, and their school achievement. With a sample of 146 urban elementary (grades 2-5) children, three variables (mental health behaviors,…

Since 1998 Ohio teachers have developed their own individual professional development plans (IPDPs), subject to peer review. Examination of 133 teachers' IPDPs indicates that most teachers selected traditional coursework, workshops, and conferences to earn PD credits. As the only activity linked to salary increases, college coursework was chosen…

A year-long action-research graduate seminar was based on the collaboration of the school district, university, and participating teachers. One year later, 16 participating teacher-researchers reported that they were more competent consumers and producers of educational research. Individual effects ranged from subtle impacts on teachers'…

Building on prior teacher workshops, online courses were developed to support classroom implementation of Ohio's English language arts standards by providing models of exemplary classroom practices and creating an online teacher community for sharing experiences and ideas. Although participants in the first course were primarily older teachers…

In 655 schools in 27 states, the Literacy Collaborative aims to improve elementary students' literacy achievement. A trained literacy coordinator trains other teachers and provides in-class coaching. Systematic collection of data on every child and data utilization by all program participants support continuous school improvement and create a…

A multimethod approach identified barriers and facilitators of action research training as a method to help teachers create school improvement. Content analysis of action research plans developed during training of 14 school leadership teams indicates the importance of technical research skills and the provision of time as a resource to those…