A well-designed professional development (PD) program serves to deepen and extend teachers' subject matter knowledge and extend and refine their teaching practices. However, professional development programs often fail to achieve sustained change in teacher practices and improvement in student learning. In this study the authors attempt to find…

Bechtel and O'Sullivan suggest that teacher change within the context of professional development (PD) is influenced by the design and content of PD initiatives. This paper examines the influence of an initiative designed to stimulate reflection and discussion among experienced teachers. It has been argued in the physical education literature and…

Teachers' attitudes toward the use of technology vary greatly. Studies show that many teachers have negative attitudes toward the use of technology and that gender differences exist, with females using technology less than their male counterparts. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a technology-focused professional development…

This chapter summarizes the 4-year-long PEP professional development (PD) initiative in terms of current perspectives on teacher learning and PD, shares lessons learned about the design and delivery of high-quality PD, and presents some principles to guide the development of future PD efforts. The first section reviews the definition and…

In this chapter, the authors discuss how the previous chapters has provided so much insight into the ongoing research on professional development of physical education teachers. They further discuss that the introduction of new professional development resources, provided in collaboration with a research university, has allowed teachers to form…

Reexamined Fuller's concerns-based model of teacher development, investigating teacher development during a two-semester teaching internship program by examining patterns of evolving concerns and aspirations. Results supported and extended Fuller's developmental model. Interns' concerns shifted outward from self, to tasks, to students, as well as…

This qualitative study of seven Chinese preservice teachers' learning experiences examined their construction of teaching self in three facets of the student teaching context (action, socioprofessional, and supervisory). Results highlight four possibilities of professional learning: stasis, confirmation, retreat, and growth. Productive student…

Presents quantitative and qualitative data from a study involving a university, school districts and teacher candidates. Preservice-inservice dyads were taught how to use action research to examine, analyze, and reflect upon their teaching. Results indicated general acceptance by both new and experienced teachers, with developmental differences…

Describes multiple aspects of the site coordinator's role in K-12/university partnerships where a master teacher was the site coordinator. Interview data highlight multiple themes within the areas of personal and professional benefits and challenges. Overall, site coordinators learned to walk in two worlds nd became an accepted part of the culture…

Describes a project in which a cohort of preservice teachers engaged in an inquiry into techniques of power, focusing on the power relations between teachers and students. The project analyzed the film, "The Paper Chase" and articulated eight techniques of power and certain elements from Foucault's "Discipline and Punish." The article explains how…

Investigated the differential effects of teachers' individual and collaborative performance on the application of an instructional systems design (ISD) approach. College faculty received training in an ISD approach, then applied it both individually and in design teams. Results found that the resulting collaborative designs were better than…

Investigated how a professional development program for integrating technology into school fit into teachers' work lives,by examining the activities of participating Indiana teachers as they introduced new classroom curricula. Observation and interview data indicated that program participation allowed teachers to share new curricula with peers and…

Examined whether change occurred in the attitudes of Arab teachers in Israel toward Holocaust education following an inservice study course. Survey and interview data indicated that after the course, teachers had a better understanding of what occurred during the Holocaust, and their willingness to know about its effects on Jewish people…

Examined how New Zealand teachers' expectations of low- income students' achievement changed during a 6-month professional development in literacy effort, noting how those changes were sustained over a year. Pre- and post survey and interview data highlighted changes in teachers' expectations and self-efficacy. Conditions required to achieve…

Presents a model of teacher learning and an analytic framework linking professional development to student and teacher learning. The approach begins with an analysis of relevant content standards and uses evidence of student performance to gauge areas of need. Professional development is evaluated using reflection, classroom observation, and…