Within any higher education institution, there are great teachers who recognize the challenges to sustaining a commitment to highly effective teaching. The current paper explores the beliefs and practices of 10 faculty members who won an undergraduate teacher of the year award at a research-intensive institution. The paper explores the challenges…

In this article we describe a graduate program for practicing teachers at the University of Florida. Offered in a blended format (mostly online but supported by a local faculty member), the program embeds graduate work within school reform efforts in hard to staff schools in partner school districts up to 350 miles away from campus in order to…

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has called for changes in mathematics teaching from a procedural to conceptual focus since 1980, yet the way mathematics is taught in many classrooms continues to contradict the recommended practices. The pervasiveness of this challenge has led some educators to suggest changes in university…

This article presents findings from a study about the perceived impact of a job-embedded graduate program designed to prepare teacher leaders within the context of university-district-school partnerships. Study participants completed a 30-item survey about impact of the program on instructional practices, collaboration with peers, participation in…

This qualitative study was designed to examine teachers' and principals' perceptions of the impact of a graduate program designed to prepare teacher leaders. Impact was investigated through interviews with 20 graduates and 6 principals. Using Mezirow's concept of transformational learning, the study documents perceived transformation of teachers'…

This qualitative study examined the experiences of 10 prospective teachers completing internships in low-income, majority-minority schools while participating in a professional learning community within the context of a course that focused on culturally responsive pedagogy. Drawing primarily from interviews and online discussions, the article…

Students in the Unified Elementary/Special Education Program at the University of Florida are organized into cohort groups, a common recommendation within the special education teacher education literature. Although highly effective in some instances, the literature also documents numerous problems in the use of cohorts. The current study was…

Personal epistemologies, individuals' beliefs about the nature of knowledge and how one comes to know, can facilitate and constrain cognition, motivation, and learning (Pintrich, 2002). They are especially relevant in teacher education because preservice teachers will become responsible for the knowledge and knowing of others. This study…

To date, most of the literature on the use of cohort groups in teacher education has focused on the benefits and limitations of the use of cohorts within teacher education programs. This study extends this knowledge base by exploring the sources of these underlying tensions by soliciting qualitative reflections of faculty. The purposes of this…