A kaleidoscope contains mirrors and colored glass, pebbles, or beads whose reflections create complex patterns of frequently changing colors and shapes when rotated. The vibrant and intricate images, generated by...

Cultivating, building, and sustaining relationships is not guaranteed in all learning environments; however, just as we help students develop cooperative and communication skills, we can adopt and hone collaborative...

The phrase "Teachers work in isolation," has long been used to describe the working conditions of educational professionals, including most middle level teachers. Educators have found ways to solve this problem by...

Why is it that on the news every day, they start by saying "good evening" and then proceed to tell us exactly why it isn't? Some of the most powerful statements and questions I've ever heard—like the one...

The focus on state and national standards, high-stakes testing, and student growth has prompted schools to apply the old adage that two heads are better than one. School administrators and a few teacher leaders...

Teacher collaboration has been a common element of middle grades initiatives for years, typically one or more of these three organizational models: common planning time, professional learning communities, and critical...

If we’re not careful, we may lose our intellectual selves. We can grow numb with repeated exposure to ideology and structures built to maintain the school’s status quo. With each passing year, our...

When I talk to colleagues about being a “connected” educator, the first response is often “I don’t have time!” followed by “Why? What’s in it for me?” I can relate....

Ruthie Smith Stevenson, Ph.D., is a professor and coordinator of the doctoral program in educational leadership K–12, at Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi. She is a member of the Mississippi Board of...

A professional learning community (PLC) is more than a group of individuals meeting together to read a common book or discuss a relevant issue. According to Huffman and Hipp (2003), PLCs are a way of working; "a...