The purpose of this study is to provide the fields of art education and museum education with gallery teaching practice that uses students’ prior knowledge of art making as the means to guide interpretation of art in the museum. This study develops touring methods that maintain the identity of the student artists in the context of adult artists’ works in the museum. This investigation is an action-based research study of how a museum educator can develop touring practice to use art objects to enable students to think reflectively on their art making. The results of this study identify the characteristics of an art museum tour that is centered on students and art making. This study demonstrates a framework for teaching in the museum that incorporates constructivist learning theory, social and active learning, a concepts-based approach to art learning, and develops student cognition. / text

No method exists for evaluating the effectiveness of professional development (PD) for teachers in Boston Public Schools. Often PD does not contribute to teacher quality, which can hinder student outcomes. The purpose of this study was to explore teachers' perceptions of the effectiveness of PD among K-8 teachers and to examine the alignment of PD in the schools with the 4 prerequisites of professional learning outlined by Learning Forward. These 4 prerequisites served as the conceptual framework. Of the research questions, 4 reflected the topics of the 4 prerequisites: commitment to students, readiness to learn, collaboration, and learning styles. The fifth research question was based on PD in general. In this case study, data from interviews from nine teachers were analyzed typologically. Key teacher perceptions included a commitment to students, overall lack of relevance and usefulness of PD and therefore lack of readiness to learn, failed efforts to promote collaboration, and lack of attention to teachers' learning styles. Strained partnerships with colleagues and lack of time hampered the effectiveness of the PD. Based on these outcomes, a professional learning opportunity for administrators was created to teach them how to develop effective professional learning for teachers based on the 4 prerequisites. This professional learning opportunity can be implemented at the local level to promote the design of more effective professional learning in Boston Public Schools. By improving the effectiveness of professional learning and subsequently teacher quality, social change in the form of improved student outcomes can be initiated.