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Exploring Content-specific Resources
A wealth of tried and tested resources are available for adoption by subject specialists. Colleagues, school districts,
state organizations, and many Web-based sources provide lesson plans, original source materials, videos, workshops,
courses, professional forums, wikis, and blogs. At times the choices seem unlimited, and choosing useful and effective
resources becomes the challenge. The Pennsylvania Department of Education is a prime example with the SAS portal. The
Curriculum Framework specifies what is to be taught for each subject in the curriculum. In Pennsylvania, Curriculum
Frameworks include Big Ideas, Concepts, Competencies, and Essential Questions aligned to Standards and Assessment
Anchors and, where appropriate, Eligible Content.
Exploring Content-specific Resources National and State Content Area Organizations
National and state organizations offer support to educators in the form of subject-specific Web sites, journals, virtual
and face-to-face conferences, forums, and the opportunities to build professional Web-based communities. A range of
organizations span cross-curricular themes, such as middle school, and highly specialized content areas, such as high
school physics or history teaching.
National content specific conferences, workshops, seminars. Leading professional organizations offer annual,
face-to-face conferences featuring acclaimed keynote speakers, topical workshops, and opportunities to meet fellow
subject specialists. For example, the National Science Teachers Association organizes an annual conference in a different
city each year and also several regional conferences. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics offers three annual
conferences in different cities. Other subject-based professional organizations offer grand scale residential conferences,
details of which are accessible online. Some of these events attract thousands of participants over several days and
provide the most current educational research, pedagogy, and materials.
State content specific conferences, workshops, seminars. Most states are represented by a range of professional
teacher organizations catering to subject-based, skills-based, or age range appropriate interests. Many national
organizations include local chapters that provide professional development opportunities with a local bias. For example,
the National Science Teachers Association (n.d.) supports local chapters in more than fifty states (http://www.nsta.org/
about/collaboration/chapters/.aspx). The state of Pennsylvania is home to an array of professional teacher organizations
(Table 1) catering to a range of specializations.
Art http://www.paeablog.org/
Earth Science http://www.paesta.psu.edu
English and Language Arts http://www.pctela.org/
Geography http://alliances.nationalgeographic.com/detail/pennsylvania-alliance-for-
geographic-education/edn9A758DB7BC74DEE1C
Health, Physical Education, Recreation http://www.psahperd.org/
and Dance
History http://www.pahistorycouncil.org/
Humanities http://www.pahumanities.org/
Mathematics http://www.pamte.org/
Modern Languages http://www.psmla.net/
Music http://www.pamusicteachers.org/
Reading http://ksrapa.org/
Science http://www.pascience.org/
Table 1. A sample of professional teacher organizations in the state of Pennsylvania.
Local content area (district, department, school, colleague). Colleagues offer an immediately accessible resource
for sharing professional ideas. Harrison and Killion (2007) expand upon the possibilities for teachers to assume
leadership roles in professional learning communities within their own schools. Opportunities for content-oriented
leadership are varied and include sharing of quality resources, modeling instructional strategies, leading workshops,
mentoring inexperienced teachers, and providing guidance on curriculum requirements. Teachers are able to access the
services of acknowledged specialists in order to improve their instructional effectiveness. For example, the Pennsylvania
Department of Education (PDE) provides a selection of online resources (http://www.pdesas.org/Instruction/
Frameworks) to support “instructionally certified personnel with unique roles and functions.” These include materials for
early childhood, emotional support, English as a second language, gifted students and others.
A wealth of tried and tested resources are available for adoption by subject specialists. Colleagues, school districts,
state organizations, and many Web-based sources provide lesson plans, original source materials, videos, workshops,
courses, professional forums, wikis, and blogs. At times the choices seem unlimited, and choosing useful and effective
resources becomes the challenge. The Pennsylvania Department of Education is a prime example with the SAS portal. The
Curriculum Framework specifies what is to be taught for each subject in the curriculum. In Pennsylvania, Curriculum
Frameworks include Big Ideas, Concepts, Competencies, and Essential Questions aligned to Standards and Assessment
Anchors and, where appropriate, Eligible Content.
Exploring Content-specific Resources National and State Content Area Organizations
National and state organizations offer support to educators in the form of subject-specific Web sites, journals, virtual
and face-to-face conferences, forums, and the opportunities to build professional Web-based communities. A range of
organizations span cross-curricular themes, such as middle school, and highly specialized content areas, such as high
school physics or history teaching.
National content specific conferences, workshops, seminars. Leading professional organizations offer annual,
face-to-face conferences featuring acclaimed keynote speakers, topical workshops, and opportunities to meet fellow
subject specialists. For example, the National Science Teachers Association organizes an annual conference in a different
city each year and also several regional conferences. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics offers three annual
conferences in different cities. Other subject-based professional organizations offer grand scale residential conferences,
details of which are accessible online. Some of these events attract thousands of participants over several days and
provide the most current educational research, pedagogy, and materials.
State content specific conferences, workshops, seminars. Most states are represented by a range of professional
teacher organizations catering to subject-based, skills-based, or age range appropriate interests. Many national
organizations include local chapters that provide professional development opportunities with a local bias. For example,
the National Science Teachers Association (n.d.) supports local chapters in more than fifty states (http://www.nsta.org/
about/collaboration/chapters/.aspx). The state of Pennsylvania is home to an array of professional teacher organizations
(Table 1) catering to a range of specializations.
Art http://www.paeablog.org/
Earth Science http://www.paesta.psu.edu
English and Language Arts http://www.pctela.org/
Geography http://alliances.nationalgeographic.com/detail/pennsylvania-alliance-for-
geographic-education/edn9A758DB7BC74DEE1C
Health, Physical Education, Recreation http://www.psahperd.org/
and Dance
History http://www.pahistorycouncil.org/
Humanities http://www.pahumanities.org/
Mathematics http://www.pamte.org/
Modern Languages http://www.psmla.net/
Music http://www.pamusicteachers.org/
Reading http://ksrapa.org/
Science http://www.pascience.org/
Table 1. A sample of professional teacher organizations in the state of Pennsylvania.
Local content area (district, department, school, colleague). Colleagues offer an immediately accessible resource
for sharing professional ideas. Harrison and Killion (2007) expand upon the possibilities for teachers to assume
leadership roles in professional learning communities within their own schools. Opportunities for content-oriented
leadership are varied and include sharing of quality resources, modeling instructional strategies, leading workshops,
mentoring inexperienced teachers, and providing guidance on curriculum requirements. Teachers are able to access the
services of acknowledged specialists in order to improve their instructional effectiveness. For example, the Pennsylvania
Department of Education (PDE) provides a selection of online resources (http://www.pdesas.org/Instruction/
Frameworks) to support “instructionally certified personnel with unique roles and functions.” These include materials for
early childhood, emotional support, English as a second language, gifted students and others.
