A cascade model of professional development presents a particular risk that "knowledge" promoted in a programme will be diluted or distorted as it passes from originators of the programme to local trainers and then to the target teachers. Careful monitoring of trainers' and teachers' knowledge as it is transferred through the system is…

The new requirements for Initial Teacher Education (ITE) courses for the Learning and Skills sector mean that mentors now have a more significant role in the formal assessment of their mentees' practical teaching. This research looks at the emerging dilemmas and challenges and investigates the changing and complex relationship in institutions…

This article critiques learning design as a representation for sharing and developing practice, based on synthesis of three projects. Starting with the findings of the Mod4L Models of Practice project, it argues that the technical origins of learning design, and the consequent focus on structure and sequence, limit its usefulness for sharing…

The packet of information is intended to help residential workers with disturbed children in the United Kingdom. The first section on theory contains two papers: "Which Children Come Into Residential Care?" (Robin Benians); and "Models of Treatment: Behavioral, Psychodynamic, Cognitive" (Daphne Lennox). The next section…

Describes a cyclical model for identifying training and staff development needs within a local education authority in Gwent (United Kingdom). The model's features include local representation of school staff, prioritization of needs, and the evaluation of training effectiveness in schools. This model appears to be more successful than previous…

The report provides a survey of staff development (SD) managers in 505 English, Welsh, and Scottish further education colleges (227 responses). The objective was to determine how much SD has changed and matured since incorporation, and how much it has created benchmarks. Findings indicated that few staff developers had a relevant SD qualification.…

Effective collaborative in-service teacher education (1) occurs in the school setting; (2) promotes reflection in action; (3) allows teacher ownership; (4) involves pupils and peers in evaluating the quality of the learning environment; and (5) reflects the educational values of the teacher. (SK)

The paper reports on the outcomes of a Department of Culture, Museums and Sport (DCMS) funded project which provided resources for three groups of teachers in different subjects and age phases to have some time where they were freed from their teaching responsibilities, and also given time to meet together with other teachers to share ideas. The…

Cascade models of in-service training are widely considered to be a cost effective means of introducing educational change to large numbers of teachers. Data from 511 teachers completing a cascade training programme that introduced current ideas about and procedures for teaching English to young learners, suggests that provision of training alone…

This article describes a teacher development activity in two different teacher training contexts. It is argued that the two different aspects of the activity exemplify important principles in the emerging model of trainee-centred teacher development. (15 references) (JL)

This manual has been developed for those staff members at further education unit (FEU) colleges and polytechnics in the United Kingdom that are responsible for Professional, Industrial, and Commercial Updating (PICKUP) staff development activities. It is divided into four sections. The first section provides background on the PICKUP project, and…

This booklet describes the development and content of a model staff development pack for use in training teachers to incorporate the techniques of computer-based learning into their subject teaching. The guide consists of three parts. Part 1 outlines the aims and objectives, content, and use of the pack. Described next are seven curriculum samples…