This publication assembles the most current research on professional development and change for teachers looking to accelerate their professional growth and the improvement of student learning. Designed as a how-to resource, it reviews the stages of building an effective professional development system. The seven chapters are: (1) "Developing a…

Focusing on the benefits of mentoring for beginning teachers, this article reviews the common goals and organizational formats for mentoring programs, outlines basic knowledge and skills necessary for effective mentoring, suggests resources useful in preparing teachers to serve as mentors, and examines issues about mentoring for staff developers.…

Notes that many teachers have pursued the role of death educator without developing the necessary pedagogical competencies. Reviews beneficial resources including: (1) using contemporary literature and journals concerned with death and dying; (2) affiliating with professional associations which promote death education and death-related counseling;…

Preservice and inservice physical education teachers need feedback to improve their instruction and learning. At some universities, they can work in pedagogy labs, combining computer-based and observational feedback to improve their academic learning time (for example, analyzing their own videotaped performance within the pedagogy labs). (SM)

Many factors deter effective integration of technology into curricula. A three-tiered educational technology curriculum for preservice educators has students learn with and learn to use technology-driven curricula. Educating literate educators will enhance effective technology use, social demands for excellence and equity, and teacher productivity…

Educative teacher self-evaluation is proposed as a method to improve instruction. Envisioned is a mathematics-teaching evaluation instrument that includes a classroom student-behavior checklist, a procedural-conceptual-discrimination component, a projective-teaching-model-identification component, and an assessment of content understanding. (MDH)

Discusses the poor transfer of theory taught and skills learned in college to classroom teaching practice, examining reasons for preconceptions that student teachers bring to teacher education programs. The paper offers several teacher educator interventions to help student teachers build world images with consequences for their teaching. (SM)

Discusses five premises that shape design and delivery of postinservice staff development programs (focusing on health education): teachers respond to innovations in developmental stages; a multiphase approach is necessary; opportunities for teacher collaboration are crucial; staff development approaches must fit stages of teacher development; and…

The University of California's Developmental Teacher Education program uses Piagetian developmental theory and research for preparing elementary teachers. The article describes the two-year postgraduate program, which features small student cohorts, multiple diverse student teaching placements, coursework that addresses key topics repeatedly and…

Teacher educators can exploit a variety of types of teacher narratives to help develop new and veteran teachers. This paper explains the significance of the second self and details five narrative forms (the narratives of social criticism, apprenticeship, reflective practice, journey, and hope). A final section describes how to use narratives of…

Describes the Bridging Cultures framework, a tool for understanding how the expectations for a student at school may conflict with the values of the student's family. The framework describes two contrasting value systems (individualism and collectivism) and helps teachers consider where differences may lie to head off potential conflict. (SM)

This publication is designed to show principals how to improve staff development strategies. It begins by laying the foundations for teacher development. The first chapter explains what is known about teaching and identifies four general groups of teachers: productive teachers, who are highly motivated and skilled; novice teachers, who are still…

Designed for use as a development activity for counselors at Bronx Community College in New York, this program provides discussion materials, questionnaires, and worksheets from the college's Counseling Faculty Development Program. A brief introduction indicates that the program encompasses three components, empowering counselors in the teaching…

Feedback has emerged in the literature as a means to facilitate both the learning proccess and teaching performance. The context of constructive, systematic feedback includes evaluation as an important element in the process of decision making for teaching. Teaching and learning function as a whole to achieve outcomes from which specific…

Teacher self-evaluation encourages teachers to examine their personal teaching activities in order to understand and improve their practices. This publication explains what teacher-self evaluation is, why it is important, self-evaluation methods and procedures, the role of the principal's evaluation, influential factors, self-evaluation standards…