This evaluation summary synthesizes the results of the first year of the Wisconsin Rural Reading Improvement Project (WRRIP), a project aimed at helping small, rural schools improve reading instruction by teaching reading as thinking (also termed "strategic reading"). The means used is staff development: specifically, a leadership team…

This Issue Paper includes two papers: (1) "What Can Research on Teacher Thinking Contribute to Teacher Preparation? A Second Opinion," by Robert E. Floden and Hans Gerhard Klinzing, and (2) "Taking Account of the Distinction between Knowing and Thinking in Teaching," by Magdalene Lampert and Christopher Clark. Both sets of…

Recent statistics show that nationwide about 50 percent of new teachers leave the profession within their first six years of teaching. In an effort to encourage the persistence of new teachers and to enhance their productivity and competence in the classroom, many school districts have begun supportive programs for the beginning teacher, known as…

The teaching profession's present notion of the ability of teachers to contribute to theory development in language education needs reexamination. University researchers can best foster this ability by encouraging and assisting teachers to become engaged in classroom research. On the basis of both published evidence and field data, it can be…

The School Improvement Through Instructional Process (SITIP) Program, initiated in Maryland in 1980, was concerned with improving classroom and school activities through the application of process-product research on classroom and school effectiveness. All 24 local education agencies voluntarily implemented one or more of four research-based…

This monograph updates a 1978 publication titled "The Scientific Basis of the Art of Teaching." Based on lectures presented during the 1983-84 academic year, this work discusses research on teaching to provide a substantial scientific basis for the art of teaching and for the education of teachers in that art. For several decades, one research…

This publication reviews research findings related to the verbal questioning behaviors and practices of teachers. It emphasizes current research related to the impact of questioning practices on student thinking, achievement, and attitudes. This includes questioning techniques and strategies and approaches to analyzing classroom questions. A list…

A review of the research indicates that the interface between the findings from research on teaching and staff development of teachers is an important but neglected one. An improvement in teaching skills calls for an interactive or collaborative mode of professional development which is based on classroom interests and the needs of teachers, with…

Discusses the importance of teachers' awareness of students' backgrounds and cultures and cites research conducted in Great Britain by B. Tizard and M. Hughes and in the United States by S. Heath to support this belief. (DF)

A review of research concerning students' ideas of teacher effectiveness showed evidence in favor of the use of student evaluations of teaching performance. This evidence includes the validity of pupil perceptions and the value of such an exercise in itself in establishing a sound student-teacher relationship. (Author/RM)

This paper provides an overview of the Exemplary Center for Reading Instruction (ECRI), a research-based instructional program designed to improve students' ability to read, understand, and communicate in English. The program focuses on pre- and inservice professional development for teachers who are trained in a highly structured,…

Professional development is the cornerstone of school transformation. The first part of this two-part paper describes the professional development experiences of several hundred teachers and administrators in schools implementing New American Schools (NAS) designs and discusses the links between these professional development experiences and key…

Teacher self-improvement is a concept that can be used as part of a school's program for professional development and teacher evaluation. Methods for helping teachers evaluate their own performances, for obtaining feedback from students and colleagues, for designing self-improvement programs, and for monitoring progress are described. (PP)

Literature and research on inservice teacher education strongly suggest that traditional inservice, which rewards teachers who obtain advanced degrees and credits with salary increases, has no logical or empirical justification. School districts should assume responsibility for inservice training and should develop and fund these programs…

Two central aspects of the teacher-testing movement are addressed: (1) assumptions that form the basis for the prescription that teachers should be tested; and (2) the various domains in which testing might take place. Recommendations for teacher education institutions concerning appropriate use of competency testing are given. (PP)