A review is presented of recent literature concerning teachers' attitudes toward inservice programs. One of the studies concluded that items that teachers like at inservice meetings are: (1) active involvement; (2) teaching; (3) practical information; (4) meetings that are short and to the point; (5) in-depth treatment of one concept; (6) well…

Microteaching and the technical skills approach to teacher training began at Stanford University in 1963 as part of a preservice training program. The main skills that emerged from the program and were focused on from 1963-68 were response repertoire, creating student involvement, questioning skills, increasing student participation, and…

Explores J. Glenn Gray's neglected philosophy of education as a meaningful framework for grounding the practices of teachers. Addresses tensions between individuality and community, argues for a vision that honors wholeness and synthesis, contends love of beauty as an integral part of education, and embraces plurality and public action as one of…

In the spirit of educational reform efforts, public schools have national goals for the first time and are under pressure to adopt a national curriculum, national testing, and parental choice of schools. School reform depends on upgrading teacher education. Only a more carefully recruited, better prepared, and more professionally rewarded teaching…

The impact of the School Improvement Through Instructional Process (SITIP) program in Maryland schools was evaluated. The program encourages application of research on planned change to implement one or more of four instructional models: (1) Active Teaching--emphasis on direct instruction, review and discussion of homework, individually supervised…

Teaching is an applied science derived from research in human learning and behavior. The science of teaching is based on cause-effect relationships existing in three categories of teacher decisionmaking (content, learner behavior, and teaching behaviors). Several "templates" can be used to describe, interpret, and evaluate either…

The importance of school organization and its impact on teachers' commitment to staff development has been highlighted in recent research. In schools that are favorably disposed toward staff development, the norms of "collegiality" and "experimentation" prevail. Staff practices fundamental to the creation and maintenance of the…

This paper consists of an examination of current thinking on the factors influencing teacher training effectiveness and of a report of preliminary findings from a study of inservice teacher education. Previous research identifies five major components of training common to most inservice programs as presentation of theory, demonstration or…

A review and bibliography of staff development in higher education in several countries is presented. Contents are as follows: Australia by Geoff Foster and Ernest Roe; Britain universities by John Nisbet and Ray McAleese; Britain polytechnics by Harriet Greenaway and Derek Mortimer; Canada by Bruce M. Shore; Denmark by John Conrad; The Federal…

Distinguishing between teaching "styles" and teaching "strategies" is important in effective implementation of staff development programs. New strategies--specific techniques for enhancing learning--can provide teachers with (1) new visions of their content areas, their students, and themselves and (2) opportunities for creativity and autonomy in…

Federal and state educational indicator systems should include assessments of school context as well as of student outcomes. A review of the literature suggests that access to knowledge, pressure for achievement, and professional teaching conditions are the best general constructs to provide bases for school context indicators. (TJH)

Prepared as part of a series applying recent research in oral and written communication instruction to classroom practice, this booklet provides a framework for successful inservice education in communication skills. The first section addresses the question of why teachers need inservice in oral and written communication by pointing to the lack of…

Research extending back into the 1890's reveals that the quality of classroom instruction depends not upon differing curricula, for example, but rather upon the attitudes and actions of teachers. Instructional effectiveness is especially important for independent schools, yet availability as well as quality of candidates has dropped markedly.…

This paper on the future of preservice teacher education examines the question of whether a crisis exists today in schools and in teacher education. It is noted that judgments vary, given different perspectives and vantage points for observation, and that a reliable assessment of the current health of schooling and teacher education is difficult.…

It is proposed that the only technology that has consistently been effective over traditional education approaches is the personalized system of instruction (PSI). An overview is given of the purpose, origin, development, and use of the system. The five critical components are outlined: use of student assistants, emphasis on the written word in…