This article discusses factors to consider as we evaluate the professional learning occurring in our schools. The article describes how a committee of six teachers and one administrator at Hershey Middle School in Pennsylvania's Derry Township School District adapted an activity for use in a two-hour professional learning session called "The…

The U.S. Department of Education believes it is important that all programs responsible for pre-service teacher training prepare all graduates to effectively select, evaluate, and use appropriate technologies and resources to create experiences that advance student engagement and learning. We call upon leaders of teacher preparation programs to…

States increasingly are incorporating Kindergarten Entry Assessments (KEAs) into their comprehensive assessment systems with the goal of helping educators identify gaps in children's competencies, target instruction to children's individual needs, engage parents to better support their child's learning, and identify needs for expanding and…

Highlights the initial restructuring efforts begun by a Pennsylvania high school participating in the Coalition of Essential Schools. After several years of discussion, the staff undertook summer inservice training featuring a reading project, an ideal/reality exercise, a shadowing project, and a school visitation process. Choosing an…

Because children who are deaf or hard of hearing are being identified at birth, fitted with advanced hearing technology, and enrolled in early intervention programs, families increasingly seek professionals who can provide services that support their choice of listening and spoken language. The increased demand for these services and shortages of…

Addresses teachers' concerns generated by the Madeline Hunter clinical supervision movement sweeping over 60 percent of all Pennsylvania school districts. Although some teachers praise the model for its attention to teaching, sense of professionalism, standardization of teaching methods, and career enhancement approach, two-thirds of the teachers…

Wouldn't it be great if all your teachers were as good as your best? Teaching is often an isolated profession in which teachers work behind closed doors, doing their own thing. Peer coaching is a collaborative, ongoing process that can increase the effectiveness of all your teachers. This "Focus On" is designed to lead a faculty into the…

While inclusion is a legal mandate, most early childhood teacher preparation programs are not doing an adequate job of preparing students to teach and care for young children with disabilities. Even if changes were made today to teacher preparation programs, states would still have to play catch-up with the existing early childhood workforce. This…

Five inservice workshops for coordinators and teachers of practical nursing were conducted to provide a coordinated approach to curriculum development and to the teaching of practical nursing throughout the state of Pennsylvania. In addition to providing up-to-date information on curriculum development, design, and revision, topics such as…

Describes the Arts in Education Program developed in rural Pennsylvania schools. It is made up of educational leaders, artists, community members, university faculty, teachers, students, board members, and an Arts in Education staff. The team works to improve the quality of life and education for students through the arts. (MD)

Information about the Erie Urban Network School Project as it has been functioning for the past two years is provided in this report. Designed (1) to meet the needs of the inner city child by aiding the professional staff through inservice, and (2) to understand the child, the community, the educational techniques best suited for him, this project…

This paper describes Project Impact*Net, a model project for delivering training to paraeducators and teachers in light of requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. The project delivered four semester-length courses to instructional sites serving 69 participants in Delaware, Idaho, Pennsylvania, and Utah. The Project Impact*Net delivery system…

This document is a transcript of a panel discussion on the development and early stages of implementation of an accountability system for vocational education professional personnel development in Pennsylvania. Representatives of the Bureau of Vocational and Adult Education, Pennsylvania Department of Education, and three of the four participating…

The Arts in Special Education Project of Pennsylvania (ASE) works cooperatively with intermediate units to make arts inservice workshops and special events available at regional and local sites. Descriptions of ASE efforts in inservice, information, assistance and resource materials, and presentations are given along with a list of ASE…

With the primary goal to enhance the degree of cooperativeness between CETA (Comprehensive Employment and Training Act) and vocational education in Pennsylvania, CETA "prime sponsor" staffs were surveyed in a study to determine (1) general staff background and information; (2) types of educational and noneducation experiences; (3)…