The Ways to Improve Education in Desegregated Schools (WIEDS) project's purposes have been to develop an information base of successful desegregation/integration strategies and to construct a set of models and guidelines for use by schools in planning staff development activities. To these ends, a study was conducted to assess staff development…

Presents the findings of a one-year follow-up of the participants in the Florida Master Teacher Seminars for Community College Faculty and the National Master Teacher Seminar, which focused on rational analysis of instructional problems and the development of action plans involving realistic, creative solutions. (AYC)

This paper explains the importance of new teacher induction programs to help beginning teachers successfully transition to the classroom and remain in teaching. Such programs use different activities to orient, support, train, and assess teachers within their first 3 years of teaching. Activities include orientation, mentoring, staff development,…

Great teachers make a profound difference in the lives of children. Each of us can remember the personal qualities of a great teacher whose influence stretches into our adulthood--or who gave our own children a solid start in life. But these elusive qualities are hard to measure. It's even harder to use them to predict who will become a great…

This report provides 10 guiding principles for aligning school spending with the goal of creating a system of high-performing schools: (1) It is necessary to recognize that money matters--"you get what you pay for" applies to schools; (2) Aligning school spending to the goals of high performance requires investing in those things that…

Under Illinois State University's Experimental Leave Program, faculty are released from their teaching duties for two days to three weeks to update their knowledge in their areas of expertise. The program provides professional development opportunities in a format and time frame consistent with industrial and technological advancements. (SK)

Discusses a series of two- to five-day technical updating workshops for technical education teachers on the Iowa State University campus which stress hands-on, participatory training using industry software and hardware, industry training materials and curriculum, and industry visuals. (CT)

Describes how a process of collaboration between teachers and administrators is necessary for successful teacher evaluation. Guidelines are presented and then applied to an observation model. (MLF)

Hopes to better understand the perceptions of host teachers of their roles as mentors and the extent to which those perceptions were grounded in reflection on theory and practice. Considers to what extent supervising student teachers results in reflection on theory and practice and what cooperating teachers perceive as their roles in the mentoring…

Suggests that good fourth-grade teaching is an expert activity--a complex activity that is not amenable to scripted materials, standardized lessons, or any one-size-fits-all plan for the organization of instruction. Shows that the 30 exemplary teachers discussed produce superior educational gains as measured on standardized achievement tests--not…

A 1992 survey of 135 California principals identified key factors contributing to marginal teachers' performance: lack of motivation, burnout, and personal crises. Common symptoms of teacher marginality were persistent negative attitudes and classroom control problems. The most useful intervention strategies involved continuous classroom…

Presents a self-study of the effects of one reading methods course on the quality of lessons that teachers deliver to their ethnically diverse "at risk" students. Shows that robust teacher preparation can have positive effects in terms of both content and pedagogy. Identifies some of the general principles about student learning that teachers…

Focuses on the way norming sessions can function as sites of professional development that generate both individual classroom-based inquiry and group inquiry among teachers. Explores the effect of a site-based and rhetorically based model of assessment that attempts to engage teachers in continuous collaborative inquiry directly related to their…

Explores the evolving perspectives of six school members who served as tutors (three first-grade teachers, two Title I teachers, and the school principal) on professional development, classroom language arts instruction, and school-wide literacy curriculum. Describes how the program shifted to teacher development and curriculum reform as school…

In schools across the country, there is increased emphasis on coaching--a process whereby seasoned teachers provide instructional support, professional development opportunities, feedback, and materials to classroom teachers--as a central means to improve instruction and build the capacity of school staff members. Currently, a number of districts…