A "personalized" staff development project conducted by the University of Georgia's Department of Professional Laboratory Experiences and local schools used the Teacher Performance Assessment Instruments (TPAI) to assess beginning teachers' latent competencies and indicate potential areas of improvement. Both the TPAI and the staff…

Thirty-one probationary faculty from Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology (Ontario, Canada) participated in a research study that examined their individual and collective professional development needs. The study was conducted in the fall of 1991. Probationary faculty completed a survey instrument that was comprised of three parts. Part 1…

This brief report describes six 2- to 3-day specialized workshops conducted at Texas Tech University and Stephen F. Austin University campuses for 121 secondary agriscience teachers. The workshops provided teachers with instruction and materials to assist them in teaching the new 100, 200, and 300 level semester courses. Topics were as follows:…

This individualized inservice packet on literal comprehension in the content areas is intended to give teachers information and instructional guidelines to assist students to read for specific facts. It is one of a nine-part series of booklets--Teaching Teen Reading--in self-instructional format intended as a practical resource for teachers…

This individualized inservice packet on vocabulary development in the content areas aims to enable teachers to equip students with varied word recognition skills. It is one of a nine-part series of booklets--Teaching Teen Reading--in self-instructional format intended as a practical resource for teachers desiring condensed, readily usable answers…

The 1991 National Community Education Needs Assessment Survey focused on material and training needs. A more than 65 percent return rate on the open-ended survey indicated commitment and concern of community educators; 263 community education contacts completed the 4-page survey. The typical community educator who responded was the director of…

Given the current need for collegial interaction among teachers, a teacher collegial group (TCG) was designed and implemented as a participatory structure in an elementary school. An interpretive research design was used to: (1) identify interactions occurring among the six participating teachers during TCG meetings; (2) improve the TCG meeting…

This booklet reviews research on the middle school environment, the characteristics of the middle school student, and the factors involved in teaching effectively at the middle school level, and then proposes a method that middle school teachers can use for analyzing their own classroom behavior and their instructional options. The booklet's first…

This report provides a description of the experimental design, including the procedures, instrumentation, and sample, of the Junior High School Management Improvement Study. The research leading up to this study is briefly described along with the conceptualization of the management function of teaching and the development of training manuals for…

This essay discusses professional development as a capacity-building strategy. It raises questions about various approaches to capacity building, including the emphasis on professional development. It states that despite self-reports and surveys, scant, if any, replicable empirical evidence relates professional development to changes in teacher…

Following the implementation of the new Curriculum 2005, outcomes-based education, professional development is one of South Africa's national goals in the continuing reform of its education system. Most school teachers are not familiar with teaching outcomes-based education and need training to be able to do so. Project UNIVEMALASHI, a…

College-level students' achievements may be negatively impacted because college-level instructors, though well educated and informed in their particular subject area, may not be effective classroom teachers. A study was conducted to examine the preparation of postsecondary educators to determine if methodology training is considered to be of any…

This individualized inservice packet provides teachers with guidelines for the meaningful selection and assessment of print materials, so that they may locate and utilize the appropriate reading content for individual students. It is one of a nine-part series of booklets--Teaching Teen Reading--in self-instructional format, intended as a practical…

In 1984, the Kentucky General Assembly mandated a beginning teacher internship program that combined knowledge testing prior to a 1-year initial license for teaching and performance assessment prior to continuing licensure (determined by an internship committee with a teacher at the same school, a principal, and a teacher educator). An internship…

A systematic method for evaluating the presentation skills of volunteer trainers would enable the discovery of hidden problems. It would also increase individual trainer skills and satisfaction and improve the overall effectiveness of the training program. A first step is to determine the general presentation skills a successful volunteer trainer…