The California Mathematics Project was established in 1982 by the California State Legislature as one of several statewide responses to a widespread perception among educators and the public at large that the mathematical competence of American children has deteriorated. This report describes an attempt to evaluate the first year's work of one…

The professional development and evaluation of university academic staff members is discussed in an attempt to clarify the processes by which evaluation and professional development activities may become acceptable and helpful. Also presented are the student evaluation of teaching and the interrelationship between evaluation instruments and the…

A linear series of 16 skill-building activities is provided in this learning module designed to familiarize community college instructors with methods for developing learning activity packets (LAP's) that facilitate individualized instruction. The activities enable the instructor to: (1) determine a subject area for which a learning packet will be…

This ethnic attitude test is designed to be a learning experience in which Colorado elementary and secondary teachers can share ideas, change attitudes if need be, clarify information, and/or reinforce what they knew to be true all along about the multicultural heritage of the state. Participants are asked to indicate the extent of their agreement…

The Education Graduates' Post-Degree Learning Needs Study, conducted in fall 1996 and winter 1997, examined the post-degree learning needs of faculty/college of education graduates. Research activities included a literature review, a written survey of education graduates, research in two university graduate classes, telephone interviews with…

Designed for use as a development activity for counselors at Bronx Community College in New York, this program provides discussion materials, questionnaires, and worksheets from the college's Counseling Faculty Development Program. A brief introduction indicates that the program encompasses three components, empowering counselors in the teaching…

This is a study of the outcomes of the professional development initiative implemented in 1993 by the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). It attempts to answer the question of whether faculty participation in structured professional development activities results in significant improvements in teaching. The primary objective of the study was…

This paper discusses issues which make it difficult to measure the teaching performance of college faculty. The issues discussed are those which could lead to ethical and legal problems should they be ignored--those issues which are sensitive because personnel decisions are made on the basis of evaluations. Simplistic methods, such as student…

This document provides an overview of a Critical Literacy Project (CLP), involving a year-long faculty development seminar designed to help faculty reevaluate teaching strategies and redesign courses to include critical reading, writing, and thinking. The CLP addresses problems common to many community colleges: a large proportion of students…

An overview is presented of a 3-year project focused on the development and demonstration of an interactive teaching improvement model that was research-based and used electronic technology. Though the primary goal was to improve the preparation of preservice teachers in elementary and secondary education, it was hoped the materials could be used…

Project Basic Effective Strategies for Teaching (BEST) is a long-range three-year staff development program designed to provide teachers and administrators in the Austin (Texas) Independent School District with a common language and instructional plan. It is applicable to all subject areas and at all grade levels. This document contains the final…

This book examines teachers' lounges as sites for the development of communal knowledge. It highlights data from surveys of teachers regarding their interactions in 26 elementary and secondary teachers' lounges in Israeli schools. The book regards teachers in lounges as learners, whether they are involved in formal professional development…

This Northern Illinois University College of Engineering and Engineering Technology (CEET) initiative represents the authors' first attempt to prepare engineering and technology professors for teaching to improve student learning and the Scholarship of Teaching. This college portfolio is nontraditional in that it combines a learning paper approach…

Many college and university teachers across the United States remain hostile, at least privately, to student evaluation of faculty performance despite the general use of such evaluation in the academy for the past three decades. However, professionals can use student evaluations to their advantage if they "stage a pre-emptive strike"--in other…

Since 1991, the University of Kansas, Kansas City Kansas Community College (KCKCC), and Johnson County Community College (JCCC) (Kansas) have offered a cooperative class called "Teaching in the Community College" to provide community college faculty with practical applications to enhance classroom instruction. With an average enrollment of 22…