Teachers at a Calgery, Alberta, high school are pooling their talents and expertise within peer support groups to aid one another's professional growth. Evaluation of the program's pilot year indicated enthusiasm for collegial support groups. (MLF)

Discussions of relevant teacher effectiveness research, feedback from a teacher-coach, and group and individual self-evaluations were the three major techniques used in a staff development program aimed at improving the classroom performance of first-year teachers in a suburban high school district. (PGD)

Eliminating history and geography courses will not improve the social studies program; better teaching will. (Author)

The act of reflection provides an opportunity for amplifying the meaning of one's work through others' insights; applying meaning to new situations; committing to experimentation or innovation; and documenting learning and sharing knowledge. Students and teachers need time for metacognitive reflections, collaborative dialogues, and portfolio and…

Describes "tuning protocol," a collaborative, group problem-solving process to help teachers improve student learning. Provides an example of how "tuning protocol" works. (PKP)

A form of simulation, "Reflective Teaching," is a carefully structured form of peer teaching that requires a group of interested teachers willing to teach in the presence of each other. (Author/MLF)

Action research, with its emphasis on applied scientific inquiry, helps teachers develop the skills to analyze what is happening in their classrooms. (Author)

Videotaping has become an accepted procedure for assessing teacher performance and providing feedback for self-analysis. Split-screen videotaping takes the process one step further. (Author)

Schools and districts rarely have a fair distribution of teacher talent. Poor children and black children are less likely to be taught by the strongest teachers and more likely to be taught by the weakest. Several districts have implemented programs to reduce the teacher quality gap. Hamilton County, Tennessee, launched an initiative that included…

To recognize outstanding teachers, North Carolina offers them a three-day seminar that contains intellectual discussion, interchange with colleagues, and unstructured time to rediscover and nourish their personal and professional strengths. (MLF)

The excellence of a school lies in the way it directs itself--particularly its professional staff--to improve performance. To meet its obligation to be ever self-improving, the faculty should focus on studying students, creating tailored learning experiences, evaluating long-term school effects, and encouraging diversity. (PGD)

Two fundamental attitudes potential teachers should learn are: 1) To accept change and 2) To realize that they must be continually learning along with their students and the world. (AF)

A teacher member of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards describes the board's mission as enriching teacher preparation and making schools better places for learning. During the second phase of the board's strategic plan, members will research and develop standards and assessment instruments for 34 certification fields and devise…

Writing instruction can be improved by encouraging teachers to question assumptions, test strategies, and put learning into practice. Professional development should be designed in such a way that it should provide time and structure for teachers to pursue questions that interest them in order to create continual improvement in teaching of writing.

Intrator and Kunzman argue that professional development for teachers follows an orientation similar to Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs--and that this orientation needs to be reversed. Maslow posited that people must fulfill subsistence needs such as needs for food and safety before they can pursue higher needs like the need for…