In the late 1970s, teachers were viewed either as weak links to be circumvented or as technicians to be programmed. Now educators recognize the significance of well-educated teachers being able to assume new powers and responsibilities to redesign schools. This article reviews recent teaching research and explores findings developed at the…

Outlines three teacher coaching models. Technical coaching staff development workshops teach specific methods and pair consultants with teachers or teachers with teachers. In collegial coaching, the teacher's ability to self-coach is developed through teaching in pairs with a coach teacher. Challenge coaching helps teams of teachers resolve…

Describes a staff development project using a coaching model in which teachers team teach in the classroomn. In this model the teacher and the coach (a teaching peer) plan, execute, and evaluate performance in the class side by side. (MD)

Albuquerque schools developed an innovative program called "Support for Instructional Development" that includes a basic format of seminars, journals, and team teaching. Includes discussion of four principles the school system learned about the teacher's role in educational development. (MD)

Outcomes of peer coaching in two Ann Arbor, Michigan, schools show that the 41 teachers became comfortable with the process and found it useful in improving collegiality, experimentation, and student learning. (MLF)

The Keystone Project in Fort Worth, Texas, offers teachers the skills necessary for collaboration in a four-week Lab School. Teachers return to their schools to assume either a formal role as a Cadre Trainer or an informal role as a Demonstration Teacher in promoting a supportive school climate. (MLF)

A plan for improving teacher quality calls for close cooperation between faculty of education staff at New York State University at New Paltz and public school officials. (DS)

Article gives nine guidelines plus a model of content organization for staff development. (GB)

Describes a technical assistance approach that offers a systematic framework for planning, conducting, and evaluating in-service training. (Author/MLF)

In fall 1984, the Educators' Forum was initiated to help stimulate and guide teachers studying their own practice. To assist each other with classroom investigations, the teachers hold a two-hour meeting, complete with a discussion leader. This article illustrates the process using sample topics involving cooperative science, first grade…

Proposals to improve teacher quality often focus on hiring teachers with the right combination of personality, values, and knowledge and skills. The author suggests that although these elements of teacher quality are important, schools also need to pay attention to the conditions of classroom life that can determine teaching quality. She…

Students, parents, and sometimes even teachers often believe that complex mathematics is too difficult for certain learners. But the programs described in this article demonstrate that anyone can learn, understand, and use complex math. Lesa M. Covington-Clarkson boosted the confidence of black 6th graders by teaching them to use graphing…

Cooperative professional development is a process by which teams of teachers work together for their own professional development. Types of cooperative development described include the following: (1) professional dialogue; (2) curriculum development; (3) peer supervision; (4) peer coaching; and (5) action research. (MLF)

The Regional Staff Development Center serves the professional development needs of educators in two Wisconsin counties. Through alliances, networks, and study committees, members help each other maintain the spirit of inquiry. (MLF)