A description is given of a doctoral program in staff development. The purpose of the program is to prepare professionals to become effective change agents. In order for professional staff developers to effect change and growth, they must fully understand the change processes. (JD)

Staff development planners, trainers, and evaluators can increase the impact of the staff development activities when they view their work from multiple perspectives using the Centric Reflection Model. The model offers a visual representation of various types of reflection that can occur in training design, delivery, and evaluation. (SM)

Public coaching is a way to share one's thoughts with others in the organization as a means of facilitating organizational development. The article describes initial insights regarding public coaching and the unique features of public coaching as it relates to organizational development processes, explaining how and where public coaching works.…

Four school districts adopted a school restructuring project using Deming's business management method. Deming offered alternative views of organizations based on psychology, systems, perceptual framework, and causes of variance. He listed 14 points for quality improvement. Evaluation indicated that key staff members willingly engaged in…

Provides examples of practices utilized by school-based family support programs, explaining how family support programs work to ready children for school. Considerations for staffing family support programs are examined, including what type of staff to hire, components of a quality workplace, and types of staff development necessary. (SM)

In the Old Adobe Union School District in Petaluma, California, the school staff's goal is to assure that all teachers make the fundamental shift from teacher-centric to learner-centric thinking. For them, this is what distinguishes great teachers from good teachers. They believe this level of expertise takes years to develop and that schools play…

Describes the Iowa State University School Improvement Model approach to staff development, which uses the Computer Assisted Teacher Evaluation/Supervision (CATE/S) database program to help staff developers address critical issues. CATE/S can maintain performance evaluation data, suggest improvement strategies for teachers, and document staff…

School improvement without will and moral purpose--without a genuine commitment to all students--is an empty exercise in compliance that, in the authors' experience, can do more harm than good. The authors have seen educators use data to "more accurately" track students, further widening the opportunity-to-learn gap. In response to achievement…

When visitors tour the authors' classrooms at the J. Erik Jonsson Community School, a 3-year-old through 5th-grade laboratory school just south of downtown Dallas, Texas, they sense that something is different. Visitors remark about the respectful, caring environment of the school and the high-powered instruction, and they want to learn how they…

This article discusses the combination of two professional development strategies--lesson study and the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP)--which gave teachers in Freeport Public Schools, a district on Long Island, New York, new tools for improving instruction for ELLs in mainstream classrooms. The unique combination of the two…

Developing a model to improve student academic learning time and achievement and to develop local resources to continue the program after the funding period required a staff development program that enabled teachers to use specific direct instruction teaching behaviors. The staff development program is described and recommendations are made. (MT)

A survey of staff development specialists found that, while a few individuals had formal training for their positions, most learned from informal mentors and role models. Shortcomings in their training are noted, and options for improving professional training are discussed. (PP)

"Workparties," sponsored by the Teachers Centers' Exchange (Far West Laboratory), provide the time, support, resources, warmth, concreteness, and thought that productive meetings consist of. Descriptions of workparties planned for participants interested in staff development are provided. (CJ)

Information is presented to help elementary principals manage and facilitate staff development, drawing upon research concerning effective schools, educational change, and leadership. Requisite knowledge and skills are proposed for principals, with recommendations provided for using staff development to effect school improvement. (SM)

Using the research on effective staff development, a rural Minnesota school district developed a grass-roots professional development program which featured opening-week workshops, training programs, mini-grants, a professional library,and a school effectiveness program. (JD)