This study identified common themes that school principals experienced in managing school work culture change. Interviews with principals who completed Managing Productive Schools training established six independent work culture dimensions and three kinds of effects. The paper uses the nine quality areas as a model for reporting the common…

Describes how one teacher used an instructional Web site to encourage student learning, explaining how such Web sites can create teacher development opportunities. The paper explains how to get teachers to build and use instructional sites and how to empower teachers to participate and innovate. Sidebars describe the school, explain what makes a…

Time is essential for teacher learning--time for teachers to sort out what they've learned, and time to practice new strategies. Schools must take a long-term view of professional learning and afford teachers the one thing essential to changing practice. They also must remember that after finding time, the second requirement is using it well.

Effective professional development requires that the district take charge to develop a comprehensive strategy. Districts must be able to describe the strategy and organize to meet their goals. A balanced strategy includes compensation, planning time, teachers' job structure and responsibilities, and professional learning opportunities. Districts…

Most schools and districts have created an artificial distinction between working and learning. They operate in a way that suggests teachers work (teach) 180 or so days a year and learn (attend programs) on four or five days each year set aside for professional development. The author states that school leaders must end this distinction between…

Teachers and administrators of Ogden Elementary School (Ogden, Kansas) had a problem--the school had had a pattern of poor student performance at least since 1991, when the Kansas State Assessment was implemented. Ogden had failed to reach the state standard of excellence (25% of tested students scoring in the "exemplary" category; 5% or…

This article describes computer literacy staff development activities conducted at the East Windsor (New Jersey) Regional School District. The program has featured mini-grants for teachers, summer programs for students, and interdistrict training. (PP)

Staff developers training teachers to use computers should design learning experiences that encourage teachers to reflect on the learning process itself. These reflections will help them understand how their students learn new material and solve problems. LOGO is a particularly appropriate tool for this purpose. (PP)

Described is a six-step school improvement process that evolved during attempts to assess needs, plan improvements, implement changes, and evaluate success at a Michigan school district's elementary schools with disadvantaged pupils. The process involves parents and school staff identifying needs and setting priorities for staff development. (PP)

A regional approach to improving small rural schools through staff development was taken in Washington State. Consultants from the Child Service Demonstration Center at Washington State University trained teachers to use Madeline Hunter's instructional methodology, called Instructional Theory into Practice. (PP)

A seven-part sequence for evaluation of a teacher center includes: (1) determining the purpose of evaluation; (2) identifying decision makers; (3) identifying areas of concern to decision makers; (4) determining what information is necessary to make decisions; (5) determining the means of collecting information; (6) organizing and using the…

A workshop designed to assist local staff developers with the evaluation of their staff development programs is described. The intent of the workshop is to provide specific technical assistance for implementing a planned and consistent evaluation process. The workshop's goal is to allow a nonspecialist in evaluation to gather data necessary for…

Describes a staff development effort at a small, predominantly Native American elementary school. Staff developers attempted to improve teachers' ability work on reading comprehension, but their development methods were unsuccessful. They realized that they had to match their work with teachers with the school culture and to listen to the teachers…

The article traces the path of change, over several years, in school culture through a school district's five-year Human Resource Development Program, presents formative evaluation data, reveals critical change decisions, and speculates on what might have been done differently. (CB)

Results-driven education, systems thinking, and constructivism are producing profound changes in schools and the conception and implementation of staff development. The paradigm shift is essential for creating learning communities where teachers and administrators collaborate with peers, researchers, and students to make sense of the…