The development of agency is often described as critically important for all students. Countless school mission statements speak of the need to help young people become independent thinkers, for example. Colleges and universities expect high school graduates to be self-driven learners. And business leaders are forever calling upon K-12 education…

The author outlines steps for professional development via coaching and emphasizes the role of building and maintaining trust between coach and teacher. Four guideposts must be followed in coaching: Let the teacher drive the PD; adopt a curious, problem-solving stance; walk the walk; and communicate clearly and transparently. The article is…

Many teachers are turning to online professional development to meet their learning needs, but the vast array of available opportunities may be overwhelming. This article provides a framework for making sense of common online teacher learning opportunities. It also suggests situations where online professional development may be most useful and…

Committed to being a charter school with a professional learning community that empowers teachers, New Mexico's South Valley Academy (SVA) staff transformed its state evaluation process into a practitioner action research process (Anderson, Herr, & Nihlen, 2007). While teachers self-diagnose growth needs and play active roles in improving…

Argues for a "zero-base" revision of school curricula in order to weed out poorly functioning components. Outlines procedures for carrying out such a revision at both the district and building levels. (WD)

If the culture of teaching is to change from one of isolation and professional limitations to one of collaboration and empowerment, administrators must change how they view and interact with teachers. Mr. Steel and Ms. Craig offer specific recommendations for how school leaders can support and facilitate teachers' growth. (Contains 9 endnotes.)

Extrapolates some general guidelines for current classroom practice from Booker T. Washington's contributions to the theory and practice of education. (Author/WD)

Four principles emerged from 1980s reforms that should guide scaling-up strategies in California and elsewhere. School improvement efforts must be designed to create active, thinking curriculum in specific disciplines; success should be judged by whether increasing numbers of students reach agreed-upon performance goals. Initiatives should be…

Examines nine case studies involving science, mathematics, and cross-disciplinary curriculum reform. Common dilemmas included content coverage/depth of understanding, parental resistance, and insufficient time. Successful curriculum reformers relied on national and state guidelines, teacher collaboration, and local teacher leaders. Reformers must…

Because professional teaching portfolios serve as visual representations of teachers, their contents should be determined by individual teachers and should vary significantly. Portfolios might contain a table of contents, resume, statement of philosophy, official documents, letters of recommendation, evaluations, photographs, self-goals, goals for…

From the demise of numerous "New Social Studies" programs initiated 25 years ago have sprung some guidelines for revising curricula and promoting educational change. Some lessons: Avoid too many course offerings, involve teachers in early stages of projects, and design programs to meet major goals. Above all, such programs need to be relevant to…

Educators can improve children's thinking skills through the following five steps: (1) identifying and defining the desirable thinking skills, (2) identifying the components of these skills, (3) providing systematic skills instruction, (4) integrating the teaching of thinking skills with various content areas, and (5) improving skills testing.…

This future-oriented position paper provides a wide-ranging discussion of nine crucial issues identified by Phi Delta Kappa chapters and some guideposts for educators who must deal with these issues in coming decades. (Author/JH)

The National Commission on Teaching and America's Future concluded that reforming education hinges on restructuring the teaching profession. Major barriers include inadequate teacher education, slipshod recruitment, haphazard hiring and induction, inadequate professional development and recognition, and failure-prone schools. The commission…

Intelligence-friendly classrooms require a teaching/learning process governed by extant knowledge and theories about developing human beings' intellectual potential. Guidelines are based on setting a safe emotional climate, creating a rich learning environment, teaching the mind-tools and skills of life, developing learners' skillfulness,…