This report comprises a collection of summaries of exploratory efforts by college professors at member institutions of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) to develop new and better ways of teaching. Usually these are local experiments aimed at improving the conditions for learning in a specific subject-matter area, but many of the…

Examines the effect of the educational reform movement and changes in the evaluation system on issues dealing with teacher development and retention. Recent events in Texas are used to explain how some issues, such as recertification testing, may be dealt with and to identify other issues that still need resolution. (GEA)

The author describes the reformed teacher education program at Memphis State University. The program follows a five-year, postbaccalaureate model. (CH)

This book describes and traces efforts to change teaching practice in response to current national reforms in mathematics education. It explores changing practice from the vantages of both teacher and researcher. Chapters include: (1) "Do You See Any Patterns?"; (2) "Learning to Comprehend Mathematical Ideas in Topics, Texts, Tasks, and Talk"; (3)…

Sustained professional development is a program in which teachers receive over 100 contact hours for professional development purposes. Although the characteristics of sustained professional development programs are well defined, the questions that were not answered were: "What kind of teachers are attracted to these types of programs?" and "What…

Concludes that, after learning about and analyzing their own teaching, it is possible for educators to make changes in their teaching styles. Focuses on a physics professor. (Contains 31 references.) (DDR)

Educators involved in staff development share insights about changes in the field over 25 years, discussing staff development as a professional function, reflections from a founder of the National Staff Development Council, professional advances, staff development as a major force for educational change, and blending individual development with…

Staff development as a transferable package of bite-sized knowledge pieces is outdated. To implement reform plans, teachers must be able to discuss, think about, try out, and hone new practices. Teachers can learn by observing children, adopting new subject-matter approaches, using strategies for learning together, integrating assessment with…

As teachers learn new ways of teaching, facilitators of teacher professional development must relearn their craft, expanding beyond workshops and courses and balancing interpersonal sensitivity with the need to challenge prevailing practices and beliefs. The goals of professional development should be to develop teachers as individuals and foster…

Discusses the importance of conducting research on the impact of professional development on student learning, explaining why research has not provided any answers and describing an alternative approach that involves beginning from the end then working backward. The paper presents four staff-development principles common to the diverse mix of…

Describes how various schools nationwide have carved study time out of their schedules in order to make professional development a seamless part of their work day, noting how many schools find it difficult to create this study time. These whole-faculty study groups work seriously and purposefully to increase teachers' knowledge and skills. (SM)

Questions and answers about staff development examine: what it is; why it is important; what teachers did not learn in college; collaboration; funding; connections between staff development and student learning; indicators of effective staff development; and improving staff development quality. Data come from six key national reports on…

Profiles of three introspective U.S. corporations show how they have taken significant steps to promote organizational learning. By considering the implications for schools, staff developers can foster organizational learning practices for professional development and school improvement. This paper discusses the learning organization as a common…

Presents a model of teacher learning and an analytic framework linking professional development to student and teacher learning. The approach begins with an analysis of relevant content standards and uses evidence of student performance to gauge areas of need. Professional development is evaluated using reflection, classroom observation, and…