The module is the first of a series of seven discrete modules designed to assist elementary school teachers in the development of a career education program or to enrich an already established program. Module 1 may be used separately or in conjunction with the other modules. Topics covered in units 1-5 Module 1 include an overview of career…

Teaching is one of the most stressful occupations there is. Author provides some helpful advice on how to avoid letting classroom pressures get you down. (Editor/RK)

Lazaar Burnham was a hero in his town. Then he tried to teach and became a bust. Good counseling might help, but the principal would have to enforce proper guidance. Describes how an elementary school administrator and his school counselor acted together to save a hero and make a good teacher. (Editor/RK)

Discusses staff development for effective teachers and principals and describes a staff development program implemented in Jackson, Mississippi, which resulted in improved student achievement. (GC)

Describes an eight-topic inservice program to help teachers facilitate the integration of mainstreamed students into the regular classroom. The program covers the nature of the disability, its effect on the classroom, techniques for meeting the student's needs and preparing the student's classmates, and sources for support material. (PGD)

A "dial a strategy" device for adding variety to classroom teaching is described. Four concentric, rotating disks of decreasing size offer 4,096 possible combinations of suggestions for student thinking skills, class activities, teaching strategies, and behavioral objectives. (MJL)

This project's goal was to design a professional development model to improve the skills of elementary teachers in providing quality science instruction. Surveys have concluded that lack of training, time, and instructional materials are obstacles for elementary science teachers. Eight elementary schools in a mid-sized west central Texas school…

This study explored elementary school teachers' perspectives on their evolving understanding of themselves and children as learners while they were co-researchers in inquiry about children's thinking. Through collaborative inquiry, professional reading, classroom experimentation, shared stories, and personal reflection, participants created a…

Suggests that elementary school teachers are inadequately prepared to teach writing effectively and that major restructuring of teacher training programs will be needed to achieve a balance in reading and writing instruction at the elementary level. (HTH)

Marginal teachers have three common behaviors that have questionable or negative effects on student learning: failure to create an appropriate classroom atmosphere, lack of personal insight and motivation, and unwillingness to accept responsibility for problems. When mentoring and improvement programs fail, collaborative programs with the right…

Reviews selected research into the benefits of teacher development as an avenue for improving reading proficiency in urban schools. Looks at a multiyear teacher development intervention in a major city school district and the evidence it yielded, which indicated that professional development pays significant dividends for many of the most…

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)

Reacts to Frederick Burton's response (same issue) to her article on teachers as researchers. Emphasizes the value of collaborative research projects, the need for teacher researchers not to imitate the work of traditional researchers, and the use of local forums to give teacher researchers recognition. (RS)

Describes how seven elementary-school teachers (who described themselves as whole language teachers) learned more about language arts through collaborative teamwork, participation in research, and professional writing over a three-year period. Notes dramatic changes in the teachers' views of themselves, their teammates, their instructional…

Offers seven stories about one teacher's preschool and elementary school children to demonstrate that it is from their students that teachers learn to be better teachers. (SR)