Research shows that teacher quality affects student achievement more greatly than any other school-based variable. The No Child Left Behind Act requires a "highly qualified" teacher in every classroom by the 2005-2006 school year and achievement gains by all students over time. These realities give policymakers a strong incentive to focus on…

This publication assembles the most current research on professional development and change for teachers looking to accelerate their professional growth and the improvement of student learning. Designed as a how-to resource, it reviews the stages of building an effective professional development system. The seven chapters are: (1) "Developing a…

Identifies issues that need to be addressed in developing effective teacher induction and mentor programs, including providing beginning teachers with reduced teaching loads, multiple opportunities to teach the same content, support from peers and experienced colleagues, and formative evaluation that differs from the summative evaluation of…

This article reports a study on the effectiveness of university teachers training involving 22 universities in 8 countries. A training group of teachers and their students were studied at the start of their training and one year later. A control group of new teachers received no training and both they and their students were studied in the same…

The rapid growth of online learning has led to the development of faculty inservice evaluation models focused on quality improvement of degree programs. Based on current "best practices" of student online assessment, the Online Faculty Development and Assessment System (OFDAS), created at the Canary Islands, was designed to serve the…

Designed for use as a development activity for counselors at Bronx Community College in New York, this program provides discussion materials, questionnaires, and worksheets from the college's Counseling Faculty Development Program. A brief introduction indicates that the program encompasses three components, empowering counselors in the teaching…

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is giving 82 public schools around the state a chance to show what they can do to improve student achievement through reduced state regulation and increased flexibility. The project referred to as the Partnership Schools Initiative teams local school campuses with regional education services and the TEA for a 3-5…

The role of the personnel evaluation process in improving the performance of teachers as classroom communicators is explored by contrasting the personnel evaluation system of Alaska Pacific University (APU) with that of the Anchorage School District (Alaska). While the APU system offers little specification for formative evaluation activities, the…

In January 1986, the faculty and administration at New Mexico State University at Alamogordo (NMSU) decided that the Senior Faculty Advisory Committee would serve as the Branch Promotion and Tenure Committee to advise the administration in the awarding of specific temporary contracts, continuous contracts (tenure), and promotions. The Committee…

A faculty evaluation system at the University of Georgia identifies and differentiates meritorious performance of individual faculty members. The evaluation system, which is used for faculty in the Division of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (HPERD), incorporates the use of a job description, an annual report of activity, and an…

This learning module on appraising the personnel development needs of vocational teachers is one of six competency based modules designed for both preservice and inservice education of vocational education administrators. It reviews the type of observable classroom and laboratory competencies a teacher should possess, the concepts and principles…

Many teachers resist staff development programs because they believe that "staff development" is a euphemism for "staff evaluation" and are suspicious of an administration collecting quantitative material on teaching for any reason. Similarly, there exists a competitiveness among teachers that precludes complete trust. In recent years, an increase…

This module is one in a series of thirteen specifically designed to help vocational educators develop the skills needed to function as resource persons to learners enrolled in field-centered competency-based teacher preparation programs. (These learners are persons with appropriate occupational experience and competence who are being prepared as…

A program designed to improve learning through improved teaching competencies, the IOTAH program (Instrument for the Observation of Teaching Activities in Higher Education) is reported. This program for instructional improvement involves three stages: introduction, training, and implementation. The introductory stage can be accomplished through…

This guide presents current research and thinking about teacher evaluation and combines that research with practice. Chapters contain illustrations and examples to make a research-practice connection and present a comprehensive approach to designing, implementing, and monitoring quality teacher-evaluation systems. Chapters include: (1) "Improving…