Action research, also called classroom or teacher research, has been defined as "systematic, intentional inquiry by teachers". Action research encourages school personnel to systematically develop a question, gather data, and then analyze that data to improve their practice. Over the last 15 years, the complexities of using action…

This article provides a summative evaluation of the development and implementation of the Open Learning Systems Education Trust's (OLSET's) "English in Action" programme from 1992 to the end of 2009. It describes the programme's development from a uni-modal distance education model focused on enhancing learner involvement and learner…

This article presents findings from an investigation of the overall effectiveness of Michigan's Freedom to Learn (FTL) One-to-One initiative. The major goal of the FTL initiative was to help students to gain 21st century knowledge and skills while increasing their learning and achievement through the integration of over 20,000 laptop computers…

If one "googles" the term "professional development" on the Web, he/she gets definitions such as "the development of skills both tangential and essential to one's current occupation." Digging a little deeper does not yield a common definition, just distinctions among education, training, and credentialing. Despite the…

The document presents the final report of a training program to facilitate sound working relationships among parents, paraprofessionals, and educators in the education of severely and profoundly retarded children. Three program phases are outlined: Phase I--development of written and audiovisual training materials pertaining to existing teaching…

Five inservice workshops for coordinators and teachers of practical nursing were conducted to provide a coordinated approach to curriculum development and to the teaching of practical nursing throughout the state of Pennsylvania. In addition to providing up-to-date information on curriculum development, design, and revision, topics such as…

The Appalachian Education Satellite Project was conceptualized in 1973 (1) to develop courses in reading and career-education instruction for teachers in the Appalachian region, and (2) to determine the feasibility of conducting such courses over a large geographical area via communication satellites. The courses consist of pretaped video…

How does teachers' technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) inform their instructional planning? How can this knowledge be enhanced? In an interpretivist study of experienced secondary social studies teachers' planning, we sought to discover clues to the nature and development of these teachers' TPACK-in-action as it was expressed in…

This is a qualitative study of lesson study implementation and its impact on instructional practice in mathematics in a district in California. Four research questions guided this study: (1) What were the goals of the district and teachers as they relate to the implementation of lesson study in this case? (2) What were the relationships between…

Over the last five years schools and districts have been under enormous pressure to improve student achievement scores on state accountability assessments. Educators agree that professional development plays a key role in providing the knowledge and skills needed to increase teacher effectiveness in the classroom. There is no reliable measure for…

A mobile inservice unit providing continuing education for staff members of nursing homes, extended care facilities, and small hospitals has been developed by Phoenix College for Maricopa County, Arizona. (LH)

Provides an outline of the topics covered in the program. Included are introductions to transactional analysis and Piaget's theory of intellectual development. Explains the evaluation of the program and presents data obtained from past participants. (GS)

Describes an extensive inservice training program for child care workers that defines the tasks and roles of the worker, other staff members, and the child, or youth, and provides concepts from developmental psychology as well as strategies for achieving objectives. (SDH)

Special skills are required for foster parenting adequate to the needs of today's foster children. This paper describes how one agency planned and implemented the first components of a comprehensive, long-range program of foster parent education. (SDH)

Findings indicate that an in-service educational program can help an agency achieve two ends: determine the types of persons to hire and plan future training. This analysis of a program for juvenile court personnel points out how this might be done. (Author)