Discusses 19 suggestions for improving the effectiveness of inservice programs, including conducting a needs assessment, developing clear objectives, showing examples of students' work, encouraging building supervisors to attend, and finding a good location for the inservice program. (RS)

Learning to read becomes a difficult task for many children, particularly if they have not been reared in early childhood settings where literacy-based activities, interactions, or materials are prevalent. This study examined the impact that providing a college-level course in research-based instructional strategies for literacy development to…

A Cashmere School District, Washington, project trained a cadre of rural educators and provided them with necessary skills and materials to conduct career education inservice training. Over fifty participants attended ten-day workshops at which the nine training modules developed by the project were used. Designed for independent presentation,…

The experiences of two social scientists in developing and implementing a teacher inservice program on inquiry skills of teachers are discussed. Problems and successes of the workshop are analyzed. (DF)

One of /I/D/E/A/'s major contributions is the creation and implementation of a comprehensive program of teacher education involving teaching methodology, school organization, and professional improvement processes. (MM)

This study examined how the needs of beginning teachers, teaching context, and the New Jersey District Induction Program affected beginning teacher induction success. This program compels districts to implement an induction program for traditionally prepared teachers during their first teaching year. From the 18 Bergen County (New Jersey) school…

Budget-conscious Americans are increasingly asking that staff developers provide hard data about program effectiveness. The concept of return on investment (ROI) is useful in documenting the effectiveness of staff development programs. To calculate ROI, baseline data must be compared with results realized by the organization. (SM)

By studying survey data from 1,000 teachers participating in a Title II workshop, researchers identified three structural features (form, duration, and collective participation) that set a proper context for professional development. Three core features of professional-development learning experience include content focus, active learning, and…

Defines the activities that distinguish successful faculty development programs and describes a survey completed in 1998 by faculty development officers at 130 randomly selected community colleges. The author profiles those responsible for faculty development, summarizes the extent that each development activity is used, and articulates the need…

In this article, the author reports on how several models are meeting the challenges of time, technology, and motivation. Some of the models discussed are videoconferencing models, the Anytime, Anywhere learning initiatives, and Educational Impact, a larger-scale provider of professional development resources that addresses this challenge by…

Research suggests the need to provide leadership opportunities for teachers within school settings in order to increase professional collaboration and community. This research explored one rural district's professional development model, which was evaluated to determine its potential in developing teacher leaders. This district's professional…

This report presents findings from the third and final year of the Reading First Impact Study (RFIS), a congressionally mandated evaluation of the federal government's initiative to help all children read at or above grade level by the end of third grade. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 established Reading First (RF) and mandated its…

Background/Context: In an era of high stakes accountability, public school districts struggle to improve teaching and learning for all students. As a result, effective professional development approaches for teachers are a high priority. Recently, teachers' learning communities (LCs) have been recommended because successful LCs foster teacher…

A well-designed professional development (PD) program serves to deepen and extend teachers' subject matter knowledge and extend and refine their teaching practices. However, professional development programs often fail to achieve sustained change in teacher practices and improvement in student learning. In this study the authors attempt to find…

The most frequent form of professional development for teachers--occasional workshops conducted by outside consultants--is widely regarded as ineffective. This document presents findings of a study, conducted by the Indiana Education Policy Center School of Education Office, to examine professional development and its connection to teacher time.…