This hearing focused on issues related to teacher quality. It examined the role of the federal government in providing funds for professional development and looked at the largest federal program dedicated to this area, the Eisenhower Professional Development Program. After opening statements by Chairman Howard P. McKeon and Ranking Member Matthew…

This study examined the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification process, investigating 65 white and African American teachers from North Carolina, Ohio, and the District of Columbia who had sought National Board certification in one of two areas--early adolescence/English language Arts and middle…

This study examined cognitive coaching conferences between 1994 and 1997 as teachers practiced their coaching skills. Participants were part of a 3-year grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The cognitive coaching process was used to provide teachers with support in implementing content standards. Coaches participating in the study…

Researchers used simultaneous feedback, a means of modifying behavior through verbal cues transmitted via a transistorized ear plug, to improve the teaching skills of university faculty engaged in the act of teaching. Faculty identified areas they wished to improve after viewing videotapes of their teaching. (Authors/PP)

The present body of teachers of the arts represent neither the best performers in the arts, nor the best teachers in the sense of learning facilitation. This double deficit in teaching competencies was discussed with reference to the need for inservice training. (Author/RK)

Because students don't learn if teachers can't teach, the Bay Area Writing Project is getting teachers fired up about writing and the teaching of it. (Editor)

Presents case studies of four exemplary Kentucky schools to illustrate characteristics of a statewide initiative designed to support standards based educational reform. The reform emphasized professional development, increased financial support for professional development, and used a decentralized model so that local needs influenced the types of…

A study involved 20 teachers who volunteered to use the horizontal evaluation model. Described are three strong themes that emerged: (1) teachers altered their views about evaluation; (2) teachers challenged the prevailing school practice rationality; and (3) teachers took some modest steps toward changing school relations. (SI)

Discusses the role of teacher experience in modifying curricula and maintaining skill level. Uses three case studies to demonstrate that teachers possess the skills to create pragmatic curricula and enhance their own skills. Suggests that teachers who transform themselves from deskilled technicians to reskilled practitioners question the…

Seven basic, generic teaching skills to help graduate assistants in physical education include providing realistic planning decisions, plenty of activity time, simple introduction, success-oriented activities, key performance cues, feedback related to performance cues, and simple disclosure. The article provides information about teaching activity…

This interview with Linda Darling-Hammond examines recommendations in the new national report, "What Matters Most: Teaching and America's Future," which focuses attention on improving teaching as a way to improve student achievement. The interview examines such issues as characteristics of good faculty development; the effect of national teaching…

Describes the problem with many professional development workshops and seminars intended to enhance teachers' understanding of how to educate diverse students, explaining that professional development which will make a difference for minority students must deepen teachers' knowledge of the curriculum, help them create effective lessons, and enable…

This article will present a case study of an unrequited teacher-learning collaboration, an attempt to work with an experienced teacher to redesign his practice in consonance with Fostering a Community of Learners (FCL) principles and practices. The author's purpose in presenting this case will be threefold: first, to provide a coherent account of…

Coaching took a different form in this South Dakota school when teachers' own classes were the setting for their professional learning. Teachers had the chance to watch what others could do with their classes, as well as to be watched. The chance to observe led to greater reflection and self-generated change.

Self-assessment is a powerful technique for improving achievement. In this article we outline a theory of teacher change that links self-assessment by teachers to their professional growth. This theory provides avenues for peers and change agents to influence teacher practice. We apply the theory to change in mathematics teaching and report an…