The Empathic Rational Action (ERA) model is presented as an introductory training program for clinical supervisors. This system, said the authors, requires supervisory action as process rationale, to include objective data collection. (Editor/RK)

The proper use of objective ratings in faculty evaluation can be diagnostic, motivational, and remedial. Faculty effectiveness should improve if valid factors, properly weighted, are used periodically to evaluate teachers through objective ratings. (LBH)

Professional development research suggests that teachers learn best from and with each other in ongoing, job-embedded activities. "A Facilitator's Guide to Professional Learning Teams" provides a way of engaging school faculties in sustained, onsite professional development that builds capacity and collegiality, improves teaching quality, and…

This paper discusses how deliberation and critical reflection contribute to the quality of teachers' work. The paper defines deliberation and notes factors that could interfere with the process. The paper then examines critical reflection theory, differentiating three types of assumptions, and highlighting four "lenses" that can help the…

This paper presents information from a study in which researchers examined the implementation of local professional development committees in the state of Ohio. Ohio is one of two states that requires teachers to participate in a peer review of their professional development goals. This study examined the Individual Professional Development Plans…

This book focuses on the use of the Paideia Proposal to retrain America's teaching force, thus improving education. It is based on experiences operating the Paideia program at Sullivan High School in Chicago. It begins with an interview with the director of the Urban School Improvement Project at the University of Illinois about staff development…

This paper documents how 390 history students in the fifth through twelfth grades understood history in ways related to their teachers' involvement in university-situated professional development. During the 3-year study, the research team traced the principal elements and goals of the professional development programs (via pretests and posttests)…

This chapter describes an inservice Professional Development (PD) program for introducing a cognitive acceleration course designed to enhance students' higher order thinking capabilities. Teaching for thinking requires a specialized set of understandings and techniques, and the standard PD program described here lasts for two years and includes…

While research indicates that new teachers have several needs, experienced teachers and novice teachers may have differing views of the importance of these needs. In addition, needs may vary due to changes in society, special geographic needs, or small school issues. This study is an analysis of information gathered during and following the first…

Presents the Ten Commandments for Teachers'' derived from the words and work of Louis Agassiz. (PG)

A program for improving teaching on a campus should begin with an appraisal of the faculty attitudes toward improvement. (Editor)

Author sees a trend toward increasing standards for teacher certification and increasing accountability in teacher supervision. (SP)