This report describes findings from the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Professional Development Project, which was developed to inventory the alignment of dollars and professional development offerings to a set of professional development principles and district priorities; compare findings with other districts and best practices; articulate and…

This article discusses how rising student enrollment and a projected wave of teacher retirements will affect the teacher corps. It describes the possible shortage of teachers in the upcoming years as a problem more of specialization than outright shortage. Math and science teachers and special-education teachers will be hardest to find, as will be…

This study documents the type of support and professional growth science teachers gained as they implemented technologies from summer institutes. Teachers and staff maintained communication after the program through a telecommunications network. This study involved 91 high school science teachers from across the country who participated in an NSF…

A professional library for inservice education of teachers can be useful in founding a Teaching of Reading Book Club. The Teaching of Reading Book Club, in time and sequentially, needs to become a community of learners in studying, assessing, and trying out new, recommended approaches in reading instruction. Knowing how these trial runs in new…

This research synthesis provides insight into issues related to teacher diversity and faculty development. It begins with a review of the literature on models of professional development and the characteristics of effective professional development identified by research, with the knowledge that little, if any, research has addressed professional…

This article highlights the work of Ontario teachers who use research and inquiry in the classrooms as part of self-directed professional learning. It positions action research within the work of the Professional Affairs Department at the Ontario College of Teachers. It begins with a narrative account of the researcher's work as a program officer…

This booklet, which is intended as a support to the delivery of professional development of Australian literacy educators on critical literacy, presents a seven-step systematic model of all contexts through which a text may be constructed and studied. The first two sections discuss the model's use as a comprehensive framework for future teaching,…

This study examined teachers' experiences in the Washington state-mandated educational reform process, their pedagogical responses to the reform initiatives, and the way in which these were mediated by professional development activities such as those initiated by the Goals 2000 project. Five Washington teachers participated in this case study.…

This guide is the result of a 2-year initiative, Results-Based Staff Development for the Middle Grades. It provides information and resources for selecting, designing, and evaluating staff development to improve student achievement. It targets school staff development committees, principals, staff development leaders, and curriculum coordinators.…

The Southwest Educational Developmental Laboratory identified, located, and annotated references to inform the work of the Promoting Instructional Coherence Project, which investigates problems teachers face in their efforts to make their practice more coherent or meaningful for students. The references included in this annotated bibliography are…

This paper describes the three types of nonformal and informal professional development provided by teachers' organizations. The first type is a minimal approach, the second focuses on contextual variation and teacher diversity, and the third consists of informal learning opportunities developed by teachers themselves. The article identifies…

This guide answers three basic questions on how to develop a professional community of learners: (1) What type of polices, structures, and procedures will help staff to connect with and learn from one another? (2) What incentives help schools to undertake community-wide learning? and (3) How can schools transform themselves into professional…

This report describes a study on Arizona's beginning teacher induction, examining how induction program elements vary statewide. It also examines three induction models: the California Model, the Connecticut Model, and a model for science teachers in Arizona. In 2000, researchers surveyed 197 traditional public school districts regarding their…

This report summarizes the activities, outcomes, and recommendations of a small Commonwealth Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DETYA)-funded teacher professional development project "Teachers First." Noting that the project delivered a program of professional development informed by the recommendations of the DETYA…

The purpose of this ongoing project is to establish a model for school-based teacher development for secondary science and mathematics teachers in Taiwan. The model uses an action research approach with emphasis on constructivist perspectives of teaching and learning and the idea that teachers are to be taken as researchers and reflective…