Principals must learn to deal with their most difficult, resistant teachers and value improvement over perfection. Naysayers must not be allowed to paralyze other staff's efforts. Principals can limit these teachers' power by changing seating arrangements at faculty meetings and modeling interpersonal strategies. (MLH)

This article describes the experiences of two university professors teaching academically gifted youth in a 3-week intensive academic program, Francis Marion University's Program for Young Scholars. This experience led the professors to reevaluate their teaching styles as they taught the equivalent of a college semester course in 3 weeks to…

This article summarizes efforts at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington to deliver mathematics teacher professional development using a Web site called INSTRUCT. The site is intended to assist middle and high school mathematics instructors in implementing the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics professional standards for teaching…

Critiques the British Teacher Training Agency's views on the knowledge and skills required by Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs), claiming that the Code of Practice embodies a technicist model for teaching and neglects the affective elements required, especially for SENCOs. The paper argues for an approach which incorporates a concept…

Summarizes the results from 86 research investigations of music teaching in group and individual lesson settings. Discusses the role of feedback in music instruction and describes a proposed unit of analysis for the observation and evaluation of music instruction. Includes a table of the descriptions of reviewed articles. (CMK)

When Joanne Rooney, a principal, asked 17 tenured teachers who were due for their formal supervisory visits at Pleasant Hill School in Palatine, Illinois whether her annual visits and follow-up conferences help them become better teachers," her question was met with muffled laughter. They knew that her rushed, mandatory visits and conferences…

South Carolina Reading Initiative (SCRI), a long-term professional development initiative designed to help teachers investigate research-based literacy practices and helps to build a knowledge base from which to inform instructional decisions. A model that shares stories about literacy coaches as learners and highlight engagements that believe to…

The guidance of a reflective teacher educator is necessary for student teachers to become reflective practitioners. This article shows how teacher educators can benefit from the work of scenario writing to become more reflective practitioners themselves. It tells the story of the experiences some teacher educators involved in such an effort over 2…

In the last fifty years, the use of stories in education has included vignettes as an effective stimulus for discussion of real-life contexts and problems. However, vignettes have rarely been used as an assessment tool and there is no reported consensus on their definition and design. This article documents the use of vignettes as an effective…

A growing body of research and literature describes a move to collaborative supervision of teaching. Is this process-based model reflected in supervisory practices adopted by supervisors when they work with marginal teachers--those whose teaching verges on the unacceptable? This study explored teachers' support for administrative practices…

The No Child Left Behind Act's requirements for scientifically based research and new accountability standards will affect how professional development leaders do their work. Meeting the new requirements means leaders must more carefully evaluate new programs of professional learning and assess the results. Evaluation must become a given, not an…

In schools across the country, there is increased emphasis on coaching--a process whereby seasoned teachers provide instructional support, professional development opportunities, feedback, and materials to classroom teachers--as a central means to improve instruction and build the capacity of school staff members. Currently, a number of districts…

This article presents the seven-faceted design for districts to engage and develop aspiring school leaders. These are: (1) Growing teacher leaders: Whose job is it anyway?; (2) A resource rich in leadership opportunities: Where is there more work to be done than in a school?; (3) Beware of silos; (4) We're all in this together; (5) Staff…

The Linguistic European Policy stresses the importance of linguistic diversity and encourages students to learn several languages, believing that the more languages we know, the better we can understand each other and preserve our languages. To preserve diversity and to value all the languages (either included in the curriculum or not) is a first…

Organized to make learning contagious throughout the school, this user-friendly guide helps create a culture of learning that promotes the simultaneous development of students, teachers, and parents--addressing specific ways to maximize study groups, student data, classroom walk-throughs, and more. The interactive self-assessment protocols focus…