Highlighting the issues involved in starting and maintaining a teacher study group, this book provides practical suggestions for organizing, facilitating, and dealing with group dynamics within a study group. It addresses the details that go into making decisions about the time, place, group size, resources, and structure of the meetings, as well…

Discusses the need of special education teachers for a mentor to help them through the critical first year of teaching students with special needs. The different reasons why special education teachers, in particular, need mentors are listed, along with the ways mentoring assistance could be provided. (Author/CR)

Describes a project that used the process of cognitive coaching to implement the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) standards. Argues that cognitive coaching is a vehicle that helps teachers change and reform both curriculum development and instruction, combats the isolation of teaching, provides feedback, aids in reflective…

The purpose of this guide is to help experienced professional developers and others organize and conduct professional development that trains facilitators of National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) study circles. Promoters of the study circle facilitators training should be experienced trainers. This guide includes…

An individualized time plan questionnaire and an individualized time plan were developed from a review of the literature concerning effective teaching and time management as well as personal experience. These tools can help teachers increase their efficiency in the areas of planning, paperwork, collaboration, and instruction. (DB)

It's true that students gain more from learning experiences when they're encouraged to plan their activities, share their knowledge with one another, and tailor material to their own needs. So why not create a professional development program that gives teachers the same range of options? This book provides the framework and steps to help…

Describes several projects that have enabled teachers to leave the isolation of their own classrooms and think together about student work in the broader contexts of school improvement and professional development. (Contains 18 references.) (Author/MLF)

This guide describes a teacher mentor program for special education teachers in the Saint Tammany Parish Public School System, Louisiana. The Special Education Mentor Program provides peer support and professional development opportunities for new special education teachers. The program is intended to give immediate as well as long-term support to…

Professional development schools (PDSs) are usually viewed as school-university partnerships aimed at regeneration of teacher education and/or the reform of public schools in general. This paper examines the gap between creating a PDS structure and achieving these goals, suggesting that bridging the gap may require destabilization of both faculty…

The ideas presented in this book are drawn from a study of highly successful principals of schools affiliated with the League of Professional Schools. Chapter 1, "Sharing Governance," presents an overview of the literature on professional development and a description of the study. Chapter 2, "Trusting the Experts: Teachers,"…

The four papers presented here address teacher development from an international viewpoint. In "Professional Development and Standards" (Linda Darling-Hammond) it is suggested that U.S. educators engage in new kinds of collaborations with universities, and it proposes a shift from information transmittal to "co-construction" of…

The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) has developed recommended practices for the ECSE field in the area of personnel preparation. This book provides guidance to higher education faculty and professional development specialists on how these recommended practices can be implemented in preservice and…

This book is a step-by-step guide for teachers interested in collaborating with their peers to promote their mutual professional development. The book integrates the principles of self-directed learning, cooperative learning, and critical reflection into a system in which teachers coach one another and collaborate in action research as the primary…