In each issue of "The Learning Professional," Joellen Killion explores a recent research study to help practitioners understand the impact of particular professional learning practices on student outcomes. In this issue, Killion explores the study presented in "The Effect of Teacher Coaching on Instruction and Achievement: A…

How can the Common Core complement and not conflict with school improvement efforts already at work across the United States? How can it be seamlessly integrated into accountability systems, teacher preparation and development, charter schools, and educational technology? This timely volume brings together prominent scholars and policy analysts to…

This guide is designed to facilitate self-studies of planning and implementation of state-required summer reading camp programs for grade 3 students who scored at the lowest level on the state reading assessment. It provides a template for data collection and guiding questions for discussion that may improve instruction and increase the number of…

As an example of successful training in teacher coaching, this article describes a program conducted by the Santa Clara County, California, Educational Development Center. Aspects of the program discussed are its design, the selection of participants, the training process, the program's results, and the program's future. (MCG)

Looping is an instructional design whereby students progress to the next grade level with the same teacher(s) for two or more years. This book was designed to help teachers and administrators explore, implement, and evaluate looping programs. The book is divided into four parts. Part 1, "Exploring Looping Configurations," identifies the primary…

Reviews the literature on colleague evaluation of classroom teaching, discusses issues instructional developers need to be aware of when consulting with faculty on colleague visitation program design, and suggests practical guidelines for instituting such programs. (11 references) (MBR)

This paper describes the development and implementation of a teacher reward system based on merit that was used at the University of Nebraska. Explained are the organizational set-up of the program into operational groups and their responsibilities and the steps taken to establish interest and commitment in the project. Also discussed is the…

Criticizes the Holmes Group Report for the incompleteness of its recommendations in the following areas: (1) redesigning the undergraduate liberal arts curriculum, (2) eliminating undergraduate field experience, and (3) endorsing the concept of a differentiated staff composed of instructors, professional teachers, and career professionals.…

Recent statistics show that nationwide about 50 percent of new teachers leave the profession within their first six years of teaching. In an effort to encourage the persistence of new teachers and to enhance their productivity and competence in the classroom, many school districts have begun supportive programs for the beginning teacher, known as…

This monograph discusses learning communities in the context of community colleges, presents the challenges and benefits of learning communities, provides examples, and outlines the steps for a community college to follow in initiating a learning community. In part 1, the authors discuss the educational context in which learning communities have…

This volume describes Total Quality Management (TQM) in the higher education classroom and guides college faculty in implementing TQM to improve their teaching. Chapter 1 introduces TQM and gives pointers on how to begin implementing it. Chapter 2 describes TQM approaches and principles including the Deming and Crosby approaches, describes the TQM…

During the 1985-86 school year an Intern-Mentor Program was implemented in all four regions of the District of Columbia Public Schools by the Incentive Programs Office. This program, designed to improve the teaching performance of first-year, beginning teachers, involved 90 new teachers and 10 specially selected mentor teachers. Mentors provided…

Recommendations for deriving and using student ratings of college teachers are presented. General recommendations for teacher evaluation include: (1) using multiple sources of data about a faculty member; (2) using student ratings as one aspect; and (3) determining the purpose of the ratings before they are collected. Ten specific recommendations…

This guide presents current research and thinking about teacher evaluation and combines that research with practice. Chapters contain illustrations and examples to make a research-practice connection and present a comprehensive approach to designing, implementing, and monitoring quality teacher-evaluation systems. Chapters include: (1) "Improving…

Establishing and maintaining an orderly classroom is a primary determinant of teaching success. This booklet presents an approach to school discipline that blends the best features of existing successful programs and current research findings. The publication, written in story form, tells of two beginning teachers who realize that their success…