Teacher inquiry, in which teachers study their own professional practice, is currently a popular form of experiential learning that is considered a powerful tool to bring about effective change in teaching and learning. Little empirical evidence, however, exists to explain precisely if and how this pedagogical methodology moves teachers toward…

This article describes the just-in-time online professional development offered to teachers in the Remote Networked Schools (RNS), a systemic initiative funded by the Quebec Ministry of Education (Canada), which aims at enriching the learning environment of small rural schools with the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). The…

An evaluation was conducted to provide Saskatchewan Education with information about the effectiveness of: (1) a program evaluation package for use at the school level consisting of the "School-Based Program Evaluation Manual" (Burgess, 1987) and its related workshop; and (2) a pilot-site model for the implementation of the evaluation…

Our paper reports findings from a two-phase deployment of iPod Touch and iPad devices in a large, urban Canadian school board. The purpose of the study was to gain an understanding of the infrastructure required to support handheld devices in classrooms; the opportunities and challenges teachers face as they begin to use handheld devices for…

This monograph focuses on the implementation process that has been a concern of school jurisdictions since the teacher evaluation policy became mandatory in Alberta, Canada, in 1985. Research has shown that school systems are adept at developing written policy but much less successful at putting that policy into effective operation. This overview…

Several issues have arisen from evaluations of inservice education programs in British Columbia: why evaluate and whom to survey; how can much emerge from evaluations that do not meet even the simplest cannons for effective evaluation; and how will evaluation results be used. Evaluators now need to improve their craft. (DC)

This survey project of 129 randomly selected school systems in Ontario, Canada, investigates: (1) dominant patterns among secondary principals' practices and their effectiveness in the improvement of school processes and outcomes; (2) differences in practices between elementary and secondary school principals; (3) factors determining secondary…

The purpose of this study was to assess, in a preliminary way, the costs of teacher professional development and inservice training related to the implementation of new instructional programs. The study addressed two issues: the estimated expenditures by Alberta school boards on teacher inservice programs in the most recent fiscal period and the…

This paper addresses the basic issue of what is involved in becoming the "skillfully inviting" teacher, as emphasized by William W. Purkey in his book "Inviting School Success: A Self-Concept Approach to Teaching and Learning". After a brief introduction, some basic psychological and ethical assumptions of the concept are…

In British Columbia the responsibility for non-degree, continuing professional education of teachers is vested in the Ministry of Education, three universities, the British Columbia Teachers' Federation, and the schools. Demography necessitates coordinated planning. Multi-agency planning committees are established to improve communication, assess…

Six booklets are designed to assist special educators, principals, teachers and parents to find information on how learning disabled and other handicapped children can be placed and taught in the least restrictive environment. Volume I is a catalog of books, articles, references, programs, and projects on mainstreaming and learning disabilities.…

This description of activities initiated through the Computer Technology Project of the provincial education ministry in Alberta, Canada, covers the 2-year period beginning with establishment of the project by the Alberta Department of Education in October 1981. Activities described include: (1) the establishment of the Office of Educational…

This book brings together seven presentations from a conference on inservice teacher education and the results of the deliberations of five task forces on aspects of inservice in British Columbia. The first speaker noted the ironic fact that staff development programs for teachers often violate the best known theories about training by not using a…

Year one of a three-year curriculum implementation effort focused on facilitating curriculum implementation through diagnostic-prescriptive staff development guided by the concepts and tenets of the Concerns-Based Adoption Model. This curriculum implementation effort involved 12 kindergarten through sixth grade generalist teachers in an isolated…

Presents case study of an inservice training package designed to prepare teachers to implement proposed changes. Developed for an English as a second language (ELS) program for adult francophones, this package consists of workshops and materials which view implementing change as a learning process for teachers as well as students. (Author/LRW)