A clear and comprehensive guide to evaluating and supporting instructional coaches and coaching programs, including how to recruit, hire, and retain effective coaches. With sound practices in place to evaluate coaching programs, instructional coaches will become better partners, teachers will become better mentors, and students will become better…

Presents common attributes of effective evaluation systems, which are drawn from studies in Arizona, Michigan, and Vermont. Attributes include participant acceptance of validity, participant understanding of system mechanics and rationale, properly trained evaluators, a variety of evaluation methods, and evaluation as a district priority. (CJH)

A "Pay for Performance" program in Fairfax County, Virginia, has gained support from teachers, administrators, and community. Teachers progress along a three-step career ladder based on professional growth. Teachers are involved in the plan through their roles as peer observers, consulting teachers, and staff development instructors.…

Nine recommended guidelines for teacher performance appraisal are offered as a basis for evaluating an appraisal system. Guidelines, involving a reward system, evaluation training, teacher involvement, classroom improvement, peer observation, alternative-data collection, paperwork, and supervisors, emphasize the positive qualities of teacher…

Describes a method to determine whether particular strategies and materials are being used in classrooms as a result of inservice training. (Author/MLF)

"Education for a Digital World" contains a collection of strategies and tools for effective online teaching, based on the principles of learning as a social process. Narrative is supplemented by real-life examples, case studies, and resources to supply comprehensive perspectives about structuring and fostering socially engaging learning…

This publication, one of a series examining the issue of faculty workload and productivity, argues that the key to institutional change in higher education is the role of college faculty and offers recommendations for improving and measuring college faculty productivity. The paper begins with a conceptual model for discussing faculty productivity,…

Briefly outlines five ways to ensure accountability: scrutinize student achievement, conduct surveys of teacher and community attitudes toward district performance, carefully review how funds are spent, ask administrators to look closely at programs, and evaluate administrators and teachers regularly. (Author/JM)

The first few years of teaching are the most challenging. During these years, teachers are most likely to become discouraged and disillusioned. Yet these early years are also the time when teachers establish practices that last throughout their careers. This book focuses on new teachers' needs while emphasizing high-quality teaching through the…

This publication assembles the most current research on professional development and change for teachers looking to accelerate their professional growth and the improvement of student learning. Designed as a how-to resource, it reviews the stages of building an effective professional development system. The seven chapters are: (1) "Developing a…

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…

The reflective practice of principalship differs from other ways of practicing principalship by viewing the principal's problems as unique rather than as standard problems susceptible to standardized solutions. This book provides information, raises questions, and considers the complexities of school problems, all as raw material for the…

This book is intended to serve as a sourcebook that provides descriptions of some of the best and most popular school- and classroom-improvement programs in America. It offers a comprehensive framework for selecting and adapting these programs to address a local school's particular needs. It was also designed to help school leaders understand and…

This guide is designed for supervisors and trainers who are helping teachers of young children implement the Creative Curriculum for Early Childhood: a curriculum that is based on child development theory and is developmentally appropriate for preschool and kindergarten children. The guide gives particular emphasis to a carefully organized, rich…