How do educators at a systems level know that professional learning is impacting teacher practice in a way that leads to improved student outcomes? California's Long Beach Unified School District, a member of Learning Forward's Redesign PD Community of Practice, partnered with other districts from across the country to answer that question. As…

Engaging educators in learning communities to apply a cycle of continuous improvement is not easy. Schedules, levels of expertise, and district initiatives can easily derail a campus professional learning plan, but Alyssa Toomes was concerned that professional learning experiences would become just another chore to check off teachers' to-do lists.…

Whether one is perusing the brain research, learning-style theory or proven professional development practices, there are strategies that, by their very nature, take advantage of the way brains acquire information. While these strategies facilitate instruction for K-12 students, they work equally well for adult learners. This article outlines 10…

A video club is a group of teachers who meet on a regular basis to view and discuss video segments from their classrooms. In a video club, the group establishes the goals, then tapes and selects the video segments for viewing. A video club is a fairly simple way to use technology for teacher learning. Video captures classroom interactions that…

Every teacher can recall a range of experiences in professional development workshops. Some of these may have provided opportunities in which teachers felt engaged, empowered, and supported as learners, while others felt disconnected from practice. Although these authors recognize that workshops, particularly those with no follow-up support, are…

This article describes principals' centers and the principals' center movement, identifying key issues raised by them. Future directions and persistent questions for the principals' center movement are developed. (MT)

The Metropolitan Principals' Academy was formed in 1984 by eight suburban school districts in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area in order to help administrators become more effective. The academy is described, and the research-based model of leadership which guides it is examined. (MT)

The mentoring relationship is examined in terms of the stages in the process and the benefits to mentor, protege, and the organization. A four-step procedure to effectively foster mentoring in schools is presented. (MT)

The East Lansing Public Schools, Michigan, have improved faculty morale, improved instruction, and helped establish positive contacts with community members through a professional reading and discussion program for teachers. (Author/MT)

The training and development programs of the NCR Corporation offer useful ideas for educators interested in increasing effectiveness of inservice teacher education. Implications for use of NCR's personnel training programs as a basis for staff development are offered. (DF)

Kimberly-Clark Corporation's approach to needs assessment, program planning, program delivery, and follow-up programs that incorporate an andragogical perspective are explored in this article. Implications for school staff developers are presented. (DF)

"Workparties," sponsored by the Teachers Centers' Exchange (Far West Laboratory), provide the time, support, resources, warmth, concreteness, and thought that productive meetings consist of. Descriptions of workparties planned for participants interested in staff development are provided. (CJ)

In Colorado, a project was developed to teach participants a collaborative planning process for staff development and to assist in the design of a system of personnel development. Areas covered included: (1) selection of cadre members; (2) participation; (3) program design; and (4) consultants' reflections. (JN)

Educators and the public must study recommendations from national educational reports to discover strengths and weaknesses and then select those that match their needs. An example of this process is provided. (DF)

Staff development programs and evaluation designs can be improved by applying four principles: (1) Range of evaluation criteria should match range of outcomes; (2) Program outcomes should be concrete and specific to assist in formulation of evaluation criteria; (3) Evaluation design rigor should reflect the program's power; and (4) Evaluation…