Short-term or "one shot" professional development experiences are sometimes deemed less effective because they lack mechanisms for deep and ongoing engagement. Using the music conference as an example, I outline a simple framework on how music teachers might nevertheless use short-term professional development experiences as an impetus…

This brief summarizes efforts to reform developmental education at Zane State College and the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC). Focused on accelerating student success and progress, the two schools pursued distinctive approaches to reform that aligned with their institutional missions and student populations. Recognizing that the…

Several decades of research have suggested a meaningful relationship between time and learning, where the amount of time students spend engaged in learning is strongly associated with their level of achievement. Among schools that have expanded the day and/or year, researchers have found that such a strategy can be quite effective, especially with…

This report is the culmination of the "Flexible Pedagogies: Preparing for the Future" series of reports which have considered flexible learning from a range of perspectives. The report proposes fifteen conditions of flexibility to inject new thinking and new practices into an emerging new age. Flexible provision has the potential to…

The amount of time allocated for learning and the way that time is used is one of the few variables that can be influenced rather directly by school leaders. Fortunately, it is also a variable that has shown consistent links to student performance. Now that schools are focused directly, and in some cases exclusively, on student achievement, there…

Illustrates the importance of adopting a formal strategy for eliminating programs. Outlines a three-step procedure for identifying candidates for elimination, evaluating these programs, and implementing the decision. The procedure provides community service agencies with guidelines for better serving the needs of their clientele. (SK)

If teachers are to change school curricula to reflect a global perspective, they must participate in long-term inservice training programs. Workshops at four levels are employed by the Bay Area Global Education Program, focusing on: (1) global awareness; (2) imparting information and concepts; (3) developing teaching skills; and (4) curriculum…

Efforts to reform teacher education are widespread, but each has different priorities. Common threads include extending teacher training programs to five years, forging closer relations with public schools, emphasizing technology, and placing prospective teachers in the schools more frequently. However, faculty resistance and tight budgets inhibit…

A recent federal welfare reform law requires each state to provide basic education and job training programs, in which colleges have a major role. Areas of disagreement between state and institutions include program length, the role of proprietary schools, and funding adequacy. (MSE)

Predictions are made, based on emerging policy and evidence of trends, about likely changes in the German higher education system including changes in funding sources, scope, and timing; faculty incentives to increase workload; changes in program length and graduates' salary levels; promotion of teaching as an occupation; increased labor market…

In the first part of this presentation, a critique is made of teacher education in general, pointing out the fact that schools of education are resigned to accepting academically weak students and have a limited definition of good teaching. A narrow view of the teacher's role is also cited, as well as teacher educators' resistance to change. The…

The evolution of the recent discussion of quality assessment and evaluation of teaching in German higher education is chronicled. Concern began in the 1980s over the length of time to degree and has shifted to interest in improvement of teaching quality and overall system effectiveness. (Author/MSE)