This article presents a plan to create a united approach to improve high quality instruction in Robbinsdale Cooper High School in New Hope, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. Professional learning communities were in their infancy, conversations around data were about autopsies of annual standardized tests, and there was no description of what…

Practical strategies for school administrators will help ensure that coaches are able to work most effectively.

Professional development in Rockwood School District, a suburban school district outside St. Louis, Missouri, in 1997 was focused on individual teacher development rather than organizational development. Staff learning activities were fragmented. Teachers participated in a variety of unrelated topics the district offered from month to month. An…

Examines research about the effectiveness of professional development. Procedural guidelines drawn from research on individual and organizational change provide a framework for developing the optimal mix of professional development processes and technologies for specific contexts at particular points in time. The potential impact of implementing…

Offers 20 guidelines that facilitators can use in planning effective workshops and staff development sessions. The guidelines take into account the diversity of individuals attending the workshops and ways in which to accommodate various learning styles. (GLR)

Offers nine suggestions to help program chairpersons plan successful programs for professional meetings: clearly understand the organization's purposes and objectives, choose an annual site, experiment with times, announce meetings well in advance, plan various formats, plan for long-term professional development, expect the unexpected, use local…

Discusses advantages to the whole-faculty study-group process, which involves small groups that meet regularly to focus on some area of educational improvement. The paper presents 15 whole-faculty study-group process guidelines, and it concludes that study groups can help teachers accomplish together what they are already expected to do. (SM)

Guidelines are given for training teachers to use computers, based on staff development experiences with the Hampshire (Massachusetts) Educational Collaborative's computer literacy program. Topics covered include training goals, course scheduling, staffing, participant needs, educational strategies, and evaluation. (PP)

A district-level change in staff development helped renew teachers' interest in professional learning--and improve student learning. The Rockwood School District in Eureka, Mo., found a districtwide plan, rather than personal goals, set the tone for change, but involved teachers in planning.

Factors which influenced the success of a New York staff development program designed to improve student writing included district commitment, voluntary participation, in-district training workshops, on-site support, principals' support, parents' understanding, and continuous followup. Teachers learned the importance of seeing content first and…