Schools and districts are inundated with data from a variety of sources. As a result, using data to guide instructional planning can be daunting for teachers and schools. While schools and districts are dealing with shrinking budgets and growing demands for high student achievement, an investment in school-based coaching can provide exponential…

Teacher education and professional development prepare teachers with up-to-date knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for effective teaching. To sustain this, however, hinges on continued professional learning within schools. Research shows that establishing long-term conditions that allow teachers to learn continuously from one another…

A Colorado district develops a two-year program that gives teacher teams an opportunity to learn how to use digital tools in the classroom. Called the Digital Learning Collaborative, it is built on three things about professional learning: (1) Learning takes time; (2) Learning is a social process; and (3) Learning about technology should be…

The Northeast Consortium, consisting of representatives of 25 school districts in northeast Massachusetts, was established to improve staff development by providing multi-district graduate-credit programs. Faculty from the University of Massachusetts program in Critical and Creative Thinking taught a course on teaching thinking. Outcomes are…

In this article, the author wants to bury inservice and all of the outdated practices that go with it such as "delivery of professional development," "training," "staff development programs," "professional development activities," and "ippy dippys." She wants to bury them so deep that no educator will ever again use them to describe the learning…

Educators at the Center for Problem-Based Learning at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy examined the professional development needs of teachers of problem-based learning. Surveys of and interviews with teachers participating in partnership activities provided data on teacher role, problem-based learning's impact on students, and the…

A social effectiveness program which teaches positive social behavior to socially handicapped children is described. The social effectiveness training inservice program agenda includes: (1) establishing expectations for social behavior; (2) introducing and strengthening new skills; and (3) positive feedback and ignore-attend-praise strategies. (JN)

This article presents a concept of reflection, explains its importance in staff development, and describes ways reflection can be effectively integrated into staff development programs. Programs discussed include Teacher Expectations and Student Achievement (TESA), as well as tailor-made peer coaching and discipline workshops. (IAH)

A model of the inservice training of classroom teachers for mainstreaming handicapped children is presented. The materials used in the program provide information about handicapping conditions as well as curriculum and behavior management styles. (JN)

Describes a project to determine how teachers can best implement new ideas and strategies learned at staff development programs by using peer coaching as a follow-up to training. The project, based on an understanding of the usefulness of mathematics manipulatives, increased teachers' use of a new teaching strategy. (SM)

Study examined the effects of staff development specialists, study group teams, and peer coaching teams on implementation of classroom cooperative learning. Staff development was the most significant influence. The article recommends careful selection of peer coaching partners, adequate time for study group meetings, and set agendas for study…

Examines the experiences of three school districts that provide effective, district-wide staff development on teaching with technology, embracing three major concepts: delivering staff development in a variety of ways, having teachers teach teachers, and using technology-based lesson plans, instructional units, and other teaching tools (often…

Describes a staff development effort at a small, predominantly Native American elementary school. Staff developers attempted to improve teachers' ability work on reading comprehension, but their development methods were unsuccessful. They realized that they had to match their work with teachers with the school culture and to listen to the teachers…

Describes how one rural school district provides staff development through an on-line program that is followed up with on-site training. Teachers learn key concepts of learning styles via the on-line program, then receive on-site training followed by 8 hours of field practice. A sidebar examines different learning styles. (SM)

A model of classroom-based staff development for teachers at the high school level is described. The program incorporates the consulting teacher model and uses three kinds of inservice training: courses, consultations, and workshops. (JN)