An auxiliary and potentially powerful source of practitioners' knowledge, skills, and dispositions can come from participation in research-practice partnerships. Research-practice partnerships link researchers, usually faculty at institutions of higher education, with practitioners working in schools, district central offices, county offices, or…

A teacher can be the most important resource in a school. When the teacher's attitude derives from asset-based thinking, positive impact can occur for both teacher and student. Asset-based thinking is defined as "a way of viewing reality." Those who embrace this model approach things from a positive as opposed to a negative perspective.…

Education researchers frequently seek out districts, schools, and teachers as partners for professional learning projects. They share their ambitious vision--a new model of professional learning that will support an empowered community, instructional improvement, and student achievement. The authors, along with other members of their research…

Much has been written about the disconnect between education research produced in graduate schools of education and the practice of school leaders. In this article, the authors share one story of an external partnership that promotes the development of a principal's capacity for complex problem solving and the early research that suggests this…

A few years ago, the authors began to consider how to foster more intentional teacher leadership development among all clinical teachers who mentor teacher candidates in their Professional Development Schools. A Professional Development School (PDS) is an in-depth school-university partnership designed to bring about the simultaneous renewal of…

The Burlington School District has experienced a sharp increase in the number English language learners (ELLs) in its schools over the past several years, as have many schools across the country. As is typical in U.S. schools, Burlington offered newly arriving students pullout instruction to meet their linguistic and academic needs. Yet even with…

This article reports on one school district's planning for a school-based staff development program, focusing on preparations made by the staff developers before the program began. Conclusions are drawn about the planning and preparation for such a program. (MT)

A university-school collaboration program was developed to improve the teaching of thinking, address student learning-style preferences, provide staff development activities for teachers, and support grant writing to obtain additional resources. (JD)

Explores leadership development from preservice preparation programs to renewal activities for veteran administrators. Staff development professionals offer examples of leadership development, such as the preparation of prospective principals, using mentors, promoting ownership in staff development, linking school districts with universities, and…

An individualized staff development internship at the Grass Roots Teacher/Parent Resource Center, located at the State University of New York in Cortland, is described. The experiences of an elementary teacher who interned are related; contributions of the internship to her school and to her personal and professional renewal are noted. (PP)

Project MORE (Motivational Opportunities to Reach Excellence), a joint university-school district effort, trained elementary school teachers in student motivation through an institute program, debriefings, and a summer campus program for students. Part of the data-based staff development effort's success was due to its focus on individual needs…

Advanced placement teachers around Chicago find their own intellectual stimulation reinvigorates their teaching and benefits their students. Through a consortium, these teachers group together to explore content-based topics using a rich variety of community resources, including a top library, university and museum resources. "This is my…

The Detroit (Michigan) Center for Professional Growth and Development encourages computer literacy by: (1) raising teachers' awareness so that they can request further training; and (2) developing support services to meet their needs. The center has worked with project schools and their students, university students, and administrators, as well as…

Describes the philosophy supporting the model, the program objectives, activities, staffing and governance, and evaluation of a field-based program for professional development. The article suggests the implications for staff development and strategies for implementing the model. (GLR)

Effective schools research demonstrates that school principals are an important factor in schools' success. Yet many factors of the job inhibit principals' learning. To help leaders, professional learning experiences should center around what we know about the difficulties of the job and how principals can better learn from their own experiences…