Background: Over the past decades, the issue of improving teaching in higher education has been seriously addressed. Centres for instructional development, aimed at enhancing teaching, have been set up in many countries. Instructional development for early career academics is perceived to be of particular importance. Given the considerable…

Although the idea of using a workshop to educate potential users about a set of materials or techniques is not new, the workshops described here go beyond simple dissemination and create ongoing communities of practice that support widespread and sustained improvement in the biochemistry classroom. The degree to which pedagogical innovations…

A descriptive study using questionnaires was conducted in 2004 to assess the effectiveness of instructional leadership displayed by primary school management teams following the implementation of the Primary School Management Project in Botswana. Leadership skills, Coordination of instructional activities, management of curriculum and quality of…

This article describes how two instructors used assessment data to improve an undergraduate course, Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary Classroom. This entailed revising the core assignment for the course--the creation of a thematic unit of instruction--and developing a scoring guide to assess teacher candidates' performance. Data collected…

Describes a new method designed to identify defects in existing instructional programs so that ineffective parts may be repaired, and poor programs may be replaced with better ones. Four references are listed. (MER)

Many colleges and universities have developed various kinds of formal faculty mentoring programs in response to (1) the benefit some faculty can gain from guidance as they pursue tenure, appointments, salary increases, and professional recognition; and (2) the poor quality of undergraduate teaching at many academic institutions. The purpose of…

The article examines the approach taken in one primary school to introduce a reflective teaching approach, following an OFSTED inspection. By considering the development of reflective teaching and learning, the development of a working mode and the types of skills needed in order to teach in a reflective manner, it reports on the outcomes from the…

This issue of CPRE Policy Briefs looks at findings from the Consortium for Policy Research in Education's (CPRE) study of how central office and school staff in three urban districts made decisions about instructional improvement strategies, and how much weight they gave to evidence. The three districts, in three different states, had enrollments…

This paper reviews findings from two years of evaluation of Intel[R] Teach to the Future, a professional development program focused on improving classroom technology integration. Intel[R] Teach to the Future is a 3-year, international effort supported by the Intel[R] Corporation. The program uses a train-the-trainer model to deliver a curriculum…

Research on the effectiveness of specific strategies for faculty and instructional development at the college level is reviewedd, focusing on five delivery strategies: (1) workshops; (2) instructional consultation; (3) grants for instructional improvement; (4) colleague collaboration; and (5) print resources. In each case, the strategy is…

Reports on a service-learning seminar at Stanford University (California) for nine faculty and three administrators designed to stimulate faculty interest in connecting student public service to academic study and provide knowledge and resources for course design. Data are drawn from participants' seminar learning plans, assessments, and follow-up…

A Tel Aviv University (Israel) study applied qualitative methods to evaluate a model for improvement of university teaching. A departmental instruction specialist treats instructional quality issues comprehensively within a department. Two years of implementation in the physics department have resulted in increased instructional quality, faculty…

As part of the National Institute of Education's Teaching and Instruction Program, the Research on Instruction Team has developed a program focusing on research on Instructionally Effective Schools. Such a school is defined as having a high mean level of student achievement and no educationally significant differences between different racial,…

Highlights the differences between American and Australian undergraduate economics instruction and indicates those aspects of the American teaching model likely to be adapted. Specifically, Australian teachers favored deemphasizing the traditional lecture/tutorial model in favor of a more student-oriented approach. (MJP)

The co-authors have been co-Principal Investigators on two large-scale National Science Foundation-funded teacher enhancement projects for the past eight years. One of the projects focused on middle and high schools and the second focused on the elementary school. The design of each was different, reflecting the differing natures of the…