A well-designed professional development program can help first- and second-year faculty thrive in their new academic environment. Faculty developers must consider the length and frequency of such programs and their focus; requirements for participation; the role of mentors; ways to establish collegiality; and opportunities for developing the…

John Paul College, a K-12 School in Queensland, Australia, recognises the centrality of classroom teachers to the ongoing improvement of student outcomes. The College has implemented a multi-tiered "professional renewal and assessment process." These changes of emphasis are the result of significant research and subsequent/associated…

This article presents a partnership effort among managers, trainers, and employees to spring to life performance improvement using the performance templates (P-T) approach. P-T represents a process model as well as a method of training leading to performance improvement. Not only does it add to our repertoire of training and performance management…

The Geriatric Scholar Program (GSP) is a Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) workforce development program to infuse geriatrics competencies in primary care. This multimodal educational program is targeted to primary care providers and ancillary staff who work in VA's rural clinics. GSP consists of didactic education and training in geriatrics…

The use of digital technologies is now widespread and increasing, but is not always optimized for effective learning. Teachers in higher education have little time or support to work on innovation and improvement of their teaching, which often means they simply replicate their current practice in a digital medium. This paper makes the case for a…

Two recent studies by Biancarosa et al. and by Saunders et al. have finally demonstrated that "job-embedded, sustained professional development" can significantly improve student achievement. But there's a catch. In both studies, effective professional development (PD) strategies were successful only under certain circumstances or only in some…

An alternative mathematics preparation program for K-8 teachers is described as an existence proof that steadily increasing effectiveness of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) preparation is possible. The program is based on treating every lesson in each of five mathematics content and methods courses as objects of study.…

In North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), one of the German states, catchment areas for part-time vocational schools were abolished in 2008. With the intention to foster competition between schools in order to improve school quality, training companies now may freely choose the school of their choice. NRW is the first German state to take this step. In the…

In this article, authors Deborah Helsing, Annie Howell, Robert Kegan, and Lisa Lahey argue that today's educational leaders face a host of complex demands as they strive to implement lasting, meaningful change in their school environments. As these demands often require a level of personal development many adults may not yet have, there is a need…

This excerpt from "Managerial Engineering: Techniques for Improving Quality and Productivity in the Workplace" describes the development, objectives, and use of On-Error Training (OET), a method which trains workers to learn from their errors. Also described is New Joharry's Window, a performance-error data analysis technique used in…

Few formal post-secondary educational programs in the United States focus on youth work, thus youth workers often enter the field with diverse backgrounds and varying levels of experience working with youth. Drawing on mounting evidence that quality youth service requires skilled staff, professional-development opportunities have received…

This manual consists of an introduction to our Academic Peer Instruction (API) program at LaGuardia Community College, a compilation of the materials we have developed and use for training of our tutors (with answers), and a bibliography. API is based on an internationally recognized peer tutoring program, Supplemental Instruction. (Contains 6…

Due to the dearth of qualified professional teachers, policymakers and professional development programs need to focus on improving the quality of high school mathematics teaching in order to diffuse this crisis. In the middle of this crisis, the demand for new teachers is predicted to rise significantly in the next ten years. Based on the…

This report addresses the selection, training, and utilization of Navy Recruit Company Commanders (Recruit Training Instructors). It represents one in a series of reports concerning the optimization of Navy Recruit Training to meet the needs of the post-1980 period. The report provides a comprehensive review of the Navy's Recruit Company Commander…

Ten case studies of collaborative arrangements between postsecondary vocational education institutions and companies manufacturing or using advanced technologies are reported in this document. The intention is to explore exemplary approaches to planning, developing, and implementing training programs for technicians in rapidly changing…