Background/Context: In the context of increasing accountability mandates in the preK-12 education system, the importance of professional development (PD) supports for early childhood educators is recognized. Education leaders emphasize the importance of partnering with teachers to inform the development of effective PD approaches. This partnering…

Research indicates multi-section coordination improves the academic performance of students in STEM education. This paper describes the process of coordination in Precalculus, Calculus 1, and Calculus 2 courses undertaken by a large department that grew from the merger of two institutions through a pilot program and a project grant. Components…

This literature review shows the efficacy of teacher inservice program planning. It also suggests that involvement in planning produces a positive attitude toward inservice programs that can lead to the development of greater teacher effectiveness. The literature reveals a reluctance among administrators and staff development people to fully…

Teachers can take on the additional responsibility of inservice leadership and can be trained in the processes of curriculum development. Through implementation of those procedures, teachers can initiate an ongoing system of needs-based inservice education. Steps in initiating this process include: (1) Teachers take the major responsibility for…

A unique feature of the Vallejo/Dominican College Teacher Corps Project (California) is that the first year is set aside for planning. This allows better needs assessment, more teacher involvement, and a broader definition of staff development. (Author/JM)

Involving teachers in program planning and offering new incentives for inservice training, the Osceola Teacher Education Center is a cooperative venture of Osceola County (Florida) and Florida Technological University. (JT)

Steps taken by a university to develop a successful and meaningful inservice teacher education program for public school teachers are described. Development of this program involves cooperative effort from several different sources. Faculty members, as part of their teaching load, are assigned to educational support teams that help school…

The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics and perceived effectiveness of staff development practices in selected high schools in South Dakota. The review of literature and research related to staff development examined the following questions: What types of staff development practices are being employed to encourage and…

In this booklet, a group of middle school teachers offer suggestions on how other teachers can similarly enhance their own school's service learning program by initiating and sustaining a service learning task force. The teachers begin by explaining why they developed a service learning task force and list some of the benefits of having a service…

The key to successful development and adoption of new educational programs and practices is careful orchestration of several variables: administrative support, faculty involvement, administration and faculty commitment, and staff development activities. A chronological process involving programatic and political aspects for planned change is…

The staff development model at George Washington Junior High School (Ridgewood, New Jersey) recognizes teachers' personal needs and administrators' institutional needs, and deals with those needs via the staff development process at the building level. Prior to planning inservice programs, needs assessment was conducted by the principal and seven…

The problems facing teacher centers in geographically remote and largely rural areas are discussed. The importance of cooperative planning involving teachers and university faculty is stressed. It is noted that implementing professional development activities depends to a great extent upon the efficiency of inservice delivery systems, and…

The progress of the Staff Development for School Improvement (SDSI) program, developed by Eastern Michigan University, is reviewed and evaluated in this monograph. The primary emphasis of SDSI is to improve the quality of schooling through shared decision making at the school building level. Ownership of the change process by those participating…

The component parts of a successful cooperative governance structure designed to facilitate staff development in elementary and secondary urban schools are described. Headed by a Staff Development Policy Board, the governance organization combines teaching and administrative staffs as a decision making body. A maximum amount of staff input and…

This report describes the procedures of a systemwide testing program established by the Ottawa, Ontario, education board to evaluate high school student performance in selected courses. The project was initiated in response to a directive from trustees, who were concerned about variation of academic standards among students in relation to…