Researchers investigated the relationship between the American Federation of Teachers' Thinking Math (TM) professional development program and mathematics achievement of 5th grade students in an urban school district in the northeast. Four schools were studied; 3 had TM trained 5th grade math teachers. Questionnaires gathered demographic data and…

The goal of any professional development program is to inform and change teacher behavior as a result of new information. Professional development activities need to be designed in a way that ensures that teachers' time and your investment in time and money pay off in increased student achievement. Getting teacher buy in is important when…

Previous research indicates that the principal is second to the teacher in their impact on student learning. However, oftentimes principals enter their position lacking the skills and knowledge of an effective instructional leader. Moreover, districts may lack the internal capacity to support principal's professional development and learning. If…

Emphasizes the importance of effective communication at the outset of the instructional technologist/training client relationship. Discusses using the basic taxonomy of client types and entry strategies for the following different types of clients: theorist, expert, novice, practitioner, and generalist. Includes a sample self-assessment form. (AEF)

Discusses recent trends in professional education that incorporate administrator mentoring. Explores the use of mentoring at the preservice preparation level by the Danforth Principals' Program and its use in the process of professional induction by the Ohio LEAD Center. Discusses selection and training of mentors. Explores characteristics of…

Discusses the "Teachers as Readers" movement, which focuses on teachers reading children's literature and responding personally to the literature as readers. Concludes that the Teachers as Readers movement is an effective tool for teacher renewal and for professional development. Suggests that participation in Teachers as Readers groups…

Reports an impact study of the Western Australian School Leadership Program, a development program for administrators. Questionnaires completed by 357 program participants and 287 colleagues indicated the impact of the training on leader behavior in schools. The effect was enhanced when several leaders from the same school had participated. (SLD)

Expresses opinions about administrative attitudes, teacher preparation, and teacher support concerning attempts at reading improvement programs in schools. Suggests professional development efforts lack planning and proper support. Suggests too few are accepting their responsibility while too many students are still not learning to read. (RS)

Presents a multidimensional perspective to training transfer for performance professionals that concerns both task adaptability and worker autonomy. Offers principles for effective transfer as well as specific problems which must be solved to achieve the best results. Provides suggestions for evaluating training success. (AEF)

The following dimensions for effective reaction evaluations as a tool in training program evaluations are described: program objective(s)/content; program materials; delivery methods/technologies; instructor/facilitator; instructional activities; program time/length; training environment; planned action/transfer expectation;…

Adult and continuing education requires continuing education of educators, a highly self-referential issue. In this article the authors focus on "urban educators," a very extensive group of those involved in urban educational programmes (school, parental education, living environment, vocational preparation, and the like). Due to an increase in…

A unique professional development program took place for senior student affairs officers at The University of Salamanca (Spain) in June 2005. Participants had first-hand experiences with studying abroad and had opportunities to exchange ideas and perspectives with professionals from a variety of institutions from within and outside of the United…

Professional Development Schools provide many different opportunities for the supervision of pre-service teacher. One of these options is the Shared Supervision of student teachers in which the university faculty member and the supervising classroom teacher now work together to complete observations, provide feedback, and complete summative…

This is a study of distributed leadership in the context of elementary schools' adoption of comprehensive school reforms (CSR). Most CSRs are designed to configure school leadership by defining formal roles, and we hypothesized that such programs activate those roles by defining expectations for and socializing (e.g., through professional…

The words "mentoring" and "induction" are often confused and misused. These two terms are not synonymous. Induction is a process used by districts to train, support, and retain new teachers. It is a highly organized and comprehensive staff development process, involving many people and components, which typically continues as a sustained process…