A product-based professional development model has significantly improved the ability and willingness of P-8 teachers to use and integrate technology into instruction. This paper discusses the impacts this staff professional development model. The model was used to train 18 teachers to effectively use and integrate technology in their ESL…

Discussion of systematic faculty evaluation for performance and career development looks at government policy changes in the United Kingdom and compares two institutional programs. The City University of Hong Kong views the faculty performance plan/appraisal as its contribution to the institution; the University of Glasgow (Scotland) treats the…

Three South Carolina school districts and a university formed a partnership to train, mentor, and support 24 special education teacher leaders as they developed and practiced new leadership skills. The article describes the selection and training of teachers, reviewing the first year's activities and presenting observations from program…

An elementary school staff development program was designed to reduce disparity in educational achievement across race and sex. Researchers compared achievement test scores, attitudes, perceptions of teacher practices, and grade retention for students of teachers who did and did not complete the program. Results showed the program had few positive…

As part of a larger project aimed at promoting science and literacy for culturally and linguistically diverse elementary students, this study has two objectives: (a) to describe teachers' initial beliefs and practices about inquiry-based science and (b) to examine the impact of the professional development intervention (primarily through…

With less than 10 percent of St. Louis Public Schools' students reaching the "proficient" level in the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP), the district felt some changes needed to be made, and quickly. Accordingly, the district turned to the eMINTS (enhancing Missouri's Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies; www.emints.org) program…

The Miami Valley Tech Prep Consortium, headquartered at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, engages a wide range of students in Tech Prep pathways that span high school and college. Students are offered a blend of technical and academic coursework, as well as extensive supports enhanced by a sophisticated professional development system.…

Workshops are currently one of the most popular ways for instructors in STEM fields to learn more about teaching and learning. Yet research shows we often do not know what participants gain from attending. This article suggests ways of measuring impact of instructional improvement workshops that will help not only workshop providers with designing…

Recent science and teacher education reports continue to stress the need for radical changes in the way teachers are prepared to teach science to diverse learners. In response, a three-year intervention project was developed to help teachers in culturally diverse schools transform their science teaching practices using learning technologies. Many…

A professional development initiative in writing provided a context in which teachers could be researchers their own knowledge about writing, writing assessment and writing instruction. Through close attention to student writing samples, and debate in ascertaining writing levels using the English Exemplars, teachers articulated growing confidence…

In September 1998, the California State Legislature passed SB 2042, legislation that authorized the reform of teacher recruitment, certification, and licensing in the state. Its provisions are unique in that they represent the first time in California's history that almost all of the standards dealing with teacher preparation and induction were…

Many universities and colleges list the development of lifelong learning skills as a curriculum objective and have adopted laptop programs that may enable lifelong learning. The purpose of this research is to address the effectiveness of a technology-based and computer-mediated learning environment in achieving lifelong learning skills from the…

In this article, the author discusses five common strategies for making online high school programs effective in one's school district. These are: (1) Prepare students for success; (2) Prepare teachers for success; (3) Use interactive, flexible course designs; (4) Monitor and support teachers; and (5) Monitor and support students. Despite their…

Efforts to improve social studies at the elementary level have not fared well in recent years. Federal demands for greater emphasis on mathematics and reading instruction have had a direct impact on social studies instruction--eroding elementary teachers' time and energy for the subject. In spite of this changing context, many states still test…

Online courses, credentials, and degree programs in early childhood education have become a significant way to deliver teacher education and professional development. Online students have many choices and can access training and courses with few, if any, limitations of times and distance. Much has been written about how to design and deliver…