The purpose of this study was to evaluate summer camp counselors' perceived competency prior to and after an 8-day training at an independent for-profit overnight camp. The participants in this study were 101 camp counselors who were employed at an overnight summer camp in the northeastern United States. Counselors' perceived competency was…

While there are lots of books with information on why and how to differentiate instruction, here at last is a book that gets to the heart of why some efforts to differentiate flop while others lead to sweeping, positive results. When it's your job to support differentiated instruction in a single school or systemwide, you need the guidance from…

An evaluation was made of the Effective Schools Program (ESP) conducted by the Mid-Continent Regional Educational Laboratory (McREL) for the 1984-85 academic year. The ESP is a research-based program designed to foster self-sustained improvement efforts at the school building level, through systematic long term staff development including…

This staff development program offers practices for K-8 educators who wish to be more effective in responding to the needs of all students, including students with mild exceptional educational needs. The program consists of seven 2.5 hour workshops which include short presentations, readings, and large and small group discussions. Effective…

A successful inservice program designed to improve teachers' classroom discipline procedures and establish school-wide policies for behavior and conduct in an elementary school is described. The program's positive effects on both teachers and students was attributed to the following reasons: (1) The program was school-based, school-wide, and…

This collaborative action research project focused on the educational practice of a voluntary sector playgroup (preschool) in the United Kingdom. It utilized the Quality Evaluation and Development (QED) model to conduct an evaluation phase, action plan phase, development phase, and a reflection phase over the course of the 1994-95 school year. The…

The effectiveness of a teaching method known as "pyramid training" is appraised. This training method was implemented in an inservice program called the Classroom Management Training Program (CMTP). The pyramid technique progressed in the following manner: A three day training session in classroom management skills was taught by a a consultant to…

The Indicators of Quality Schools is a series of checklists of schoolwide practices or conditions found in schools known to have an effective instructional program. The instrument is designed to help schools identify areas of strength and areas where improvement is needed. The instrument consists of three parts: (1) the environment for learning,…

Three staff development evaluation techniques are presented as alternatives to satisfaction questionnaires. The techniques--stages of concern, levels of use, and component assessment-- underscore the ideas that: (1) New teaching skills will be used in the classroom; (2) Finding out about classroom practices requires individual interaction with…

This report describes and assesses the effectiveness of activities conducted by the University of Toledo (Ohio)/Springfield Local Schools Teacher Corps Project. On-site staff development activities provided at elementary, junior, and high schools are described: (1) a credit-bearing course on multicultural literature; and (2) workshops dealing with…

This report describes and assesses the effectiveness of activities conducted by the University of Toledo (Ohio)/Springfield Local Schools Teacher Corps Project. On-site staff development activities provided to staff at elementary, junior, and senior high schools are described: (1) two credit-bearing courses on elementary and secondary level…

An evaluation is presented of the Stallings Classroom Management Staff Development Demonstration Project, designed to increase student achievement in basic skills through the use of research-based, systematic change in teachers' classroom management and organizational techniques. One objective of the evaluation was to utilize techniques and to…

This volume presents three case studies of Teacher Corps Youth Advocacy Projects. The three projects selected represent the diversity inherent in Teacher Corps in setting, population, local education agency sites, and theoretical approach to the education of troubled youth. The focus of the study of the Arizona State University Project, which is…

This manual is designed to be a practical guide for designing, implementing, and evaluating instruction and services for students with disabilities. The first section, "Leadership and Collaboration," offers a conceptual framework for program leadership, a program vision and descriptions, strategies for interagency collaboration, and…

The Montgomery County, Maryland school district has a five-year plan to develop and install revised instructional systems in four major subjects. The components of the instructional system are: performance objectives for pupils, appropriate student placement based on performance, instructional guides for teachers, assessment tasks, and pupil…