Federal, State and school-based professional development has become a multi-million dollar educational enterprise in Australia. Yet there are no published models for the making of systems-level professional development policy. Reviewing the literature on the characteristics of effective professional development programs, this paper proposes a…

A central commitment for professional development schools (PDSs) is to link preservice teacher preparation and in-service teacher professional development with improved learning outcomes for pupils. PDSs are expected to improve student achievement in two primary ways: (1) by enriching and intensifying the learning environment through professional…

A pair of papers re-examined the evidence from a national initiative to train all teachers in England to bring them up to the level of newly qualified teachers, who are required to know when to use and when not to use information and communication technologies (ICT) in their professional practice. The first paper confirmed that multilevel…

In this paper we examine the degree to which recent research and writing about professional development school activity indicates progress toward fulfilling the professional development school model's commitment to providing equitable educational opportunities and outcomes, especially from a critical pedagogy perspective. Our review of 95 papers…

The Delphi Method of group communication was used with experienced distance education stakeholders in the United States from the areas of research, policy, and practice to identify priorities in K-12 distance education over the next five years. Data from the three rounds of this study were organized and compared using descriptive statistics. The…

"Collaboration" is a ubiquitously championed concept and widely recognized across the public and private sectors as the foundation on which the capacity for addressing complex issues is predicated. For those invested in organizational improvement, high-quality collaboration has become no less than an imperative. However, evaluators and program…

As an aesthetic form, architecture deals with the creation and definition of space expressed in buildings and other physical structures. The Colosseum in Rome, Notre Dame in Paris, and the United States capital in Washington, through their designs define space, capture our imagination, and communicate important cultural and historical messages.…

This guide begins with background information useful to understanding Illinois' framework for implementation and evaluation of Programs of Study. It starts with a visual depiction of the relationships between activity at the federal, state and local levels that evolved to the creation of Illinois' Career Cluster Model. This Model, which is based…

Increasing questions about the value and efficacy of aquatic and boating education programs have led to demands for scientifically based guidance for improving and evaluating those programs. The Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation commissioned 11 aquatic, environmental, and outdoor education professionals to provide summaries of research…

Action Learning is now a well established strategy for reflective inquiry in healthcare. Whilst a great deal is know about action learning there has been inadequate research on the process of learning that takes place, and the impact that this holds for individuals, groups or organisations. This article reports on the findings of 15-month action…

One of five articles on professional development schools in this theme issue. Discusses six developmental stages of collaboration--formation, conceptualization, development, implementation, evaluation, and termination/reformation--in the implementation of professional development schools at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, including…

This handbook documents efforts to promote the professional development school (PDS) concept at Western Michigan University (WMU) and examines how a university might initiate the restructuring process for teacher education and collabaorate with a local school district through the establishment of a PDS. It discusses the underlying principles of…

A research study used trend analysis to examine case studies of 18 workplace literacy programs with a framework of good practice principles as a template to identify trends in practice. Each case study was examined using the nine components identified in the framework: program orientation, program evaluation, partnerships and participation,…

A report recently released by the Center on Education Policy reveals that the four-year-old No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act has indeed served to shine a light on the importance of professional development for K-12 educators. Beyond that basic fact, though, any real broad-based impact on the training of educators remains inconclusive. While the…

The concept of the professional development school (PDS) and the commitment to collaboration advocated by educational reformers derives in part from a recognition of the need to more fully incorporate the voices of teachers in teacher education and professional development. The Coolidge Professional Development School (Shrewsbury, Massachusetts)…