Each interpretation of staff development is derived from a particular theory of organizations and a particular understanding of educational and personal psychology. This paper outlines several organizational theories on which staff development might be based. Staff development is considered as being concerned with all those needs of the individual…

Studies about how schools improve indicate that the process of improvement happens simultaneously on two levels: the individual teacher level and the level of the school as an organization. Staff development, networking, and problem-centered activities are current approaches found promising for school improvement. (Author/MLF)

Creativity exercises, or creater-cizes, can help camp staff generate ideas and solve problems. Common techniques are brainstorming, story-boarding, analogies and metaphors, association and free association, spinning, and lists. Defines and gives examples of each technique. (SAS)

A. J. Romiszowski developed a schematic model for analyzing performance problems. Whether a problem lies with staff members or their environment is determined first. Staff problems are grouped according to past performance. Work environment problems include work methods, management systems, and job organization. Model emphasizes flexibility and…

A systematic way to create collaborative school improvement is provided. The currently expanding role of administrators as staff developers is explored; 10 strategies are listed for the principal to use as a key player in staff development. Two specific organization development problem-solving strategies, Situation-Target-Plan (S-T-P) and Force…

Total Quality Management (TQM) is "a system of continuous improvement employing participative management and centered on the needs of customers." Key components of TQM are employee involvement and training, problem-solving teams, statistical methods, long-term goals and thinking, and recognition that the system, not people, produces…

A principal recounts her year-long journey to pull a southern Oregon school community together. She used two problem- solving strategies (Situation-Target-Plan and force-field analysis) to alter cultural norms, guide the community through planned change, and integrate staff development, organization development, and action research. (MLH)

Developed by educators at the Emily Griffith Opportunity school, this teacher's guide presents a 2-hour workshop to introduce employees in entry-level positions to the concepts and vocabulary of Total Quality Management (TQM). The guide is divided into an instructor's section and a section of 24 handouts for the participants. (Handouts can also be…

This paper addresses the need for group-based or team-based techniques to facilitate organizational learning. It identifies two process-oriented strategies: the role analysis technique (RAT) and the diagnostic window technique. These techniques can be used in meetings to model the intellectual tasks that need to occur in today's learning…

The products in this catalogue are programs and publications designed to help schools with staff development programs that are aimed at improving organizational functioning and communication (organization development), or at conducting needs assessment. The organization development products and publications reviewed are designed to help schools…

Current methods of introducing creativity techniques in industrial training courses can be modified to increase the amount of personalized learning, according to the authors. They offer a framework for a new approach to creativity training in short courses and workshops, with both in-house and business school examples. (MF)

An approach to building an effective training and development (T&D) process within postsecondary institutions is described. The process involves three distinct phases: developing an inservice skills training program, institutionalizing an on-the-job career development process, and conducting organizational development activities. The focus of the…

This book describes a practicum project that analyzed the organizational structure of the regional service teams at the California State Department of Education and designed a strategy to reduce the organizational problems caused by consolidating application procedures for seven state and federal categorical aid programs. The practicum design…

Attempts to answer the question "What does research say about getting innovations into schools?" are based on the experiences of a nonprofit organization that has been engaged in staff development efforts to bring about change in schools. The paper presents a general description of the organization's operation; its relationship to other change…

The problems created by declining enrollments and fiscal stringencies have brought about a "new reality" for postsecondary institutions in Ontario and other Canadian provinces. The lean future that institutions face requires clear articulation and communication of institutional goals, retraining and reallocation of redundant academic…