High-quality, evidence-based professional development is essential to ensure that teachers obtain the knowledge, strategies and skills necessary to positively impact student learning. While the primary form of professional development, training has rarely been evaluated for quality beyond the satisfaction of those being trained. The Observation…

With globalising transnational corporate law firms, high rates of depression among law students and lawyers, and a changing role for lawyers in the world of dispute resolution, academics and professional bodies have been doing some soul searching. They are pondering just what is required in a law degree to train future lawyers adequately. This…

The advent of digital course offerings, the use of social media, the integration of the Khan Academy into curricula, the use of smart phones and tablets, and massive online courses place greater emphasis than ever on effective teaching. While business schools fund faculty development in teaching, too few doctoral programs offer systematic teacher…

One may be the loneliest number, but Verizon isn't complaining. After appearing five times in the Top 10 over the last six years, the telecommunications company captured the No. 1 spot on the Training Top 125 for the first time in 2012. Despite a relatively flat training budget and a work stoppage that resulted from the expiration of union…

Farmers Insurance claims the No. 2 spot on the Training Top 125 with a forward-thinking training strategy linked to its primary mission: FarmersFuture 2020. It's not surprising an insurance company would have an insurance policy for the future. But Farmers takes that strategy one step further, setting its sights on 2020 with a far-reaching plan to…

Instructional coaching guru Jim Knight suggests that how we think about coaching can enhance or interfere with our success as a coach. He suggests that coaches take a partnership approach to collaboration and adopt seven principles that define how coaches interact with collaborating teachers: equality, choice, voice, reflection, dialogue, praxis,…

This paper presents a systems approach based on the work of W. Edwards Deming to system wide, high impact staff development. Deming has pointed out the significance of structure in systems. By restructuring the process of staff development we can bring about cost effective improvement of the whole system. We can improve student achievement while…

Improving student achievement in math and science has become a priority in the United States. As instructional leaders, principals can influence instruction in these vital subjects by working with classroom teachers to improve their instruction. Surprisingly, the research about the principal's role in supporting instruction in these subjects is…

This brief by the Literacy Coaching Clearinghouse is about reaching for the stars--stories of vision and commitment from educators in small and large schools. Everyone knows of people who are held up as "visionaries" throughout history: Leonardo Da Vinci, Mahatma Gandhi, Jules Verne, Thomas Edison, Susan Anthony, or John Dewey, to name a few. The…

For SCC Soft Computer, a clinical information management systems provider, learning and development long has played an essential role in maintaining a high-growth global company. In 2010, the organization proved through ramped-up offerings, improved training success rates, and continual programming evolution that training is still a top priority.…

There is much to welcome in Doug Richard's independent report on the future of apprenticeships. The Richard review offers proposals for redefining and improving the quality of apprenticeships, and for focusing them more on the needs of employers. But will the proposals work, if adopted, and what will be the impact on adults? For this article, the…

As out-of-school programs--and the expectations for them--grow, the field is struggling to identify the kind of training staff members need to meet those expectations. A variety of efforts have sprung up across the country to define and improve the quality of after-school staff, some of which bear resemblance to the quest to improve the…

As teachers learn new pedagogical strategies, they crave explicit demonstrations that show them how the new strategies will work with their students in their classrooms. Successful instructional coaches, therefore, understand the importance of modeling lessons to help teachers develop a vision of effective instruction. The author, an experienced…

The best coaching partnerships are built on conversation and listening, and they are not built on a coach giving answers to a mentee. Ronald Bearward explains how coaches can use questions to help mentees find answers for themselves. Effective questions lead to greater reflection and solutions that teachers can use now and in the future.

Teaching young children takes a great deal of dedication and commitment. One spends every day helping young children to grow and change. It's important to be as committed to one's own growth as one is to the children's. By setting goals related to one's own personal growth, being an active participant in learning events, and creating an action…