Managing and leading educational change entails a great degree of complexity and uncertainty and remains a pressing challenge for administrators. This work documents lessons learned from a national study on the concept and development of the Creating Communities of Continuous Inquiry and Improvement project of the Southwest Educational Development…

James Cook University, Queensland, Australia (JCU) and Malaspina University College, British Columbia (MUC) have developed a partnership model for the delivery of JCU's Masters degree in education in rural studies. The course was delivered via distance education from MUC. Program evaluation was conducted via questionnaires returned by 25 students…

The Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico-Rural Systemic Initiative (UCAN-RSI) supports systemic improvement in science, technology, and mathematics education for all rural students in the four states, focusing on schools that enroll large numbers of American Indian and Hispanic students. This document contains a report on UCAN's 4th year (September…

This paper discusses the reluctance of Israeli inservice teachers to assume the role of mentor to student teachers in their classrooms, proposing an alternative Professional Development School (PDS) model as a starting point for rethinking ways to recruit teachers into this role. In this model, two student teachers assume full responsibility for 1…

The purpose of this paper is threefold: to show that it is essential that language teacher training programs include courses exclusively prepared to familiarize the educator-to-be with the effective use of the technologies in the teaching/learning setting; to show how the impact of plug power in teacher education programs is best felt when the…

Enhanced student learning is the primary objective of integrating technology into classrooms. In order to realize this objective, several critical success factors must be addressed: Access to Technology, Administrative Services, Professional Development, and Curriculum Integration. In this Technology Plan, recommendations are made for action at…

This document presents Ohio's state guidelines to assist school districts in providing appropriate educational interpreting services for students who have hearing impairments. A section on the primary role of the educational interpreter considers: necessary knowledge and skills, modes of communication, interpreting environments, testing…

Noting that research demonstrates that high quality early childhood education (ECE) has long-term benefits for children, this review outlines definitions of quality early childhood education within the context of New Zealand. The focus is mainly on two specific aspects of quality: staff qualifications and indicators of quality. The review notes…

This paper reviews research on the impact of Professional Development Schools (PDSs) on K-12 students, preservice teachers, inservice teachers, university faculty, school reform, and research. Section 1 examines what the research says about the impact of PDSs on these groups, using data from the ERIC database, and it discusses external support for…

In a project designed to provide training for entry-level job skills in high tech industries, a combination of narrative and technology was employed to aid learners in developing the necessary soft skills (dependability, responsibility, listening comprehension, collaboration, et cetera) sought by employers. The EnterTech Project brought together a…

To help create safe havens and positive opportunities for youth in Native American and Alaska Native communities, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) became a partner with Boys & Girls Clubs of America (B&GCA). This guide describes how the B&GCA proven prevention model can be adapted for use in Indian Country to…

This final report describes achievements and activities of a 3-year federally supported project by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte to develop and deliver semester-long courses for professionals charged with providing transition services to students with disabilities. The project developed four courses and delivered them using…

This digest, drawn from the summer 2002 issue of the New Directions for Community Colleges journal, summarizes research findings on the similarities and differences among college faculty groups and concludes with a discussion of how this information can be used to increase the relevance and effectiveness of faculty development issues. Huber (2002)…

In recent years, various state education departments have recommended the use of portfolios, an alternative assessment measure, as a means by which teacher education programs focus, guide, and document teachers' progress toward specific standards for performance. This paper describes the design and development of a student assessment portfolio for…

This final performance report discusses the activities and outcomes of a project that addressed the need for training certified and highly qualified secondary special education teachers to provide classroom and transition related instruction and services to students with low incidence or severe disabilities. The project was carried out by the…