This paper focuses on a British Council funded Higher Education Link project involving three institutions--Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) in the UK and two South African institutions, the University of South Africa (UNISA) and Rhodes University. The link is a research and development project that has three main research strands:…

The article presents the findings of the research into professional development needs of study programme managers at four Lithuanian higher education schools (two universities and two colleges) and a revised methodology for research into study programme managers professional development needs in the didactical domain of teacher qualification…

Blended learning is a promising model for supporting teacher professional development that combines the advantages of traditional face-to-face interaction with the flexibility of online learning. In this study, we examine the impact of two one-year blended learning programs on teachers' attitudes, knowledge, and classroom practices. These…

Getting papers published in the (largely English-language) international literature is important for individual researchers, their institutions, and the academic community, and the resulting pressure is being felt increasingly in China as a result of top-down policy initiatives. For many researchers, reaching this goal involves two intersecting…

This manual provides information and materials for a professional development program aimed at assisting middle and high school faculties with decision making regarding curriculum integration. The program is an outgrowth of a 2-year research and development project on interdisciplinary teamed instruction conducted in four rural secondary schools…

In an effort to provide prospective teachers with chances to reflect on their professional competence, and to demonstrate their teaching effectiveness and growth, the teacher education program at California State University, Los Angeles, decided to require students to develop portfolios. All students were introduced to the portfolio format during…

This manual presents the major lessons learned about how national authorities, individual institutions, and individual educators can work to increase the impact of the Associated Schools Project (ASP) schools and spread it to other parts of the educational system. ASP is a project of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural…

Action research is an approach to professional development and improved student learning in which teachers systematically reflect on their work, seek feedback from colleagues, and make changes in their practice. Several benefits of action research have been cited: (1) teachers investigate their own practice in a new way, looking at what children…

A general analysis of professional development school (PDS) efforts indicates that, overall, the partnership efforts that were studied devote significantly less attention to ideas about the nature of schools, learning, teaching, the knowledge base for teaching, and teacher learning and professional development than they devote to establishing…

The impact of school-agency partnerships on the professional development of the agency personnel working with teachers on partnership teams was examined in a qualitative study of 18 of 157 natural resources, business, and health care agency professionals identified as having participated in elementary school-based partnerships for 1-6 years in a…

This report summarizes the Engineering Curriculum Transformation Project (ECTP) instituted at the University of Maryland during the 1995-1996 academic year. This initiative focused on facilitating the development of engineering course curricula based on diverse learning styles, more inclusive examples, and the incorporation of diversity and…

This paper describes how a restructured and redesigned teacher training program at West Virginia University utilizes a strand approach to integrate special education learning outcomes into the 15 core courses required of all student teachers. Key elements of the new teacher training program include: a clear set of research-based program goals;…

This book presents a series of conference papers dealing with educational technology. The papers are: "The Role of Educational Technology in Upgrading Teacher Education in Pakistan" (M. Hashim Abbasi and Alex C. Millar); "Report on the Teaching and Learning on the Internet Project--RMIT TAFE" (Laurie Armstrong); "A…

This paper outlines a joint Asian Bank/Pakistan Ministry of Education project designed to upgrade the state of teacher education and to improve the quality, status, and professional self-esteem of Pakistan's teachers. The main strategies identified by the Project for priority attention include: structural changes through the creation of four new…

Collaboration between public schools and universities through implementation of professional development schools may be central to any effort to improve education in an increasingly complex society. Chicago State University (Illinois), in conjunction with a cadre of stake holders from Chicago Public Schools, implemented a professional development…