Six policy issues emerging from a Midwest dissemination conference on the Richardson Study are highlighted. The focus is on facilitating policy initiatives in gifted education among local and state school districts. Policy statements on each of the following issues are cited: improving identification procedures; articulating goals, programs, and…

A project was undertaken to assess the staff development needs of faculty and staff at Mission College (California), and to formulate a 1-year staff development plan tied to budget allocations for such activities. In spring 1986, a needs assessment survey for staff development was administered to 62 classified staff members, 87 faculty members, 4…

The Ways to Improve Schools and Education Project (WISE) seeks to enhance school staff knowledge and skills through appropriate staff development adapted from local business and industry. Project WISE FY84 is an outgrowth of project accomplishments in FY83, which included a pilot test of collaborative school-business partnerships at three sites.…

A design for individualizing in-service training for teachers of English as a second language and cultural orientation for refugees to meet the needs of instructors with different backgrounds and degrees of experience is presented. The teachers and their supervisors identify each others' needs and interests, state learning objectives to be…

As a first step in developing a comprehensive professional development program and operational activities at Gateway Technical Institute (GTI) in Wisconsin, a faculty and staff computer training survey was conducted. A questionnaire was distributed to 411 faculty and staff members to establish a general interest level; gauge the current level of…

This report is one in a series on the work of the 30 pilot projects that form the European Community's second Programme on the Transition from Education to Adult and Working Life. The report analyzes the work of the pilot projects in the field of inservice teacher training. It lists the new demands on teachers, as the pilot projects identified…

In the summer of 1986, representatives from Southern Oregon State College, the Northwest Regional Laboratory, and the Josephine County School District formed a consortium to design an induction program for beginning rural teachers. During its first year, the consortium presented special on-site graduate credit courses addressing problems new…

To improve learning and the work lives of teachers, in 1985 Massachusetts enacted Chapter 188, the Public School Improvement Act, which establishes and implements a system for testing and evaluating school and student performance. Since Chapter 188 was implemented, Massachusetts schools have improved faster than the national rate. Proposals for…

Staff development in the public schools has become a serious concern only since the 1970s. Staff development is not inservice education, although it includes inservice teacher education. Rather, staff development should be a process by both administrators and teachers who set goals to improve the school or school system and meet the needs of…

As part of a study initiated by the Illinois State Board of Education to provide information on which to base personnel policy for the state's schools, this report presents staff recommendations for future state policy governing all certified educational personnel. Recommendations cover the essential areas of personnel programs, including (1)…

PRISM, the Pittsburgh Research-Based Instructional Supervisory Model, was initiated when the superintendent convened an Instructional Leadership Committee (ILC) to develop a plan for improving instruction and instructional leadership within the district. The Pittsburgh Public Schools' Learning Research Development Center then conducted a…

Science programs provided for primary school have not always been successful. A major reason suggested is that some programs place demands on teachers which many teachers find difficult to meet and which give rise to concerns which restrict their development as teachers of science. Based on the work of the the Learning in Science Project…

The conference upon which these proceedings are based was held to draw together scholars, public officials, and representatives of private agencies in order to explore priority issues in research and training for professionals who work with new immigrants and refugees. Following a preface, which outlines the themes addressed by conference…

A 1-day orientation workshop for business clients from other cultures is described. Factors in program design that relate to the specific cultural group addressed are discussed, and include such considerations as culture-specific versus culture-general content, professional focus, and the learning style to which the participants are accustomed.…

This practicum was designed to enable teachers in an elementary school to gain the skills required to utilize technological equipment and materials in their classrooms. The primary objective was that teachers would become proficient in the use of technology in their teaching. A second goal was that teachers would use technology to vitalize…