As a part of a long term district-wide study, we report on achievement test results involving students in a third-grade classroom taught by a teacher in a professional development program led by the authors and directed towards the integration of algebraic reasoning with elementary school mathematics. The teacher's practice, reported upon…

The purpose of this study is to establish an action research plan for teachers to improve student outcomes by assessing, describing, and changing their classroom environment. Teachers used this information to develop intervention strategies designed to change the students' perceptions of their actual classroom environment to more closely mirror…

This document concerns recommendations for the chemistry content needed for preservice science teachers as determined by the American Chemical Society (ACS). Topics include: (1) process description; (2) relationship to National Science Education Standards; (3) recommendations for content; and (4) contributors to the project. (KHR)

This booklet contains the teacher's guide to a mathematics placement test which was developed to assist teachers in providing the best match between instructional materials and student needs. It covers math skills from whole numbers to algebra. The placement test is divided into six parts, each consisting of 10 to 22 problems, and is based on exit…

This video focuses on the duties and educational needs of a chemical technician. Many career opportunities are explored by watching a variety of technicians perform their daily professional tasks. (KHR)

This toolkit contains a set of professional development materials whose goal is to help mathematics teachers in grades 6-10 learn to identify, describe, and foster algebraic thinking in their students. A core belief underlying the Toolkit is that good mathematics teaching begins with understanding how mathematics is learned, so these materials…

This report is the second in a series of RAND reports on the topic of education research and development proposing a long-term, strategic program of research and development in mathematics education. The RAND Mathematics Study Panel's recommendations for the substance and conduct of the program are presented in this report. The program is designed…

This paper reports preliminary results from a survey of teachers and administrators within a sample of schools in 2 school districts in which peer evaluation programs have been in use for more than 10 years. Columbus, Ohio, is a large urban district whose 5,000 teachers are represented by an affiliate of the National Education Association. Poway,…

This paper presents the results of research that compared the academic achievement of high school students enrolled in an integrated Advanced Placement Biology/Advanced Placement Calculus course with students enrolled in traditional Advanced Placement Biology and Advanced Placement Calculus courses. Study subjects included high school students…

This paper explores a six-year-old professional development program in which "professional artists" help teachers learn how to integrate the arts into their curriculum The specific goal of the program is to help teachers learn to use the arts to teach the content areas of language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. The paper…

This study investigated what motivated principals to seek professional development and criteria they used when reflecting on their professional development experiences. It explored how they conceptualized the implementation process of their inservice experiences and noted why they chose specific professional development programs and how they used…

This project provided a year-long skill development Workforce Education Institute for 100 work force literacy providers and instructors in Pennsylvania. The institute included an intensive, 3-day summer workshop, 2 follow-up workshops, and a 2-day spring workshop designed to meet the individual needs of the participants. In evaluations submitted…

The early literacy challenge in Indiana is to increase the literacy skills of students in Grades K-3 who are at risk for school failure. In 1997 the Indiana Department of Education began implementing the Early Literacy Intervention Grant Program (ELIGP)--close to half the ELIGP funding supported professional development for teachers and teacher…

This document describes the development of an instrument designed to assess the implementation of a professional learning community among school staff. It describes the growing need for such instruments as schools increasingly deviate from traditional approaches in education in their efforts to enhance student learning. An instrument that could be…

This paper evaluates an intensive 2-year Dutch training course, "Magistrum," as one possible answer to the training needs of principals. The paper posits the following question: "Is the Magistrum, as an illustrative example of an intensive training, an effective answer to the principals' need for professional development?"…