Highland Park Elementary School (Manchester, Conn.) aligns its professional development with teacher evaluations and the school improvement plan to create a comprehensive system that achieves results. Data tie the pieces together by helping school teams select school improvement goals, helping teachers choose their own professional growth…

Relationships and leadership, that, in a nutshell, is the vision of professional learning in the remote Northern Lights School Division in Alberta, Canada. This article describes the professional learning provided by Northern Lights, which has been building its capacity for teacher and leadership growth for more than 13 years. The division: (1)…

Journaling is an integral part of staff development because it allows individuals to consider their own learning thoughtfully and it also helps participants analyze their own and other's thought processes and think about how one thinks and learns. This article features Williamson County Schools in Franklin, Tennessee, which created an academy to…

This paper reports the results of a doctoral research pilot study that paired a researcher with an experienced classroom teacher for a 12-week time span with the goal of effectively integrating the use of Geometer's Sketchpad (GSP) into the classroom teacher's practice. Using a teacher development experiment, the researcher created an…

Educators Linda Darling-Hammond and Diane Friedlaender share findings from their recent report highlighting five California high schools that have beaten the odds in supporting the success of low-income students of color. Animo Inglewood Charter High School, Stanley E. Foster Construction Tech Academy, June Jordan School for Equity, Leadership…

Growing consensus among policy makers and educators alike suggests that our education system must be transformed to address the needs of a global society as well as the needs of the 21st century student. Often overlooked as a resource, students can contribute a valuable perspective on education. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to learn…

This study examined the impact of the 3-year implementation of a professional development intervention on science achievement of culturally and linguistically diverse elementary students. Teachers were provided with instructional units and workshops that were designed to improve teaching practices and foster positive beliefs about science and…

As online professional development courses for teachers have grown, the discussion forum has become a locus of considerable research. This study analyzes the discussion forums in four different sessions of a short (4-week) online course for teachers from six schools in three states. This study also compares four methodologies, all of which have a…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which primary science teachers understand the new reform implemented in Turkey and to examine their perceptions regarding science instruction. Thus, it could be possible to show an accurate picture of what is currently happening in primary science classrooms and identify the kind of…

President Bush says that the No Child Left Behind Act is working, pointing to student-achievement results from a single subsection of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and tentative Reading First data. But the evidence available to support his claim is questionable. The data Mr. Bush cited are from just the "long-term…

This report explores current thinking in professional development as it relates to strategies for reform. It begins with a discussion of the relationship between professional development and school reform and a description of recent efforts by the National Governors' Association to stimulate dialogue on the issue. The report then discusses the…

In this study, the implementation effects of a program for the training in coaching skills with Dutch school counselors are described. These school counselors are expected to provide help and support to primary school teachers. Coaching is a form of in-class support intended to provide teachers with feedback on their own functioning, thereby…

This volume synthesizes the scholarship and practice of the teaching and learning of psychology to create a practical handbook for faculty who work with undergraduates in this discipline. Section 1 establishes the framework with "Principles for Quality Undergraduate Psychology Programs" (Cynthia Baum, and others). Section 2 reviews seven critical…

In spring 1991, a survey was conducted of chief academic officers (CAO's) at two-year colleges to identify the instructional improvement categories and strategies that received the highest levels of support. The study replicated a 1987 survey of CAO's at four-year institutions and asked respondents to rate their commitment to practices in five…

This paper presents a case study that describes the role, scope, and evolution of institutional research (IR) in support of planning and decision making at Minot State University in North Dakota. It describes four specific phases of IR involvement in institutional change at the university, based on a four-tiered planning model that relied on input…