Describes the Lowell Leadership Academy, a 12-year-old partnership between the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and the Lowell (Massachusetts) public schools. Through the Academy, the university organizes professional development for the school district's administrators. The Academy's role as a resource for other urban districts is explored.…

Effective professional development is a faculty-directed process that encourages modification of behaviors based on critical self-reflection and evaluation of one's assumptions and beliefs about targeted development areas (such as teaching, curriculum, or school environment). This article presents a comprehensive faculty-development model that…

The pay-for-performance plan recently implemented in Douglas County (Colorado) bases teacher salaries on performance rather than longevity, considers extra duties, and offers incentives to high-performing school teams. The school district hopes to strengthen the professional development possibilities of this plan, including teachers' uses of…

Examines how English department faculty might demystify the job placement process for graduate students by providing candidates with a way of imagining their professional identities. Asks whether faculty expectations and fantasies escalate student anxieties and induce elitist, overbearing prose. (TB)

The cognitive processes of counseling are poorly understood. This article examines the role of cognition in the preparation of counselors by exploring research in the development of expertise. Topics analyzed include memory and knowledge structures, declarative and procedural knowledge, pattern recognition, reasoning processes and goals, and…

Examines ways in which teachers can benefit from professional development throughout their careers to enhance their teaching style and improve their career prospects. The article argues that what is good for the individual teacher is good for the school and vice versa. The article covers notions of career mapping, action research, and continuing…

Discusses the role of the Internet in rural schools, both for use in the classroom and for developing professional relationships. Reports results of a qualitative study of seven elementary school teachers who used the Internet to offset their rural isolation, deal with social justice and equality issues, develop learner-centered instruction, and…

Describes an innovative outreach program integrated with a university curriculum in which a group of pre-service teachers taking mathematics education as a major were involved in teaching mathematics to girls at Tennyson House. Reflects on what was experienced and learned from the intervention in terms of three aspects: (1) learning about…

Offers twelve suggestions for music teachers to assist them in their careers, such as know your school and community, find a mentor, be a good listener, analyze your teaching, and create balance in your life. Lists reasons why music teachers should participate in professional development. (CMK)

Describes several projects that have enabled teachers to leave the isolation of their own classrooms and think together about student work in the broader contexts of school improvement and professional development. (Contains 18 references.) (Author/MLF)

Details the development of a professional development program by teachers, for teachers focused on the use of a pond ecosystem. Explores watersheds, water flow, and water composition. (DDR)

Analyzes prospective teachers' opportunities to connect subject matter with workplace contexts. Examines the degree of importance prospective teachers place on workplace connections and the ways in which they incorporate these connections into classroom lesson plans. Suggests implications for teacher education and the support prospective teachers…

Offers an overview of a program designed to support part-time faculty at Johnson County Community College in Kansas. Describes the context for the program, the institutional and departmental initiatives, professional development available, an adjunct certification training program, and the resources used in part-time faculty development efforts.…

Discusses the Presidents Academy of the American Association of Community Colleges. States that the Academy has evolved into a network made up of the nation's community college CEOs, which provides a variety of practical leadership development and professional support programs. Describes the Summer Institute, DC Institute, and Taming Technology…

Addresses the critical need for leadership development in light of the significant number of community college leaders expected to retire in the near future. Discusses current options and recommended solutions for meeting the training needs of a new generation of community college leaders. Contains 10 references. (AUTH/NB)