Adult learners bring a greater background of life experiences to the learning situation; may experience diminished learning rates, if not ability; and approach learning from personal or professional needs, not compulsion. Effective adult learning requires time for reflection and for application and manipulation of ideas. Principals dealing with…

Education requires continuing renewal of members to retain and increase its rigor and artistry. The article examines hallmarks that demonstrate that educators meet the criteria necessary and provide justification for ongoing professional development. Programs must focus on professional competence to guarantee students a safe, stimulating,…

Provides examples of practices utilized by school-based family support programs, explaining how family support programs work to ready children for school. Considerations for staffing family support programs are examined, including what type of staff to hire, components of a quality workplace, and types of staff development necessary. (SM)

In fall 1987, two California school districts formed partnership that received state grant to research and evaluate successful practices for integrating technology into K-12 curriculum. Planning for technology means beginning with a small group of credible, non-"techie" teachers; involving them with all facets of the plan, including…

Discusses potential challenges that community colleges will face from for-profit educational providers. Argues that college educators must accept that they are involved in the business of higher education and should carefully plan the development of both personnel and institutional infrastructure accordingly. (JDI)

Providing continuous, personalized, high-quality staff development programs fosters the delivery of effective, comprehensive services to Head Start children and families. This article suggests directors follow the following staff development principles: draft a philosophy; define staff development; assess staff development needs; focus on the…

The Appalachia Educational Laboratory designed and implemented a long-term staff development program to increase and sustain teacher knowledge of and use of classroom questioning techniques to produce higher levels of student learning. Evaluations from 41 middle and secondary schools establishing the effectiveness of this program are reported .…

Creativity exercises, or creater-cizes, can help camp staff generate ideas and solve problems. Common techniques are brainstorming, story-boarding, analogies and metaphors, association and free association, spinning, and lists. Defines and gives examples of each technique. (SAS)

Schools need staff-development programs focused on teaching children to read. Students must read effectively by the end of third grade. The Success for All curriculum is effective, is transportable, focuses on basic literacy, uses formative assessment, and provides continuous, onsite assistance and support to schools. (MLH)

Considers whether laptop and handheld computers will be able to replace printed textbooks in classrooms. Topics cover benefits of classroom computers, including the need for computer literacy; computer costs, including service contracts, theft, and the need for staff development; the problems with dated textbooks; publishers' concerns; and…

In a study of 906 employed graduate students, women reported less employer support for their studies, less tuition assistance, and less job training. However, women generally had been employed a shorter time, worked fewer hours, and worked in smaller organizations. (SK)

Describes the collaboration between two large multi-site child care and education facilities in Hawaii that belong to the six-member Childcare Business Coalition. Includes suggestions from the coalition to contribute to discussion on policy and child-care business issues, to advocate for families, and to obtain grants for staff training. (KB)

Presents child-care directors' opinions regarding influences on their thinking about staff development. Suggests strategies for keeping professional-development efforts on track, such as using the questions emerging from working with children as a basis for learning, incorporating time and systems for thinking about learning, forming a book/study…

Discusses the effect of resistance on educational change, offering three steps for managing resistance (being aware of resistance, identifying sources and types of resistance, and developing and applying proactive strategies for managing resistance). Two sidebars describe 10 techniques to turn resistance into productive effort and discuss how to…

Describes the results from a recent study of school professional-development programs nationwide, which found that schools with effective programs consistently devoted time and energy to ensuring readiness among staff members by fostering five types of readiness: cultural, conceptual, personal, political, and resource readiness. A sidebar presents…