Presents guiding questions developed by the U.S. Department of Education's Technology Planning Task Force. Questions revolve around creating a vision of learning, using technology to support the mission, developing a supportive infrastructure, understanding the plan's context, garnering public support, and implementing and evaluating the plan.…

Describes biases in early child care profession against home-based providers. Encourages: (1) crossing bridges to learn with and from each other; (2) crossing bridges to build a profession; and (3) building bridges between home and center-based providers. Recommends that professionalism be defined by commitment to high quality care and not…

Explores the values orientations that teachers bring with them to their tasks and addresses values and beliefs in education. Describes the Finding A Way (FAW) project and teachers' responses to an exercise that focused on the concept of white privilege. Considers implications for instruction and classroom practices. (CMK)

A study conducted demographic analyses of Maryland's early intervention data by geographic region for training implications. The data were collected from January 1, 1992 to December 31, 1995. Although there ware many areas of overlapping needs, results indicated that training needs can vary from one geographic locale to the next. (Contains…

Discusses the Maryland School Performance Assessment (MSPAP), addressing the benefits of MSPAP and the teachers' call for assistance. Focuses on the use of the Internet to (1) disseminate information about assessment to parents and students and (2) offer professional development for teachers on instructional and assessment strategies. (CMK)

Proposes six "commonplaces" characteristic of all forms of professional education, and critically examines Dewey's views of teacher education expressed in his essay "The Relation of Theory to Practice in Education" through those commonplaces. Offers proposals for conceptualizing the education of teachers in general and the…

A professional development experience introduced 102 traditional teachers from rural Michigan to constructivist pedagogy over a 3-year period. Participant comments reveal three themes: frustration with the uncertainties of changing mindsets and incorporating constructivism into practice; the usefulness of representing thoughts about constructivism…

Demands for change are pervasive in educational practice, and while they must be acknowledged, teachers also need to maintain a sense of stability. This can be accomplished by developing a professional conscience composed of five facets (as proposed by Thomas Green): craft, membership, sacrifice, memory, and imagination. Implications for teacher…

Examination of instructional leadership organized into four sections: Reflections on school leadership, definitions of instructional leadership, reviews of two empirical studies on instructional leadership, and conclusions about the development of instructional leaders. (Contains 44 references.) (PKP)

This reprint of an article on how one rural school district was able to use effectively a variety of acceleration strategies in different elementary schools is preceded by a commentary that stresses that the form of programming is less crucial than the training and attitude of the participating teachers. (Contains 3 references.) (CR)

Discusses the National Board Certification for the Early Childhood through Young Adulthood/Library Media certificate, under development by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Explains the library media standards overview, including knowledge, activities, and professional growth; portfolio requirements; required assessment…

Demonstrates how teacher inquiry offers a way to study and implement character education by exploring teacher inquiry projects at a Professional Development School. Presents background information and describes four different types of inquiry. Provides examples of how character education principles connect with teacher inquiry. (CMK)

Identifies key challenges for community colleges concerning faculty and professional staff: preparing and attracting qualified faculty, implementing the teaching and learning paradigm, helping faculty make use of current technology, and improving the status and morale of professional staff. Proposes several potential solutions for each challenge.…

Explores the nature and evolution of professional learning conversations that emerge when teachers in master's classes are involved in rubric-focused coaching with peers. Finds that teachers' self-developed strategy rubrics on strategy lessons initiated focus learning conversations about instruction, increased their trust of professional…

Notes suburban Australian newspapers have traditionally relied on a junior workforce, which means they have a significant influence in training cadets and shaping the journalists of the future. Suggests lack of staff and resources mean that the loftier ideals of journalism often give way to more practical issues. Discusses the challenges facing…