Examines ways that teachers' knowledge about teaching and their educational situations grow when they are engaged collaboratively with other teachers in inquiry on their own practice. Results indicate that mechanisms for enhancement of normal practice include anecdote telling, trying out ideas, and systematic inquiry. Contains 66 references.…

Describes strategies used by Ventura Elementary School in Kissimmee, Florida, to increase parent involvement. The school first offered weekly parent-education sessions called Parent Empowerment workshops at the school. The program's success was enhanced when it expanded to a community setting and forged an alliance with community members. (LMI)

Describes the study of a physics teacher whose teaching changed as his beliefs about mathematics changed. Following a week-long institute on using graphing calculators, the teacher became an advocate of calculator use and his algebraic thinking progressed as he realized the importance of functions. (DDR)

Highlights the creation of centers that promote the professional development of teachers including Teaching and Learning Centers, Centers for Teaching Excellence, and Centers for Faculty Development. Presents examples of such centers where teachers help one another hone skills, stay abreast of pedagogical developments, and mobilize institutional…

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)