Describes ways in which professional development activities can be rewarding. Offers details from a support staff event at Wytheville Community College in Virginia as a template for a successful event. Focuses on planning, instruction, humor, camaraderie, and appreciation. (NB)

Focuses on the system of further vocational education for Japanese teachers that is based on a network of cooperation among colleagues. Demonstrates how the Japanese conception of teaching as a craft determines the professional career of teachers within elementary and secondary schooling. (CMK)

Investigated the experiences of first-year teachers who learned to teach in a Professional Development School and completed an inquiry-oriented, full-year internship. Interviews conducted during the internship and first teaching years indicated that these teachers surpassed the traditional survival stage of novice teachers, had strongly developed…

This article describes recent developments in gifted education in New Zealand. Government initiatives that have resulted in professional development programs and the creation of a gifted and talented community within the Ministry of Education's Online Learning Center are discussed, and recommendations by the Working Party on Gifted Education are…

Describes an exchange teacher program intended to develop more active learning communities with students and existing faculty. Observes that dialogue between teachers in the lounge and after school began to change. Notes that students engaged in more active learning and began to view themselves in a different light, taking ownership of their…

Reports on the design of a model for transformational science teaching that focuses on linking theory with practice through curriculum decision making. This model is the framework for professional-development sessions for middle-grade science teachers. Contains 63 references. (DDR)

Discusses information retrieval, the effects of the Internet, and the changing role of information professionals based on experiences at JP Morgan. Topics include end-user relationships; training needs; the need for continual professional development; relationship to the information technology department; information management; and Intranet…

The role of teaching hospitals in medical education can help describe the potential of Professional Development Schools (PDSs) in teacher education. This article discusses the evolution of the teaching hospital model, examining the model's key issues and their relevance to the PDS model. Lessons from the medical education experience that pertain…

Describes two middle school Professional Development School (PDS) partnerships within one teacher education program. In these two partnerships, the entry point for PDS development was preservice preparation rather than the three PDS functions. These two examples illustrate the complexity of moving from theoretical constructs of PDSs described in…

Describes a high school Professional Development School (PDS) that involved Maryville University of St. Louis, Missouri, examining important characteristics of the schools and the partnership and focusing on four moral dimensions of teachers' work: pedagogical nurturing of teachers, students' access to knowledge, enculturation into a social and…

Describes one elementary school's success in improving student achievement, focusing on three critical elements of its Professional Development School: teacher collaboration, partnerships between the home and school, and an emphasis on improved academic achievement. This PDS constantly uses reflection and analysis to look at the future, viewing…

Summarizes the Quebec (Canada) province-wide survey conducted by the History Task Force in June 1998 that focused on the status of teaching in elementary social studies and secondary history within the anglophone educational community. Indicates that these teachers want a range of up-to-date classroom materials and are willing to attend…

Surveys part-time faculty teaching transfer courses and finds that the most popular teaching techniques are lecture, class discussion, written feedback, and methods that encourage critical thinking. Reports that faculty who had participated in professional development were more likely to use small group discussions, demonstrations, and activities…

Investigated preservice teachers' beliefs about and understanding and use of reflection, interviewing preservice teachers who, together with their mentors, used a reflective framework in the context of a Professional Development School. Results indicated that the use of the framework helped develop preservice teachers who actively thought about…

Four-year curriculum-development project involving computing teachers from Scottish schools focused on methods of teaching and assessing computer-program skills at the secondary 3/4 level (14- to 16-year-olds) and the professional development of participants. Findings show that curriculum development can enhance teachers' professional development,…