Illinois, in partnership with the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, is transforming its teacher preparation and training sequence into a strong teacher development system that will result in improved teacher recruitment, preparation, induction, certification, professional development, and retirement. This paper outlines the…

Presents a proposal for training pre- and inservice teachers in the use of group work based on the principles of action research. Outlines some issues in the design and implementation of these activities and presents suggestions for the post-observation remodeling of activities within a task- and content-based framework for foreign language…

This article, written by a high school student, describes how he helped his school attain access to state-of-the-art technology and to the Internet. Topics include problems, security issues, teacher training, examples of student Internet projects, technical details of the school's computer system, and how the school encouraged this student's…

A study evaluated the process of training teachers to use an interactive multimedia package for classroom instruction in ecology. Ways in which teachers assessed relevant printed text and hypertext information were mapped and analyzed. Search patterns were classified into two cognitive strategies (sequential, goal oriented). Sequential strategies…

Reports recent research into how English secondary teachers construct and develop notions of professionalism, noting how this is affected by changes in their working lives and recent educational reform. Teacher interviews indicated that local contexts are influential in shaping their sense of professionalism and that this is an important source of…

Questions how England's Secretary of State for Education uses the Teacher Training Agency (TTA) to define and control inservice teacher competency requirements, suggesting that this leads to teacher deprofessionalization. Recommends identifying threats to professional autonomy and preventing the TTA from moving to the next phase of regulation. (SM)

Describes a project that looked for new forms of inservice training that would be more in line with teachers' own ideas about developing their method of teaching. The process emphasizes letting teachers control their own inservice training and letting the problem, not the method, guide teacher development. (SM)

This paper reviews progress made since a Council for Exceptional Children Commission in 2000 identified three outcomes fundamental to ensuring learning results for every exceptional learner. It concludes that the special education field will continue to lose its workforce without the active engagement of state and local policymakers, educators,…

Argues that if discipline-based music education is to be successful, change initiatives must take place at all levels of instruction. Discusses the collaborative efforts necessary to accomplish this. These include coordinated efforts among state departments of education, higher education and K-12, performing arts centers, teacher and professional…

Explores trends in learning and learning environments, and makes projections regarding the future role of teachers and school library media specialists. Discusses nonlinear environments, student-centered instruction, school Intranets, the Internet, curriculum design, learning facilitation, teachers as coaches, collaboration, information literacy,…

Reviews efforts undertaken in Chicago to attract minority high school graduates into teaching careers in Catholic education through scholarships and other incentives. Also describes programs to retain qualified minority teachers and administrators, including workshops, a special degree program tailored to Catholic school teachers, and efforts…

Discusses the role of technology in education and presents 10 case studies of schools that have implemented technological solutions to curriculum objectives in kindergarten through eighth grade classrooms. Highlights include the role of the teacher; writing grant proposals; integrated learning systems; inservice training; curriculum models; local…

Focusing on 35 Swedish school management areas (Sweden's basic organizational unit), this study examines the relationship between centrally introduced school reforms and the local school management areas' response to those reforms. Recognizes the importance of following local school developments in order to understand the political management of…

A project at Indiana University of Pennsylvania to improve the speaking skills of 36 secondary school French and Spanish teachers is described. The project consisted of a total immersion workshop for strengthening oral skills, learning classroom techniques, and developing innovative curricula, and teacher projects to incorporate innovations into…

Several techniques used to enhance creativity in writing workshops are offered as potential exercises in writing and literature appreciation for French second-language classes. The activities include wordplay, linking poetry and narration, and story creation by computer program. (MSE)