This book provides teacher lesson plans that are designed to help teachers of computer literacy courses make appropriate use of instructional materials. It is designed to help inservice teachers with the day-to-day challenge of assisting a wide range of students in becoming more computer literate. In addition, the book is useful for educators who…

This policy brief presents excerpts from an article by Judith Warren Little that addresses the problem of the "fit" between current state and local reforms and prevailing approaches to professional development. The brief addresses first five major themes of reform and their implications for teaching. These themes are: reforms in subject…

The Early Childhood Teacher Education Program at Vaxjo University in Sweden and Early Childhood Studies Program at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, have established a three-part, collaborative, research-based international project to improve early childhood teacher education. One aspect of the program is a two-tiered student exchange.…

A 3-year action research study was conducted by the Spirit River School Division in northwestern Alberta to develop and validate a set of indicators to assess teacher effectiveness in a formative process. Focusing on professional development and staff inservice, the Educational Quality Indicators Project (EQI) sought to determine if the 26…

This policy paper summarizes the research on change and effective staff development to drive an outcomes-based, results oriented approach to increase student success. The paper provides a discussion of the following ideas necessary for practice: (1) participants must be involved in planning and developing training; (2) training must be relevant,…

The Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) of 1990 has given educators the authority as well as the responsibility for improving educational practices within their schools. A study group of five Kentucky teachers assisted by the Kentucky Education Association and the Appalachia Educational Laboratory was formed to research the extent and uses of…

A study was done to examine the expectations and aspirations of teachers participating in a school-university collaborative effort, called a Professional Development School (PDS). A PDS is a working relationship between school and university personnel to merge the worlds of theory and practice in which both parties achieve parity in governance and…

The Training of Trainers (ToT) Evaluation investigated the efficacy of the High/Scope model for improving the quality of early childhood programs on a national scale. To address this question, the High/Scope Foundation undertook a multimethod evaluation that collected anecdotal records from the consultants and 793 participants in 40 ToT projects,…

Appalachia Educational Laboratory's Rural Excel program collaborated with the Tennessee Center of Excellence for Science and Mathematics Education and with faculty at 21 local education agencies in rural Tennessee to evaluate implementation of the Tennessee Mathematics Activities Manuals for grades 5-8. The manuals each contain 54-67 activities…

This paper posits that metaphor, in addition to embellishing language, promotes a comprehensive understanding of complex concepts and phenomena and provides teachers with a powerful way to talk about their work. The main body of this document, which includes an extensive review of the literature, considers the use of metaphors for mentoring in the…

This study assessed the effectiveness of a model for providing long distance technical assistance on teacher implementation of an intervention designed to increase child-child social interaction. Subjects were 10 preschool special education teachers and 40 preschool-aged children (some developing normally and some with mild to moderate…

Project Clinico, a federally-funded bilingual education project, served 356 special education students of limited English proficiency in its second year of operation at six elementary schools in New York City (New York). The project provided special and modified instructional services for these students, consultation and training to teachers,…

This document is a collection of reviews of promising and exemplary programs designed to improve student achievement. The programs reviewed represent the five areas that hold particular promise for strengthening students' academic performance: improved instructional strategies in reading, writing, and thinking; and the use of educational…

The Teachers for Secondary Schools Program (TSSP) is a one-year, intensive program for the preparation and certification of secondary school teachers. The program is inquiry-oriented, utilizing clinical training schools for program planning and delivery continuously during the year. Preservice interns from the University of Southern Maine are…

A computer-literacy staff training program was designed to provide adult basic education (ABE) instructors and staff with basic computer skills. A curriculum using both Apple IIe computers and IBM personal computers was developed and software obtained. Eight instructors and nine administrative staff members of local literacy programs completed 10…