There are few professional development courses in Australia for the rural sector concerned with climate variability, climate change and sustainable agriculture. The lack of educators with a sound technical background in climate science and its applications in agriculture prevents the delivery of courses either stand-alone or embedded in other…

As the population of the United States becomes more diverse, both challenges and opportunities are created for the educational system. The gap that currently exists between a predominantly White, middle class, female teaching workforce and an increasingly heterogeneous population of students is one of the key factors that shapes these challenges.…

The "Practice Notes" section is intended to keep readers informed about health education practice around the country. It is an attempt to spread the word about exemplary strategies, initiatives, and programs and share successes in overcoming obstacles or challenges. This article features two new programs on health education: (1) Project FIESTA;…

Scott McLeod says the great sin in the way professional development is provided in this country is one of omission. On his blog, McLeod, an associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Iowa State University and the coordinator of the department's Educational Administration Program, writes, "Most of our…

Not too many years ago, right about the start of the new millennium, the TAMU-CC Writing Center began to pull away from the model of a center that focuses mostly on individual consultations and began to build a greater sense of the place of the Writing Center in the larger university Writing Community. In this article, we share how we have built…

Online conversations help teachers engage in constructive criticism and attend more carefully to aligning lesson plans with problem solving. This article describes a strategy for using an online discussion board to help teachers evaluate one another's lesson plans. The online peer-review activity suggests that fostering critical pedagogical…

Reports findings from two questionnaires administered to participants of aerospace workshops which utilized the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) materials and resource personnel. The findings gave a broad picture of aerospace workshops across the United States. (BR)

A 3-WEEK WORKSHOP WAS CONDUCTED FOR 14 TEACHERS OF FOOD SERVICE PROGRAMS. THE OBJECTIVES OF THE WORKSHOP INCLUDED (1) ANALYZING THE NATURE OF FOOD SERVICE OCCUPATIONS AND RECOGNIZING THE COMPETENCIES EXPECTED OF WORKERS IN FOOD PRODUCTION, SALES, AND SERVICES, (2) DEVELOPING INSTRUCTIONAL GUIDES AND MATERIALS FOR SELECTED OCCUPATIONS IN THE FOOD…

A WORKSHOP FOR SUPERVISING-TEACHERS WAS ORGANIZED TO PLAN, EXPLORE, AND INNOVATE A MORE COMPLETE PROGRAM IN AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. THE WORKSHOP ALSO INCLUDED DISCUSSION OF ESSENTIAL PHASES OF THE OFF-FARM AGRICULTURAL OCCUPATIONS AS THEY APPLY TO THE PREPARATION OF STUDENT TEACHERS. THIS REPORT INCLUDED (1) A LIST OF PARTICIPANTS FROM 11 WESTERN…

Describes a three-day program aimed at public school educators and community leaders. The goal was to encourage these people to include air age education in their programs. Activities included hands-on projects. (MA)

The creative workshop is facilitating change in our present educational approach through the reeducation of adults who work with children. The program actively engages adults in adapting to and exploring our dynamic environment in the hope that children taught by these adults will learn to challenge facts and their relevance rather than passively…

Describes a workshop held in Zambia in August 1979, to disseminate among performing artists and rural development workers skills for using the performing arts to communicate information on problems related to agriculture, health, and community development. Over 70 participants from the U.S., Canada, Botswana, Lesotho, Tanzania, Kenya, and Zambia…

Discusses what four teachers and their staff developer (each of whom wrote an article for this themed issue of this journal) learned over their two-year journey, a journey in which the goal was to improve their writing workshops. (RS)

Involving parents in the school activities of their children will enable them to successfully assist their children with homework. (CK)