Describes a study that examines how faculty-development programs evaluate their services. Indicates that evaluations are done routinely in such programs; however, these evaluations do not directly assess their impact on teaching or on the learning of those who use their services. Contains 17 references. (JDI)

This position paper of the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities identifies 19 professional development principles presented in terms of the professional development context, process, and content. Principles are in agreement with standards developed by the National Staff Development Council. The paper urges staff development that is…

Staff developers recently spotlighted critical issues facing schools or districts trying to develop or improve beginning teacher mentoring programs. This article excerpts their suggestions, explaining how to build and support effective mentoring programs via: selecting mentors and matching mentors and mentees; mentor training; bringing a focus to…

Contemplates reasons for the reluctance of chemists and scientists in general to expose their teaching to peer review. Describes the American Association for Higher Education's (AAHE) peer review project, the issues of fear, the arguments for peer collaboration and review, the results and impact of peer review on teaching, and future plans for the…

Schools and districts must communicate their professional development agendas to teachers and parents so that everyone has the same understanding of the school and/or district perspective. This paper explains what knowledge and opportunities teachers need, what information must be sent home to parents, and how that information can be disseminated…

Teachers must learn to discriminate between caring and toxic brands of lounge conversation (summarized in a table). The way that beginning teachers praise, accept, ignore, or refute comments is critical in developing their roles within the school setting. Their enthusiasm can help students and jaded colleagues. (MLH)

Interviews, surveys, and journal entries were used to examine 41 teachers' and 6 teacher trainees' experiences with educational technology. About 91% experienced perspective transformation, most frequently through hands-on experience, discussion, and reflection. The most significant outcome was the way confidence in technology use empowered them…

Discusses pros and cons of post-tenure review of faculty, identifies the objectives of such reviews, reports on preliminary results of the use of post-tenure reviews at several institutions of higher education, and considers implications for boards of trustees. Suggests a 10-element post-tenure review policy. (DB)

Explores the opportunities and challenges of introducing e-commerce concepts in business school curriculums. Examines the knowledge components of electronic commerce, including Web-based technology skills; and discusses the need for faculty training and development. (Author/LRW)

Uses the authors' experiences with a professional development project to propose a model of teacher community, describing the challenge of negotiating the essential tension of teacher community and the challenge of maintaining diverse perspectives within a social group. A model of the markers of community formation as manifested in participants'…

Presents a scholarship model as an invitation to scholarship development in nursing. The model is useful for faculty self-evaluation and peer review, for orienting students to their own scholarly evolution, and to define criteria for graduate student projects. (Contains 21 references.) (Author/JOW)

Unlike staff development directives generated by schools and districts, self-coaching helps teachers address individual professional goals and interests. A reflective self-coaching framework that helps teachers at every career stage assess their needs, set goals, and plan their own professional development is presented. The framework uses four…

British student teachers (n=240) completed the Teacher Concerns Questionnaire three times during the postgraduate certificate in education course. Concerns decreased between the first and second and first and third administration, but increased between the second and third, suggesting that development of concerns is not sequential. Concerns about…

One of the ironies of teaching is that it is one of the most social occupations, but it is also one of the most isolating professions. Most schools are organized in an eggcrate manner, making professional collaborations difficult. In what other business would a professional not have easy access to a telephone? What other professional lives are…

As the current trend in healthcare education moves towards interdisciplinary curriculum, the University of New England has initiated an integrated interdisciplinary health and healing approach to training future practitioners. As part of the process, a committee of representatives from seven healthcare disciplines has endeavored to provide…