Describes a study designed to create a competency model for community-college education professionals, and a self-assessment based on that model to identify areas of developmental need, perceived importance, and training priority. Two-hundred eighty-seven respondents ranked 89 tasks categorized into 14 competency areas. Communications skills were…

Two factors are fueling college faculty interest in at-home sabbaticals: the rise of the two-career family, and technological advances that allow faculty to communicate with colleagues from home. Critics feel that to take full advantage of sabbatical leave, faculty should leave the home area. One institution has created a seven-week sabbatical for…

Asserts that one way to find creative teaching solutions to age-old problems is to attend the Virginia Master Teachers Seminar. Describes the experiences, friendships formed, and techniques learned at the seminar that allow teachers to present the same information to students in different ways. Outlines other useful insights provided at the…

Describes an Internet-based graduate training program at Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health. Discusses the steps involved in (1) training the faculty (to prepare faculty for the transition to electronic instruction the school implemented an asynchronous training programme delivered over the internet), and (2) applying…

Describes the development of a Web training system to increase faculty confidence in the use of educational technology and to encourage participants to use Web-based resources efficiently and effectively in the classroom and by remote access. Discusses learning objectives of the training program; instructional strategies; and observed benefits.…

Outlines a process for a professional development workshop whose intent is to help preservice and inservice science teachers gain an initial understanding of how the National Science Education Standards can be integrated into their teaching programs and practices. (Contains 30 references.) (Author)

Investigated why teachers taught the way they did, collecting data from Egyptian science teachers in the United Kingdom during an inservice course and in Egypt after the course. Teachers were frustrated in introducing even limited change. Their evaluations of which inservice experiences they considered most useful differed from changes they were…

To ensure quality staff development, staff developers must understand the context in which it is delivered, with content, process, and context standards met simultaneously. One administrator's experiences serving on a school board in order to understand how to influence context standards are presented, discussing the creation of staff development…

Presents the perspectives of six advocates for quality staff development, including a principal who emphasizes questioning; a director of communications for parents who emphasizes reading clues; an educational consultant who recommends sharing information; a board of education member who recommends educating oneself; a school superintendent who…

Surveys of European teacher education institutions examined the conceptualization and use of reflective practice in preservice and inservice teacher education. The varied responses showed similarities in teaching methods, lack of generic and explicit curriculum for reflective practice, and tendency toward a more formal approach in inservice versus…

Presents a study that attempts to determine whether there is a significant difference in job satisfaction between full- and part- time occupational-technical faculty in the Virginia Community College System. Indicates that while both groups showed high levels of job satisfaction, part-time faculty reported higher levels of satisfaction than…

Examines the national standards for science education, noting they do not specify how to reach the goal of all students attaining scientific literacy. Presents what must be done to implement the standards successfully, discussing the size of systemic reform standards, ways to achieve scientific literacy, impediments to change, the need for…

Teaching portfolios can be used to document, improve, and evaluate teaching. Teaching portfolios typically include material from the instructor, material from others, and the products of good teaching. Describes teaching portfolios and different ways in which they can be used. Discusses portfolios in the context of peer review of teaching and…

Outlines the model for postsecondary reform of mathematics, science, engineering, technology, and communications education developed by the South Carolina Advanced Technological Center for Excellence. Presents an integrated, problem-based curriculum; collaborative teaching strategies; and extensive active learning techniques designed to increase…

Looks at the integration of technology into the foreign language program as an institutional project. Points out that while evidence shows there is enhancement of language learning through technological resources, faculty competence lags behind. Emphasizes the need for the training of all faculty members and administrators, including those who…