This paper describes a 5-year inservice teacher professional development project to improve teachers' abilities to work in diverse settings, Linking All Types of Teachers with Intercultural Education (LATTICE). LATTICE involved K-12 public school teachers in Michigan and international graduate students and internationally oriented faculty at a…

Standards-based reform relies on the premise that every student can reach higher levels of achievement if certain criteria are met. This brief, for policymakers, provides a short history of educational standards, an explanation of how standards-based reform works, and ways to align standards with other key policies to create meaningful reform.…

Florida's Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) is preparing all children for success in the mathematics and science, technology-dependent 21st century. Ongoing National Science Foundation funding catalyzed substantial changes in the systemic reform movement of mathematics and science education from 1994-99. The Miami-Dade USI produced…

This paper is designed to help funders avoid some of the pitfalls of embarking on major reform efforts in troubled urban districts, proposing exploratory case studies as a tool to improve philanthropic giving. The paper explains what is behind the two major flaws of philanthropic investment (not knowing how one thinks schools will improve and not…

This book represents the results of a 15-year study based on case studies of the development of four teachers' pedagogical thinking. It illustrates how teachers' thinking (about children's behavior, development, learning, and teaching) develops over time based on their personal and professional life experiences. Data come from regular, periodic…

In 2000, the Finance Project received a planning grant to launch a new initiative on financing professional development in education. This report reflects and summarizes what the Finance Project learned during the planning year about both traditional systems of professional development and reform efforts and how they are financed, focusing on…

These six NCLB (No Child Left Behind) Action Briefs focus on: "The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001: An Overview" (NCLB provisions that affect every state and school district in the country as well as those that affect only Title I schools and NCLB resources); "Title I Overview" (facts and resources); "Teacher and…

This report presents a strategic plan for recruiting, preparing, retaining, and supporting a high-quality education workforce in Illinois. During 2001, six statewide public meetings entitled "Investing in Teaching" gathered public comment and recommendations from parents, teachers, administrators, higher education faculty, legislators,…

This article describes the stages of a formative evaluation process for a professional development project. It was designed to support teachers in urban schools as they implement student-centered practices. The four stages of the evaluation that can serve as a road map for this type of collaboration are: (1) the program vision and anticipated…

This article examines how novice teachers in Japan and in the United States, specifically in the state of Ohio, are assessed, evaluated, and supported as they enter the teaching profession. Comparison of practices and tools which characterize the two countries' approaches toward assessment and mentoring reveals that important differences exist in…

This how-to guide to classroom inquiry takes educators through the process step-by-step, from beginning to end, answering critical questions on developing the research plan, collecting and analyzing the data, and writing and publishing the results. Seven chapters include: (1) "Teacher Inquiry Defined" (e.g., what teacher inquiry is and how it…

This paper describes a qualitative study investigating the Capital Area Technology and Inquiry in Education (CATIE) model of situated professional development for technology integration in schools and classrooms. The CATIE model is called "situated" because it places educational technology experts in schools on an ongoing basis where…

This paper discusses the value of action research in professional learning, presenting political and practical questions from the work of a primary school teacher who conducted action research on literacy with at-risk students and an intermediate school teacher, now a program officer at the Ontario College of Teachers who is helping create…

This paper synthesizes the literature on educational change that analyzes why reform is so difficult for teachers to implement and how schools can alleviate some of the difficulties in order to ensure effectiveness. The first section explains difficulties with educational change and details barriers to change. Barriers include lack of time in the…

This study examined cognitive coaching conferences between 1994 and 1997 as teachers practiced their coaching skills. Participants were part of a 3-year grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The cognitive coaching process was used to provide teachers with support in implementing content standards. Coaches participating in the study…