Continued rapid change in higher education and in academic librarianship calls for flexibility in offering and managing professional appointments to meet organizational needs and objectives, as well as to provide career options for librarians seeking a professional model suitable to personal needs and objectives. A literature review focused on…

Institutions need effective and efficient methods of professional development for preparing graduate students to teach. These skills are important both for their immediate roles as teaching assistants (TAs) and for their eventual roles in the professoriate. An iterative process model from instructional design can function as a cognitive…

Although all academic leaders do not begin their administrative careers as department chairs, for faculty this is a common first step. And it is reasonable to assume that strong department chairs are likely to become college deans, provosts, and presidents. In this chapter, the authors examine the experiences of academicians-turned-administrators,…

The purpose of this study was to develop a task list from which a self-check readiness evaluation tool could be developed to assist faculty who were unfamiliar with televised distance instruction. The study's results should provide guidance to new faculty in identifying both self-directed and assisted staff development activities in preparation…

The teaching observation process in a higher education context can be underpinned by an intention to enhance learning and teaching or used as a managerial tool to ensure standards are met or maintained. In this article we examine the perceptions of observees using a model that engages educational developers as observers. We seek to examine whether…

Effects of a training program utilized to teach how to conduct functional analysis process to teachers of children with developmental disabilities was examined. Furthermore, teachers' opinions regarding this process were investigated. A multiple probe design across subjects with probe conditions was used. Teacher training was in two phases. In the…

This article describes a professional development approach involving inter- and intra-school collaboration-site visits that build teachers' mathematical content knowledge and pedagogical strategies. Teachers collaboratively plan lessons, observe lessons, reflect on the implementation of the lessons, and refine their practice in a collegial,…

As qualified teachers are central to children receiving a high-quality preschool education, many policy initiatives aimed at improving program quality are thwarted when insufficient attention is paid to the professional development of the workforce. One response to this issue has been to create teacher leadership roles so that teachers mentor…

Schools are organizations that affect and are affected by teachers' learning. School capacity stresses the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of individual teachers; creating a professional community among the staff; and program coherence within schools. To be effective in boosting the quality of instruction, professional development must address…

Profound change in school begins with profound change in leaders that radiates to others and into the system. Profound change requires more than structural change--it requires changing the brains of teachers and administrators. Creating such change requires that leaders think, speak, and act differently on a daily basis, clarifying their ideas and…

Sometimes bad news can be exactly what organizations or individuals need to point them in a healthier direction. That was the case at Thompson Middle School (Southfield, Michigan) in 2002, when the staff learned that the state had temporarily identified the school as needing "corrective action" after students failed to make Adequate…

When students already are achieving at high levels, it can be easy for teachers to become complacent. However, Mountain Brook Schools in suburban Birmingham, Alabama, has developed a culture committed to continuous improvement that has resulted in an excellent system becoming outstanding. The key is professional development. Professional learning…

The chapters in this book reflect the work of science and mathematics educators who have worked for many years at the international level. As members of the International Consortium for Research in Science and Mathematics Education, their work provides readers with issues, models, practices, and research results that have applicability and…

Higher learning organizations frequently offer courses isolated from other disciplines or areas of concentration. The intent of this study was to explore collaboration practices on authentic based projects involving two distinct courses from differing programs: Instructional Technology and Educational Leadership. This paper describes the…

Persons with intellectual disabilities have been integrated into post secondary education at increasing rates since the 1990s. Some colleges and universities have responded to the influx of this population by implementing specific programs designed to meet the needs of students who have intellectual disabilities. As many as 138 college campuses…