This report draws on two teacher-researchers' yearlong collaboration in co-planning, co-teaching, and co-researching a writers' workshop in a fifth-grade classroom. Alternatives were sought to a more traditional staff development model in which one professional who is considered to have greater expertise and skill supports and coaches another…

This paper describes the implementation of the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), a systemwide reform that calls for curriculum change at senior secondary levels in Victoria (Australia). The system is required to reorganize and develop new organizational structures with full knowledge and assessment of the status, organizational health, and…

In an effort to improve the quality of teaching at Oklahoma Junior College (OJC), the college's administration mandated peer coaching as part of a peer evaluation process. Peer coaching, a means of keeping valuable experience from being lost to the college due to death, retirement, or other separation, encourages instructors to learn about the art…

The two reports combined here provide introductory information on consultancy work at Great Britain's Open University Institution of Educational Technology. The approach at the institution was influenced by the theories and methods developed at the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations and applied to group relations training. It is noted that the…

In 1986, the Appalachia Educational Laboratory (AEL) established a minigrant program to foster collaboration between K-12 schools and colleges of education. Between 1986 and 1991, AEL minigrants offered seed money for 63 college-school partnership projects in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia. Prior to 1991, college-school…

Teachers engaged in action research are involved in a process that focuses on how they and their students construct and reconstruct learning experiences, thereby extending professionalism and creating additional learning opportunities for students. This paper describes the evolution of an action research project involving an elementary school…

In 1993, the California Community Colleges' Commission on Innovation published recommendations for the colleges to accommodate more students, respond to growing student diversity, and provide students with more advanced education and skills for the future. Included in the report are estimates of cost and savings for implementation. Focusing on…

This study examined the effects of peer coaching on elementary school teachers' professional attitudes and beliefs. Peer coaching programs are nonevaluative and are based on observation of classroom teaching followed by constructive feedback aimed at improving instructional techniques. An experimental group of teachers (n=23) voluntarily receiving…

This paper considers leadership within colleges and universities toward creation of a continuum of professional development. Changes in the headship of schools/colleges/departments of education (SCDE) among member institutions of the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education were studied, revealing that the mean "time in…

This paper examines the multiple challenges that emerged during the development of professional community in a middle school that attempted to decentralize decision making. Kruse and Louis' (1993) framework of the dimensions of professional community is used to analyze qualitative data collected at Whitehead Magnet School (located in a large…

The Professional Development Laboratory (P.D.L.) is a collaborative teacher development program in New York City which promotes collegiality and provides an environment in which new and experienced teachers can update skills, learn and practice new skills, and share classroom techniques with one another. Participants spent 3 to 4 weeks in the…

This paper offers suggestions for using portfolios to assess teacher performance. Key policy decisions that should be addressed prior to preparation of the portfolios include purpose, domains, audience, administrative matters, technical issues, and legal issues. After these policy decisions have been made, guidelines for portfolio design--its…

Focusing on student success strategies in the community college, this monograph provides a policy statement by the National Council of Instructional Administrators (NCIA) and profiles winners in the NCIA's 1992-93 exemplary program competition. First, the policy statement is provided, defining student success and providing strategies related to…

This investigation monitored the perceived effectiveness of a professional development program, called Facilitating Effective Learning and Teaching, in improving teacher practice. The program assumes that improvement is likely when the participants understand and value the learning process and themselves as learners and teachers. Program…

In August 1993, a survey was conducted of staff development coordinators (SDC's) at California community colleges to gather data on their positions and characteristics. An analysis was made of the usable surveys returned by 54 colleges and, where appropriate, results were compared with findings from 1990, 1991, and 1992 surveys of SDC's. Study…