Describes the System for Teaching and Learning Assessment and Review (STAR), a comprehensive, classroom-based observation system for assessing teaching and learning, as well as interactive, psychosocial, and physical elements of the learning environment. The paper presents results of initial validity and reliability studies supporting the system.…

Multimedia instruction, a computer-based system incorporating video, audio, and digital storage media, provides educators with the tools to bring learning alive. With strategic planning, adequate funding, and faculty development, multimedia may become the most common form of instructional technology by the late 1990s. (Author/MSE)

A survey of 109 faculty in a private university investigated attitudes about merit pay. Results suggest need for changes in the design, implementation, and evaluation of merit pay systems. Recommendations are made for faculty input, accommodation of departmental preferences, group incentives, performance standards, professional development,…

Describes Project SCOPE (School-College Operation in Physical Education), a college-school partnership that takes a holistic approach to improving teacher education, faculty development, and K-12 curriculum in physical education. It was implemented with no money and limited support. The article discusses the conceptual framework and explains the…

A teaching portfolio is to document, over an extended period of time, the full range of one's abilities as a college teacher. Seven dimensions can be documented: what is taught; how it is taught; changes in teaching and course activities; academic rigor; student attitudes; skill development efforts; peer assessment. (MSE)

The Multidisciplinary Faculty Training Institute sought to increase the capacity of institutions of higher education to refine or develop coursework, practica, and course sequences in early intervention. The project trained small groups of faculty from colleges and universities in the New York Metropolitan area and provided follow-up technical…

Use of peer mentoring to improve college instruction and the concept of mutual mentoring are discussed, drawing on four faculty mentoring projects in which mentor faculty were paired with other teachers to develop new, alternative teaching methods/materials or gain new knowledge. Cross-disciplinary mentoring and mutual faculty benefits are…

Teacher licensing is a state responsibility. In most states, educators must complete professional development courses to renew their credentials. Teacher educators and state licensing officials must work together to help educators become effective lifelong learners, collaborating on the design of a strategic plan for career-long teacher education.…

Describes a method of developing teacher-written cases with effective commentaries, noting the need for collaborative exchanges among teachers, scholars, and researchers. Traces the development of four sample cases, proposes four stages in case evolution, and frames a discussion of what was learned about collaborative case writing within the…

Reviews research on teaching in physical education, particularly from the past 15 years. The article considers the research methodology employed and examines research related to instructional effectiveness, classroom ecology, and cognition and decision making. Future directions with implications for researchers, teachers, and educators are…

A comparison of changes in traditional pre/post self-assessment ratings with changes in retrospective pre/post self-assessment ratings for 29 medical faculty members indicated that retrospective pre/post ratings may provide a more sensitive and valid measure of the effects of faculty development efforts. (SLD)

In the University of California (Davis) Program in College Teaching, graduate teaching assistants develop and fulfill contractual agreements for faculty-guided investigations into their disciplines, with supporting individualized activities about practices and issues of college teaching. Aspects of the program's development and effectiveness are…

Discusses research on teachers' perceptions about the use of student assessment in instruction and the extent to which teachers have received any preservice or inservice training in assessment. The article presents teachers' responses to a questionnaire requesting information on test use and assessment background. (SM)

A survey of 40 dental schools investigated policies and practices concerning full-time faculty becoming students in their school's degree or certificate program as a means of professional development. Widely varying policies and practices were found. Use of sabbatical leave or leaves of absence during the study period was common. (MSE)

Systems thinking involves seeing relationships between the parts to the whole within the school improvement effort. After providing the key principles and examples of systems thinking, the article emphasizes the importance of staff development, highlighting experiences at a Wellesley (Massachusetts) middle school and an Alaskan high school. (SM)