This book helps school administrators redesign the professional development model to better reflect the relevant issues and realities of today's schools. Using the metaphor of architecture, the book outlines innovative ways to create and implement such a transformation and highlights the rationale behind why these changes are so crucial. It also…

This article discusses two early childhood professors' experience of teaching a week-long collaborative course on Reggio Emilia, the Project Approach, and documentation. Principles of adult learning were used as a foundation to structure and organize the course, in which the early childhood education students applied their knowledge and skills to…

Shared responsibility for student learning is neither a program nor a curriculum. It incorporates a set of principles and techniques that gives members of a school community the authority and responsibility to create what is needed, based on the data and culture of their particular school and school district. Sharing responsibility for student…

This newsletter highlights the development of reflection and teaching skills in preservice teachers via peer coaching. Peer coaching in preservice programs can serve as an induction program, while with experienced teachers it can serve as professional development. Research suggests that peer coaching contributes to the development of effective…

In 1984, the Spanish government created Teachers' Centres as part of educational reform. These were intended to improve teacher inservice education and foster professionalism. The pre-Civil War pedagogical culture was somehow maintained in a few movements of "Pedagogical Renovation." The guiding principle of these movements was that…

In six sites across the United States teams of teachers began creating "portfolio cultures"--classrooms where growth towards high common standards and reflection was emphasized for both students and teachers. Working groups of teachers became involved in a 2-year process to develop curriculum. This book is a part of this series…

During the 1994-1995 school year, this study examined beginning teacher-mentor relationships and broader socialization experiences in North Carolina. Ten beginning K-8 teachers completed interviews at five points throughout the school year. At least two teachers (in addition to the beginning teacher) and one administrator from each school…

A technical assistance project in a rural Virginia school district included the goal of building professional learning communities among the district's teachers. Three instruments that measure various elements of a learning community culture were scheduled to be administered to teachers at the beginning, midpoint, and end of the 4-year project.…

This article includes the contents of a paper presented at the 1999 National Staff Development Conference, then summarizes data collected from attendees of that conference session in response to a written survey distributed and completed during the session. The conference session explained that paraeducators require training, but there is concern…

A study examined the extent to which faculty senate involvement in strategic planning for inclusion influenced the implementation of inclusive practices in schools. Case studies in four West Virginia middle schools included examination of school strategic plans, observation, and teacher surveys and interviews. Analysis of findings across cases…

This paper describes the development of a secondary education collaborative model leading to the redesign of the secondary education preservice teacher preparation program at one university. To initiate the collaboration, an invitational conference was held which included representatives of all stakeholders in secondary teacher preparation (school…

This study examined how teachers in a geographically remote location experienced participation in a collaborative, professional development group project designed to develop student performance assessment tools. Participating teachers completed focus group and individual interviews as well as personal teaching efficacy surveys. All teachers new to…

This study investigated instructional aides' relationships with teachers and parents and their status in schools, using Connelly and Clandinin's (1988) epistemology of "teacher as knower" as a way to frame their voices. A total of 17 predominantly female instructional aides from five elementary schools in three midwestern U.S. school districts…

This book describes the TYC21 project (Two-Year Colleges in the Twenty-First Century: Breaking Down Barriers), which provided a framework to implement reform in science, engineering, and physics education at two-year colleges via the cooperative efforts of faculty in cross-educational activities. The project sought to increase the quality of…

This paper argues that teacher knowledge is a necessary component in the development of new knowledge about teaching and learning. Teacher knowledge in collaboration with university partnerships that are engaged in the practice of intentional change coupled with reflective conversations that serve as an enhancement to ongoing, long-term…