This paper falls into two main sections: (1) an overview of contemporary research on effective professional learning for practicing educators; and (2) recommendations for action to promote effective learning for practicing educators. Three central questions guide the paper: (1) When does professional learning lead to improved learning outcomes for…

This report argues that instructional improvement, which goes hand-in-hand with efforts at education reform, can be promoted through the strategic use of human resource management (HRM) practices at the school, district, and state levels. The authors present information from the organizational and management literatures on how firms in several…

It is becoming widely recognised that teachers' content knowledge has an important influence on their pedagogical content knowledge, and hence on the learning of students. In secondary schools, function is one of the fundamental concepts of mathematics. This paper considers the understanding of function exhibited by a group of teacher trainees in…

In the professorial role's traditional triad of teaching, research, and service, research (publishing) and teaching get more attention than service. If professors are to be part of improving education in America's schools, they must define service more broadly, and they must give greater attention to the service role. Education should be…

The Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS), University of California at Berkeley has completed a 3-year project to develop a science and mathematics education course and science curriculum for early childhood educators. This project was in response to the need for improving the science and mathematics knowledge and teaching skills of adults who work with…

The sixth session of IT@EDU98 consisted of seven papers on the topic of the learning machine--Vietnamese based human-computer interface, and was chaired by Phan Viet Hoang (Informatics College, Singapore). "Knowledge Based Approach for English Vietnamese Machine Translation" (Hoang Kiem, Dinh Dien) presents the knowledge base approach,…

The American Federation of Teachers has developed 11 guidelines for developing programs to prepare teachers to make complex decisions identify and solve problems, and connect theory, practice, and student outcomes: (1) professional development should deepen and broaden knowledge of content; (2) professional development should provide a strong…

This paper explains the nature of the teacher education program at Saint Joseph's College, Rensselaer, Indiana, focusing on four distinct yet integrated components of the teacher education program. The components--education faculty; faculty from the arts, sciences, and humanities; and preK-12 classroom teachers--work collaboratively in the…

Reports on the effects of six different primary inservice training courses aimed at teachers' motivation, anxieties, hands-on working skills, and support needs. Results showed that primary teachers felt they needed more continuous support in the area of improving their knowledge and understanding of the subject, especially in chemistry and…

Discusses the collaborative approach of the Rocky Mountain Teacher Education Collaborative to helping preservice teachers develop pedagogical content knowledge. Describes a course in the teaching of chemistry that was believed to be key in the development of pedagogical content knowledge. Highlights assessment and reactions to the course. (JRH)

Describes a staff-development program in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) designed to increase the knowledge and skills for special and general educators, administrators, and related service personnel. Describes the content of the program is and presents procedures for tailoring and delivering the program to specific audiences.…

Reports on the Iowa Project, a broad effort in 20 school districts where a Science-Technology-Society (STS) approach was emphasized through a constructivist philosophy of teaching and learning. Results indicate the project's success in four areas: strengthening teacher confidence and knowledge base, encouraging teachers' use of innovative…

Describes a staff-development project that trains K-12 science teachers to use Interactive Multimedia Exercises (IMMEX) software, which expands teachers' content knowledge, teaching them about IMMEX and about how to create problem-solving exercises for diverse students. The paper examines project development and implementation, describes IMMEX…

Discusses how reflection through metaphor can be a means by which preservice teachers and practicing teachers can share the development and constant modification of their personal philosophies of learning and teaching science. (Contains 16 references.) (Author)

Describes how the teaching style of two law professors in Israel was changed after a treatment for improving instruction. Identifies three factors that influenced student opinions about their teaching effectiveness: personal characteristics and aptitudes that negatively affected classroom behavior; lack of sufficient pedagogical knowledge; and…