The MSU-Wipro UrbanSTEM & Leadership fellowship program was formed to enhance teaching and leadership capacities of teachers in a large urban school district. The program is built on Technical and Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework (Mishra & Koehler, 2006) and its instructional approach uses the power of experience (Dewey,…

This study initiates an exploratory research effort to determine styles of planning processes actually used and recommended for use by public school districts and relates these styles to selected school district characteristics. Year-round education was selected as the vehicle for the study. Specific objectives of the study include identifying…

The National Center for the Accelerated Schools Project at Stanford University has recognized that district-level change is necessary if changes at accelerated schools are to gain permanence and become widespread. The Center has therefore initiated a research and development project to design a set of models on which districts can reconstitute…

Interviews with school administrators; surveys of large school districts, local businesses and governmental agencies; and reviews of educational management literature by the Austin Independent School District (AISD) Office of Research and Evaluation indicated that a competency-based instrument for administrator evaluation was needed. This paper…

A university-based office of evaluation research and a unified school district entered into a partnership arrangement for the purpose of developing a model to integrate program development and evaluation. The function of the model was to provide a common framework for all development efforts, regardless of the curricular area, and to use…

Confronted by a maturing staff, lower teacher turnover rates, declining enrollments, and more sophisticated instructional methods, the Bloomfield (New Jersey) Public School District adopted an ambitious staff development initiative in 1983. This paper describes the planning and implementation strategies used to launch Bloomfield's Teaching…

Inservice education is primarily planned and justified on the basis of its contribution to and impact upon the classroom. Although the student must remain central, staff development programs can and must concurrently address and relate to other institutional and/or organizational goals and objectives. Inservice or staff development should not be…

This paper discusses educational innovation and is comprised of five sections: (1) a review of previous years of educational innovations in the U.S., (2) processes associated with innovation, including an analysis of two national case studies, (3) research findings about the implementation of innovations, (4) a major thesis about centralized…

This study considers the implementation of parent choice and parent information in the Alum Rock demonstration as a case study in organizational response to innovation. Analysis of the implementation process focuses on two dimensions: the division of the implementation process into three phases--initiation, implementation, and…

This conference presentation examines features of Superstart Plus, an inclusive New York City program designed to serve the diversified population of preschool students with special needs. Superstart Plus is designed to provide a less restrictive environment for preschoolers with mild, moderate, or severe disabilities, by placing them in general…

Mentoring is a continuing process wherein individuals within an organization provide support and guidance to others (mentees or proteges) to help them become effective contributors to organizational goals. Although mentoring can enhance both teacher and administrator effectiveness, this paper focuses on developing mentoring programs for aspiring,…

The results of a follow-up study on local school district development and implementation of minimal competency testing (MCT) programs are reported. Critical questions regarding: (1) motivation and purposes; (2) selection of tests, procedures, and standards; and (3) impact, follow-up, and change are examined. The follow-up study investigated…

Generic guidelines, based upon principles of effective training and institutional change reflected in current educational research were developed in Mississippi for the planning and implementing of staff development programs in local school districts, and these guidelines were followed when a new statewide early childhood education program was…

The Tennessee legislature sponsored a study on the effects of class size (Project STAR). The design and measurement techniques of this study are discussed. The establishment of the basic elements of the design is examined, followed by the recruitment of schools and school systems to participate in the study. The process of setting up smaller…

The Staff Development Team of the Columbus City Schools (Nebraska), composed of three teachers and three administrators, emphasizes the need for long-range planning in its design of an inservice model for the school district. Emphasis was placed on identifying and addressing the unique needs of teachers within the school district. The model also…