What happens when teachers are given funding and time to identify and develop targeted and innovative professional learning? This article focuses on lessons learned from grants funded through the California Department of Education that were designed to do just this. As the state and the nation consider the best approaches to professional learning…

While there is a growing body of literature promoting a new paradigm of differentiated professional development in which teachers' voices shape learning opportunities, the reality is that much professional development continues in an outdated, top-down mode. Teacher input is rarely solicited to determine the perceptions of teachers regarding their…

School-based learning depends on teachers' capacity to engage with each other around central issues of teaching and learning. While such collaboration is readily welcomed by some educators, others remain wedded to an "independent contractor" concept of teaching. Supporting teachers to view themselves as team members and to perform effectively as a…

The Collaborative School Improvement Program (C-SIP) is a successful school-university partnership that encourages collaborative relationships between Eastern Michigan University and area schools through building-level shared decision making. The article describes C-SIP's six-step process, typical school improvement activities, and implications…

This article describes the development of a seven-step faculty-driven school improvement model and provides a case study of how the model is currently being implemented at a central Florida middle school. The model empowers teachers to design staff development programs based on their own needs. (IAH)