Maximize the effectiveness of your professional activities through the use of wikis, and raise student achievement in turn! With strategies from online educator and technology expert Stephanie Sandifer, this book provides how-to advice on the way in which wikis result in a more efficient use of time, better communication, and increased adult…

Discusses the need to include teachers in the development of educational reform. (MD)

Presents a conceptual framework intended to indicate the need to consider curriculum implementation, staff development, and evaluation as integrally linked in the curriculum change process and to reinforce the idea of involving teachers meaningfully. (RS)

Today's staff developers juggle eight roles as their work has broadened to incorporate more responsibility and accountability for continuous changes in educational programs. The eight often-overlapping roles are trainer/designer, coach, resource provider, program manager, consultant, task facilitator, process facilitator, and catalyst for change.…

Professional development from the school system's point of view is a planned, comprehensive, and systemic program designed by a school system to improve all school personnel's ability to design, implement, and assess productive change in each individual and in the school organization. This booklet provides an overview of and strategies to…

Observers of school reform efforts in 17 central New York school districts found a performance dip that sets in during the implementation stage. Staff performance suffers because everyone is learning the new system. Assistance, support, and training need to be offered until everyone has mastered the basics. Gradually, the reforms will become an…

School restructuring is enhanced when strong staff development plays three primary roles: a vehicle for developing new knowledge, skills, and attitudes; an unfreezing influence that helps people consider large-scale restructuring; and a vision of the school as a learning community. Examples from three school districts are provided. (SM)

Discusses the importance of conducting research on the impact of professional development on student learning, explaining why research has not provided any answers and describing an alternative approach that involves beginning from the end then working backward. The paper presents four staff-development principles common to the diverse mix of…

Profiles of three introspective U.S. corporations show how they have taken significant steps to promote organizational learning. By considering the implications for schools, staff developers can foster organizational learning practices for professional development and school improvement. This paper discusses the learning organization as a common…

Albuquerque schools developed an innovative program called "Support for Instructional Development" that includes a basic format of seminars, journals, and team teaching. Includes discussion of four principles the school system learned about the teacher's role in educational development. (MD)

A membership organization, the Harvard Principals' Center is showing that school administrators will voluntarily engage in activities promoting their growth as leaders in school improvement. The center provides an external support system in which principals are able to play a major role in their own development. (MD)

Educational leadership, curriculum development, and staff development are critical areas that need improvement for long-term educational gains. (MD)

This document contains staff-development standards developed by over 50 educators. The standards are organized into three categories: context, process, and content. The section on context addresses the organization, system, or culture in which the new learning will be implemented. Process refers to the "how" of staff development and includes…

This document contains staff-development standards developed by over 50 educators. The standards are organized into three categories: context, process, and content. The section on context addresses the organization, system, or culture in which the new learning will be implemented. Process refers to the "how" of staff development and includes…

Discusses several ingredients which represent a reasonable sense of direction for promoting effective inclusionary practices in schools: staffing, teacher-led staff development, effective classroom practices, the importance of higher-order literacy, and other considerations. (SR)